Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Metal Gear Solid in any way shape or form, if I did, would I even bother righting it?
NU: Null-Fox…
Chapter 12: Punishment…
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Normal Speech…
Normal Thoughts…
Codec Calls…
Cyborg Ninja Speech…
Demon/Beast Unit Speech…
Demon/Beast Unit Thoughts…
Inner Spirit Speech…
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(??)
"Wake up little, Fox." With those few words, Naruto opened his eye's and looked up to see Raven standing before him with a slight smirk on his face. "I was wondering if you were actually going to wake up or sleep for a hundred years for a second." Raven said then added mockingly, slightly referring to The End, then looked down at Meryl and frowned. "Follow me, Ocelot wants to speak with you about certain maters." Raven ordered and Naruto nodded his head, then got up and lifted Meryl up with him.
"Let me sleep…" The woman murmured to herself and Raven laughed.
"Seems as if she's comfortable around you, eh Fox." He said with a grin and Naruto grumbled under his breath eye twitching slightly. "First Wolf, now this girl too, perhaps you need a new code… Maybe something like Longing-Fox or…" Raven started, only for Naruto to kick him from behind, making the giant chuckle, it was SO much fun to tease him after all… Even Wolf agreed with him about that…
"What's the situation with Snake?" The blond questioned with one eye open and Raven finally took a more serious expression.
"He has been captured, currently Ocelot has him in a cell watched by that Sasaki man so he can speak with you for a few moments…" Raven stated as they walked up the numerous stairs of the Communications towers, then called for a squad to blow the door and let them walk over to tower B. He purposely left out Mantis's death; his little friend might go rampaging through the base if he found out… "However, we all know we still need Snake to reach Metal Gear… He's the only one still in the dark I bet…" Raven stated and Naruto frowned, while he understood "Cloak and Dagger" tactics, were typically used by most Ninja, that didn't exactly mean he liked them that much…
"So then… Any idea what we're going to be doing with her?" Naruto asked nudging towards the red head currently nestled in his arms and fast asleep.
"Not sure, depends on the bosses mood." Raven stated and Naruto frowned, that could mean many things… and not all of them were good. Frowning to himself as they walked down Tower B, Naruto could only sigh and wonder how this whole story was eventually going to play out…
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(Later…)
Deep within the Metal-Gear-Hangar, two figures stand in one of the many storage rooms. This is Storeroom B-0, which they primarily used to house most of the FOXHOUND unit's gear. In the center, a familiar teen in Spirit Camo stands before Revolver Ocelot, the old Russian Gunman is sitting back on a crate while rubbing his stump of an arm, his coat laid out at his side. The older man is grumbling angrily under his breath about the fact that Solid-Snake had somehow managed to make his way out of his Torture chamber… "I knew I shouldn't have Left Sasaki to guard him… I wasn't done yet…" Ocelot mused to himself while Naruto merely rolled his eyes, Meryl off to the side bound so she wouldn't manage to get away if she woke up.
"Did you manage to obtain the files as per our mission parameters Ocelot?" Naruto questioned, bringing the older man from his musings, only to chuckle and nod his head to the blond haired teen.
"That was the easy part, after capturing Snake I immediately went through his gear, found that, AND left him a little present." Ocelot stated with a grin and Naruto nodded his head slowly before letting out a soft sigh.
"Mantis is Dead…" It wasn't a question and Ocelot merely nodded his head to the young man with a slight frown.
"Sorry kid… Snake isn't as controllable as FOXDIE…" Ocelot stated and Mantis tossed what looked like someone's dog tags to the teen. "Those belonged to Mantis kid, figure he'd want you to have them more than me." Ocelot stated and Naruto looked at the tags before clenching them in one fist and pulling them on around his neck.
"Thank you… Boss… I… I can feel Mantis through these… but I can't hear him…" The teen told his superior softly while looking to the ground and Ocelot frowned.
"How are you holding up through all this, Null?" The man asked and Naruto looked up, quickly schooling his features into an emotionless look he always had.
"I'm feeling fine sir, I…" He started and Ocelot held up a hand and shook his head with a stern frown.
"No. How are you FEELING Null…" Ocelot stated more than questioned and Naruto looked around before sighing.
"I've been better. I don't really feel much… but… It looks like I feel both pain and sorrow pretty well…" Naruto said softly and Ocelot nodded his head slowly, Mantis was like a brother to the kid, it would make sense for him to feel something as strong as their feelings for one another were…
"Yeah… The Boss is also feeling a little sting from Mantis's death. Course that's mostly cause the Genome Army has been slowly slipping out of their Hypnosis. We've already had a few cases of insubordination around the base. It's only a matter of time before they all start to rebel if you ask me…" Ocelot said then added and Naruto frowned to himself, pacing a few steps before turning back to Ocelot.
"How many of the troops who've come out of their Hypnosis have remained Loyal? And will it affect our own mission objectives?" Naruto questioned and Ocelot clicked his tongue, leaning back with a thoughtful expression.
"The few who are still loyal out of the free one's used to work for Big Boss. They work for Liquid without question because he's Big Boss's son…" Ocelot told Naruto simply and the blond haired young FOXHOUND frowned to himself.
"That could be problematic for us… does Liquid have a plan for those Genome Soldiers who weren't in Big Boss's Private Guard?" Naruto muttered then questioned of the older man and Ocelot rubbed his chin.
"Yeah, we're going to send a bunch of them head long into Snake…" Ocelot stated and Naruto rolled his eyes.
"Yes… that will take care of the problem alright…" Naruto mused to himself before looking over at the Sleeping Meryl and heard as Ocelot chuckled lightly in his throat. "What exactly do you think we'll be doing with her, Boss?" Naruto questioned and Ocelot stroked his chin lightly.
"I would Torture her… but I made a sort of deal with Snake that I wouldn't if he lasted through my Torture… I wouldn't touch the girl." Ocelot mused, though not said in so many words, he knew that she wouldn't survive if HE tortured her… he liked a Woman's screams so much more than men's after all…
"Perhaps we can use her as ransom from Campbell… or even leverage to get him onto our side." Naruto offered and Ocelot rubbed his chin once more, a smirk slowly forming over his lips.
"Maybe, I'll run those idea's by the boss a little later, until then however, how bout a light spar." Ocelot offered, just to see how skilled he was in CQC with only one arm and Naruto simply rolled his eyes before throwing his coat to the side and pulling the right arm of his Spirit camo off to hang down his back. Ocelot saw the blond then crouch down into a stance and mentally groaned upon seeing the Boss's old style. "Kid… you just love to mess with my head don't you…" Ocelot grumbled and Naruto merely raised a brow while Ocelot lunged forward, swinging his right arm, Naruto easily moved out of the way of the old mans arm then flipped him onto his back…
"I hate that Judo shit…" Ocelot grumbled before rolling himself onto his feet while Naruto took another stance, eyes locked onto the older man in a glare. Ocelot quickly rushed at Naruto once more, swinging his left arm clumsily, Naruto easily backed away then swung his arm into Ocelot's gut knocking his head forward. Naruto then kicked him in the face, sending him sprawling back before shaking his head.
"Perhaps we should stop. It would appear without your arm you're not as skilled as normal…" The blond haired boy quipped and the man got back to his feet and lunged at him with a mighty roar. Naruto merely lunged forward, ducking down he rammed his right shoulder into Ocelot's gut, then quickly moved one of his feet to knock Ocelot's right foot out from under him the pushed him to the ground. As the blond teen backed away from him, Ocelot snarled angrily before getting back to his own feet and glaring at the teen with anger.
Meryl slowly opened her eyes, groaning softly she shook her head, then noticed the sounds of somebody fighting and looked around. What she found was Naruto, minus his coat, and with the right arm of his shirt pulled off, fighting against Ocelot, who had removed his own coat and was missing a hand. The blond ducked a punch from Ocelot, and then kicked the man in the stomach, making him stumble back as Naruto then grabbed him by his remaining arm and threw him over his shoulder and to the ground.
Seeing how they were distracted, Meryl tried to get up, only to groan noticing she was tied up… "Well, looks like our little practice is over for now, Null… Our little friend has finally woken up." Ocelot then said and Naruto snorted, crossing his arms he leaned back into a wall while Ocelot got to his feet.
"Your just sore cause you lost an arm… and can't even pose a challenge in CQC training without it…" Naruto stated simply and Ocelot growled, giving a death glare to the masked blond.
"Watch it punk, I may not have both my arms but I'm still more man than you'll ever be." Ocelot stated and Naruto gave him a raised brow, then snorted and walked over to get his coat. "Ah… Kids…" Ocelot grunted before walking over to look down on Meryl and chuckle. "So missy, what do you think of FOXHOUND'S student?" Ocelot questioned and Meryl couldn't help but look at Naruto as he pulled his shirt back on then pulled his coat on…
"You mean turning a kid into a heartless soldier? I think it's sick…" Meryl stated and Ocelot snorted.
"That kid is anything but heartless missy, if he were, you'd be dead right now. The only reason you're even alive is because of him and of course Wolf's whim." Ocelot stated then started to chuckle in his throat. "Snake was captured you know… We had him in our torture room… Ah the screams were wonderful… at least till he managed to escape, I really need to have a talk with Sasaki guy again…" Ocelot then said while Naruto leaned into a wall, watching the two with a single eye. Upon hearing the name however, Naruto couldn't help but roll his eyes, that moron couldn't do anything right, it'd be a miracle if he survived the next few hours…
"Sadist…" Meryl growled out and Ocelot started to laugh.
"No, no… Not at all… That's those Uniformed fools back in Spetnaz and GRU… I'm not really much of a Sadist missy… No… Torture for me is a… a form of expression… It lets me show what I really am, I'm no Sadist, a Sadist would want to draw out the pain of his enemies, and even his allies… No… I'm anything but a Sadist, I prefer quick painful torture that gets the job done, I like the screams because it shows how any man can be made to break eventually, and that any man, no matter how tough they appear from the outside, can feel pain!" Ocelot explained while walking around Meryl, then looked over to see Naruto as he leaned into the wall…
"Did you know, that even though you say he's heartless, the kid completely hates Torture?" Ocelot asked and Meryl looked up at him with a "Why should I care" look to mask her growing curiosity. "It's true, we had him try all the methods, and in the end, he thought they were all depraved and sick… Course that's because back in his home town HE was the one that was being tortured…" Ocelot said before adding with a thoughtful expression and tapping his chin, making Naruto glare and Meryl look at the blond then Ocelot with wide eyes.
"W-what? Why would they torture a… A kid?" She asked of the older man and Ocelot laughed in his throat.
"Truthfully even I'm not sure why they tortured him. All we even know is that the kid looks at least partially American, had a Japanese accent before we got him out of it, and he was FOUND in Russia… Otherwise what we know is only bits and pieces. Mantis kept his mouth shut about whatever happened, even though he knew exactly what the Kid went through…" Ocelot explained and noticed Meryl's eye's glass over, making him smirk to himself…
'Wonder what Mantis said to her and Snake, Snake actually wanted to know why we had Fox around during my little show… He he he he… Course, It's cause he's the closest thing to a Son I've ever had…' Ocelot thought to himself with a smirk, while Meryl's mind drifted back to something Psycho-Mantis told her and Snake…
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(Flashback…)
Snake was kneeling beside the bleeding Psycho-Mantis, his mask to the side revealing his tattooed/scarred/stitched up head and face, while Meryl was standing up and looking away from both of them. She didn't want to face either of them after Mantis said she had a "Large Place" for Snake in her heart. "But…" Mantis started and they both listened. "I do not know if your future's lie together…" He said and then grunted, his lips curling at the side as blood trickled down.
"I don't know my own future anymore either… I am not a man… But a Beast… Like him…" Mantis said, his voice cold and raspy, and Snake narrowed his eyes.
"Who?" Snake questioned and Meryl listened in as well.
"Null… Null-Fox…" He whispered and then chuckled. "We found him as a child… Raised him for three years… And he still never talks about what happened to him… He has more reason to hate and kill than even I…" Mantis said then chuckled once more before coughing up blood… "But instead… he tries not to kill… he tries not to hate… but still… he and I… we are both the same… we both thrive on the battlefield… we both live to fight… we are both, beasts…" Mantis said with a small laugh and Meryl turned to glare at the dieing man her mouth opening only for Snake to stop her.
"Meryl! Let him talk…" Snake stated and Meryl frowned before continuing to glare at Mantis as the man chuckled.
"We trained him… we taught him everything he could learn… and for three years he went through hell and back with us… for three years he lived and died with us on the battlefields across the world…" Mantis said before coughing up blood. "But… You must know this… He is NOT a tool for us… He is a member… he is one of us… He is Null-Fox…" Mantis said then began to breath heavily then chuckled darkly…
"It doesn't matter if I die here… for I shall live on through him… it won't matter how many of FOXHOUND you kill Snake… we shall endure…" Mantis said then chuckled with an insidious look on his face. "Our bodies may die… but our spirits shall live on… in The Void…" Mantis said then coughed up blood that had begun to pool in his mouth… "I have… A last request…" Mantis then said and Snake nodded his head slowly. "My mask… Put it back on…" He said and although Snake raised a brow, he nodded his head once more.
"Sure…" With that he reached over while Mantis continued to speak.
"Like this… other peoples thoughts force their way into my mind… Before I die, I want to be by myself in my own world…" Mantis stated and Snake slowly pulled the mask over the Russian Psychics head, placing it over him and allowing him his small peace. "I shall open the door for you…" Mantis then said as he held up one hand… a bookcase suddenly shifting to the side to reveal a short hall with a door at the end… "This… This is the first time I've used my powers purely to help someone…" Mantis said then looked up towards the roof, his eyes glazing over as he did so… "Strange… it feels… kind of… nice…" He said then stilled, his life ending as all breathing ceased…
(End Flashback…)
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"I take it Mantis told you something about Null then, eh?" Ocelot stated more than questioned and Meryl looked to her side, making the man laugh. "Probably the whole "Beast" thing eh?" Ocelot guessed and the woman was silent once more. "Well whatever it was, its more than likely true, the kid IS a beast…" Ocelot said, making Meryl growl as he walked towards a door, only to stop and chuckle. "Then again… a Beast can also turn out to be a prince." With that said and a chuckle in his throat Ocelot left the room, leaving Meryl and Naruto behind…
"Is he always so charming?" Meryl questioned from her spot on the floor and Naruto opened a single eye.
"Depends on his mood… He's in "Fatherly" mode right now… but it won't last…" Naruto stated then cracked his neck and closed his eye.
"Were… Were you really tortured by the people of your homeland?" Meryl questioned shakily and Naruto grunted.
"Yes… But that place ISN'T and WASN'T my home…" Naruto stated flatly and Meryl looked down, realizing that probably wasn't the best place for a conversation to go… A beeping sound soon broke the silence however, and Naruto then placed a hand to one of his ears. "Right… He's nearly made it to the top of the communications towers? Hmm… I'll be right there boss…" Naruto said then walked off, leaving Meryl behind as he exited the room. Letting out a quick breath the blond haired young man walked down the halls of the Metal Gear Hangar, soon coming to see Ocelot, Liquid, and a shaky Johnny Sasaki… Obviously both Liquid AND Ocelot had a few words with the man…
"Null, good. I have a little assignment for you… consider it training if you will a punishment for your earlier actions if you prefer that." Liquid said and the blond haired young man raised a brow. "Ocelot seems to have made a deal with Snake, and since Snake didn't succumb to Ocelot's torture, we need someone else to torture the girl…" Liquid stated, making Naruto twitch slightly, didn't Liquid know that he HATED Torture more than anything?
"With all due respect sir… what purpose would torturing her bring us in this scheme of yours?" Naruto questioned in his eternal monotone and Liquid chuckled lightly in his throat.
"Simple Fox, we can't have that woman getting away with stealing one of our uniforms, taking one of our troops weapons, and compromising our base now can we." Liquid stated darkly with a glare and Naruto clenched his fists, before nodding his head, even as his left eye twitched. "Good… now, Sasaki will be guarding her with you after your done. As for now, I want him to go and take her to the storage room… Before he manages to screw that up as well…" Liquid then said while turning his back to the younger blond only to stop, while Johnny reluctantly went to do as ordered.
"Oh, and if I find out you haven't tortured her at all, or were too easy on her, I'll give her to the men as a present for all their hard work." Liquid added as an after thought before he walked off and Naruto's whole body twitched while he glared at Liquid from behind, his eye's turning a sinister black and gold once more…
"Where are you heading off to boss?" Ocelot questioned of the man and Liquid chuckled lightly.
"To go deal with a rather bothersome rodent we've been having problems with…" He stated while walking off, not looking back even at the two other FOXHOUND members…
"When does he finally die?" Naruto questioned angrily of Ocelot who shrugged his shoulders making Naruto take a breath then sigh, his monotone returning. "Then how exactly should I Torture her, I don't like knives and other "Bloody" methods, whips are… too barbaric… and we can't rightly carry her all the way to your torture chamber to use the electric-discharge-generator…" Naruto questioned of the older man and Ocelot pulled a pair of gloves from his vest and tossed them to Naruto. Looking at the gloves Naruto saw metal covering the back of the open-finger black leather gloves, with padding on the palm, a round orb at the wrist with metal over the knuckles and what looked like a small plate at the back of the thumb.
"Those are ESD (Electro-Static-Discharge) Gloves, they basically make a static Discharge like the Discharge generator at a lesser scale, not really enough to fry, but more than enough to cause a good amount of pain when it hits the Nervous System." Ocelot said and Naruto twitched. "All you have to do is touch her with them, any part of the body, while she's wet it should be more affective and the electricity will do the rest." Ocelot stated and Naruto still didn't seem comfortable, but nodded his head as he pulled his old gloves off, and then pulled the new gloves on over his hands.
"Make a fist then flex your hand to activate them, the battery life is similar to Nano-Machines, constantly recharging by drawing on your natural body heat. Only these will turn off when you've used too much juice, wait for a few minutes to get them working again. Also, you can have those; I got no real use for 'em after all… They'd probably help you more in CQC than they would me with Torture…" Ocelot offered then mused aloud and Naruto nodded, putting his old gloves into his pocket and walking off.
Crossing his arms the blond concentrated on turning his eyes back to normal, and as soon as he had, he had also reached the storage room and sighed. Entering the room quickly he looked around and then twitched. The room had all of its contents, those primarily being spare parts for REX, pushed up against the walls, making room for any number of devices he could have brought in. However, Meryl was placed into a chair in the center, her arms and legs strapped to the hand rests and legs of the chair. Johnny looked to Naruto and the masked young man sighed lightly. "What's going on?" The redhead questioned while looking at the blond warily then to Johnny with a confused expression, making Naruto twitch.
"It would seem that the Boss is displeased with me… For numerous reasons and as my "Punishment" he wants me to torture you… This is also a form of payback for you stripping Johnny of both clothes and gear, sneaking around the base, and finally for compromising everything we worked for." Naruto stated in an even tone then motioned for Johnny to leave, the man nodding his head quickly left the room while Naruto pulled on the gloves to get them on more tightly.
"Your really going to do it, torture me I mean?" Meryl questioned and Naruto rolled his eyes.
"If I DON'T torture you, then the Boss will give you to the men around the base as a gift… And I imagine you know what they would entail…" Naruto stated and Meryl's eye's widened before she gave a shaky nod to the blond. The teen then looked to his side and saw a bucket of water, picking it up he tossed its contents onto the girl who shook and looked at the blond incredulously. "As Ocelot said… I find Torture Distasteful; it's methods and its ways… However, the one I find the least… degrading to either person involved is "Shock Torture"…" Naruto said then pulled on his gloves, tightening them once more while walking around Meryl with an indifferent expression.
"Normally this is because that way I don't have to actually touch the person and it's relatively clean, no germs, and no real mess. All you have to worry about it frying the person, which can easily by avoided by using low voltage…" Naruto said and flexed his hands, sparks of electricity arching over the gloves he was wearing.
"You mean… like Ocelot uses right?" Meryl questioned shakily and Naruto nodded his head before giving a light sigh.
"The man has rubbed off on me I'm afraid, his tastes and his skills. Fortunately most of my quirks are my own, nothing I have been has been from him, I just prefer the clean method of Torture because I don't have to worry about you getting sick from Electrocution as I might have to worry about from whips, wax, knives, flames, and screws." Naruto stated with a shrug before walking over to Meryl, leaning down he sighed. "I'm sorry…" He whispered then touched the back of his left hand to the girls shoulder, making her give out a shriek of pain as electricity arched across her body…
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TBC…
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AN: The "ESD Gloves" are of the same design as the shocker glove from "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex", used by Major Motoko Kusanagi in the episode with the press conference where she was dressed in a JGSDF Uniform. It is a basic glove with metal plating; a small battery pack is placed into the back of the glove under the armor while it discharges from the knuckles and the back of the thumb. Useful for hand-to-hand combat, they are also useful if an opponent is wet (Thereby increasing the shock). The Gloves run off the same battery as Snake's Nano-Machines, using body heat to recharge. After extended use the Gloves will need to "rest" as it were so they can fully recharge…