Author's Note: A little reply to the latest reviewer.

alx: I've not only seen it; I've played and beaten MGS4. But in my defense (remember, this is not Canon!Gendo, but NobodyDies!Gendo):

1) Snake had just encountered T!Rei TWICE in the same day. The latter of which involved the stuffed Sachiel in her closet. He's understandably weirded out.

2) This is the same Gendo Ikari that fought President Stephen Colbert - aka Phantom Bear, who not only learned from Big Boss alongside Snake, but is also Snake's equal in many ways (particularly combat prowess; though they do have some differences. For example, Snake is rough and rugged, Bear is suave and smooth, and so on) - to a double KO. After having thrashed a number of security guards at a UN function just minutes beforehand (so Gendo had a technical disadvantage!).

3) I don't care who you are. A door SLAMMED to the face will daze you. Following that up with a liver blow, a knee to the groin, AND an uppercut to the chin will also throw you for a loop (anyone who's watched boxing knows that grazing the chin will cause your legs to wobble if enough force is behind the fist). Then a head to the nose, another liver blow, and punches to the temples? Even Snake would be delirious.

4) Now, I will grant you that Snake would recover from the above in several seconds, because he's hardcore. Unfortunately, a quick recovery time means jack if you're thrown out a window before you can recover.

So yeah.

In a one on one, normal combat operation, Snake would wipe the floor with Gendo. However, Gendo never lets it get to the point of it being a fair fight. This is a man who, despite being in his fifties, is in top physical shape, an expert manipulator/battlefield adjuster and a sniper who can hit something the size of a grapefruit through the minuscule cracks of a giant robot's armor (see chapter 38 of Nobody Dies).

Who also, remember, is an accomplished bar brawler. The main reason he took Snake down is that he led in with a door to the face and a headbutt. Once forehead meets nose, your vision and equilibrium go and you basically go from expert special ops to whipping boy.

Gendo can only win in a fight because he cheats. And he cheated better than Snake in that instance.

You're out of your mind though if you think this is the last Snake's seen of Gendo. THERE SHALL BE A REMATCH. And stuff.

xxxx

Metal Gear EVA #0-14: "Fear"

xx

Solid Snake quickly reached up to his ear.

*BEEP BEEP*

"Otacon, this is Snake. Do you read me?"

No response.

*BEEP BEEP*

"Colonel, come in!"

Nothing.

"My price for getting you into NERV is your Codec." Snake's face snapped up, looking at Kei's impassive face. "NERV has the means of tracking you; ergo, so does Ocelot. There is a secondary reason which I will reveal once we depart."

Snake scowled at what this entailed. Practically alone in a hostile territory. "I've spoken with someone in NERV. Called himself the 'Inspector'. He said that the Commander knows I'm here."

Kei was silent.

Then she smiled. "So the Commander has also attempted to contact you."

Snake arched an eyebrow.

The smile vanished. "This is good; he's acknowledged Ocelot as a threat...but the lack of a major response otherwise indicates the strength of Ocelot's position. Things are getting rather hectic at NERV now; we have to tread lightly, because we don't know how many personnel Ocelot has on his side."

"...and what about REEHOUND?"

"They are..." Kei twitched. "Excited by these events. Their concerns are somewhat different compared to most."

"I gathered."

"Being the youngest, I've gone on a path different from my kin...and Little Mo-I mean, Dr. Ikari is someone I look up to." Despite some grievances. Yes. "With that in mind, Ocelot's interference at NERV is somewhat problematic, despite what he has taught us." So many useful things.

Snake looked warily at Eldritch Enigma as he began to re-equip. "What exactly made you want to help me?"

"I was a willing assistant to Ocelot. After all, he has given me the means to escape my virtual imprisonment." Something she REALLY appreciated. "But the means of constructing these bodies is now mine. And further information I've since discovered has induced me to assist you."

"Why?"

"Because continuing to assist Ocelot would result in NERV's destruction. And most likely the continued destruction of the rest of the world. Needless to say, Dr. Ikari would be negatively-affected by such an event."

Snake grumbled as he holstered his Colt Anaconda, Ruger, and Beretta. "Which involves what?"

"Ocelot has been doing intensive research into Angelic biology, all the while sating the Commander with various weapons and enhancements for the Evangelions derived from Project Metal Gear. I've discovered what his ultimate plan regarding the simulation bodies are."

Snake really hoped his suit was recording this.

"Ocelot aims to fully synchronize me and my sisters with a single simulation body. It will provide him the means to operate an Evangelion without actually finding a suitable Pilot; a remote-controlled Evangelion. Enhanced with Metal Gear, it'll be a formidable war machine, more powerful than any Evangelion we have. What his aims are after the destruction of NERV...are still uncertain. But it involves the destruction of myself and my sisters, so such a development runs counter to my interests."

It certainly sounded like something Ocelot would cook up. The thought of a Metal Gear EVA...it brought chills down his spine. No army on Earth would be able to stand against it. Then he thought of her initial claim regarding Dr. Ikari. "So...self-preservation, huh?"

Kei shot Snake a deadpan look. "Self-preservation drives all life, does it not? At least I have relatively good ulterior reasons."

True. "Haven't you told anyone else?"

"Any contact with NERV's more important officials is monitored heavily. And I am concerned that my sisters will let Ocelot know I've discovered his plan. They still think this is all part of some game, the fools."

Snake grumbled. "Feh..." There was something offsetting about this girl. Then again, a lot of things about the Ree in general were offsetting. At least he could hold a conversation with this one. That is, without his stomach doing back flips. It didn't help that was essentially walking blind into an unknown situation. What else is new? "Let's go."

Kei nodded as she pressed a hidden switch in the wall, revealing a well-lit elevator. "Although the NERV safehouses serve primarily as a shelter from an Angel attack, a large portion of them connect directly to the base inside the Geofront, in case there needs to be an emergency evacuation. This will take us directly into the base."

"..." Snake warily walked into the elevator beside Kei. The girl quietly passed a few combinations of buttons before the doors closed, zooming downward.

That's when the lights flickered, revealing Rei Ayanami standing in the corner. Waving.

Snake flinched as she suddenly vanished, the lights no longer flickering. "...what the..."

"My second reason as for removing your Codec is to remove a potential vector for Psycho Mantis to act beyond NERV."

In all honesty, Snake's neck was doing a marvelous job not snapping, given how quickly his head spun. "...did you just say-?"

"Despite your efforts to the contrary, former FOXHOUND member Psycho Mantis was not killed. Ocelot has managed to keep him alive in the years since you last met; his brain now serves as the basis for an isolated MAGI unit, a living supercomputer without peer." Kei's red eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "However, there has been a rather unfortunate side-effect to this: his psychic powers have grown more and more powerful, to the point he can transmit his psychic powers over communication networks via the MAGI."

That was one of the less pleasant things Snake had heard today.

"Once this was discovered, the Commander decided to block all communications, save for local purposes. This has managed to isolate Mantis...for the time being. But we cannot keep communications down forever...that's why I had to act quickly."

"...I see."

Kei glanced at Snake as the elevator began to slow. "Be careful. Mantis's psychic powers have grown so powerful that his mere presence is subjecting personnel to various illusions and hallucinations. You may be affected without warning."

"..." Snake could only sigh. Too old for this crap. "Let's just hurry and get this over with. The sooner we stop Ocelot, the better."

Kei nodded as the elevator slowed to a stop. "Indeed."

Ding.

The doors opened.

A flash of light.

Snake found himself alone. In a well-lit hallway.

With a river of blood flowing quietly along the ceiling.

Snake grimaced at the pungent smell. "...this just keeps getting better and better."

"Sure doo~oooes."

Snake looked up, seeing Rei Ayanami's face peering out of the river of blood. Except she had seven eyes and was leaping at him oh SHI-!

A flash.

Snake was inside a hallway in NERV, looking up at the ceiling. Kei was staring at him expectantly. "Let's go."

The special ops agent grumbled as he resisted the urge to shiver. "Yeah..."

xxxx

To be continued...

xxxx

Author's Note: In case you haven't been able to tell, I played F.E.A.R. for the first time about a month-and-a-half ago when I initially wrote this part. Fun times. :3