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 34: Mr. X Vs. Snake…
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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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(Arsenal-Gear…)
Metal-Gear-RAY suddenly jumps from an Airlock and into the Arsenal-Gear below the Big-Shell facility. The massive metallic beast screeching loudly as it surfaces before lowering and placing the Harrier down onto the ground. Moving backwards, the beast then attaches to a charging station and powers down, the hatch for it's own controls opening and Naruto flipping out to land in a low crouch beside the harrier.
"You were wise to come to me Null. I had no idea the Patriots were so vile that they would stoop to use a man's daughter as a bargaining chip." Solidus notes while coming out of the remains of the Harrier a hand over his now bloody and missing eye while Naruto scoffs while crossing his arms over his chest.
"The Patriots are vile, sickening, and disgusting. They have no morals, nor do they value human life. All they value is power, and control." Naruto states flatly and Solidus nods his head while walking over to the young man.
"Have you checked that suit of yours for any of their tricks? Or the Metal-Gear for that matter?" Solidus then questions and Naruto nodds his head to the man silently.
"Sasaki is our chief in terms of Computers. He was able to find and remove all listening device, transmitters, and any other bugs from my suit, Olga's Armor, and the Metal-Gear's cock-pit in a manner of hours." Naruto offers and Solidus nods his head, smirking slightly before crossing his arms and motioning for Naruto to follow him.
"Do you even have the location of your daughter?" The older man then questions and Naruto hums in thought.
"Ocelot alluded to her being held in Area-51. Also alluded to her being used as some kind of experimental Next-Generation Genome Soldier." Naruto offers and sees Solidus snarl in response.
"I've done things that would make criminals look at me with disgust… but that makes even ME disgusted." Solidus grumbles before grunting and rubbing his missing eye. "Why did Ocelot even say anything? Undoubtedly he's under orders not to tell you anything about her location… unless it's for some form of trap." Solidus wonders and Naruto hums in thought for a few moments.
"In my own opinion sir, Ocelot is acting very… out of character lately. His mannerisms are switching at random. At times I see Ocelot, at others I see someone else. I'm beginning to believe that he may be under another's influences." Naruto offers and Solidus frowns while cupping his chin and rubbing his bearded face.
"Perhaps… Liquid?" He wonders mostly to himself and Naruto grunts.
"Possible. Ocelot is the Son of The Sorrow, a Spiritualist Medium like myself. Some of his father's gifts may have been passed on to him. And we all know that Liquid somehow took control of him during the Tanker Incident. However, Liquid has no reason to want me to have my daughter back, nor to help me in any way. So that begs the question of why he would help me, what would he gain from it?" Naruto offers and Solidus frowns in thought, closing his single eye for a moment.
"Possibly taking a weapon away from the Patriots is worth the effort. Or maybe he wants you to go to them and get killed trying to save her…" Solidus muses to himself, easily able to figure out Liquid's mind as they are very alike. "In either case that isn't important. What IS important is ensuring that The Patriots plot, whatever the hell it is, is a failure, and that your daughter is returned to you." Solidus states and Naruto frowns slightly while walking beside of the man.
"I have figured out a little of their plan from the layout of the Big-Shell and the people they recruited for it's takeover. In my own opinion sir, we are for all intents and purposes, reenacting Shadow Moses. Thus either Olga or myself are supposed to mimic Gray-Fox, thus you would be Big-Boss or Liquid and be the one to end one of us as the grand finale of sorts. Unfortunately that will not be very safe for any of us. Nor would it be prudent for the protection of my daughter. I would advise discretion for the moment, sir. While we must play along with the Patriots for now, we should also wait for an opportune moment to strike." Naruto offers while rubbing his chin lightly and Solidus chuckles to himself.
"True. But if that is what the Patriots want, then I'll make sure it doesn't come to pass. You and Olga, while the woman is rowdy, have been excellent soldiers to fight beside. You in particular have proven yourself to be silent, efficient, and deadly. A true Ninja to the end." Solidus notes before grunting and rubbing his missing eye once more. "Damn eye…" He growls out and Naruto hums before reaching to one of his pouches and removes a familiar black eye-patch…
"If you wish to be Big-Boss, Sir… perhaps having his Eye-Patch will make you feel closer to him…" Naruto offers while holding the object towards Solidus, the man looking at it and halting.
"Something that belonged to Big-Boss… passed on to me. His son… and his perfected clone." He muses before taking the object, and holding it strangely, as if the item was sacred, then ties it over his left eye and takes a deep breath. "Fitting." He muses to himself before Naruto then looks down at the SAA still holstered at his side and narrows his eyes.
"We all carry things passed to us from our fathers and our mothers… whether they be physical, spiritual, genetic, or mental is for the person to decide." Naruto whispers before turning to Solidus and both turn towards the exit from the Metal-Gear Hangar and both see Johnny make his way to them.
"Sirs!" He says with a quick salute to his superiors and Solidus waves him off.
"No need. I've heard of your skills from Null, Sasaki. I must say that I'm truly impressed." Solidus states and Johnny cant help it as he chuckles nervously.
"T-thank you sir! Nobody but the Commander ever really noticed my skills before…" Johnny states with a lowered tone at the end and Solidus chuckles lightly before patting the man on the shoulder.
"Not surprising given how you act." He notes and Johnny groans while Naruto follows them both further into Arsenal-Gear. "But enough pleasantries. I need to know if you've located and disposed of the Patriots Spy devices as ordered?" Solidus then questions and Johnny instantly turned stone serious.
"Sir! I've located a large quantity throughout Arsenal-Gear. However, I was only able to remove them from approximately five rooms thus far. Anymore would take me nearly a week to do properly." Johnny offers and Solidus frowns as a result.
"Troubling. They really don't want this weapon in our hands…" Solidus notes and Naruto rolls his eyes.
"Or they wish to know our next move to relay it to the, Gaki." Naruto offers and Solidus shakes his head with a visible frown.
"Not their style. Which would mean that more than likely the devices are for Ocelot's use instead…" Solidus notes and Naruto hums in thought. "Speaking of which, do you think having Ocelot give Fortune the idea to steal Arsenal should be stopped?" Solidus questions and Naruto rubs his chin for a moment.
"No. Any sort of massive changes to our original plan at this current time will be looked at with scrutiny. I was only willing to come to you with my current knowledge due to a form of desperation on my part as I realized either myself or Olga were going to die here. Although I cannot feel emotion… I… I still feel as though I must protect my daughter and Olga at any and all costs." Nartuto explains and Solidus raises a brow for a moment before shrugging that odd comment off.
"Looking out for your own I'd suppose…" Solidus notes and Naruto merely nods his head while Sasaki scratches his.
"Uh… But I thought the Commander had no feelings?" He questioned and Solidus grunts in response before glaring at the man.
"That's not exactly true Sasaki. While Null can't FEEL them, he still has emotions. His PTSD merely blocked them all in order to deal with the stress he felt that originally gave it to him. It's possible that subconsciously, his emotions are driving him to protect his daughter as a form of Fatherly Love and the same with Olga in a form of real love for his lover, while consciously, he's still as emotionless as ever." Solidus explains to the man and Naruto twitches.
"I'm still here you know…" He reminds and Solidus chuckles to himself while leading the two men into a room, Johnny giving a thumbs up to say that it was clear of any listening devices.
"Alright. Null I want to know everything you know about the Patriots, Sasaki, I want you to tell me what you've gleamed on Area-51. Things are going to get nasty if we don't plan this out properly so don't spare any details." Solidus orders and both men nod to the clone of Big Boss instantly before relaying what information they each had to him…
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(With Snake…)
The brown haired man silently watches as Otacon looks over the system of Arsenal-Gear, also keeping in touch with Raiden as he makes his way through the Shell-2 Core. The bleached blond had already met with the President, learning about the Patriots as he did, he'd also learned he was going to have to find Emma Emerich if he was going to be able to stop Arsenal-Gear. Somewhat ironic, and somewhat disturbing, Snake saw this as a near identical situation as the one with Otacon and REX… although, he wondered how Raiden had taken that blood sucking freak Vamp down so easily…
"I still can't believe you never told me you had a little Sister, Otacon…" Snake comments with a frown on his face, thinking of all the times she could have been hurt to get at Otacon, while also smoking a Cig with his arms crossed and cracked his neck.
"What's worse is it looks like she's still afraid of water…" Otacon mentions while getting off his Codec and sighing. "E.E. and Raiden are both in a partly flooded area of the Shell-2 Core. I can finish looking over Arsenal for now Snake, you should head over to the Shell-1 Shell-2 Over water Connection Bridge and see if you can help Raiden in any way." Otacon says and Snake frowns while rubbing his chin for a few moments.
"You sure you won't need my help, Otacon?" The man asks and the glasses wearing man nods his head with a serious expression.
"Don't worry Snake, I can handle this. Right now, Raiden and E.E. both need your help more than I do." Otacon reminds and Snake nods his head to the man, both bumping fists before Snake makes his way out of the Shell-1 Core, up the stairs and passed several guards while making his way to Strut-E. Making his way down a flight of stairs to a corridor, Snake then journeyed down to a door. However before he can reach the door, the man curses and takes a quick step back as a sword comes down nearly on his head, making him mentally growl.
'Ugh… this is going to be a problem…' Snake thinks to himself taking another step back and aiming his USP at the person who tried to cut him in half. However, he then blinks when he sees that the person is in a Powered-Exoskeleton with a familiar red and blue-gray pattern… 'Now this certainly seems familiar…' Snake thinks as he can imagine seeing himself aiming his weapon as this new Ninja, looking nearly identical to his meeting with Gray-Fox during Shadow Moses…
"Who are you?" Snake demands with a frown and Olga turns her head to the man, wearing her armor mostly to hide her form from the man, and the extra strength and other enhancements don't hurt either…
"I am like you. I have no name." Olga states simply with her synthesized Russian accented male voice and Snake rolls his eyes, wondering why Ninja like saying that rather annoying phrase when he DID have a fucking name…
"Then what the hell do you want? Encase you hadn't noticed, I'm kind of in the middle of something." Snake demands then grumbles, Olga cracking her neck and crouching down, twirling her HF-Blade around once in hands to hold the blunt side of the blade along one of her shoulders.
"Your head would do nicely!" Olga growls out while leaning back slightly and Snake grits his teeth, recognizing that stance instantly.
"Ah shit, here we go again!" He says to himself as Olga lunges forward, swinging her sword at him and he leans back in order to evade, ending up rolling backwards and firing his USP at the disguised woman. Olga smirked to herself as she easily knocked the bullets away from herself with her HF-Blade and then lunged at Snake, swinging the razor sharp sword at him again. Cursing and rolling to the Side Snake evades the blade and nearly slams into the side of the narrow passage they are in. 'This really complicates things…' Snake notes while quickly holstering his USP and lunging at Olga, knocking her back with a quick right hook to her helmeted head.
Shaking her head to clear the brief flash from the impact, Olga quickly lunges at Snake once more, swinging her HF-Blade at the man yet again. However, this time Snake smirks as he ducks under her swing then reaches up to grab her arm. Growling, the brown haired man then throws her over his shoulder and into the wall that was behind him. Grunting in pain, Olga pushes herself back then turns around, lunging at Snake once more, holding her Blade with a reverse grip and swinging it at his neck. Ducking low and cursing, Snake then raises both of his hands up into a Double Uppercut and plows them into the woman's stomach, lifting her off the ground from the force of the attack.
Quickly lowering his arms afterwards, Snake then twists into a kick to Olga's stomach, knocking her back slightly before he kicks out once more, sending her flying back and into the same wall as before. Grunting in pain and grasping her stomach as she falls to her knees, Olga groans out before slowly rising into a kneeling position. Panting heavily, the gray haired woman then rises back to her feet and looks towards Snake with a fierce glare behind her helmet. Smirking, Snake slowly cracks his neck and knuckles while watching the armored woman.
"C'mon wannabe, you know how to fight like a real warrior don't you?" Snake quips while slowly rising up to his feet, Olga growling in her throat before twirling her sword in hand and then sheathing it onto her back.
"Yes. And I'll still have your head, even if I have to RIP it off with my bare hands!' Olga states darkly before lunging at Snake with a roundhouse kick at his head. Ducking down Snake then quickly swings his leg, knocking Olga onto her back. Both quickly flip back to their feet at this, Snake then lashing out with a punch, only for Olga to dodge and push Snake backward with a quick jab to the sternum. Cursing, the brown haired man barely avoids smashing his head into a wall by catching himself with his arms and then pushes himself back up onto his feet in time to avoid another kick from Olga.
'This is bad… there's not enough room for me to maneuver for a proper fight, and this Ninja has the advantage in terms of maneuverability. However… we seem to be almost matched evenly in terms of raw strength, meaning whoever is in that Exoskeleton is much smaller than he appears… and he really wants my head…' Snake thinks while his eyes narrow on Olga as she takes another fighting stance. Clenching his fists Snake suddenly lunges at Olga, quickly ducking into a roll to knock her off her feet before then twisting and knocking her off of the ground and towards the stairs beside her.
Hitting the stairs with a grunt, Olga flips onto her feet and then turns around to face Snake. Growling, the woman crouches back before launching herself forward and jumps into a flying roundhouse. Cursing as she does so, Snake rolls to the side to avoid the kick, Olga flipping off the wall behind him to land in a crouch before then twisting her body up into the air once more. This time, she plants a firm roundhouse to the side of Snake's head, causing him to stumble back for a few moments before then reaching up to rub his jaw.
"You're pretty good, I'll give you that much, but with that suit, and being the size you are, you should be easily overpowering me by now." Snake notes and Olga frowns darkly behind her visor and mask.
"What is it that you're insinuating then?" Olga questions as the man slowly gets back to his feet, watching the disguised woman intently.
"I'm saying that you're honestly a good fighter, but you also don't have the raw power of someone that size, suggesting that your actually much smaller and less built for brute force, more for speed and agility than for brute power." Snake explains then notes simply as he and Olga both circle around one another.
"And what size do you actually think I am then?" Olga questions through gritted teeth and Snake narrows his eyes, taking in the stance, the accent, the personality, and of course everything he's seen thus far… instantly frowning once he notices something odd about her movements. Unlike with Meryl it isn't quite as pronounced, but the way that this person carries himself is familiar, but he's never seen a man who… Smirking slightly Snake walks towards Olga a final time before crouching down, Olga doing the same from opposite the brown haired man.
"You're smaller than me, off gray hair, green eyes, and pale skin, a scar over your face, and a real attitude problem… am I right, Ms. Gurlukovich?" Snake offers and Olga grunts before tapping the side of her helmet the visor over the front turning transparent to reveal the woman's frowning face.
"So you figured it out… congratulations Solid-Snake." Olga offers mockingly, her synthesizer offline, before then lunging at the man with a quick kick, Snake quickly blocking with his arms and glaring at the woman.
"What's this about Olga? Why the hell are you out here fighting me? And what the hell are you doing in that suit" Snake demands with a low growl and Olga frowns towards him before narrowing her eyes.
"Two years ago you murdered my father." She reminds angrily and Snake raises a brow before twisting Olga's leg, laying her out onto the ground. Moving quickly the man then moves a knee to her chest to hold her down while grabbing an arm and holding it at a painful angle, Olga grunting as he does.
"Sorry to burst your little revenge game, Missy, but that was Ocelot, not me." Snake states and Olga frowns, mentally adding that to the ever-growing list of reasons to hate that man with a passion…
"Why should I believe your word?" She comments, though can easily imagine Ocelot would kill her father if it got him something… and the Patriots had made the Big-Shell for this test meaning… 'THAT BASTARD!!!' She inwardly roars, seeing what's going on at long last, Ocelot murdered her father and sank the Tanker, all for the sake of creating the Big Shell and framing Snake for it!
"Unlike Ocelot, I'm not known to lie to everyone I come in contact with. I might not wear my heart on my sleeve mind you, but I make it a point not to lie to too many people too often." Snake replies while continuing to hold Olga downward, the woman growling low in her throat as he does and then twists slightly, moving to kick Snake off of herself. Grunting as he rolls back from the kick Snake twists into a stance as Olga comes into a low crouch.
"It's not very smart to try and hold me like that, I believe Null would be most… Displeased… if he were to find out." Olga notes and Snake makes a mental note to find out what the hell that comment is about later. "As for Ocelot, I'll believe you for now. But only because it seems like something he would do, and I already have a score to settle with him anyways. However, if by some slim chance you ARE lying to me, I promise I will have your head…" Olga growls out before pressing the side of her helmet once more, the visor returning to it's opaque setting as she flips up then seems to vanish, making Snake grumble to himself about annoying Ninja's.
Cracking his neck, Snake makes his way to the door and opens it, finding nothing but a little hatch below him. 'Ugh… why the hell couldn't I stay away from this? Oh right, Otacon thought it would be a good idea to listen to a guy calling himself "The Void" and that stopping the Patriots would be a good idea… man I need new friends, namely ones that aren't all about saving the fucking world.' Snake notes inwardly before reaching into a pocket and pulling out a cig, placing it into his mouth he then lights it and sighs out a puff.
Blinking when he hears his codec ring, Snake places a finger to his ear and leans back slightly. "This is Raiden, do you read me?" Raiden questions from Over the Codec and Snake shakes his head.
"Yeah, what's up?" Snake asks the younger soldier over the Codec while continuing to smoke his cig.
"We've made it to the lower part of Strut-L. We'll have to cross the water from here." Raiden replied and Snake grunts before having a quick thought.
"Can Emma walk?" He asks with a frown and Raiden looks over to her for a few moments.
"She's okay. The pontoon bridge doesn't look too sturdy. Emma is going to have to cross it alone." Raiden says and Snake frowns before leaning back.
"Right… the oil fence…" He notes mostly to himself while Raiden nods his head on his side of the Codec.
"Also there are cyphers and several guards." Raiden then says and Snake frowns before reaching up to rub his face for a moment.
"Raiden, you're carrying a PSG1, aren't you?" Snake asks the blond man, causing him to blink for a moment before reaching over his shoulder and touches the weapon.
"Yeah." Raiden confirms and Snake closes his eyes, thinking deeply.
"Then its time to play Sniper." Snake offers with an amused look crossing his features Raiden nodding his head.
"Not bad. This spot gives me a good view of the targets." Raiden notes and Snake mentally rolls his eyes, seeing as that was technically the point.
"Right. You're going to have to cover Emma until she crosses to Strut-E. I'll get down there and provide some support of my own." Snake offers and Raiden breathes a short sigh of relief.
"Thanks." The man says and causes Snake to frown once more.
"Think you can handle it?" He asks the blond man and Raiden nods once.
"Yeah. I know the drill." Raiden affirms before smirking slightly. "I faced a similar situation in Advanced Mode Level 4 VR training with the PSG1." Raiden offers while sounding proud and Snake grimaces, he honestly hated that VR-Trooper shit…
"VR…?" Snake grumbles out with obvious distaste. "Guess that's better than nothing. But make sure you don't hit Emma. Right now, with Arsenal's boarding in progress, security should be at a minimum." Snake reasons out with Raiden nodding his head, however, Snake then frowns as he leans forward slightly. "However, that doesn't mean it's going to be easy." Snake says before then crossing his arms, his cig held tightly between his lips.
"Okay, I'm heading for Strut-E." Snake then says while getting up and then rushing his way to the strut to help the rookie out. 'Ugh, I need a soldier and what do I get? I get a rookie whose played a lot of fancy video games… This is why I got out of the military, too many cocky kids thinking their big boss…' Snake thinks to himself while opening and then sliding down the hatch to the Strut-E connecting bridge. Getting down to the bridge, Snake positioned himself and then watched as Emma reached the first Strut, Raiden taking down the guards and sentries.
'Hmm, maybe he won't need me…' Snake notes before sending a quick message to Raiden to tell the man he was in position. Sighing once he had, he then gets down with his Sniper Riffle and looks through the scope to watch Raiden work. 'All right, something is up here. A VR-Trooper wouldn't be able to account for the wind like Raiden is doing since they don't experience wind. Also, the way Raiden is holding himself right now, its more like a hardened vet than a Rookie with VR-Training…' Snake notices with a frown while Emma slowly crosses the bridge.
'I wonder what Null thinks. I know he's more in tune with all that Psycho-babble than I am so maybe he knows something…' Snake thinks to himself before his eyes widen as something happens on the bridge. "Shit!" Snake says when he sees Vamp of all people appear and then flip over and grab Emma on the bridge. 'Ugh! When will this psychotic blood sucking freak finally stay down!?' Snake inwardly demands while frowning and then moves forward, cursing, as he can't get a good angle on Vamp.
'Damn freak must of known I was here and planned that out… this is bad. Raiden, you better hurry up before Emma makes a very bloody exit!' Snake thinks to himself while watching Raiden to the side. The man looking on in shock for a moment before Emma cries out and Snake watches him shoot, nailing Vamp right between the eyes and sending him flying back into the waters. "Good night, dark prince…" Snake murmurs before blinking when he sees Emma sway, before falling forward, a bloodstain forming on her shirt. Dropping his Sniper Riffle and quickly getting up Snake makes his way down to the bridge, sliding down the short ladder and coming to the ground.
Taking out his USP the man then rushes over to Emma, taking down a few Cyphers along his way before then kneeling down beside the girl. Quickly checking both her pulse and her breathing, the man grunts lowly before then picking her up and carrying her piggyback style while slightly hunched over. 'I'm sorry Otacon…' Snake thinks as he does so, soon coming up to the strut he turns and climbs up the ladder with one hand. Coming up to the door to the upper strut Snake lays Emma down before then doing a better check of the girl.
Reaching to the blood stain, Snake feels it and growls when he finds the stab wound at her back, the stab going clean through to her stomach and obviously most of her organs. Placing a hand to his ear Snake then grits his teeth as he calls Raiden over the Codec. "Raiden! Emma's been stabbed!" Snake says and Raiden blinks before slamming a hand into the rail before him.
"That bastard!" Raiden grumbles while Otacon quickly comes up on the Codec.
"How bad is it!?" Otacon questions worriedly and Snake looks down to the girl and then closes his eyes.
"She's conscious… but the bleeding's bad, I'm bringing her over there right now!" Snake says while looking down to the girl and then picks her up once more.
"E.E…" Snake hears Otacon whisper and closes his eyes for a moment.
"Raiden! Get that disk over here as soon as Possible! I'm afraid her times running out…" Snake says while making his way to the ladder and looks up the steep incline before looking back to the semi-conscious girl.
"I'll be there!" Raiden says quickly and Snake sighs before then grabbing the ladder with one hand and slowly makes his way up, it looked like things were going from bad to worse on this mission… just like they always did…
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TBC…
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AN: Been a long while since I've updated this, thank the good news of Metal Gear Solid: Rising and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. Hearing about two new games actually got me back into writing this, I know this is kind of a short chapter but I'm going to try and end the MGS2 arc soon, and yes, MGS3 will be featured in this story, though probably not like you'd expect…