Disclaimer: I do not own Metal Gear, Metal Gear Solid or Metal Gear Rising. All rights belong to Hideo Kojima and Konami.
Phantom carried Silent on his back while heading to the surface and he could also hear the loud banging of metal as Evan tried desperately to get through the metal doors to catch up to him.
But with only minutes left to get get to the surface, Phantom reached the elevator and pressed the button that took the elevator back to the mansion.
While the elevator headed up he tried to wake Silent up, but she was still unconscious and only groaned as Phantom gently shook her. "Come on, Silent I can't take Evan by myself if he manages to get to the surface." He whispered to her unconscious form before he could hear someone suddenly yelling at him over the radio.
"PHANTOM!!! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, RESPOND WOULD YA?! YOU'VE BEEN NON-RESPONSIVE FOR HOURS!!! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Echo-5 shouted over the radio making Phantom cringe as the radio made his ear ring for a moment. "Echo-5, I'm still here! Stop the shouting!" He responded.
"Oh, thank god, Phantom! Where the hell have you been? You've had everyone worried sick! What happened?" Echo-5 asked as Phantom could just barely hear the helicopter in the distance. "I'm almost to the surface." He thought before he answered Echo-5's question.
"I'm sorry I haven't responded, I have no excuse for that, but the mansion had an underground laboratory and I must've been deeper underground than I thought because my radio hasn't been working at all while I was down there. They must've had a jamming device somewhere, but that's not important anymore. I have Silent here with me and I'm returning to the surface now. There are no guards or patrols anywhere near the mansion, so the extraction point is going to be at the front of the mansion, but at a safe distance. The mansion will soon self destruct. And you better be there before I walk out, Echo-5 because Silent is in a critical condition right now and we need to get her back to base ASAP." He explained as the elevator soon stopped, Phantom had reached the surface.
"Roger that. I'm on my way." Echo-5 responded.
Phantom picked Silent up again and ran as fast as he could out of the mansion then out the front door to see Echo-5 touching down near the extraction point, but before he could reach the helicopter...
BOOM!!!
The mansion and the area around it exploded sending Phantom and Silent flying before they landed a few meters away from Echo-5.
"Phantom! Are you alright?! Come on, you have to get up!" Echo-5 shouted at Phantom over the radio sounding worried, but Phantom could barely hear him. He groaned as he tried to sit up and look for Silent. Fortunately, she was lying only a few feet away from him, so he shakily stood up and walked over to her to pick her up and head towards the helicopter to complete his mission and head back to base.
"Phantom? Wait, Phantom! What the hell is that?!" Echo-5 asked in a panic over the radio.
Phantom looked up at Echo-5 in the pilot seat with confusion then back towards the flaming ruins of the mansion to see a large silhouette standing in front of the large flames. He squinted his eyes to see what it was, but he didn't need to think about it for long.
It was Evan.
"SSSNAAAKE!!!" He yelled before he charged at Phantom.
Phantom,with his adrenaline kicking in, ran towards the helicopter, opened the side door and put Silent inside before running to the front of the helicopter. "Get out of here! Go!" He yelled. "But what about you?!" Echo-5 asked in concern. "I'll be fine, now go! It's me he wants! Find a safe place to stabilize Silent and wait for me to contact you!" Phantom shouted over the motor roar of the helicopter.
Echo-5 nodded his head then flew as far away from the area as possible to get away from Evan. Phantom then looked at Evan, who had gotten close enough to try and crush him before he dodged out of the way.
Phantom rolled away from Evan and brought up the missile launcher to put an end to the fight as quickly as possible, but Evan caught on to this and backhanded Phantom away from him while knocking the launcher out of his hands.
Phantom landed hard on the ground with the wind being knocked out of him as he watched Evan stomp closer to him. He then sat up with his primary weapon ready and began shooting his face, which Evan blocked with one hand as he stomped closer to Phantom. He stood up as he reloaded his primary and began shooting again.
Evan continued to block every shot with his one hand as Phantom backed away from him so he could think of a way to kill Evan until he unwittingly backed up into a tree. Phantom panicked for a moment before Evan grabbed his head with both of his gigantic hands and began to squeeze.
Feeling his head being crushed, Phantom quickly grabbed a grenade from his belt, pulled the pin and shoved it into Evan's mouth.
Evan quickly dropped Phantom to the ground and tried to take a grenade out of his mouth, but couldn't. Phantom then pulled out his .45 and shot the grenade making it explode, but he knew it wasn't enough to kill him. So, he shook off the pain that was throbbing in his head and quickly ran to the missile launcher before picking it up then aimed it at Evan's now approaching form. He activated his unnatural armor and ran towards Phantom.
"Two shots left, Adam. You won't get a third if you screw this up." Phantom thought to himself as he squeezed the trigger to launch the missile at Evan.
He tried to block it like the first time, but it didn't help as much since he groaned and fell to his knees while looking up to glare at Phantom. The armor faded away and all that was left was flesh.
Evan just continued to glare at Phantom before he suddenly nodded his head and closed his eyes.
"Goodbye, Evan. I'm sorry." Phantom whispered as he squeezed the trigger again sending the final missile towards Evan.
The top half of Evan's body exploded and all that remained were the legs. The legs fell over while they twitched for a moment before stopping. Phantom let out a deep sigh as he dropped the missile launcher before falling down on his back to rest for a moment.
He thought that the emotions would be getting to him by now, but they haven't. He was worried about that, but he didn't have time to worry about it now. He had to get back to base, so he contacted Echo-5. "Echo-5, you there?" He asked.
"Phantom? Oh, thank god. Yeah, I'm here. Did you take care of that monster?" He questioned making Phantom flinch at the word before he answered. "Yeah, I took of the... the monster. Has Silent been stabilized?" He asked as he sat up. "Yeah, she's stable. I'm just finishing up with her now. I'm on my way back to you. Just sit tight." Echo-5 answered before cutting off radio contact.
Phantom just smiled and chuckled softly. "No rush. Take your time." He said as his eyes closed until eventually fell unconscious and fell back down on the ground.
Hours later...
Phantom was in and out of consciousness during the helicopter ride back to base, he looked to the side to see Silent still unconscious, but now breathing normally and steadily with a medical mask over her mouth to help her breath.
He eventually felt the helicopter touch down somewhere and felt a bunch of hands all around him helping him out of the helicopter before he slipped into unconscious again.
He woke up to see that he was inside of, what looked like, a medical room and tried to sit up. He groaned trying to sit up, but felt a pair of hands on his chest gently pushing him back down against the bed. "No, no. Don't move yet. You're still disoriented, Mr. Eagles. So, don't move just yet." Adam looked looked up to see that the person holding him down was a young woman with dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. She was wearing an olive drab military uniform with a medical patch on the front pocket of her shirt.
"Where am I?" He asked her, but she just shook her head and patted his shoulder. "All your questions will be answered soon, just rest for a while longer. I'll alert the Boss and have him come to the Medical Platform." She said before walking out of the room when Adam layed back down on the bed until what she said suddenly hit him.
"Wait... Medical Platform? Am I...?" He said while trying to quickly get up out of his bed, but he couldn't find the strength to move the rest of his body. So, he just layed down and waited patiently for the nurse to come back with the Boss. Which he was assuming was Rogue or Meryl.
30 minutes later...
Adam waited patiently in the bed with his arms crossed until the nurse walked back in with Rogue and Meryl. "Adam! Thank god you're alright!" Rogue said as he walked towards him and patted him on his back. Adam smiled then looked at Meryl, who smiled at him with tears in her eyes, but she looked like she had seen better days, which made him worried, but he dropped it for now.
"Yeah, I honestly didn't think I'd make it out of there, but I did." He said with a smile and a shrug until he just remembered something important. Two somethings in fact. "Wait. Silent, is she alright?" He asked making both Rogue and Meryl nod their heads. "Yes, Silent is just fine. She's here in the Medical Platform too. She's still unconscious, but she'll recover. She just needs rest for now." Meryl said as she sat down on the bed with Adam.
"What about my iDroid? I downloaded something, or someone, into it." He said making Rogue, Meryl and the nurse look at each other in confusion before looking back at Adam. "What did you download, son?" Rogue asked him.
But Adam shook his head. "I-I don't know. All I know is that the AI, or whatever the hell it is, said that it had been down in that lab for God knows how long. And it mentioned John and someone named Rose." He said making Meryl look at Rogue before he suddenly darted out of the room.
Adam looked at the door with confusion before he looked at Meryl. "Meryl, what's going on? Am I missing something here?" He asked making Meryl place her hand on his. "Adam, Rosemary is John's mother. And the only person who would call her "Rose" for short is her husband." She answered.
Adam had to think for a moment before it finally clicked. "You mean...?" He began but stopped and Meryl just shook her head.
With Rogue...
Rogue hopped into a jeep and headed back to the Command Plateform with haste to find John and Sunny. Thanks to the lights on the interconnecting bridges, he reached the designated platform safely during the late night. He fortunately saw all both of them walking together outside and about to walk inside. "John! Sunny!" He called making them turn around to look at him.
"Boss! Is Adam ok?" Sunny asked him as he ran up to them. "Yes, Sunny he's fine, but I need to talk to both of you first. Where's is Adam's equipment?" He asked them almost urgently. Sunny and John looked at each other before looking back at Rogue. "On the Combat Platform in his new room by your orders, Boss." John answered.
Rogue nodded then motioned for both of them to follow him. They all hopped into the jeep and headed towards the Combat Platform. "Boss, what's going on? Why are you recovering Adam's equipment? Is something wrong?" John asked Rogue as they headed towards the platform making the man shake his head. "No, nothing's wrong, son, but Adam has brought something to my attention that we need to look into!" He answered over the howl of the wind where he was driving so fast.
"What did Adam say, Boss? Is there something we should know?" Sunny asked. Rogue nodded. "I'll explain in more detail after we find Adam's iDroid, but what you both need to know is that Adam came across what he assumes is another AI or someone's conscious mind trapped inside an AI pod." Rogue answered as they got closer to the Combat Platform.
His answer made Sunny and John look confused as they looked at each other before looking back at Rogue. "But what does that have to do with us, sir?" John asked just as they reached the platform. Rogue, before he got out of the jeep, turned around to look at John. "The AI mentioned both you and your mother by name." He said making John freeze before rushing into the platform to Adam's new room.
Back with Adam and Meryl...
"Adam, what all can you tell me about the AI pod?" Meryl asked him as she sat next to him on the bed, but Adam just shook his head. "I don't know what all I can tell you Meryl other than what I just told you, but that's not what's really bothering me right now." He answered as he looked down at his hands.
Meryl, looking worried, took hold of his hand and held it in hers again. "What, Adam? What's bothering you then?" She asked him making him look up.
"There was a... a second AI pod in the room with the one I talked to. It had a bright yellow blinking light, but it was flickering. Like the power or it's battery was about to die." He said looking at her making her nod as she waited for him to continue. "But the thing that's bothering me is... the AI pod that I talked to still had it's... I think it was a memory board or something, but it still had it before I downloaded it into my iDroid. The other one though... the one with the yellow light? It's memory board was gone."
He said as he continued to look at Meryl, who had a look of confusion, but also concern on her face.
Back with Rogue...
Rogue had found Adam's room and rummaged through his equipment until he found the iDroid. He ran back out of the platform back to the jeep to head to the R and D Platform. John and Sunny had more questions they wanted to ask, but decided to wait until they could get straight answers from either Rogue or Adam's iDroid.
They didn't have to wait for very long as Rogue drove fast enough to the R and D Platform that would make a race car driver jealous. They pulled up and parked outside the R and D Platform before rushing.
Carla, who had been using the main computer in the platform looked as Rogue, John and Sunny burst in. "Boss? John? Sunny? What are you doing? What's going on?" She asked as Rogue walked past her and began using the main computer before plugging in Adam's iDroid. "Boss, wait a minute! What are you doing?" She said, wondering why Diamond Foxes Commander plugged in an iDroid into the R and D Platforms main computer.
Sunny walked up to her and calmed her down before she explained. "Carla, the Boss believes that Adam's iDroid holds important information that could help us. Just trust us and give us a minute, ok?" She said calming her friend down, who nodded and stood aside to let them do what they came here to do.
Before long, a voice came through on the speakers making everyone jump. "Ugh... great. Where am I now?" The AI asked. John and Sunny looked at each other before Rogue spoke. "You're safe. Our mutual friend, Ada-uhhh... Phantom brought you here." He said using Adam's codename.
"Phantom? Oh, right. Yeah, he hadn't responded or used his device for a while, so I was starting to get worried." The AI said making the scientists in the room all look at each other with astonishment and excitement before Rogue spoke to it again.
"Phantom is just fine. He was unconscious after a mission for a while, but he's fine. And I have some guests here for you. You know their names because you mentioned them to Phantom. Their friends of his. John and Sunny." Rogue introduces them as they just stand in their spots, frozen.
It was a few minutes before the AI spoke again. "John? Little John? And Sunny?" It asked making John and Sunny look at each other then back at the main computer before they finally realized.
"Dad?"
"Raiden?"
They both asked while smiling. They soon got their answers.
"John? Sunny? You sound different. You both sound like you got... big." Raiden said with happiness in his voice before he paused for a few minutes then spoke again. "Wait... oh, god. John, how long have I been gone?" He said, dreading the answer. John to a moment to collect himself before he answered. "Since... since 2018, dad. When... when you left to fight whatever was left of the corporations that were kidnapping children and turning them into child soldiers or cyborgs." He began then paused before Sunny rubbed his back to calm him when he began to cry.
"And... and you succeeded in saving them, but then you just... you just disappeared. Mom had thought that... that you had died and she was a wreck for a long time, but she never remarried because... because even though she thought you were probably dead, she still had faith that you were still alive... somewhere. Fighting to come back to us." He said with tears streaming down his cheeks.
Sunny hugged him tight as he cried and everyone remained silent, not wanting to say a single word.
"Son... I am so... sorry that I missed just about your whole life growing up. And there's nothing I can do to take that back, but... I'm here now. And if you'll let me, at least until we can find my body, I can start being there for you now and Sunny too, if she'll let me." Raiden said sounding hopeful, but prepared to be turned down.
Sunny looked at John then at the main computer with a smile. "Raiden, I'm always on your side, no matter what. And you're here now, safe and sound. That's all matters." She said happily before looking at John, who had wiped his tears away then nodded. "She's right, dad. You're here now and you're safe. That's all that matters and yes, of course I'll let you be here for me. I wouldn't have it any other way." He answered his father with a smile.
"I'm glad to hear that. Thank you both." Raiden said, thanking both of them before he spoke again with a little more urgency. "By the way, you two and... who is it I was speaking to first?" He asked Rogue.
"Oh, you can call me Thunder Rogue or Rogue for short. I am the Head Commander of the Diamond Foxes." He answered when he realized Raiden was talking about him.
"Rogue. Got it. While Phantom was unconscious, I had time to look around the files and data that he downloaded into his device." He began.
"It's called the iDroid, sir." Carla said in the background.
"Thank you, Carla but not now, ok?" Sunny said.
Carla put her thumbs up and nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Sorry." She said allowing Raiden to continue.
"Thank you, Carla. Anyway, I did as much digging as I could before I spoke with you guys, Sunny. And I found something that none of you are going to like. The past cannot stay dead and it's coming back to haunt us." He said as Sunny, John, Rogue and Carla walked up to the main computer and looked at the screen that was showing them everything that Raiden had found in the files.
What they saw next made their eyes widen with fear, especially Sunny and John when they saw the file name and the blueprints that came after it.
"Next Generation Metal Gear Project- Codename: Goliath."