Chapter Twenty: Final Preperations
There was a lurching in Naomi's stomach as she turned away from the body, her hand over her mouth. The voices in the distant hallway had alerted Jack who quickly turned away from Mimic and crouched down to listen closely. Otacon was against the opposite wall, his eyes closed tightly and his fists clenched at his sides. That was the second dead body he had witnessed eye-to-eye on their operation, and it was one he wished to be his last.
"Shh," Jack put up his index finger, getting Naomi to quit her crying. He watched and waited, and the echoes from around the corner of an adjacent hall began to close in on them, slowly but surely. Then, they stopped moving as if they had reached a door or their destination.
"They've taken a slight detour," Ocelot's voice echoed. "We don't need to worry about them for now," he assured another. There was a short grunt and another voice returned to him.
"Setup a perimeter around the facilities. I don't want them to live any longer than necessary," the voice proclaimed. It was that of Rogue. "So, is he ready?"
"Yes," Ocelot answered.
"Are you sure he is not also carrying a sword, Shalashaska?" Rogue mocked.
"Our last specimen was a mistake, but there is no doubt that the next is on the spot," Ocelot reassured him. "And once he has risen, he will successfully construct the Hell Cell, and we will gather our last sum of money."
"Have we spoken with the States? What is the plan? How are we going to turn over the radical specimen if he is on the loose?" Rogue questioned.
"We will find another," Ocelot stated. "We will use the Mimic." Naomi heard his words just as Jack did, and they both turned to the body, its face like a pool of blood. Otacon quickly moved away from the wall, and tore the neckerchief from the doorknob, examining it closely. Just as he pulled it away, the knob fell away also, and they all froze. A song of steady rhythmic beeps was present, and on the neckerchief as Otacon then pointed out was the word `BANG.'
Snake whipped around upon feeling the ground shake and hearing glass shatter. On the second floor, he could see a wall blast outward, showering the snow with shards of bloodstained death. Mei Ling turned also, her eyes filled with horror. "They...they were on the second floor!" Mei Ling cried as she fell to her knees in the snow. There was a twisting in Snake's stomach, but it quickly died away as he set his hand on her shoulder.
"This was a diversion," he said. "Come on. We need to get back in there." Mei Ling was in terrible shape. She was not suited for the on-site job, but instead was necessary for field command positions. Snake tugged on her arm, but she did not budge. He looked down at his feet and then turned his head up to the dark sky, sparkling with specks of holy snow. "I know how you feel," he paused, "but you can't stop going. There's a time when you think that things could never get worse...that you're at the very bottom of the pit, and you think there's no way things can ever change again. This day will never be completely washed from your memory, but you don't have to leave it in despair. You have to do something about it. You have to stand up and go back onto the battlefield. The only other way out of here is in a coffin, and I know that's not where you want to be." Mei Ling sat there for another moment before Snake continued. "Come on. We have to go back." She slowly turned her head
up towards the sky like Snake had done, and then smiled, pushing herself up onto her feet. Snake looked into her eyes and began to see the sternness and the courage that was within her. She was not going to give up. She was stronger than that.
At that, the two hurried off toward Hell's Outpost, moving into the building without any trouble, and making their way to the second floor without any difficulty whatsoever. The soldiers Rogue had asked for had not been assembled around the perimeter of the facilities, and it seemed as if all of the guards had been taken somewhere else. The halls seemed so quiet, and it was obvious that something had gone terribly wrong, but for which side? That was the question.
When the elevator opened on the second floor, Mei Ling and Snake both stepped out cautiously, a cloud of smoke shrouding their vision. They stepped into the hall, turned right, and found the wall to their right to be missing. There was a flame at the end of the hallway, spreading toward them, and at their feet was a bloodied body lying on the threshold of another room. Mei Ling saw it and gasped, closing her eyes for a moment, only to open them again when she felt Snake's hand on her shoulder. She nodded up to him, and the two made their way over the body, moving into the other room. The far wall was also missing, but it was of concrete, and past it was a sight of horror.
Blood stained the walls that remained, along with the floor, and there were still pieces of flesh and oozing insides scattered about the area. Snake went ahead, stopping where the wall should have been, and looking around. It seemed that it was another hall, and it ran adjacent to the one they were in moment ago, because there was a fire to his right, just like there had been in front of him in the last. He turned to Mei Ling and waved her over as he stepped into the hall and hurried to the left.
"Damn," he grunted. "Whose blood is this?" He was frustrated. Of his friends, and his foes, he was certain that his friend would be on the second floor, and he was somewhat fearful that the blood belonged to them. Still, he wondered if maybe, just maybe, it was that of his enemy.
"Snake..." a voice growled from behind. Snake turned to its origin and saw a man standing there, a sword in his hand, and a biomechanical suit covering the entirety of his body. The flames to his right glimmered on his suit, and made the colors blend and shine magnificently. "It's you, Snake," Grey Fox, the Ninja...Frank Jaeger said.
Snake lifted his SOCOM, aiming it at the Ninja's forehead and waited for something to happen, but nothing did. He looked out of the corner of his eye to see Mei Ling standing proud and humble beside him, then his eyes returned to the Ninja and he slowly returned the gun to his hip. There was a synthesized-sounding laugh that sounded from deep within the casing the Ninja wore. "I...can almost remember you...Snake. It's...hard...but I can....I can..." Before the Ninja could continue, his arms shot forward making a terrible sound as if they had been removed from their sockets. His head began to twitch violently, and he fell onto his knee. There was a quick impulse, and his hands clenched his head tightly, trying to keep it from shaking as it did. His entire body was quivering as Snake and Mei Ling took slow steps backward. "I don't! I don't remember you! You are an enemy! NO! No, you...you are SNAKE! YOU ARE HIM! I...AHHH!!" In a flash, he catapulted backward into the air, and
in an odd fashion, darted through it, disappearing into another hallway. Snake sighed.
"What the hell?" he asked himself. Mei Ling shot a look at him.
"That...that was the Ninja?" She remembered him from Shadow Moses. There, he was known as Deepthroat, and as Olga on the Big Shell, it was Mr. X. Snake turned, continuing on their route and nodded subtly as he walked. Mei Ling caught up with him and as they turned another corner, they found themselves facing a team of Philosophy soldiers, their weapons aimed between their eyes. Snake raised his SOCOM, but as he held it level with their faces, there was a loud noise, and the SOCOM was flung from Snake's hands, clamoring against the wall to their left. A familiar voice sounded at the end of a gap in the crowd of soldiers.
"You fight the masses before the masters?" Ocelot's offbeat tone awakened as Snake took notice to him. In his hand was a Revolver, held high, and aimed at Snake, but he quickly holstered it and stepped toward the two, a smile on his face. The soldiers still had their guns aimed high and ready. "A pity you couldn't save your friend...just seconds too late."
"Ocelot," Snake muttered, "where are they?"
"First, let us all bow our heads in prayer for the late...Rogue," Ocelot cackled silently. "He never was a team player. He will...be missed."
"Wait," Snake paused. "That blood...it was his. You killed your own partner."
"Someday you thank me for it, Snake," Ocelot grinned, and then turned away. "Follow," he said, and the soldiers around him quickly nudged Mei Ling and Snake forward behind Ocelot who moved down the hall to a door on their left. Upon opening it, a cold draft flowed over them all, and he motioned for them to enter. "Ladies first," he said, and Mei Ling was pushed into the room, then Snake, and after the soldiers went Ocelot.
"I hope you don't mind the cold," Ocelot smiled, "we have a body that needs preserving." The door closed behind them, and a soldier brought forth an octagonal cage. Final preparations were complete. The show was about to begin.
There was a lurching in Naomi's stomach as she turned away from the body, her hand over her mouth. The voices in the distant hallway had alerted Jack who quickly turned away from Mimic and crouched down to listen closely. Otacon was against the opposite wall, his eyes closed tightly and his fists clenched at his sides. That was the second dead body he had witnessed eye-to-eye on their operation, and it was one he wished to be his last.
"Shh," Jack put up his index finger, getting Naomi to quit her crying. He watched and waited, and the echoes from around the corner of an adjacent hall began to close in on them, slowly but surely. Then, they stopped moving as if they had reached a door or their destination.
"They've taken a slight detour," Ocelot's voice echoed. "We don't need to worry about them for now," he assured another. There was a short grunt and another voice returned to him.
"Setup a perimeter around the facilities. I don't want them to live any longer than necessary," the voice proclaimed. It was that of Rogue. "So, is he ready?"
"Yes," Ocelot answered.
"Are you sure he is not also carrying a sword, Shalashaska?" Rogue mocked.
"Our last specimen was a mistake, but there is no doubt that the next is on the spot," Ocelot reassured him. "And once he has risen, he will successfully construct the Hell Cell, and we will gather our last sum of money."
"Have we spoken with the States? What is the plan? How are we going to turn over the radical specimen if he is on the loose?" Rogue questioned.
"We will find another," Ocelot stated. "We will use the Mimic." Naomi heard his words just as Jack did, and they both turned to the body, its face like a pool of blood. Otacon quickly moved away from the wall, and tore the neckerchief from the doorknob, examining it closely. Just as he pulled it away, the knob fell away also, and they all froze. A song of steady rhythmic beeps was present, and on the neckerchief as Otacon then pointed out was the word `BANG.'
Snake whipped around upon feeling the ground shake and hearing glass shatter. On the second floor, he could see a wall blast outward, showering the snow with shards of bloodstained death. Mei Ling turned also, her eyes filled with horror. "They...they were on the second floor!" Mei Ling cried as she fell to her knees in the snow. There was a twisting in Snake's stomach, but it quickly died away as he set his hand on her shoulder.
"This was a diversion," he said. "Come on. We need to get back in there." Mei Ling was in terrible shape. She was not suited for the on-site job, but instead was necessary for field command positions. Snake tugged on her arm, but she did not budge. He looked down at his feet and then turned his head up to the dark sky, sparkling with specks of holy snow. "I know how you feel," he paused, "but you can't stop going. There's a time when you think that things could never get worse...that you're at the very bottom of the pit, and you think there's no way things can ever change again. This day will never be completely washed from your memory, but you don't have to leave it in despair. You have to do something about it. You have to stand up and go back onto the battlefield. The only other way out of here is in a coffin, and I know that's not where you want to be." Mei Ling sat there for another moment before Snake continued. "Come on. We have to go back." She slowly turned her head
up towards the sky like Snake had done, and then smiled, pushing herself up onto her feet. Snake looked into her eyes and began to see the sternness and the courage that was within her. She was not going to give up. She was stronger than that.
At that, the two hurried off toward Hell's Outpost, moving into the building without any trouble, and making their way to the second floor without any difficulty whatsoever. The soldiers Rogue had asked for had not been assembled around the perimeter of the facilities, and it seemed as if all of the guards had been taken somewhere else. The halls seemed so quiet, and it was obvious that something had gone terribly wrong, but for which side? That was the question.
When the elevator opened on the second floor, Mei Ling and Snake both stepped out cautiously, a cloud of smoke shrouding their vision. They stepped into the hall, turned right, and found the wall to their right to be missing. There was a flame at the end of the hallway, spreading toward them, and at their feet was a bloodied body lying on the threshold of another room. Mei Ling saw it and gasped, closing her eyes for a moment, only to open them again when she felt Snake's hand on her shoulder. She nodded up to him, and the two made their way over the body, moving into the other room. The far wall was also missing, but it was of concrete, and past it was a sight of horror.
Blood stained the walls that remained, along with the floor, and there were still pieces of flesh and oozing insides scattered about the area. Snake went ahead, stopping where the wall should have been, and looking around. It seemed that it was another hall, and it ran adjacent to the one they were in moment ago, because there was a fire to his right, just like there had been in front of him in the last. He turned to Mei Ling and waved her over as he stepped into the hall and hurried to the left.
"Damn," he grunted. "Whose blood is this?" He was frustrated. Of his friends, and his foes, he was certain that his friend would be on the second floor, and he was somewhat fearful that the blood belonged to them. Still, he wondered if maybe, just maybe, it was that of his enemy.
"Snake..." a voice growled from behind. Snake turned to its origin and saw a man standing there, a sword in his hand, and a biomechanical suit covering the entirety of his body. The flames to his right glimmered on his suit, and made the colors blend and shine magnificently. "It's you, Snake," Grey Fox, the Ninja...Frank Jaeger said.
Snake lifted his SOCOM, aiming it at the Ninja's forehead and waited for something to happen, but nothing did. He looked out of the corner of his eye to see Mei Ling standing proud and humble beside him, then his eyes returned to the Ninja and he slowly returned the gun to his hip. There was a synthesized-sounding laugh that sounded from deep within the casing the Ninja wore. "I...can almost remember you...Snake. It's...hard...but I can....I can..." Before the Ninja could continue, his arms shot forward making a terrible sound as if they had been removed from their sockets. His head began to twitch violently, and he fell onto his knee. There was a quick impulse, and his hands clenched his head tightly, trying to keep it from shaking as it did. His entire body was quivering as Snake and Mei Ling took slow steps backward. "I don't! I don't remember you! You are an enemy! NO! No, you...you are SNAKE! YOU ARE HIM! I...AHHH!!" In a flash, he catapulted backward into the air, and
in an odd fashion, darted through it, disappearing into another hallway. Snake sighed.
"What the hell?" he asked himself. Mei Ling shot a look at him.
"That...that was the Ninja?" She remembered him from Shadow Moses. There, he was known as Deepthroat, and as Olga on the Big Shell, it was Mr. X. Snake turned, continuing on their route and nodded subtly as he walked. Mei Ling caught up with him and as they turned another corner, they found themselves facing a team of Philosophy soldiers, their weapons aimed between their eyes. Snake raised his SOCOM, but as he held it level with their faces, there was a loud noise, and the SOCOM was flung from Snake's hands, clamoring against the wall to their left. A familiar voice sounded at the end of a gap in the crowd of soldiers.
"You fight the masses before the masters?" Ocelot's offbeat tone awakened as Snake took notice to him. In his hand was a Revolver, held high, and aimed at Snake, but he quickly holstered it and stepped toward the two, a smile on his face. The soldiers still had their guns aimed high and ready. "A pity you couldn't save your friend...just seconds too late."
"Ocelot," Snake muttered, "where are they?"
"First, let us all bow our heads in prayer for the late...Rogue," Ocelot cackled silently. "He never was a team player. He will...be missed."
"Wait," Snake paused. "That blood...it was his. You killed your own partner."
"Someday you thank me for it, Snake," Ocelot grinned, and then turned away. "Follow," he said, and the soldiers around him quickly nudged Mei Ling and Snake forward behind Ocelot who moved down the hall to a door on their left. Upon opening it, a cold draft flowed over them all, and he motioned for them to enter. "Ladies first," he said, and Mei Ling was pushed into the room, then Snake, and after the soldiers went Ocelot.
"I hope you don't mind the cold," Ocelot smiled, "we have a body that needs preserving." The door closed behind them, and a soldier brought forth an octagonal cage. Final preparations were complete. The show was about to begin.