Chapter 20 : A Brewing Storm.

For a full five minutes, the bottom of the Macalania cave was filled with the sounds of hell. Screams, wails, curses, pleadings for divine retribution, and woeful regrets of what could have been done in life coming mostly from Raiden reverberated off of the walls as the whole entourage plummeted to an uncertain end. Even Snake was screaming, although he hadn't completely given up on life quite yet. He just hated falling. Bits of discarded structures forged from rocks came into view. Snake could also see water and assumed a diving position. The temperature of the water became apparent so quickly that he almost went into shock. Snake had been forced to swim through a pool of subzero water as a part of his training at one point, but this was much colder than what he remembered from his days at FOX-HOUND's insanely dangerous obstacle courses. He longed for anti-freezing peptides and his thermal insulated sneaking suit. It felt like thousands of tiny needles were poking his body as he struggled to get to the surface. Snake broke free from the depths with a loud, pained gasp. He began swimming for the nearest ruin, noticing that his strength steadily gave out with each stroke.

He was in a ridiculous amount of pain and he knew that if he couldn't get himself on one of those rejected pieces of temple architecture soon he'd drown. His strokes were becoming dog paddles as his vision faded. If not for the intervention of a friend at that critical moment, he probably wouldn't have been able to continue. Raiden grabbed Snake and began to swim with him. His skull suit protected him from a great deal of environmental hazards and cold water happened to be one of them. The two men noticed that they were coming upon an incline and that the water was getting lower. Eventually their knees started dragging against the ground. Raiden hoisted Snake up and shouldered him as they walked on the muddy soil covered in the water. He sat Snake down on a hunk of rock and pulled out his binoculars, which he would have used to try and locate the others if they hadn't been right there in front of him.

They crawled up on the elevated ground and began finding ruins to sit on so they would be out of the water. While they reoriented themselves and huddled together to try and stay warm, Raiden used his binoculars to look up at where they had fallen from because he wasn't about to stuff them back in his bag when he had just taken them out. An odd transparent platform had been constructed to allow the temporary passage across the significant gap. It was illuminated with the odd symbols they constantly came across in temples, which were also sewn into Yuna's spare outfit. Tengu snipers waved back at him as he zoomed in for a closer look. Raiden sneered as a response.

"Keep your clothes on!" Snake shouted at nobody in particular. "Whatever you do, don't take your clothes off or it'll get a lot worse!"

Kimahri rooted through Yuna's bag and pulled out a couple of potions because she was shivering too hard to do so herself. He didn't seem to mind the cold all that much. The Ronso nursed her first and foremost by helping her drink from the bottle. He then passed out the bottles he'd retrieved and handed Snake his own whereas the others had to share.

"Snake drink." Kimahri ordered. "Potion will stave hypo. . .hypoth. . .death by very cold water."

"Hypothermia." Raiden corrected.

"What Jacky boy said." Kimahri finished with a nod. "Potion also help with bite of frost."

Snake chuckled feverishly at Kimahri's limited grammatical prowess as he fumbled with the potion. At least his muscles were working enough to allow him to properly hold it. From this he was able to realize that he wasn't quite in dire straits. Getting the stupid cork out proved to be somewhat of a problem. Raiden offered to help again, but Snake shooed him away and used his teeth to dislodge the cap instead. He drank the potion. It tasted like someone had put some spiced chai into the black tea. This was the third time he found himself relying on magic and voodoo to help him survive. Then again, there wasn't much else he could do to save himself down here with the medical supplies he had. Without a pair of heavy blankets and a moderately warm room, he'd die. Snake swallowed his pride to allow himself to survive. It wasn't that he hated magic and everything associated with the science. His problem with utilizing it was that he would probably find himself somewhere in the Middle East at some point in the near future fighting the Patriots with nothing more than a tiny medical pack to aid his injuries. It was a good idea for him not to get hooked on the potions and Yuna's healing touch.

The tasty concoction somehow seemed to raise his internal body temperature. More than half of the liquid was still left when he began to feel better. He decided to keep the potion handy until he could dry himself off as he still had wet clothing on. To make sure this drink was really working; he retrieved his M1911 and began taking it apart. Victims suffering from the initial onset of hypothermia typically couldn't perform such complex tasks with their hands. He did them well enough to his satisfaction. Snake put the gun back together and tucked it away in its harness.

Snake made sure everyone was present and accounted for. The only missing member was Ifrit. He probably burnt out the second he hit the water and was now resting in the imaginary medical ward Shiva was also occupying. Snake then assessed their current situation. Without having to look, he knew Solidus had men aiming at them down the scopes of their rifles. The atmosphere was thick with the frigid temperature, making it painful to inhale sharply. Each breath he took let out enough steam to make a Chinese wind dragon jealous. They were lucky to be able to rely on Yuna's potions. So long as they kept drinking them at regular intervals, they wouldn't have to worry about freezing to death. Instead, they would just be incredibly cold. Snake motioned for Raiden to toss him his binoculars and he did so.

The walls of the cave were coated over in ice. Climbing them would be impossible without the proper gear. Even if they could do that, Solidus would be waiting for them when they reached the top. There didn't seem to be any way for them to get back to the bridge. Likewise, there didn't seem to be any way for Solidus to get to them unless he was packing some really long rope. Perhaps this chasm had been included clearly for the sake of design as it had no real value other than being a dump for poor architecture. Snake was sure that he and his band of wandering minstrels would remain trapped until Seymour revived himself and decided what to do with them. When that time came, they would probably all rappel down to them. Snake couldn't think of any other way they could be reached, but he was sure Seymour knew of more than a few.

They would probably be too tired to fight by then. Valefor was a possibility, but with Solidus' men waiting for them any sort of escape would be difficult. Snake smiled grimly. It would take a miracle to get out of this predicament. In the meantime, they would have to concentrate on keeping warm. Snake pulled out his lighter and checked to see if it still worked. A small flame produced itself as he worked the flint. With this, they could indeed start a fire, but not without sacrificing something.

"Raiden, we're going to have to burn our magazines if we want to keep warm." Snake announced.

"We can make a fire?" Rikku asked hopefully. "That would be really nice."

"Or I could just produce an open flame for us to gather around." Lulu said. "Same principle, less work."

"I'm leaning towards Lulu. Her way lets us keep Rio Natsume." Raiden pointed out.

"Who's she?" Rikku asked.

Raiden dug through his bag and tossed Rikku one of his Japanese magazines. He couldn't personally read Japanese that well, but the images therein spoke louder than the words. Rikku flipped through the pages until she got to the centerfold, which popped out of the magazine in front of her in all of its voluptuous glory. Snake took a picture of her initial reaction. Rikku's eyes widened and her bottom lip curled back in intimidation of the chest she was fixated on. She checked her own boobs for comparison and shook her head in denial. The group from Spira took this as a sign of possible entertainment and joined together behind Rikku to get a view of what she was looking at.

"Boobs can get this big?" was all Rikku could say.

"Even bigger." Raiden assured her, putting his hands about ten inches away from his chest to imitate a large rack.

"These things are as big as my head." Rikku said. "She's pretty, but I. . .how could you keep those inside of a shirt?"

"I've seen plenty of groupies, but none of them had such overactive mammaries." Tidus said.

"Must be an Earth thing." Wakka muttered.

While they gawked over the rest of the pictures within the men's magazine, Lulu found a nice circular spot for a fire that would allow everyone to enjoy it without having to stand in the water. She used her magic to produce a toasty blaze. The fiery pop that followed was enough to distract everyone from Japan's premier watermelon market. Soon they were all gaining warmth from the eternal inferno that fed off of Lulu's power instead of flammable material. Snake broke out some rations since now was as good a time as any to have lunch. Yuna found this to be an excellent idea and started passing out food to her teammates. If only they had marshmallows. A roast would improve their spirits. They were a brave bunch and seemed to know what odds they were up against so Snake didn't bother telling them what he already knew.

"I wish Solidus would hurry up and get down here so we can beat him up again." Wakka said with a wistful sigh.

Snake smiled. That was the spirit.

"Hey, Rikku." Wakka called. "I'm sorry about earlier. I thought about it and I don't think it's right that I was so quick to judge you."

"Apology accepted." Rikku said with a wink.

Snake looked up at the bridge so far above them and got out his binoculars to see if he was missing any exciting new developments as the group engaged in some idle banter he didn't want to be a part of. Through the specs he observed Seymour stumbling toward Solidus with the help of two Guado's at his side. His body seemed to be slowly reforming itself from scratch. The pyreflies bustled with activity in regions that were missing or had not become completely solid. So far both of his legs had been reconstructed, but he lacked a right arm and the left side of his face. They barely even regarded one another. Solidus was probably growing apart from Seymour now that he had his own little army to play with. Snake got out the directional microphone and aimed it at them, but Solidus didn't even bother speaking with Seymour, who left the area while Solidus stayed around and fiddled with his cape. Snake studied the man until his attention was shifted to Raiden, who kept tapping him on the shoulder until he was finally acknowledged.

"Hey, is that my watch you're wearing?" Raiden asked.

"No." Snake quickly replied.

Inside, he was tickled pink. Kleptomania was so much fun. It had certainly taken Raiden long enough to get the courage to discuss this topic with him.

"It looks an awful lot like mine."

"Well, it isn't. Shouldn't you be more concerned with other things right now?"

Snake's ear buzzed with a distinctive noise, drowning out Raiden's response. The infernal buzzing noise an incoming transmission made bothered him and he usually couldn't make it go away fast enough. If someone were to keep that up for more than thirty minutes Snake was sure he'd develop an agonizing headache. He pulled out his CODEC device and answered the call. An avatar of Cloud popped up on the image screen. The only effort he made to disguise his appearance was a pair of different shades apart from the brand he usually wore. Then again Cloud wasn't that well known in Spira and could easily get by with his regular appearance so long as he didn't totally mess up. Snake chose to use his nanomachines to communicate with Cloud, which worked by audibly relaying his thoughts without the need to speak. He did this as a precaution against the soldiers watching them.

"Snake, it's me." Cloud said. "I've finished gathering intel on Yevon. I almost didn't have to infiltrate their facilities. They've been pretty open about their new toys and the gossip I heard from the public would have been enough to go on alone, but I did some sneaking just to be sure."

"So what did you find?" Snake asked.

"Nothing you're going to want to hear. They have a Metal Gear. I believe it's the REX model. That's the one that looks like a dinosaur, right?"

"Yeah. It's pretty unmistakable."

"They do not have nuclear missiles, but that hasn't stopped them from decking it out with what they can. Even if they found a nuclear missile, I don't think it would do them much good as Spira doesn't have any satellites."

"That doesn't make any sense given what else I've seen." Snake said.

"I know. However, with the right kind of fuel and correct calculations they can launch a missile fairly far from a stationary position. I saw the specs for the system so you can count on that as being a positive advantage for them. Apparently this isn't enough to satisfy their greed. All three maesters have agreed on a solution to this. They didn't even have to submit it to their congress, but I'm sure you're not interested in Spira's political structure so I'll get to my primary point."

"Complete with the dramatic pause?"

"Indeed."

Cloud paused briefly to collect himself before revealing his most troubling find.

"Yevon wants to see how well their newest investments perform in battle. They're running some top secret tests with REX and their new assault unit on Bikanel Island"

"What?" Snake shouted out loud.

He hadn't forgotten what Rikku told him earlier about Bikanel Island. Aside from being a generic desert it was also the site of Home. If they managed to discover the Al-Bhed's secret base then they would have access to the Predator's wrist computers as well as whatever else the Al-Bhed chose to keep buried along with all the weapons they couldn't understand. Snake found himself torn between asking Cloud to help them get out of the pit they were in or sending him to Bikanel Island to alert the Al-Bhed if he could find them. He chose the later as their lives were nothing when compared to the greater good of Spira. His outburst had attracted the unwanted attention of his companions. He waved them off as if it were nothing and continued talking to Cloud quietly.

"What the hell are they thinking? I was under the impression that they were going to try to use the Metal Gear against Sin!"

"Well, they have to see if it works first, don't they?"

"That's genocide!" Snake shouted incredulously.

"Of course it is. They're even blaming that fiasco at Mi'ihen on the Al-Bhed. None of what they said made any sense to me since I'm immune to propaganda, but a lot of people wouldn't mind if Home was attacked."

"Damn it. Do you think they know about those nuclear detonators?"

"I'm afraid it's common knowledge that the Al-Bhed tend to hide things. If they intend to raid Home, they just might find them."

"Cloud, you'll have to go and warn them before it's too late."

"What about you?"

"I'll be fine. This isn't the time or place to talk about where exactly Home is, but give me a call a little later and I might be able to tell you."

"Okay. For the time being, I'll stow away on the airship being used to ferry the army."

"So they have an airship as well? Rikku isn't going to be happy about this."

"I'll see if I can scuttle it. One more thing. The REX model no longer has a radome, so we'll have to find another way to bring it down. I'll see if I can find anything else while I'm on their airship."

"Don't get yourself caught!" Snake admonished strongly.

"I haven't forgotten what you taught me."

"That's what I'm afraid of. Be careful, okay?"

"Right. I'll be in touch."

Snake gave him a nod and ended the transmission without saying goodbye because that formality wasn't a part of CODEC etiquette. He began feeling very nervous and rubbed the back of his neck in agitation as his leg bobbed up and down. Snake pulled out his binoculars again and scanned every inch of the bridge to make sure nobody had monitoring software pointed at them. If he couldn't talk about this with everyone else, he'd go nuts. This new information might upset them as the pilgrimage would undoubtedly be delayed, but he didn't think anyone would outright disagree with the detour as it was so imperative. Regular troopers went back and forth across the bridge carrying the dead bodies of their comrades and salvaging what equipment they could for confidential purposes. Snipers waved back at him. Solidus hadn't left the area and was giving orders to everyone via nanomachines while obviously plotting his next move. Snake switched the thermal imaging option on and spotted three camouflaged soldiers gathered around something he couldn't see.

They were obviously up to no good. Snake took this as a clear indication that he should be very careful. As usual, his taut mood seemed to leak from him and affect those he spent time around. Their cheerful banter had ended and they were now searching for a way to escape. Of course, there wasn't any. Snake knew that much already. The realization of just how bad a spot they were in slowly invaded their confidence. More soldiers were arriving with crates full of supplies and Yuna instinctively knew that her ability to summon had been compromised, but she didn't dare say that. Snake knew he had to take charge again before a panic started.

"Otacon, give me your notebook." Snake requested.

He tore into his bag and gave Snake the two hundred page notebook.

"And a pencil!" Snake added.

Otacon smiled sheepishly and handed Snake a pencil.

"Everyone huddle up on me and don't say anything I'm about to write out loud. Got it?" Snake ordered.

They all nodded. Snake began searching for a spare sheet of paper as everyone bunched in around him. Before he even had a chance to scribble the first letter of the word he had in mind, they heard a loud wail. Swords and guns were out within mere seconds. The water around them began to ripple rapidly. Something was lurking around in the depths of the bottomless subterranean lake that surrounded them. Another wail came from whatever was in the water as it began to rise to the surface. Sin's head popped out and completely filled the massive area around them. Its lips were inches away from Snake's face. He slowly began to back up as he frantically tried to plot a course of action. Around thirty eyes looked every which way as Sin stood motionless before them while waves of icy water fell off of its gnarled skull.

The Tengu's reacted immediately by shooting at the massive creature, which had already been established as futile, thus marking those who chose to attack it in such as a manner as nothing more than helpless idiots. Sin opened its mouth, revealing absolutely no teeth and one massive black tongue. The stench made Otacon faint. A familiar white light formed in its throat as the whole team felt themselves pulled in by the enormous sucking power Sin was capable of using. This had happened once before. Sin wanted to take them somewhere. Even though this wasn't a taxi service, Snake figured he'd give it a shot.

"Bikanel Island, please! And step on it!" Snake shouted as he felt his consciousness fade.