Chapter 52
The ground shook because of the massive concrete block that fell from the floor above yards away behind the two soldiers that were close to kill Naomi and Johnny. The noise startled them and a look away was all it took for Johnny to react. He got on his feet and overpowered the man that had his gun pointed at Naomi's head, Johnny threw himself to him causing him to fire his gun but hitting nothing but concrete inches away from Naomi. The other turned around and pointed his gun at his partner, Naomi didn't even think about what she was doing, she got up and grabbed the soldier's gun. There was no way she could take him on, but maybe if she could help Johnny not get dead they might have a chance.
"What are you doing!?" The soldier saw the look of strain in Naomi as she tried to keep the gun away from Johnny.
The other solider on the ground began to curse as he tried to get Johnny off him. Johnny was keeping his hands on the gun, trying to take it away from the enemy. It was a weird dance. Fights are usually like this, ugly and much too close where one can hear and feel the anger of its enemy. When Johnny got a hold of the gun's butt he pulled it upwards and hit the enemy on the chin knocking him out. He quickly turned around and saw Naomi fighting, trying to get the gun from the other soldier, she was failing miserably. The soldier was shaking her furiously left and right, she had no more grip, but it didn't matter, Johnny shot the HKG36K. A single shot left Naomi standing with the gun she so desperately wanted. The enemy lied flat on the floor with a gunshot wound in the leg.
"AHHH!!" He screamed.
"Shut up!" Naomi raised the machine gun and then thrust it down as hard as she could. It struck the soldier right on top of the head. The blow echoed through the basement and the soldier was down.
Naomi sighed and dropped the weapon.
"Are you ok?" Johnny asked as he struggled to get up.
"I'm fine…and you?"
"I don't think it's recommended to get into fights after being shot in the ass, but I'll live…"
"Not if we don't disarm the charges" Naomi said sighing again and then turned her head and looked at the concrete block. Whoever triggered that just saved us…
"Look!" Johnny was pointing at a close pillar, an entire side of the pillar and a large part of the ceiling was covered with plastic explosives. They headed towards it.
"I didn't think it would be so much!!" Naomi said as she gazed at the explosives.
"A building this large, you bet" Johnny replied and got close to the pillar, a small box with a keypad and a yellow was what controlled the explosives. "Just give me a minute" Johnny opened up the small box with the computer and saw several wires. "Just need to take a small piece and these will be useless" Johnny took his hand inside the circuit and pried out a small piece. "There" he threw the piece to the ground and stepped on it.
"One down, three to go!"
The other one was easier to find, however Johnny's behind was hurting more and more.
"After this, you should go to a hospital" Naomi said as she saw him walking kind of funny.
"Yeah, I think I'll stop in the bathroom first, I don't think my stomach is all that well"
Naomi almost smiled, but something stopped her. She wasn't one of these people that smiled often. Whenever she did, she always felt bad, like she wasn't worth enough to
smile. After several minutes, they found and dismantled one more charge, there were only two left, but before they left the second one Johnny noticed something. The yellow light was blinking. What the… "OH NO!" He said raising his voice.
"What, what is it?" Naomi asked.
"That light!! Someone activated the bombs! They can denote anytime they want!!"
"But…" there are still people inside…
"We need to get out of here now!! Get as far away as we can!" Johnny began to move towards the open area.
"NO!" Naomi screamed. "Listen, I can't tell you to stay, but you can at least tell me how to deactivate them. I saw you took out just a small piece, I can do that"
"Are you crazy, you need to deactivate both and they are several feet apart! You won't make it!"
"Please!" Naomi said. I need to do this one thing right…for me.
Johnny was about a foot away from Naomi when he spoke. "A small gray piece with yellow stripes, it's the only there, take it and smash it. That way the charge won't be detonated by remote" Johnny saluted Naomi. "See you Naomi…" He turned around and began running away as best as he could.
Naomi took a deep breath and then started to run.
In the holographic display words had appeared beneath the thermometer icon, 'Emergency Venting', Tiger knew that the 'Emergency Venting' consisted in depleting all the fuel used for the flamethrowers placed around the Metal Gear and opening the back panel to let air in and cool everything down. Why would he do that? "Phantom?" Tiger said calmly. "Phantom what are you doing…what's the reason for your betrayal?"
"Betrayal!! You betrayed me first!! You killed them, you killed my children!!"
Marsh heard Phantom's words attentively. What!! Tiger had no reaction. He simply turned the Metal Gear. "I did what I had to do… you were…you were… too attached" Tiger was speaking calmly, almost regretting what he was saying. I had my orders from the Patriots…
"There's no excuse for what you did!" Phantom screamed again.
I'm sorry you feel that way Phantom…you leave me no choice. "The Unit, it was all that mattered!!" Tiger replied. "I'm sorry Phantom…" Tiger could see Phantom's outline in the display, he approached him with the Metal Gear. The display was practically white because of the fire. Tiger changed it to the normal display and saw Phantom surrounded by flames.
"What the hell Tiger! You're killing him…" Marsh now grabbed Tiger's right arm. "Is what he said true?"
"Does it matter, Marsh?" Tiger asked pulling his arm away from Marsh's grip. "He's been dead since I brought him to the Unit…he's nothing but a Phantom. At long last he'll have peace."
"How can you say that Tiger…did you really killed his children?" Marsh asked with small tears in the eyes.
"I had no choice, I was ordered too…the Patriots wanted his service and he would be a valuable asset to the Unit, but only if…only if he knew grief, a grief so hard to endure that would change him!"
Marsh sighed. "How could you…" Marsh was sobbing at the sight in Tiger's holographic display. The fire had finally stopped and Phantom was in view, his hazmat suit looked extremely burnt. "…you have lost your honor, I can't believe I called you my…"
Suddenly the entire tridimensional holographic display alerted to damage being made to one of the legs.
"What!!" Tiger said and quickly turned the torso of the Metal Gear, whatever hit the unit had to come from the back. Snake…
Snake's eyes opened up slowly. He could feel his head throb with pain and his ears ringing. The jeep was on its side. Otacon and Raiden were lying on the sand next to Snake.
"Otacon!" He said not even hearing his voice. "Raiden!" he spoke again and then saw Raiden moving his arm and getting on his knees.
The ringing on his ears stopped and afterwards he heard Raiden trying to wake up Otacon.
"Wake up!"
Otacon opened his eyes and raised his head. His glasses were heavier than ever, because of all the sand inside. "What!?" Otacon said as he took the glasses out and took off the sand from them.
"Are you two alright?" Snake asked trying to get on his feet.
"Yeah!" Raiden replied feeling if all of his equipment was safe.
"I'm fine" Otacon answered. "And you?"
"Just a few scratches! He missed by a few inches" Snake replied. "We were luck the jeep turned on its side, we're protected, for now!"
"Yeah, but for how…" Before Otacon could finish his sentence the voice of Tiger was heard all around.
"Phantom? Phantom what are you doing…what's the reason for this…betrayal?"
"Dr. Brown!" Otacon said and got to his feet just enough to see over the jeep. Raiden and Snake followed and soon they saw the Metal Gear engulfed in flames. They could also hear someone shouting, but no one else was in sight.
"I did what I had to do… you were…you were… too attached" Tiger spoke again through the speakers.
"Where's Phantom?" Snake asked trying to figure out whom Tiger was talking too.
"The Unit, it was all that mattered!!" Tiger spoke yet again. "I'm sorry Phantom…"
A few seconds later the fire stopped and the three of them saw the horrible sight.
"The hazmat suit…on the ground!" Otacon pointed out! "He was there the entire time…"
He knew…he knew about it and he still went for it… "Right! Raiden, Otacon one of you guys must get inside Metal Gear!" Snake said swiftly, he had a plan.
"What?" Raiden turned to him.
"Phantom lost his life so that we could have this opportunity, we are not going to let it go to waste! Help me turn the jeep around" he ordered Raiden. Once the jeep was turned he grabbed the stinger launcher and the extra missile from the ground. "Now I'll distract Metal Gear! Good luck!" Snake said and sped off into some of the tents near the hangar area.
"What the hell!" Otacon said startled by the whole situation. "What kind of plan…"
"Don't worry Otacon! It'll work. Grab on, we're going outside through the gate. We can sneak up on Metal Gear from behind through one of those!" Raiden said confidently as he stared at the broken wall just behind Metal Gear"
"It will work!" Raiden said again and started the jeep. "It still runs!"
"You mean you didn't even know that the jeep would start?" Otacon asked, but it was pointless, Raiden had sped off out of the gate!"
Snake had been running past the tents making sure he dropped the stinger launcher in a strategic place. This has got to work! He started running again, dropping his M4 clips along a path. I can see it!! The time had come. Snake got his M4 ready, aimed at Metal Gear's legs and opened fire.
"Snake!!" Tiger shouted. "This Metal Gear was designed to sustain severe impacts, even the legs can regenerate over time! There's nothing you can do now!!"
Raiden and Otacon heard Tiger shouting over Metal Gear speakers and they knew that Snake didn't have much time, Raiden would have to hurry. They circled to the right side of the outside wall and reached one of the many holes made by Metal Gear's canon. Raiden stopped the jeep and got close to the hole. He could see the Metal Gear's back and Snake very far away. Phantom had to be around what looked like crumpled up burning tents. "Let's move!" He said and signaled Otacon to follow him. He had his M4 ready just in case Metal Gear decided to turn back.
"You think you can take Metal gear on all alone!! Think again!!" The canon shot echoed around the place making Raiden focus his eyes on Snake's position, but he wasn't there anymore.
"What the…"
"Otacon!!" Raiden interrupted Otacon when they reached Phantom.
Phantom was still alive but his movements and breathing were slow. Raiden got past the burning tents ruble and took a hold of Phantom, he grabbed him and carried him out of harm's way, in the distance he could hear Metal Gear firing one more time.
"Here!" Raiden laid him down next to Otacon. "I need to go" Raiden said as he ran off.
"Good luck!" Otacon said and then stared at Black Phantom, his transparent visor was all wrinkled and his entire suit was practically glued to his already deep scarred body. "Oh god!!" Otacon said as he kept observing Phantom's wounds while another sound of a weapon firing erupted from Metal Gear.
Raiden ran as fast as he could towards Metal gear, it was close, but he still had no idea on how to reach the top of its back. When he got dangerously close he did the best he could, with an acrobatic leap he got right on top of the legs. With fantastic luck, another leap got him to grab the ledge of the Metal Gear's back with both hands. The opening was just above. Suddenly he felt a shake and one of his hands moved from the ledge. Two small missiles had just launched from the back inches away from him. Damn it, hold it Raiden…you have to hold on!! Raiden thought to himself as he tried to get his grip back, Snake was counting on him, even after all the stupid things he had done on this mission Snake still trusted him blindly. "C'mon!" Raiden whispered to himself and was able to get a good grip on the ledge and heaved himself up. The entrance was big for one person, but no equipment. Alright!! Raiden let go of his M4 and jumped inside.
"Snake!!" Tiger shouted. "This Metal Gear was designed to sustain severe impacts, even the legs can regenerate over time! There's nothing you can do now!!"
Snake fired a few more shots as the Metal Gear began to move towards him, the clip was almost empty. C'mon move…The he saw Raiden and Otacon far away to the right entering the area and heading towards where Phantom was. Good…there, the clip's empty… Snake pressed the button to release the empty magazine and started running towards the tents in front of the hangar, Metal Gear was now in the open area that separated the equipment tents from the soldier's tents.
As soon as Snake got behind one of the tents and headed towards the place where he left the second clip he heard the shot. Predictable!! Snake jumped to the sand ground inches away from his spare clip, the cannon shot hit the side about three feet away, making a lot of noise but not causing any damage to him.He had left the clip on the ground, because reloading while he ran was dangerous and so was stopping to reload, if they were on the ground and if he knew where they were he could save time. He quickly inserted the new clip on the M4 and got ready to move again. The tents behind had been smashed to pieces, several equipment such as helmets and flak jackets were in plain view.
"You think you can take Metal Gear on all alone!! Think again!!" Tiger shouted.
Snake kept running towards some other tent, Raiden would have to hurry; he only had an extra clip before he got to the singer launcher. Another shot from Metal Gear's canon erupted just behind Snake. He quickly dropped to the ground on one knee and aimed at Metal Gear's legs again. How did it get so close so fast!! Snake thought as he saw Metal Gear perfectly. After he fired a few more shots he saw what looked like blood coming from Metal Gear's legs. Damn! Need to move again! Snake began to run back again, zigzagging through the tents. He passed over his extra clip without stopping for he hadn't thought that Metal Gear would be so fast. After that Snake heard a loud bang just beside him and felt his entire body flying through the air and smashing into a nearby tent. He smashed right into the tent frame and felt a terrible pain in his right shoulder. Something had almost hit him.
"I finally have you in my sights Solid Snake…" Tiger's voice sounded seriously close. The large lights that stood on the top right of the Metal Gear now shone on Snake. "AH!! I got you now!" Snake raised his left arm over his head to cover the lights and saw one of Metal Gear legs rising. A flash of what had happened to Gray Fox back at Shadow Moses rushed past his mind. This is it!! The next thing Snake saw on his mind was a face, a very dear face to him. Meryl! The face alone gave him a second wind, the fight wasn't over.
Otacon moved Phantom away from the battle as much as he could. He was sure that Phantom didn't have a lot of time left, not with his wounds. After he dragged Phantom for almost five yards he stopped, Phantom was grunting and he got his head near his charred visor.
"Take…off…suit…" Phantom said.
"I can't…" Otacon replied. "It'll hurt too much!"
"Ple…ase" Phantom replied.
Damn! Otacon took both his hands and grabbed the top part of the hazmat suit. He began to lift it up over Phantom's head in hopes it would come off easily, but it didn't. He applied a bit more pressure, Phantom moaned with pain. Almost… Otacon pulled again and he took the top part off. He cringed at the sight, Phantom's face and shoulders were visible, the burns had almost made him unrecognizable. How could he still be alive…he was burnt twice… Otacon thought as he looked at Phantom's eyes.
"Emmer…Hal…" Phantom said, his voice was very low. "…Tiger…main building…promise me…kill…" Phantom blinked his eyes several times as if waiting for Otacon's response.
"Yes, I promise" Otacon said trying to reassure Phantom before he died.
Phantom lifted up his right hand and took it over his heart. "…here…my plans…my son asked me…make him a robot…" Phantom tapped the area over his heart with his right hand a few times, alerting Otacon that he should get something there. "…continue my work…doctor Emmerich…"
Otacon placed his hand inside the hazmat suit and beneath what felt like burnt scaly flesh he took out a small metal case. Once he opened it he saw a small optical disc.
"…prototype…metal gear…unfinished…mar…mar...mar one"
Phantom's voice was now very low, a faint whisper his last words had been almost incomprehensible.
"What was that? Mark One?" Otacon said and he could've sworn he saw a faint smile on Phantom's face.
"…thank…you…" Phantom said and closed his eyes, his right hand motionless over his heart.
Raiden could see the very uncomfortable interior of Metal Gear's back; several thick wires that were all over the place made it difficult for him to move his arms. It was large enough to fit one person, but Raiden wouldn't recommend it to anyone. A small red light just over his head made it possible for him to search the interior and to look for the nuclear device. He had had lectures on how to find, recognize and disarm a nuclear device but he never actually thought he would use that knowledge. As he was practically standing up inside Metal Gear, looking down was hard, but after a few moments Raiden saw what had to be the tip of the bomb, the panel that he needed to open. Since he got his equipment back he now had his knife again. He would have to be careful not to damage the input keypad just beneath the panel. The rocking back and forth of Metal Gear and the constant noise of explosions and gunfire made it hard for him to concentrate and to hold the knife steady; he heard a few shouts made by Tiger through the Metal Gear speakers. Snake! He wondered how well Snake was faring up against Metal Gear, but right away he focused on the knife in his hand and opening the panel. Alright…steady Raiden managed to open the panel and saw the keypad beneath it. Yes! Then a nasty shake sent the knife from his hand and to the bottom, near his feet. Crap! Then another violent shake, hopefully Snake was fighting back. I just need to make three wrong inputs…Raiden then began pressing the buttons which would light up, inputting a random combination of numbers. After that he pressed the button that said 'ACTIVATE'. Once he did the lights turned off and a small red light lit up, it was a small row of three red LED's followed by a green one.
"Two more!" Raiden said reassuring himself, however out of nowhere a blinding white light streamed just inches away from Raiden's face. The noise of something starting up made Raiden realize what it was. The DRS…lasers…"Aw, give me a break!!" The first laser ran just over Raiden's shoulder, forcing him to move his head, the laser didn't seem to be in full working order but the fact remained that this was complicating things for Raiden. With the Metal Gear moving about everywhere and now with the lasers shooting from all sides Raiden saw his simple task turn into an almost impossible job. Raiden did the best he could to reach the keypad again, he was able to finish the second input, but the laser near his legs made it unfeasible to stay in the same position, he lifted himself a few feet up, he was now almost outside looking down at the light spectacle. Now what!! Without any ideas Raiden reached for his CODEC, he didn't remember that he and Snake should've been in contact before. He called and waited for the response.
"Yeah…sorry I didn't call, been busy!!" Snake replied making loud noises of effort.
"I've got a problem here!" Raiden said.
"You stick your head outside and you'll see I'm not too good either" Snake replied and Raiden heard Metal Gear's minigun firing. Damn, this is…wait…Raiden had caught a glimpse of his knife, thanks to the massive amount of light that the lasers emitted. Could it work!? Raiden grabbed his High Frequency blade and got ready to make his
move, he would have to be quick. He studied the pattern of the lasers for a few seconds and then saw the opening he needed, Snake was still grunting and panting on the CODEC. He dropped back deep inside and lifted his blade so it would stop two beams at the same time. He quickly punched in the key and saw the laser erupt from its origin and hit the blade, one of them shot upwards out of Metal Gear while the other blew a clean hole through the back, the blade turned shiny red right away. As soon as Raiden pushed the 'ACTIVATE' key the entire back of Metal Gear went dark apart from the small red light just over his head.
"That white light, Raiden are you there?" Snake asked on the CODEC.
"I did it Snake, I did it!!" Raiden replied clearly exhilarated.
"Good, now get out of there kid, I'm going to get the stinger!!" Snake replied and turned off the CODEC.
Raiden jumped up, grabbed the ledge and got out of Metal Gear, still holding his red hot blade. What the!! It seemed that Metal Gear was inside the same hangar room from where it came.
