Hey, everyone. As of right now, I am officially a high school senior! I'm so excited! But anyways, I'm leaving for New York tomorrow morning, so I wanted to get this finished for all of you. Shout outs:

13TheAce: Haha, thanks! I promise I'll do my best to make it something special!

Lucenthia: Thanks a lot! It really is the first time he's been appreciated for something, yeah, and that's what I wanted to show. I definitely will, thanks!

Celeron96: Thanks, man! I do enjoy writing it, there's just several things going on that make the story itself difficult to write. Believe it or not, this is the hardest story I've ever written, and I'm trying a lot of "firsts" with this one. I plan on continuing as scheduled, though.

Shadowdragon1317: Well, he's more powerful now, at least! Thanks, Shadow.

The Unknowing Herald: Well, I'm glad you liked this one better. I only had them praising Marek because he hasn't really ever had people appreciate him before, and it's the start of something big. That makes sense, I'll keep that in mind. Thanks.

TWI1IGHTMAST3R: Thanks, and I understand what you're saying! I haven't either, haha!

Legionary Prime: Yeah, I've never gotten myself to do it, so this was the first time. Thanks, man!

Alright, well I hope you know what I own by now! Here we are, at the return to Outer Heaven!

Chapter 28: Shadow Moses Island

Marek and Bane had barely stepped through the portal when they felt icy wind bite at their bodies. The portal vanished behind them, and Marek realized he couldn't see more than three feet in front of him, so harsh was the blizzard they had arrived in. He closed his eyes and attuned his senses to his darkness, turning his irises yellow. "What are you looking for here?" Bane asked him, even though they could barely hear each other over the howl of the wind.

"A trail." he replied simply. After a few moments of looking, he saw the heat signatures left inside a set of footprints several yards ahead of him. "Over there." he muttered as he walked over to the footprints and began following them.

They followed the trail, discovering a few destroyed Gecko along the way, but after a little while of traversing the mountainous path, they arrived at what appeared to be an abandoned base. "Shadow Moses Island…" Bane spoke aloud. Marek raised his eyebrows and turned to him.

"How do you know where we are?" he asked him warily. Bane didn't even look at him, he just continued walking forward.

"I know a few of the old tunnels that lead inside. I will scout ahead and meet up with you later. I have some killing to do." he replied before darting off.

"What?!" Marek called after him, but Bane ignored him and ran out of sight. He sighed and looked out at the base. "Shadow Moses…Island?" he murmured to himself. (The Best is Yet to Come, MGS4 version)

He reached a landing pad of some kind and walked up the stairs onto it. He cautiously eyed his surroundings as he walked to the center of the pad and picked something up. It looked to be the casing of some kind of shock grenade. He stared at it for a few seconds and looked up toward the bay doors ahead of him, which were open a few feet. He silently drew his dagger and walked toward them, his hand at the ready to summon his Keyblade.

He came up beside the opening and peered inside. "What?!" he whispered in disbelief. Shadow Heartless were patrolling the hangar, something which shocked him. "But Darkness is gone…." he whispered. He saw a group of them glance in his direction, so he quickly drew his head back and considered his options. Obviously, one expected him to simply charge in and fight his way through, but then he thought about something else: Snake must be somewhere inside. "If I alert everything in the base, I could blow his cover. Ah, dammit, why can't things ever be simple?" he thought. He rolled his eyes as he moved around outside, looking for another entrance.

He fly over it, but he wasn't sure if they were watching the skies. He could try going in via the dark portals, but he could end up in a room surrounded by enemies. No, he had to be smart about it this time. He couldn't just be reckless.

After searching for a few more minutes, he found a ventilation shaft built into the side of the entrance. The ground around the duct had almost no show on it, as if something had moved it or something. "Snake, you're getting lazy, old man. I've already figured out which way you went in." he whispered with a smile as he readied to go inside. But then he realized that he had clunky armor on that would make a huge amount of noise going through there. Reluctantly, he dismissed his armor just as he had his helmet when they arrived, leaving him in his normal clothes: an armored but smooth black shirt with a hood, similar to the one worn by his nephew during the war against Lorans, not that he knew. He was also wearing fitted gray pants and black combat boots. It wasn't exactly sneaking attire, but it would do better than his Keyblade armor.

With that, he got down on his stomach and slowly began making his way through the cramped vent shaft. Occasionally, he would pass a shaded vent cover that gave him a glance inside the hangar, which the Heartless were still patrolling. But, his muscles weren't used to this kind of exercise, and so after about fifteen minutes of traversing the shaft, he began to ache. "Oh sure, take a page out of Snake's book. Smart one, Dumbass…" he muttered to himself as he finally reached a vent that opened up in a side room with no Heartless. He let out a happy sigh as he stood up and stretched. (end The Best is Yet to Come)

MEANWHILE, ECLIPSE'S BASE IN THE CROSSROADS….

"So you have found Corruption…" the hooded man spoke from the shadows of their meeting room. He was sitting in a chair at the end of a long table, while Eclipse stood by the opposite end.

"Yes, sir. He and I….are of one mind. He is willing to go along with our plans so long as it means the destruction of Light and Darkness." he answered. The hooded man chuckled.

"Good. Light has fled before the power of his former host, that warrior Jack Rikkison. Darkness lies defeated and all but destroyed. Even now, he barely maintains enough power to bring back the Heartless and corrupt one or two individuals at a time." he commented. Eclipse nodded.

"We have already converted the Heartless' loyalties. They belong to us and our allies." he informed him. The hooded man grunted.

"Yes, our allies. A list which continues to grow shorter. The dark Rikkison must come under our control, but in order to achieve that, you must force him to embrace the darkness once more." he ordered as he leaned back in his chair. Eclipse said nothing, his visor hiding his expression as he turned toward the door.

"I'm getting tired of your orders, and I don't care how much you're paying me. You promised me Marek's head. I want to kill him, not make him an ally." he coldly stated.

"Do not forget who saved you. Do not forget who gave you power. The strength you have that can surpass that of Marek Rikkison came from me, and me alone. Or have you forgotten what happened when you clashed with him during your time working for Xehanort's Organization?" the hooded man dangerously spoke as he stood up. He suddenly looked towards the ceiling. "I must go. Dawnomar is getting more suspicious by the day. Do as I have commanded you. Deal with your father and guide Marek to his chosen place. Fail, and you are of no use to me, Drennan." he warned him coldly. Without another word, he disappeared without even using a portal.

Eclipse grunted as he walked out the door behind him. "You think you're freaking invincible, don't you. Well, soon you'll see different…" he muttered.

SHADOW MOSES ISLAND….

Marek had made his way down into a large room with a massive set of double doors. He had just begun walking toward them when he heard doors open from the stairs to his left. He ducked behind a crate in time to see a Gecko walk out and scan the area. He watched it slowly turn to go back the way it came, and breathed a sigh of relief until he heard a loud growl. He looked over only to see Bane leap across the room, darkness trailing behind him. The dark canine easily leaped up on top of the robot and thrust his claws into its head. The Gecko let out a 'moo' of pain and spun around, throwing him off. Bane growled furiously as he rolled through the air and hit the wall with his feet.

"Dammit…" Marek muttered as he leaped out from his hiding place and drew his weapons. The Gecko let out another loud moo that set off the alarms. He couldn't help but glare at Bane as Heartless began pouring in from every entrance. The dog didn't even look at him before he lunged forward again, slashing at the Gecko's feet. Marek swung wide and slashed two Heartless in half before leaping up into the air. He let go of his Keyblade and reached to his belt, pulling out three of his throwing knives and flinging them at the robot as it went to stomp on Bane. One of the knives cut through its foot and pinned it the wall. Bane wasted no time in jumping back onto its head and ripping into its brain with his jaws. After slashing through it and making an opening, he dove inside. The Gecko went berserk and began running around the room, stomping on multiple Heartless. Marek stepped away from them and watched it come for him. He readied his weapons, but a second before it would have reached him, its head popped off and it fell to the ground as Bane landed in front of him. He let out a snarl that spewed darkness in every direction and killed the remaining Heartless.

"What's gotten into you?!" Marek immediately snapped at him. Bane turned and looked at him.

"Nothing, except what you put there." he replied with a lot of sassiness for a talking dog.

"My friend is in here somewhere, and you might have just given away his presence!" he argued angrily as he walked toward the double doors at the end of the room.

"Do not tell me what to do when you know nothing of what I have been through." Bane stated calmly as he walked through the doors first. Marek sighed and shook his head as they walked into a massive room filled with destroyed machinery.

But as Marek looked around the room at all the broken machines, he noticed something in the center of the room. At the center of the room was a hulking monster of a machine, fashioned after a bipedal Tyrannosaurus Rex. He wasn't alone in here, either.

"The rail gun's gone!" he heard Otacon's voice exclaim.

"They were ready for us…" Snake's voice muttered.

"Someone conned a snake, eh?" he called out as he came into view of them. Snake immediately whirled around, holding up a machine gun of some sort and staring at him.

"Marek? What do you want….." he said after lowering his gun. He looked down at Bane in both surprise and curiosity.

"What?" Marek asked him, seeing the look on his face. Snake smiled slightly before turning back to the big machine in front of him.

"Figured you for a cat person, considering you don't seem to like companionship." he replied as he walked back to the tiny robot at the foot of the machine, Otacon's face showing on a little screen attached to it.

"Says the guy who spends all his days infiltrating secret places with a robot small enough to fit in your man-purse." Marek retorted as he walked over. "So what are you trying to accomplish here?" he asked. Otacon's robot turned and looked at him.

"Liquid and Vamp came here to take the rail gun from Rex, the Metal Gear we're looking at. We're too late, they've already taken it." he explained.

"Dammit, Otacon! Where is it?!" Snake yelled angrily.

"Safely out of your reach, old man." said another voice from above them. They all looked up to see Vamp standing in a doorway far above them, Naomi standing by his side.

"Vamp!" Snake yelled. Vamp smirked as he jumped down and landed facing them. (Sin, Metal Gear Solid 4)

"It ends here….Solid Snake." he announced as he drew his knife and stared at them. Otacon's robot moved over to Rex and started plugging wires into it. At the same time, more Heartless started coming out of doors behind them.

"Bane, take the Heartless!" Marek ordered, flashing his weapons as Snake loaded his gun. Bane whirled around and lunged into the black horde.

"I'll get Rex, you two take Vamp! Get Naomi back, Snake, please!" Otacon yelled. With a grunt, Vamp charged. Snake let loose a barrage of bullets, many hitting their mark, but the seemingly immortal man barely flinched. He swung at Snake, who rolled to the side and shot him in the leg as he got back up. Vamp leaped over to him as Marek charged, but not quick enough to stop him from kicking Snake across the face with his spiked boots. Snake let out a groan as he fell onto his back.

Vamp turned his attention to the Keyblader. "Why does it matter to you what happens to the fate of this world? We have already received aid from one far more powerful, the one who gave us these…..Heartless, you called them? It matters not. You cannot kill me, thus this will only end one way." he muttered as he reached to his sleeve and threw a handful of knives at him.

Marek silently threw his hand forward and incinerated them with a blast of dark flame. He then calmly paced back and forth, staring at Vamp and twirling his weapons. "You don't know me very well, do you? I've been told that I don't think before I act. That I'm a reckless maverick. But the funny thing is, that's mostly true. But at the same time, being reckless makes me unpredictable. Don't underestimate me." he calmly stated. Vamp frowned at him and charged. They clashed daggers in a quick flurry of blows, but the other man managed to evade every one of his Keyblade strikes by either bending inhumanely or simply blocking them. They stared at each other for a second, but then Vamp punched him in the face and knocked him off balance.

Immediately, he whirled around to reengage Snake, who had switched to his pistol. The first chance he got, he threw a syringe over to Marek. "His body's nanomachines cause him to heal at an accelerated rate! That's why he seems immortal! Inject him with that, and we take away his healing!" he yelled. Marek caught it and nodded as Snake pulled out a second one. Snake shot a few bullets at Vamp, who weaved through around them until he got right in Snake's face. He pulled back his dagger, ready to plunge it through him, but Snake smirked as he placed the barrel of his gun right between the other man's eyes and shot.

Vamp let out an echoing yell and flew onto his back. He snarled as he jumped back to his feet, the wound closing up in seconds. He narrowed his eyes at Snake, but gasped as Marek's Keyblade slashed him in the back a moment later. The Keyblader followed that by driving his dagger straight into his back. Vamp whirled around to attack him, but Marek pulled it out and jumped backwards. Before Vamp could do anything else, Snake got him in a chokehold and jammed the syringe into his neck, Marek following suit not even a moment later. (end Sin)

"What have you done to me?" Vamp asked quietly as they pulled them out and stepped back from him.

"Now you're a mere mortal like the rest of us." Snake told him with a smirk. A moment later, Bane reappeared at Marek's side with a triumphant nod. Vamp laughed quietly as he stared at them.

"Impressive. But can you kill this mere mortal?" he asked them. Before Marek could answer, they heard several large explosions.

"Suicide Gecko! They're going to detonate the base!" Otacon yelled as a dozen Gecko smashed their way into the room. Marek shot down one with a bolt of dark lightning, but before he could even aim another one, they were on top of all of them.

That was when something dashed past him and swung three swift times, cutting all of them in half. (White Blood, Metal Gear Solid 4)

That something landed next to Snake with his sword at the ready. "Snake, sorry to have kept you all waiting." he said quietly. Snake turned and looked at him.

"Raiden…." he began, but the cyborg ninja nodded.

"Sunny gave me the go-ahead." he answered. He then turned to Vamp and held his sword toward him, who just laughed.

"Well, how about it, undying man? Care to die too?" he asked. Raiden narrowed his eyes as he leaped up to the top of Rex and stared at him.

"Sorry, but I can't die just yet." he replied.

On the ground, Snake, Marek, and Bane watched as more Heartless and suicide Gecko stormed into the room. "Otacon, get this thing working." Snake told the robot, motioning to Rex. The robot nodded and got to work on getting it started.

"Bane and I can handle the Heartless. I've got your back." Marek told him as he walked over to the area behind Rex in order to stop anything from coming up behind Snake. Bane stood guard at the front while Snake hefted a massive rail gun onto his shoulder in order to combat the Gecko.

On top of Rex, Raiden and Vamp were already fighting. Raiden swung toward Vamp's midsection, but the other man spun to the side and stabbed him in the chest. The cyborg grunted as he grasped the other man's wrist and flung him over his shoulder, where he landed on the ground. Raiden then wasted no time as he ripped the knife out of him and thrust it into Vamp's stomach. Vamp kicked upward and knocked him back before getting back on his feet. Raiden swung downward, and Vamp caught it under his foot and ran up it, kicking him in the face. Raiden managed to back flip back to his feet and drew his dagger, attaching it the groove under his heel and leaping up, spinning around like a hurricane with his dagger stretched outward and slashing Vamp across the chest countless times.

Vamp snarled and swung forward, but Raiden ducked under his arm and slashed him as he passed. Before Vamp could turn around, he drew his second dagger and stabbed him in the back up to the hilt. The other man stumbled forward before back-flipping and landing behind him. He drew two of his throwing knives and grabbed onto Raiden's arms, stabbing them into his wrists and pinning them to his back. The cyborg turned around to look at him, his arms trapped behind his head. Vamp smiled as he slowly went and picked up Raiden's fallen sword and readied it. He stepped forward to stab him, but Raiden flipped to the side, wrenching his arms free and pulling out both knives. He ran up, ducking under his own sword, and reached up, stabbing the knives into each side of Vamp's neck before kicking him in the stomach. Vamp groaned and fell back a few feet, dropping Raiden's sword, who caught it before he hit the ground.

He stared out at Vamp, who was gasping for breath and struggling to stand. "Kill me…." he murmured. Raiden let out a yell as he slashed him across the upper body one final time. (end White Blood)

Snake finished off the last Suicide Gecko just as Vamp fell off of Rex and hit the ground behind him. Marek yelled as he cut down the final Heartless and walked over to him, Bane doing the same. They looked up to Raiden, who swung his sword once to wipe the blood off, and nodded to them.

At that moment, Naomi walked up to them with sadness in her eyes. "He is one of my sins. I am responsible for Vamp becoming what he is. The nanomachines that have kept him alive….also keep me from death." she began. Otacon's robot looked up at her.

"What are you saying?!" he exclaimed. She smiled slightly at him and turned to Snake.

"It's up to you now, Snake. I am sorry….for everything. I know I caused Liquid to become what he is, merged with Ocelot. It is my fault that the Patriots have grown as powerful as they have. I can never atone for those crimes, but this….will be my penance." she told him calmly.

"Naomi!" Otacon yelled as the robot dashed toward her. Snake grabbed one of its legs and pulled it away as Naomi pulled out a syringe of her own and stabbed herself in the neck with it.

"Otacon, get Rex online! We have to get out of here!" Snake yelled. Otacon was crying, but could do nothing else as Snake threw the robot into the cockpit of the Metal Gear. "Everyone inside!" he yelled as he went and stepped in. Raiden and Marek perched themselves on the sides while Bane leaped on top of the head, digging his claws into the metal to hold himself on. Suicide Gecko and Heartless began pouring in again, this time too many to handle.

As the massive walking weapon tore off down toward the exit, smashing a path as it went, Naomi fell to the floor with tears in her eyes. "Forgive me, Snake. Defeat Liquid, and the ones he is working with. They have no place…..in this world." she whispered.

Well, that's the end of that chapter. We'll be in Outer Heaven for two more chapters. Yes, I changed the bit with Naomi because by adding in the plot with Snake's Foxdie and whatnot, along with all the history between her and Snake that I couldn't show without having a SUPER long flashback, I couldn't put it in. Sorry. Anyways, I hope the trip to Shadow Moses was still nice and a little comical at times, because it was supposed to be. More info about Bane's history with the world and the assault on Outer Haven will be coming up next! Now, I'm off to New York for the week. See ya later, everyone!