Chapter 21: Enter the Metal Gear!
Liquid Snake cackled maniacally as he towered over the Insurgents in his Metal Gear. "So, I see you've brought a few friends over to play. How delightful!" Liquid cried as he aimed the Metal Gear's massive weapons at Snake. Snake sighed in irritation as he stood out from the group. "Liquid, for once in your life...shut the hell up and listen to me for once. Think about this for a moment; do you really think that Albert Wesker brought you back to help you seek your chance of revenge? We're all dealing with something far more dangerous and sinister, something that even I may not be able to beat." Snake warned.
Liquid scoffed at him as he rolled his eyes. "Oh, how typical of you brother. You always have to be the noble one; it's always I must do the right thing!" Liquid mocked. "How old is this guy?" Deadpool muttered as he pointed his thumb at Liquid. "Sounds like somebody's got daddy issues!" Rocket Raccoon agreed. It was Reika's turn to speak up. "You are such a fool! Albert Wesker isn't even the one who brought you back to life to begin with. He's nothing more than a puppet to the real threat, just as you are. Open your eyes already and just give it a rest!" Reika shouted. "She's right, Liquid. Surrender is your only chance of ever walking out of this alive!" Snake added.
Liquid just roared with evil laughter, their warnings falling on his deaf ears. "You will not stop me, Snake. Not now, not ever! Now let's see just who is more capable of bearing the title of Boss, shall we?" Liquid sneered before he began moving forward to attack. "Oh, for fuck's sake...let's just get this over with!" Snake grumbled. "This should be easy; we've got the Hulk on our side!" Iron-Man said. Hulk sneered as he began rushing towards the Metal Gear to attack, but Liquid smirked as he pulled off his first move.
He pressed a green button on the control pannel, creating a massive electric force shield that surrounded the machine. The Hulk screamed as he hit the shield and was zapped violently before being forced away on his back. "HEY! HULK NO LIKE SHIELDS; THAT'S CHEATING!" the Hulk snapped as he got back up. "I never said that I was going to make this easy for you, now did I? Now, prepare for annihilation!" Liquid cackled as he unleashed a storm of heat seeking missiles on the Insurgents.
The Insurgents cried out as they ran away and tried to find cover before they were blown to bits. Luckily, they sought shelter in an abandoned building before the missiles struck. The building collapsed on top of our heroes, but Iron-Man was able to create a forcefield of his own to protect everyone from harm. "Not bad! But I think it's safe to say that my toys are way cooler! Observe!" Iron-Man teased as he flew up into the air.
Iron-Man dashed towards the Metal Gear, firing many blasts of his Repulsor Blaster. His attacks were merely deflected from the Metal Gear's shields, and soon Liquid forced Iron-Man away as he unleashed a storm of laser rays. "Damn it! Jarvis, tell me there's a way to disable those shields!" Iron-Man exclaimed as he kept barely dodging the laser attacks. "There is a way, sir...but it might be risky!" Jarvis warned. "Jarvis, how many times do I need to tell you? Risk is my busisness!" Iron-Man retorted. "Well, you see that large drum shaped piece of metal on the shoulder of that mech unit? If you were to hit that with enough force, you might be able to disable the shields permenantly." Jarvis explained.
Iron-Man nodded his head before he flew around in a circle before he manuevered his way through some flaming ruins of the base. "And how exactly will we do that if the giant robot still has it's shields up, Jarvis?" Iron-Man challenged. "That's the thing, Mr. Stark. Those shields won't last forever, so there will be a brief period of time when the drum shaped generator is exposed. But the problem is, you'll only have one chance of hitting it hard enough. Miss once, and the shields will just keep coming back on!" Jarvis continued. "I see! You hear that guys? I think it's time we showed this punk how we do things; Avengers style!" Iron-Man announced through his own codec.
Snake smirked as he nodded his head. "All right, then. You distract him while I get a good shot at that generator!" Snake said as he prepared his grenade launcher. "We'll help you, Snake. We'll give you cover so you can get in position!" Captain America said as he stood up and readied his shield. "Try to hurry though, we might not last too long against something that large and destructive!" Batman urged. "Hey, come on! You know what they say? The bigger they are, the harder they fall!" Nightwing encouraged.
Captain America led several of the Insurgents out to distract Liquid Snake, while Solid Snake began running towards another small building to get a clear shot at the Metal Gear. "I'm going to have to get to the roof if I'm going to hit him." Snake said to himself. But as Snake reached inside of the building, he was suddenly attacked from behind by someone. "AUGH! What the hell?! Who-" Snake exclaimed before he was grappled and punched away.
Snake grunted as he was forced on his back, his grenade launcher now out of his possession. Snake was able to look up and roll out of the way before a foot nearly stomped his skull flat. "I told you, this would've been a lot simpler if you had done things my way!" Frank Castle snarled as he drew out a Desert Eagle. Snake growled with anger as he used his CQC to knock the gun out of Frank's hands before smashing him face first against the wall. "You shouldn't have betrayed us, Frank!" Snake cried fiercely.
Snake tried to stangle him from behind, but Frank was a lot stronger and faster than Snake anticipated. Frank was able to free himself of Snake's grasp by elbowing him in the stomach before grabbing a hold of his head and slamming him over on his back. Frank quickly drew out a knife and attempted to stab Snake in the back of his head, but Snake caught him by the hand before the blade could hit him. Both Snake and Frank struggled against each other for several minutes, while the other Insurgents struggled against the rampaging Metal Gear.
Batman cried out as a missile nearly hit him, sending him flying away. Batman was lucky enough to use his Grapple Hook to snag onto a metal railing before he suffered any major damage, and quickly pulled himself up to safety. "Snake, do you read? We're not gonna last much longer against this thing! Where are you? Snake!" Batman cried out on his codec. "Never mind him, Batman! I guess we'll have to try and finish this ourselves!" Cyborg cried as he kept blasting his Arm Cannon at the Metal Gear.
Samus tried to help by blasting her own projectiles from her Arm Cannon, but the Metal Gear's shields were still active and protected Liquid from any and all harm. "Damn it! Snake! Where the hell are you?! Snake!" Samus cried. "Heads up! What's a party without some grenades?" Deadpool chuckled as he threw a couple of grenades at the Metal Gear. Liquid howled with evil laughter as the heroes continued to fight against him. "You are all so pathetic and weak! You will never beat me!" Liquid cackled.
Reika Kitami took time to tend to some of her wounds as she hid behind a corner of a wall, along with Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield. Reika sighed as she looked up at the massive war machine; they were going nowhere with this battle. "We're never going to be able to find and destroy the Bible Black in time if this keeps up. We have to find a way to destroy this stupid robot!" Reika muttered as she bandaged her arm. "I'm almost out of ammo! I only have one clip left, and a few grenades. How are we going to beat this maniac?" Chris cried. "We'll find a way, Chris. We always do!" Jill pointed out.
Reika looked around her and an explosive gas tanker right behind the Metal Gear. She smirked as she got an idea. "I've got it! If we can get the Metal Gear close enough to that tanker right there, we might have a chance of stopping it. Once those shields are disabled, we can destroy that tanker and in turn we'll destroy that robot!" Reika suggested. "Good idea! It's risky, but it's all we've got left. Come on!" Jill agreed as she loaded up her Beretta pistol.
Back with Snake and Frank, the two of them continued to brutally brawl against each other. Both fighters were bloody, bruised, and sore; neither of them could seem to best the other. As they both stood in front of each other to catch their breaths, Snake caught a glimpse of his grenade launcher lying over by a window. Frank saw this and began chuckling evilly, which was totally uncharacteristic of him. "You still think you have a chance, do you? Tell me something, Snake...do you remember the look in her eyes as I shot her in the lung? Did that remind you of anyone in particular? Did it make you remember how much suffering they went through because of you?" Frank sneered.
Snake glared at him with fierce anger in his eyes, until he noticed it. Frank's eyes were tinted a strange red color. Out of frustration, Snake cried out with rage before he struck Frank with a punch to the face. "You have no idea how much value is in a human life, Albert Wesker!" Snake shouted furiously. Frank cackled with evil delight as he suddenly began fighting under the influence of a demonic source of power; Albert Wesker indeed had gained control of Frank somehow.
Snake and Frank continued brawling against each other for several more minutes, until Snake finally had to make a difficult choice. Frank attempted to stab Snake again, and Snake once again caught him by the hand and stopped him. As they struggled against each other in a last grapple fight, Frank (under the control of Wesker) taunted Snake once more. "You might be built for war, Snake. But this is a battle that you simply cannot win!" Frank strained. "No...but I can make damn sure that you don't win either, Wesker. I'm sorry about this Frank...forgive me!" Snake groaned.
With a fierce battle cry, Snake used his strength to force the knife against Frank's neck. Frank screamed as he felt the blade pierce into his flesh, blood spraying all over the both of them. Snake finally killed Frank by forcing him onto his back and further plunging the knife into his throat. Frank's eyes returned to normal color as he laid on the floor dead, marinating in a pool of his own blood.
Snake panted feverishly to catch his breath, the blood and sweat clouding his eyes to the point he shed tears. "Damn you, Albert Wesker! I'm gonna kill you when I find you! You hear me?! I'll make you pay for forcing me to kill my own!" Snake snarled as he finally grabbed hold of his grenade launcher.
Snake climbed up the stairs and finally made his way to the rooftop, where he got a good view of the Metal Gear battling against the Insurgents near an explosive gas tanker. "This is Snake! I've got the Metal Gear in my sights; I'm ready to fire at your command!" Snake rasped on his codec. "It's about time we heard from you, Snake. What were you doing? Taking a lunch break?" Captain America teased. "I had a little bit of trouble along the way. Tell me that those shields will go down soon!" Snake replied with a smirk. "According to Jarvis, those shields are about to go out...right...now!" Iron-Man said as he flew by Snake.
Soon enough, the Metal Gear's shields went down and the giant robot was finally exposed. "What?! Damn it; the shields are down! How is this possible?!" Liquid exclaimed in shock. Snake chuckled as he took careful aim with his grenade launcher, that is until he heard a woman's voice talk to him. "Snake? Snake! Shoot the explosive tanker behind the Metal Gear!" Reika cried out as she ran towards the building he was on. "What?! Are you crazy, woman? I can't do that!" Snake exclaimed. "You have to trust me, Snake! Just do it!" Reika snapped. "Reika-" Snake argued. "Damn it, don't argue with me! Just do as I say or we'll be stuck here forever! You have to trust me!" Reika shouted hysterically.
Snake sighed in frustration, but could tell that she wasn't messing around. He slightly changed his direction of aim and finally fired a grenade. The result was a catostrophic explosion that consumed the Metal Gear in flames, as well as the screams of agony from Liquid Snake. "AAAAIIEEEE! SNAKE, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Liquid shrieked as the explosion engulfed him.
Finally, the Metal Gear fell to the ground with a loud crash and fell to pieces before another explosion took place. The Metal Gear was no more, and Liquid Snake was vanquished once again...or so it seemed!
Snake sighed in contempt as he laid back against a wall to catch his breath, while Iron-Man flew over towards him to check up on him. "Hey, Snake? I don't think that was part of the deal!" Iron-Man said jokingly. Snake laughed at him as he shook his head. "Yeah, well I never really was good at making deals. I just follow orders!" Snake replied. Iron-Man laughed as he removed his helmet and sat next to him. "Yeah, well I guess that makes you a better soldier than me. Because I never really like following orders!" Iron-Man said. "Hey, I never said I liked following orders." Snake pointed out.
Both men laughed before Samus flew up to them via her jet boosters. "There you are! If you two are done gazing at each other's eyes, we've gotta move!" Samus said as she helped Snake up. "Ok, commander! Just give us a few minutes to catch our breath, all right?" Iron-Man complained playfully. Samus wanted to argue with him, but Snake's gentle eyes told her to calm down. "So, what happened? Why did you take so long to get up to the roof?" Samus demanded. "I told you, I had trouble along the way!" Snake replied.
Samus stared at him until Snake finally sighed heavily. "Frank Castle...Albert Wesker got ahold of him. I had to kill him!" Snake said gravely. "Oh, God...Dave I'm so sorry!" Samus gasped. "What? Frank's dead now?! Ok, now I'm mad!" Iron-Man said bitterly as he put his helmet back on. "You and me both! Wesker is going to pay for what he's done; one way or another!" Snake growled. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Samus replied with a smirk.
As the three of them left the building and regrouped with the others, they were given some surprising news. "Guys! You're not gonna believe this, but we just got a radio transmission from some other Insurgents. Listen to this!" Jill announced as she pressed a button on a radio. "This is Cammy White requesting immediate assistance; we've been shot down over at the lower east side of Superman's base! We're almost out of ammo and we've got an injured fighter in our hands; we need help! If there's anyone out there, please help us!" Cammy White's voice frantically cried out.
Chun-Li felt elation as she heard her best friend's voice. "Oh my God! Cammy?! She's alive! We've gotta help her!" Chun-Li exclaimed. "You don't need to tell us twice, sweetheart. Come on; let's get moving!" Reika said as she stood up from a chunk of rock she sat on. But as she stood up and began to walk away, she heard a low moaning sound. "Hey...did you guys hear that? Listen!" Reika shushed. "I don't hear anything...except for my stomach!" Deadpool said as his tummy growled.
The moaning grew louder as Reika approached the flaming, smoldering remains of the Metal Gear. "What in God's name?" Reika muttered. There was some incoherent mumbling noises coming from the cockpit, or whatever was left of it. Reika looked over towards the Insurgents before she motioned her head towards the Metal Gear. Snake grew grim as he slowly approached the Metal Gear, drawing out his Socom .45 pistol. "Why can't you just fucking die already, Liquid?!" Snake growled.
But just before Snake could take another step, the cockpit popped wide open and Liquid Snake's half-baked body practically flew out towards him. "SNAKE!" he shrieked in rasping pain. Several of the other Insurgents cried out in shock at this sight, but Snake just looked annoyed. "SNAKE! I'LL KILL YOU, BROTHER! YOU HEAR ME?! I'LL KILL YOU AND DRAG YOUR SOUL TO HELL!" Liquid rasped as he began crawling towards Snake in a last feeble attempt to fight him.
Snake wasn't going to have any of it and took aim with his pistol to Liquid's head. "I'm sick and damn tired of hearing your voice!" Snake growled. "SNAKE! I'LL KILL YOU, YOU SON OF A-" Liquid screeched before something caught him from behind. Liquid cried out as he felt his legs tightly snagged by a tentacle and was soon slowly and torturously dragged away into the darkness. "NOOOOO! SNAKE! COME BACK; SNAKE!" Liquid screamed as he was dragged away.
Everyone watched as he was taken away, wondering what the hell just happened. Finally, the piercing screams of agony gave them their horrifying answer. Along with the dying screams of Liquid Snake, there was a sickening sound of crunching bones and ripping flesh. A few seconds later, Liquid's head rolled over towards Solid Snake...and then he appeared.
Out of the darkness and into plain sight, a horrifying creature of pure evil lumbered towards the shocked Insurgents. This menacing creature was by far the most fearsome looking foe yet; it stood over 12 feet tall, had decaying and rotting skin, a mouth full of razor sharp teeth, dead white eyes, and reeked of putrid death and gore. It was Albert Wesker's most powerful and horrific creation; Nemesis! Jill and Chris gasped in absolute horror as they recognized this horrible monster. 'No! It can't be...Chris?!" Jill gasped. "I see it!" Chris said grimly.
Nemesis growled and rasped with hideous and ravenous delight as he eyed on his prey. "S.T.A.R.S!" Nemesis snarled in a low and gutteral tone. Everyone prepared for battle yet again, that is until they showed up! Two more horrifying creatures suddenly came out of the darkness of the night, growling ominously as they eyed their prey.
The first creature was about 12 feet tall, but was far more muscular than Nemesis. His skin was also grey, but armored in a strange crystal-like substance as hard as diamonds. His blood red eyes were intimidating enough even to the strongest of men; it was Doomsday! The other creature was Blackheart, sneering and snarling as viciously as ever as his hands were lit up in dark flames.
The Deadly 3 had finally arrived!