Epilogue: The Wiseman's meeting
"It has been five years since the 'Big Shell' incident. The United States government has estimated that five thousand people were killed including former President James Johnson, fifty thousand injured, and about a hundred thousand people left homeless. The National Guard had to aid the sick and homeless for two months. To commemorate the largest terrorist incident in US History; President Murphy as well as the mayor of New York have hosted a ceremony on all those who perished April 30th."
Said Jackie Smith said on screen.
The large metallic structure of Arsenal Gear has disappeared. The concrete blocks, broken glass, and red blood have vanished. Federal Hall was restored to its former glory, even the bronze statue was wiped clean of the blood of Solidus Snake where his arm was stretched out for life and freedom in his failed attempt to thwart American's current regime. About a few hundred people stood on the steps of Federal Hall and some of them were the usual reporters from CNN to the local ABC station, but mostly were the citizens of New York of all ethnicities, and creeds. They stood there and applauded the President who slowly walked to an oak wood podium which glimmered in the afternoon sun.
He stood in front of the podium adjusting the microphone slowly. The large black speakers squeaked and thudded, but the audience stood there as all eyes glanced on the President. Cameramen lifted their bulky equipment slowly, and zoomed on Murphy who was wearing a black suit, white shirt, and black slacks. His green eyes moved slowly back and forth looking at the crowd. His cheeks were starting to have small wrinkles on each side. He had a double chin, and a husky figure.
"To-"Murphy paused as he cleared his throat.
"Today we remember the people at eternal rest. The poor, the rich, the healthy, and the aging passing away affected not only this great city, but this great nation. Five years have passed & our country is slowly healing. This act of terrorism has not weakened but made us stronger! Let us have a moment-"Murphy stopped as the screen faded from a 20 inch plasma screen.
A group of twelve men in black suits were sitting in a large room. The table was elegantly decorated with red silk tapestry. Each of the men's seats was made of natural leather, and had small computers which had LCD screens. The fluorescent light illuminated only the middle of the room which just exposed pieces of paper and bottles of French Wine. Each section of the seat was numbered in red from one to twelve. At each corner were men armed with MP-5 submachine guns. The room was surrounded by a white barrier with screen bars that made everything from the outside opaque and formless.
"Our triumphant S3 Plan. It has made the masses into mindless slaves to do our bidding. In time, we will purify this nation." said the man in the front seat in a deep tone.
The man sat with his hands folded stiffly together, his head was looking straight at the other eleven members. The one from the right side stood up and bowed in front of who seemed to be the leader.
"It was my ingenuity that got us this far, No. 1. You must understand there are still problems. The survivors of the incident..." The man said with a deep British accent.
"Philanthropy, they've been disbanded since then. I think they quit trying to reveal the truth of the country." No. 1 replied back as a small smile came on his face.
"Perhaps, but what about 'Raiden'? The VR training could make him a serious threat to us. I created the program." No. 4 replied.
"I shouldn't he won't be much of a threat."
"If he did join them……well let's just say he'll become an emotional mess."
All of the Wiseman's committee laughed in unison, but suddenly faded away. The automatic door in the back of the room opened slowly as a man in a grey coat came inside. Within his coat, was a belt of bullets, and a holster that held a Colt singe action army? His upper lip was covered with a thick grey moustache, and a large forehead. His hands were gloved, and in his right he held a silver briefcase.
"So, did you enjoy your visit to Japan, Shalashaska?" No. 1 asked jokingly.
"I gave them the location of the base. Those maniacs wouldn't hesitate to burn South Korea to a crisp, and even some Tengu equipment as you requested." Shalashaska replied.
"What about the NSA, CIA, and the Japanese government's record of their recent activities?"
"You know me. I won't let a trace-"Ocelot paused in mid sentence. His eyes peered at his right hand were large black veins.
"Ugh" Ocelot grunted.
"…..Not again……….." Shalashaska closed as eyes as his mind went unconscious.
He dropped the silver suitcase on the floor, and it dented a marble tile on it. Ocelot's torso was moving back and forth as his body tried to struggle against the will of his parasite. Ocelot then looked up as if he was back to normal, but huge veins bulged from his forehead. The expression on his lip was a deviant smile.
"Hmm……..finally found you. Nice place isn't it?" Liquid asked.
"What the hell? His voice……is there something wrong?" Number one asked.
"No, the nanomachines of Liquid Snake? Shit, it backfired." Number four thought.
"Yeah, YOU!" Liquid Snake yelled as he swiftly shot his revolver through his coat, and hitting Number one in the head. The leader of the Patriots fell on the floor with a fresh bullet hole in his head. The blood covered the computer terminal as the Wisemen were struck with awe, shock and horror. The two armed guards then quickly trained their sub machine guns at Ocelot's body. His ears heard the guns being armed, but then Liquid's hand clicked the trigger of the revolver which caused the guard on his left to jolt back into the wall. The other followed who was also shot in the head. The now possessed body of Ocelot slowly walked towards number one's seat. He looked down at number eight who seemed to be touching a button under the table. The revolver then was pointed at the man's head whose forehead was filled with sweat.
"One move...and your dead!" he yelled.
"Yes, sir." he replied reluctantly.
He then sat slowly in what was number one's chair and his arms were on the rests in a relaxed position. His right boot kicked the body of the number one on the floor.
"Now let's see. First of all take this body out of the floor." Liquid Snake said as two of the committee men reluctantly took the corpse out of the room.
"This seems like a good plan. I think we should another equation to it. My brother, I shall destroy him. I died once, but he won't be able to do it again." Liquid said as he read the computer terminal and a notebook labeled 'International terrorist organizations'.
"Things are in my favor now."
Chapter 1: 24 Hours later…
It was about 2am in the morning and about 120 miles from the west coast of Japan. The sky was of endless black, and thousands of stars looked down at the ocean. The ripples were dancing around as a small black raft buzzed along the water. Its engines were silent that they only made a humming sound. A man sat on the raft with two gloved hands on the plastic handles. His face was obscured by the dim skyline, and on top of his head was a circular lens that flickered shades of green. His hairstyle was spiked up hair with a streak of grey hair going through the middle of his scalp. The back of his head had a tattered bandanna which flew in the air. The torso and midsection was covered with a thin layer of body armor that had three line patterns in the middle. On his right thigh he had an M-9 pistol equipped with a silencer and a LAM (Laser Aiming Module).
The mysterious man continued on while a small white boat with a rusted hull slowly drifted back to shore. His blue eyes looked back at the ship as he gave a thumb up to it.
He pressed on as his boat continued to a small island to the north. As he went closer and closer to the island the small white dots and the jagged shape of the island became light lamps, and a flat beach without any rocks. Even a rectangular shadow came into form, casting a cross etching shadow that touched the beachhead.
His name was 'Solid Snake', a veteran soldier, who has turned to lend his abilities to 'Philanthropy' an NGO group whose aim was to destroy the various Metal Gear REX variants in the world. The raft continued gliding on the surface of the water until it slowly stopped about a mile from the barbed wire gate that enclosed most of the island. Snake stood up, and activated his Night Vision goggles.
His eyes looked around the blurry black and white images of the light posts at top of the gates which seemed rusted, and then he looked to the right to a jagged rock which was about five feet tall. He then kneeled down, and slowly approached the rock were he silently turned back hugging the rugged barrier.
Within his inner ear a beep sounded, and he then tapped it causing a small LCD display to turn green on his wrist. It was the CODEC, a covert communications device used by the NSA, CIA, and military Special Forces groups. The 'PTT' windows lit up on the screen and displayed a green monochrome image of a man in his mid 20's with grayish hair, small pairs of bifocals, and he seemed to be wearing a white jacket with a hood in the back. Radio noise obscured the image a bit, and a scan line went up and down every second.
"This is Snake. I've arrived on the island. Been waiting long?" Snake asked casually.
"Nope, too bad the Stealth camouflage doesn't work. It seems like the salt water messed up the circuitry."
"I guess it wasn't designed for maritime operations. So, why am I here?"
Hal was on the other end and was inside the pilot deck of the small white boat which stood dormant about fifty miles from the island. He was sitting in a broken swivel chair. His legs were covered with a tattered pair of Levis Jeans and looked into the Laptop to see Snake's face on location. Behind him was Mei Ling who was wearing a white turtleneck sweater, and black khakis.
"Sorry, I didn't brief you on this. Anyways, a week ago I hacked into the Department of Defense's database. It seems the remains of Arsenal Gear were moved to this island off the coast. The records even gave me the coordinates of this place." Otacon said.
"…Another wild goose chase…It could be a trap again, you know." Snake said cynically.
"I can't guarantee it if your right. That's why I had you go here. It seemed to be a decommissioned nuclear test plant in the late 80's, but after the Persian Gulf War the US government abandoned it."
"Now, there's stuff here about the Patriots?" Snake asked.
"Probably, we want you to infiltrate the nuclear plant, and find out what is really happening there: photos from your digital camera, anything will do. Let me switch it over to Mei Ling." Otacon said as the image on Snake's codec switched to a Chinese girl with a ponytail going to the bottom of her neck
"Snake, the nuclear plant seems to be only a cover as usual. The GPS map shows a discrepancy in the infrared signature. It's probably coming from something under it; probably an underground lab. I uploaded a map into the radar, but it's only at surface level."
"It's alright. Thanks. Where should I go next?" Snake replied happily.
The screen switched back to Otacon where Snake could hear the bashing of keys from the Dell Laptop.
"You should go to loading bay number one. It should have some entrance to the labs below."
"Ok, I'll keep in touch." Snake said as the codec connection closed.
The saboteur stood up from the rock, and then slowly walked into a large shadow below a large truck by a small security checkpoint. He was in a kneeling position surveying the area with his NVG. The plant consisted of six two story warehouses each numbered with a large kanji symbol. One guard armed with an M-4 was slowly tilting his head back and forth snoring while two in front of the base were having a conversation. All were dressed in white and blue camos with a Japanese flag patch on the right shoulder.
"Why can't those Americans do it?" one guard said.
"The hell should I know, at least I'm getting a bonus for this." The other guard replied back.
The first guard looked around aiming his rifle left to right along with his head. The second guard laughed, and rubbed his hands back and forth to warm himself up.
"Man, you should loosen up; like anybody is coming here!" said as the two guards walked outside of Snake's field of vision into the horizon.
He took out a small pair or pliers from one of the compartments off of his belt. He held with both of his hands, and made a gap in the fence. Snake, then pushed the portion down, and crawled inside. The former Fox-Hound member then slowly crawled on the concrete surface which made up most of the ground. It was cracked in random spots, and some of it was covered with thick brown weeds. The rustling was pretty audible as the sleepy guard who bobbed his head up, and opened up his eyes. He then got out his rifle homing on the cluster of grass were Snake was hiding in.
"It's probably an animal or the booze from last night." The guard thought to himself.
Solid Snake looked at the radar on his wrist as a white dot neared a small grayish rectangle representing his location. The tapping of boots became louder as the guard neared.
"Hmm." Snake thought as he armed his M-9 with a magazine.
His aim was straight, and cold. He had his usual straight lipped, focused eyes and intimidating face as the guard slowly walked to him. His right finger tapped the trigger of the pistol as a muffled bang came out. It traveled at a high velocity as the dart hit the guard straight in the head. His arms became loose, his eyes shuttered, lips began to utter a groan, and finally collapsed on the floor.
Snake then grabbed the down guard on his back, and laid into the cluster of grass. He then ran to the back of the small checkpoint, and kneeled into the shadows. His body was covered in black as if he was a ghost. Again he used his goggles to survey the area, but was focusing on loading bay one.
He saw a sentry coming out of the green double doors. In his right hand he clutched a box of Camel Lights, and a M9 pistol tucked inside his waist. The sentry then took out a key which was the only way inside.
"There's loading bay one." Snake thought as he slowly approached a stout guard who was now three feet away from him. The sentry's guard was down as he puffed the tobacco into his lungs. His eyes blinked, and coughed deeply. His right boot tapped and sighed in relief.
Snake meanwhile was on the right side of loading bay one which had a small alcove dimly lit except for a shuttering lamp that was about to burn out after months of use. His body was flattened on the wall. Snake's eyes tilted around the corner to check on the guard who was taking pleasure his usual routine. Snake then clicked the lock of his M9, and slowly, with knees bent. The guard's head turned to the left as Snake aimed the tranquilizer pistol at his head.
"Freeze" Snake said.
The guard's hands were up, and his lips were quivering in fear. His heart was beating into his chest, his knees were wobbling, and his mouth gasped for air.
"I need the keys please." Snake jokingly said as his pistol was pushed into man's back, and right hand reaching out to him.
"Don't kill me!" the guard replied.
Subsequently the guard's right hands reached for his waist were a black radio on a belt clip. Natural instinct kicked in and Snake then swung the pistol at the guard's head. The guard then trembled and fell with his eyes closed. A purple pump could be seen through the back portion of his hair. The intruder then holstered his pistol, and looked through the guard's pocket. He felt a sharp warm metallic object in his hand. It was the key to the building, and entered it while dragging the unconscious body with him.
His arms were wrapped around the guard's chest as Snake's legs were moving slowly. He was getting too old for this.
"Heavy boy, aren't you?" Snake said silently as he dragged the guard behind barrels of oil.
The loading bay consisted of three shelves which were painted black. Large heat lamps buzzed on the ceiling, and a swarm of flies gathered on some of them. The floor was made of red tile with a few gaps that showed the concrete base of the structure. The first rack had 5.56mm magazines and M4 carbines. The second rack was filled with large crates which were labeled Fruit Loops Cereal. The last one was covered in black tarp which was tattered and ripped. He then ran towards the row covered in tarp. Snake then ripped the ropes at the bottom of the tarp. His right hand then unveiled a small portion of the storage rack. Snake's head nodded, and then positioned two fingers on his right ear.
It was a large piece of titanium alloy, and it had the shape of a surfboard with many unsystematic dents around it. Fried red and blue wires came out of a pierced portion in the middle and a label saying 'NAVY' on it.
"This is Snake, intel was right. It's a piece of Arsenal Gear." Snake said into his CODEC.
"Well, did you take a photo?" Otacon asked.
"I am about to…."
Suddenly, Otacon's face on the codec changed Mei Ling. She had a small earphone on her right. Her face was filled with surprise, and her eyes were widened in shock. In Snake's codec radio, chatter was in the background with purely Japanese voices.
"There are some radio signals nearing there! I don't know what encryption protocol it is. It's just nearing the island." Mei Ling exclaimed.
"Not again." Snake yelled as the sounds of helicopter rotators caused the ceiling to shake, and red siren began to light up in the bay.
* * *
Three black helicopters were about one hundred above the facility. Red sirens screeched as dozens of foot soldiers came out of the central plant. Some were dressed in only their boxers armed only with 9mm pistols while six were in full body armor, and black balaclavas. The armored ones were in the front, and made a circular formation. All guns were trained at the three choppers.
"You are entering restricted airspace. If you land; we will use lethal force." A PA announcer said.
"I repeat. You are entering restricted airspace. If you land; we will use lethal force!"
One of the armored troopers had a red line going over his ski mask. The steam came out of his nose through the thin layer of cloth. One hand held a radio while the other he held a Beretta 9mm pistol.
"Fukishima and Ikari, hold your positions!" the commander yelled into his radio.
The helicopters then floated above much like humming birds. They're movement was very straight and stable except for a little wobbling in the back tail. Fast ropes came down of the helicopter as twelve troopers who wore obscure looking suits came in. The material looked much like rubber, and had large facemasks that looked much like a raven's beak. They wielded F-2000 assault rifles. The guard's then kneeled down, and pointed their rifles at the intruders' heads. The mysterious men stood still with guns holstered and their hands looked like they were about to take an object off their backs.
"Lock and load!" the commander of the plant 'army' yelled into the radio.
The armored militia fired bullets at the intruder's. Yellow muzzles flash and sounds bounced around in the night, but the baffling group pulled out katanas. They twirled their swords in unison as they deflected the rounds. Sparks came to the ground as the failed bullets ricocheted on the floor. Smoke from the gunfire slowly dispersed as the troops look puzzled.
"What the hell?" said one.
"This is unreal! They deflected all our…" The commander said.
The armed group then replaced their swords into the compartments in the back, and armed their P-90s. They squeezed the trigger as dozens of rounds came out of the muzzle. Three of the armored defenders were punctured by the bullets. A massive pool of blood surrounded them as they became lifeless. Meanwhile, the commander survived twitching on the floor and coughing up his bodily fluids. His eyes were red as he twitched on the floor. His radio was riddled with bullets, and wires popped out of it.
"Please…" he grunted as a bullet hit him in the head ending his life.
The commander then fell with his mouth wide open, and blood shot eyes with it. Now the base soldiers were separated, trying to fight off the invading army. The base was lit up with gunfire and huge gusts of smoke erupted into the air. The smell of freshly drawn blood surrounded the base and the smell of decomposing corpses invaded the base. In fifteen minutes most of the base personnel were killed.
The twelve troopers stood still, and looked around, seeing the results of their skirmish. They then heard footsteps of boots, and turned back. It was a man in his late 20's, his hair was of a platinum color, and a pair of circular sunglasses. His hair was dyed a silvery color and he had thin lips. The young man's name was Commander Akemi.
"Akemi-san" the troops yelled as they bowed in harmony with hands folded.
"Good job, my father will be arriving shortly. For now, search everywhere for any survivors, and searched for Metal Gear. Our informant said it should be in that bay over there!" Akemi said as he pointed at loading bay 1.
The troops then separated into two groups. One went to the central plant while one was heading towards Snake's hiding spot, loading bay one.
* * *
"It's like a war is going on. I am afraid there's a change of plans." Snake said into the codec.
"Alright…What's that?" Otacon asked.
"Shit, they're here!" Snake exclaimed as the codec cut off.
"Snake, wait!"
One of the Tengu soldiers came in with a flashlight on his helmet and kicked the door open. His helmet was marked with a yellow mark which meant he was the commander of the team. His F-2000 was on his waist while he looked around.
"Element, move!" the commander yelled as five more of the guard came inside door.
"That soldier outside. There must be another intruder!" The commander yelled again.
Snake flattened his body on the last storage rack. He peeked over looking at the soldier's helmet. It had an orange visor that obscured eye color and skin tone. From the bottom the 'beak' was of a sharp angle. His eyes were straight with no signs of nervousness; a mark of a veteran soldier. The troops then slowly cleared the area, their movements slow and methodical. They're eyes looked at the boxes of cereal. The commander then nodded and scratched his thigh. Suddenly one of the troopers saw a shadow of a man with pieces of cloth coming down to his neck.
"Attack!" the commander yelled as Snake rolled away from the fourth column in the room. The bullets merely punctured a few oil drums as black crude oozed out. Snake was now crawling on the floor listening intently at the soldier's footsteps.
"This Tranquilizer isn't the ideal weapon, wait" Snake thought as he rose up behind the oil drums.
Snake then slowly tiptoed and grabbed an M4 carbine off the first rack silently, and then trained it at the commander who was leading his comrades. He took aim and held his breath. His blue eyes were focused at the commander's yellow helmet as laser dot pointed at his head. Then, Snake fired triggered the commanding guard to fall on the floor as a few pints of blood gushed out of his head.
"This guy's a pro," said one of the guards as he scanned the room, and saw nothing but the barrels and boxes.
The 'Legend' was hanging on the steel rods in the ceiling of the structure. His hands were tightly gripped on them. His eyes examined the guard's motions. They forgot one thing; looking up. One of the assault team was right under Snake, but didn't notice the shadow of him. With ease, the Philanthropy agent softly landed in a kneeled position. The guard's back was turned, and swiftly Snake held the troop in a sleeper hold. His mouth was covered, as the other guard's looked on in shock.
"Don't shoot!" the captive guard mumbled.
The four other guards enclosed Snake in a circle with their F-2000's trained at Snake. The hostage wiggled his arms in a feeble attempt to escape Snake's grasp. His captor then pushed and threw him over the others. The man flew in the air as Snake ran down a small gated door adjacent to him. The assault team fell over like a bowling ball knocking out pins. Simultaneously they were all knocked out. One was on the floor twitching covered in crude oil, the second one had his back toward one of the metal racks which dented his helmet, and shattered the plastic shield. The third meanwhile was on top of the one covered in crude oil laying still.
The 'Legend' then sighed as he lock picked the door into the basement labs.