Welcome to Phase 9. Where we last left Snake, he tried his fraggin' best
to hold off an Evangelion, before a reluctant Shinji Ikari fights EVA-02 in
hand-to-hand combat. Meanwhile, the two angels face off against each other
for a short while, until Snake sends a miniaturized N^2 grenade toward
their direction, blowing up the entire cage. Amazingly, Snake escapes with
only a head wound, but...
"FREEZE, INTRUDER!!!"
Snake whipped his head around, glancing at the door in front of him. He immediately ripped his Five-seveN out of his leather holster, just before the door slammed to the ground with a metallic CLANG in a cloud of dust, revealing several heavily armed NERV guards. He aimed and double-tapped the closest guard, pulling the trigger two times in quick succession. One of the guards grunted as he caught two of Snake's suppressed 5.7mm rounds - - one in the chest, and the other in his left eye - - before going down in a spray of crimson. He shot six more armor-piercing slugs at the advancing soldiers before turning around and running in a zigzagged fashion intended to throw the guards' aim off. He reached a wooden desk and hastily vaulted over it, placing one hand on the wooden face while stretching out his legs to arch over the desk. He slammed to the floor, a hail of gunfire slamming into the desk, sending shards of wood floating into the air.
Using the upturned desk as a shield, Snake stuck his gun-hand out to fire randomly at the troops. Some guards soon found themselves hitting the floor wounded or dead, but the remainder took cover from outside the room.
This reminded him of the incident in the communication tower somehow. (Except there's no bloody stairs,) he thought to himself as he reached to a pouch where a flashbang would normally be. He felt nothing.
"Damn it!" Snake cursed himself, as he remembered that he used all of his stuns in the last fight with the Evangelion. He retrieved a frag grenade from another pouch instead.
Snake pulled the pin and tossed it over the desk. An explosion followed it, and Snake quickly ran for a door on the other side of the treatment room. He led with his gun; and when the automatic door opened, he found himself in front of a large group of guards brandishing electric stun batons and riot shields.
Gun in front of him, Snake fired at the advancing troops. He managed to strike a few guards with his bullets, but the shields kept the rest of the guards from potential lead poisoning. The click of his gun seemed to resonate across the building, causing Snake and the guards to pause.
(Shit...) Snake stood still as the first guard cautiously walked forward, motioning with his stun baton for Snake to cooperate and walk towards them peacefully. Snake looked down at his gun and bounced it on one palm, let the trigger guard slide over one finger, and holding the butt up to the guard, indicating his surrender. The first guard, with an expression of nervousness on his face, looked at his comrades for some kind of reassurance. The guards nodded at him, urging him to move on.
Snake smirked, and then threw the gun at the guard's head, the butt catching him in between the eyes. Snake laughed darkly in amusement, then gasped in pain initiated by hundreds of volts of electricity as the rest of the guards rushed him. He could do nothing as they repeatedly shocked him, numbing his nerves and causing him to collapse on the floor, gasping for air. The last thing he experienced before slipping to unconsciousness was his body being dragged along the floor, staring blankly at the ceiling before everything faded to black.
Metal Gear Legends: To Thwart an Apocalypse
11-41 Studios
Enter Phase 9: A Brief Respite
It was 10:30 PM, Tokyo-3 time. Shinji was lying down on a sleeping mat, plug suit still on. He was in the same room that Asuka and Rei were in, both resting in their hospital beds. Shinji was wearing the headphones of his S-DAT player, even though the batteries were dead. He just felt more comfortable with them on. If he could wear them in the entry plug without damaging them, he would. Shinji just had this idea that the headphones block out the outside world, though deep down, he knew this was far from the truth. Sleep overtook his weary mind and body, joining the rest of the pilots who were already asleep.
Shinji found himself in a large, white room. It smelled of disinfected death, much like a hospital would. On the far side of the room, he could see Asuka, still asleep on her hospital bed.
"Asuka!" Shinji screamed, running towards the bed. He then fell back and hit the floor as an A.T. field seemingly unfolded from nonexistence. A flaring orange illuminated the room, blocking the entrance to the room, the walls, and Asuka's bed.
"What is this?", Shinji gasped, slamming his palm onto the A.T. Field, trying to reach for Asuka. "Asuka? Can you hear me? Help me with this, Asuka! Please. please listen! Please, Asuka? PLEASE!"
"Sorry, Kiddo. She can't hear you... and she won't help you."
Shinji turned around, staring at the person in front of him.
It was... It was - -
"K - - Kaji?", Shinji gasped, then shook his head, as if refusing to believe. "No. No, you're dead. I - -I thought you were..."
Kaji nodded, smiling sadly. "Yeah, I guess I am. But don't worry about me. I'm already dead, remember?"
His smirk slowly turned into a frown, his eyes turning dark and serious. "It's you I'm worried about. I mean, damn, Shinji, you've got so much angst, even for a teenager. But I digress. After all, I've never been though what you've been through." The AT-field dissipated, allowing Kaji to lead Shinji up to Asuka's bed. They both looked down at her sadly.
"You must care a lot for her if you need her help so much. Why do you need her help anyways?"
Shinji arched his back at that question and clutched his hand into fists, sucking in air. "Because I'm weak! I'm dishonest, I'm a coward, I'm - -"
"Here we go with this angsty crap again..." Kaji interrupted, sounding exasperated. "Look, you need to be more aware of what you can do, instead of what you can't. You really are ignorant of your own reputation, Shinji Ikari. It takes a pretty strong person to pilot one of those things," he said, pointing to a large object in the distance.
Shinji looked away from Kaji and was surprised to find one of the walls gone, replaced with the immense face and sneer of Evangelion Unit-01.
"No, it doesn't. I'm not strong..." Shinji muttered, shaking his head.
"Look, Shinji, you need to be strong for Asuka, but you need to be strong for yourself first. Asuka's going to need it in the future. Her life, and yours, and everyone in the whole world will depend on your strength."
"I-I-I don't feel any sort of strength within me. I'm nothing! I'm l- lower than scum! I c-can't do anyth - -"
Shinji was cut off as a fist slammed into the side of his stuttering mouth, making him fall to the floor on his bottom.
"Damn, that felt good!" Kaji said with a tinge of satisfaction, looking down at Shinji and clenching his left hand. "Nice to see I still got my left hook... And you'd think that a ghost's punch wouldn't feel so solid either."
Indeed, it felt very solid... almost real; Shinji doubted for a second whether or not he was really dreaming. Tears welled up in Shinji's eyes as he cupped his bruised cheek and stared up at Kaji. "K...Kaji? Why?"
"Nothing personal, Shinji. But now I know why Misato hit you. She had the right idea, you know. Someone just had to knock some sense into you. Look, Shinji, you need to understand, from now on, your actions predetermine what will happen to this world. Now, if you let the Third Impact happen, the entirety of mankind will fuse into... well something that you wouldn't like; and that's what will happen if you don't shape up," Kaji said as he helped Shinji to his feet.
"Now I know this is all very hard, but it's for your future, mankind's future..." He points to Asuka. "...And her future. I'll leave you alone now. Catch you later soon, and tell Misato hi for me... and tell her I'm sorry."
She cried out in pain, her legs buckling under her. She got shot.
He could only watch as crimson blood trailed from her leg, and winced as he heard her scream in response. He dodged back onto the wall, where the enemy wouldn't get him. He watched again, in shock, as a small portion of her stomach exploded, blood gushing from the wound. She lay on the floor, a pathetic sprawled form wracking with shuddering breaths.
He forced open his mouth, screaming one word, one word that meant so much to him.
"MERYL!"
He hated the fact that he could do nothing to save her. It was the oldest trick in the sniper book... shoot an enemy's comrade, and wait for him to come out and save his friend.
"I... I'd just slow you down... Shoot me, Snake!"
"NO!" Snake exclaimed. His shock paralyzed him, and she was dying right before his eyes. "K-keep on fighting... and don't give up on people!", Meryl wheezed, tears streaking down her cheeks, a thin trail of blood sliding down her mouth. "D-don't forget me, Snake..."
The CODEC rang incessantly in Snake's ears, and he frantically reached out to activate it.
Snake woke up abruptly.
Covered in sheen of sweat, he blinked. He was tied down in a chair, his restraints canceling out his struggle to move his arms and legs. Taking in his surroundings, he sighed.
He was captured, and in a room that used to be a usual interrogation room, complete with the standard one-sided glass. His head whipped to the side as he saw a door open and close. A tall man, most likely in his 50s, stepped into the room. He walked up to Snake.
Snake blinked up at him, trying to see his features. Then the man spoke.
"The legendary Solid Snake - - The hero of three separate Metal Gear uprising incidents. Your reputation precedes you in the defense business," he spoke with a voice that was soft and calm. Speaking in English, his Japanese accent was thick and almost undecipherable.
Snake shook his head, trying to ward away the fog that clouded his consciousness. He could see a little bit of the man's features, but most of him was still blurred.
"...The hell do you want, Colonel Sanders?" he demanded, breaking off with a rasping cough.
The man was taken aback by the strange reply, but continued to talk. "I am Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki, second-in-command here at NERV. I must say, you are a long ways from Americans."
"I could say the same thing about your English. Your accent is as bad as Mei Ling's.," Snake retorted in Japanese, then looked the man over and smirked. "And you're a lot less cuter, too."
Fuyutsuki frowned. He began to talk to Snake in Japanese from then on. "I must ask you, what is your business here in NERV? Who are those ninjas? Are you associated with them?"
"Whoa, slow down, Slick," Snake interrupted. "I just woke up from my nap. By the way, sorry about the little mess I made in your playhouse with your toy robots."
Fuyutsuki just smiled. "You're absolutely right. I invite you to stay for the night. You will be dealt with tomorrow morning." He motioned for the guard behind Snake, and the guard shocked him once with a stun baton, making Snake barely conscious. He was dragged back to his cell. (Arrogant cowboy...) Fuyutsuki thought to himself with an evil smirk across his face. (He'll get what's coming to him,) he thought to himself with an evil grin. (...and so will everyone else.)
Snake regained his consciousness again, and found himself unrestrained, in a prison cell. There was only one small window, which was on the triple- steel reinforced door. All his weapons had been taken from him, but one thing went unnoticed - - a pack of cigarettes: his favorite brand. (These things are hard to find ever since the abolishment of tobacco in the U.S.,) he thought to himself, as he lit one up. He had to give them up a while back, until he came to Japan and realized that cigarettes were perfectly legal here. He took this moment to report to his Codec crew.
"Snake, you're all right!!" an ecstatic Otacon exclaimed on the screen. It was good to see a familiar face. "Jeez, you look like crap, what did they do to you?"
"They kicked my ass," Snake replied dryly. "So, I don't suppose you can get me a ketchup bottle right around now, could you?"
Otacon smiled. "No, I suppose not. Our satellite images here show that you held off an _Evangelion_ for almost 4 minutes. Entire armies aren't able to do that! That's amazing!"
"Well, yeah, those things can take a punch," Snake replied.
"I would have expected so. Those Evas are able to withstand a full N^2 charge without missing a beat!"
Snake took a long drag on his cigarette as he thought about this. "Pretty impressive. So, if that purple robot hadn't shown up to save my ass, would I have been a goner?"
Otacon nodded, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Well, it would have been very likely."
There was a short pause in the conversation before Snake decided to say something. "Otacon... how do I get the hell out of here?"
"You should talk to the Commander. He knows more about this." Tadokoro's face appeared on the codec screen.
"It's nice to see you're still alive," he said. "What you need to do right now is just rest. They'll probably ask you some questions in the morning. Don't answer anything that might incriminate us."
"Yeah, I know," Snake smiled to himself as he thought about that old bastard's terrible English. "Now, you need to answer my questions. Who the hell are those ninjas?"
Tadokoro replied. "I believe our analyst Akane has those answers. She used to work in NERV, and now, she works for the UN." Eliza's face appeared on the screen.
"You used to work for NERV? What did you do?" Snake asked.
"Well, I worked on part of the headquarters design. I made it so it could withstand Angel attacks, but never human attacks. I also helped contract Fabrique Nationale, the weapons company who made armaments for NERV's personal defense. I also helped a brilliant scientist there by the name of Dr. Akagi, assisting her in the Clone Transfer System."
"Clone Transfer System?" Snake asked.
"Yes, it's a system designed to sort of pull one's soul out to transfer it to another body. It is also used to repress memories from the soul. You see, Snake, not only do memories have a physical presence in the brain, they also have a presence in your soul - - in your essence, in a manner of speaking. I- - I'm not sure what it was used for... I would imagine that it was used for some type of clone; hence the name."
"So why did you quit NERV?"
Oh... well, I didn't really quit... Umm, I was transferred to the Russian NERV branch, then I was released, and decided to work for the UN as an analyst." Snake could sense that she was avoiding something.
"Well, to answer your question, Snake, the history of that ninja goes back to before I was assigned as the chief analyst for the UN. My predecessor helped in the study of AT-fields and superhuman power in humans. They came across a breakthrough, but decided that they would need a human subject for it. They took a person who was already dead, revived him, and drugged him for several weeks while they did tests on him. The test subject showed signs that he had a significantly strong AT-field, but he could not control it, and he went berserk. He killed everyone in the test area, and escaped. From what I understand, the project was canceled, so I have no idea why there would be more than one ninja..."
"So why is he attacking NERV?"
"I'm not sure. I don't know much else about the project. Anyways, you shouldn't worry about that now. Focus on the next morning, but for right now, try to get some rest. I have a feeling that you'll need it for tomorrow." Eliza blew a kiss to Snake. "Good luck." The codec shut off.
Snake lied down on the prison mattress. "She's pretty cute," he said to himself. He threw the cigarette butt away, and closed his eyes.
It was 6:30 AM. It was Misato's turn to stay up now, along with a few computer operators. Everyone's been sleeping in shifts in the control room (with the exception of Gendo and Fuyutsuki, who slept in their quarters), because everyone was afraid of the ninja. Maya had been a total wreck after the incident with Shigeru, so she was allowed to sleep through the night.
Misato wondered what this man might be doing here in Japan. She found it hard to comprehend how the government would send just one man to bring down this whole operation. But after looking at his record, it wasn't all too impossible for this guy to do anything! 32 forms of oriental combat, fluent in 6 languages, attended sneak attack school, ex-Marine and CIA... In 1995, he forced an entire terrorist nation to surrender. In 1999, he put down the Zanzibar riot, and in 2000, just before Second Impact, he stopped the Genome revolution. Coincidentally, all three events involve Solid Snake destroying a nuclear weapon-equipped walking battle tank called "Metal Gear."
(So, it would explain a little bit how he was able to hold back an Evangelion like that,) she thought to herself. Later on that morning, she will have to interrogate him, she reminded herself. (That man seems impossible to talk to. I hope I can get some answers out of him.)
Amazingly, she wasn't too badly injured, especially after an explosion like that. Just a few things - - cuts, a dislocated shoulder (which she fixed easily, albeit with a lot of pain) - - but it was nothing she couldn't take care of. The AT-field did its job well. She found a treatment room (without killing or getting discovered; she wasn't in the type of shape to kill)... but it was not empty. A soldier was there, searching through the cupboards for something. He seemed to be sneezing a lot...
"Damn, I caught a cold! I hate Tokyo-3. Boy, is that Major Katsuragi hot... AACHOOO Now, where is that medicine?"
The ninja activated her stealth, and proceeded to walk up to the soldier from behind. With the lightest touch, she grabbed his head with both hands and twisted it violently, breaking the neck. Dropping the body gently, she briefly glanced at his ID (Sasaki, Johnny), and proceeded to search the cupboard for medical items.
END OF PHASE 9
There we go. I know there's not much action in this one. I just thought it would be fitting that there shouldn't be any gunfights at 3 in the morning. Besides, it's been one combat-packed chapter after another, so this is a nice break from the stress. Eh... maybe next chapter, right?
Now for a special acknowledgement. I would like to thank my pre-reader, Bad Ronald, for the immense amount of help he's given me to improve this chapter. I never thought this writing could improve so much in this way, so I thank him for that. Also, be on the lookout for his Evangelion fiction called "The Mask." It's looking good so far. Look for chapter 10 soon. Coolness! Latz.
Almost forgot! To answer Deathangel's question, the fake darpa chief, was in fact, Decoy Octopus. When he took the chief's blood as his own, he also took FOXDIE with him, so he's the one that ended up with the heart attack.
UPDATE 11.10.02 alas, i have been rejected again! evafics.org has decided to reject my fiction once again (that's twice already) after i corrected a few things. it's disappointing, but it only shows my n00bieness as a fan fiction writer, which i mean to correct. each time i write a new chapter, i learn new things that i can use to improve myself.
one thing i discovered was the absolute usefulness and necessity of a pre- reader. i have one right now, and he's shown me so many ways i can improve my writing, and that's just with one chapter! so, i'm asking for more help. i'm looking for 2-3 more very good pre-readers who can help me spruce up the first 8 chapters, as well as for upcoming chapters. if you can show me in some way that you are a good pre-reader, i'll take you. e- mail me at KLstumpy@yahoo.com with the subject "PREREADER." i'd appreciate it a lot.
Story (c) 2002 11-41 Studios. All characters used in this story belong to their respective owners.
"FREEZE, INTRUDER!!!"
Snake whipped his head around, glancing at the door in front of him. He immediately ripped his Five-seveN out of his leather holster, just before the door slammed to the ground with a metallic CLANG in a cloud of dust, revealing several heavily armed NERV guards. He aimed and double-tapped the closest guard, pulling the trigger two times in quick succession. One of the guards grunted as he caught two of Snake's suppressed 5.7mm rounds - - one in the chest, and the other in his left eye - - before going down in a spray of crimson. He shot six more armor-piercing slugs at the advancing soldiers before turning around and running in a zigzagged fashion intended to throw the guards' aim off. He reached a wooden desk and hastily vaulted over it, placing one hand on the wooden face while stretching out his legs to arch over the desk. He slammed to the floor, a hail of gunfire slamming into the desk, sending shards of wood floating into the air.
Using the upturned desk as a shield, Snake stuck his gun-hand out to fire randomly at the troops. Some guards soon found themselves hitting the floor wounded or dead, but the remainder took cover from outside the room.
This reminded him of the incident in the communication tower somehow. (Except there's no bloody stairs,) he thought to himself as he reached to a pouch where a flashbang would normally be. He felt nothing.
"Damn it!" Snake cursed himself, as he remembered that he used all of his stuns in the last fight with the Evangelion. He retrieved a frag grenade from another pouch instead.
Snake pulled the pin and tossed it over the desk. An explosion followed it, and Snake quickly ran for a door on the other side of the treatment room. He led with his gun; and when the automatic door opened, he found himself in front of a large group of guards brandishing electric stun batons and riot shields.
Gun in front of him, Snake fired at the advancing troops. He managed to strike a few guards with his bullets, but the shields kept the rest of the guards from potential lead poisoning. The click of his gun seemed to resonate across the building, causing Snake and the guards to pause.
(Shit...) Snake stood still as the first guard cautiously walked forward, motioning with his stun baton for Snake to cooperate and walk towards them peacefully. Snake looked down at his gun and bounced it on one palm, let the trigger guard slide over one finger, and holding the butt up to the guard, indicating his surrender. The first guard, with an expression of nervousness on his face, looked at his comrades for some kind of reassurance. The guards nodded at him, urging him to move on.
Snake smirked, and then threw the gun at the guard's head, the butt catching him in between the eyes. Snake laughed darkly in amusement, then gasped in pain initiated by hundreds of volts of electricity as the rest of the guards rushed him. He could do nothing as they repeatedly shocked him, numbing his nerves and causing him to collapse on the floor, gasping for air. The last thing he experienced before slipping to unconsciousness was his body being dragged along the floor, staring blankly at the ceiling before everything faded to black.
Metal Gear Legends: To Thwart an Apocalypse
11-41 Studios
Enter Phase 9: A Brief Respite
It was 10:30 PM, Tokyo-3 time. Shinji was lying down on a sleeping mat, plug suit still on. He was in the same room that Asuka and Rei were in, both resting in their hospital beds. Shinji was wearing the headphones of his S-DAT player, even though the batteries were dead. He just felt more comfortable with them on. If he could wear them in the entry plug without damaging them, he would. Shinji just had this idea that the headphones block out the outside world, though deep down, he knew this was far from the truth. Sleep overtook his weary mind and body, joining the rest of the pilots who were already asleep.
Shinji found himself in a large, white room. It smelled of disinfected death, much like a hospital would. On the far side of the room, he could see Asuka, still asleep on her hospital bed.
"Asuka!" Shinji screamed, running towards the bed. He then fell back and hit the floor as an A.T. field seemingly unfolded from nonexistence. A flaring orange illuminated the room, blocking the entrance to the room, the walls, and Asuka's bed.
"What is this?", Shinji gasped, slamming his palm onto the A.T. Field, trying to reach for Asuka. "Asuka? Can you hear me? Help me with this, Asuka! Please. please listen! Please, Asuka? PLEASE!"
"Sorry, Kiddo. She can't hear you... and she won't help you."
Shinji turned around, staring at the person in front of him.
It was... It was - -
"K - - Kaji?", Shinji gasped, then shook his head, as if refusing to believe. "No. No, you're dead. I - -I thought you were..."
Kaji nodded, smiling sadly. "Yeah, I guess I am. But don't worry about me. I'm already dead, remember?"
His smirk slowly turned into a frown, his eyes turning dark and serious. "It's you I'm worried about. I mean, damn, Shinji, you've got so much angst, even for a teenager. But I digress. After all, I've never been though what you've been through." The AT-field dissipated, allowing Kaji to lead Shinji up to Asuka's bed. They both looked down at her sadly.
"You must care a lot for her if you need her help so much. Why do you need her help anyways?"
Shinji arched his back at that question and clutched his hand into fists, sucking in air. "Because I'm weak! I'm dishonest, I'm a coward, I'm - -"
"Here we go with this angsty crap again..." Kaji interrupted, sounding exasperated. "Look, you need to be more aware of what you can do, instead of what you can't. You really are ignorant of your own reputation, Shinji Ikari. It takes a pretty strong person to pilot one of those things," he said, pointing to a large object in the distance.
Shinji looked away from Kaji and was surprised to find one of the walls gone, replaced with the immense face and sneer of Evangelion Unit-01.
"No, it doesn't. I'm not strong..." Shinji muttered, shaking his head.
"Look, Shinji, you need to be strong for Asuka, but you need to be strong for yourself first. Asuka's going to need it in the future. Her life, and yours, and everyone in the whole world will depend on your strength."
"I-I-I don't feel any sort of strength within me. I'm nothing! I'm l- lower than scum! I c-can't do anyth - -"
Shinji was cut off as a fist slammed into the side of his stuttering mouth, making him fall to the floor on his bottom.
"Damn, that felt good!" Kaji said with a tinge of satisfaction, looking down at Shinji and clenching his left hand. "Nice to see I still got my left hook... And you'd think that a ghost's punch wouldn't feel so solid either."
Indeed, it felt very solid... almost real; Shinji doubted for a second whether or not he was really dreaming. Tears welled up in Shinji's eyes as he cupped his bruised cheek and stared up at Kaji. "K...Kaji? Why?"
"Nothing personal, Shinji. But now I know why Misato hit you. She had the right idea, you know. Someone just had to knock some sense into you. Look, Shinji, you need to understand, from now on, your actions predetermine what will happen to this world. Now, if you let the Third Impact happen, the entirety of mankind will fuse into... well something that you wouldn't like; and that's what will happen if you don't shape up," Kaji said as he helped Shinji to his feet.
"Now I know this is all very hard, but it's for your future, mankind's future..." He points to Asuka. "...And her future. I'll leave you alone now. Catch you later soon, and tell Misato hi for me... and tell her I'm sorry."
She cried out in pain, her legs buckling under her. She got shot.
He could only watch as crimson blood trailed from her leg, and winced as he heard her scream in response. He dodged back onto the wall, where the enemy wouldn't get him. He watched again, in shock, as a small portion of her stomach exploded, blood gushing from the wound. She lay on the floor, a pathetic sprawled form wracking with shuddering breaths.
He forced open his mouth, screaming one word, one word that meant so much to him.
"MERYL!"
He hated the fact that he could do nothing to save her. It was the oldest trick in the sniper book... shoot an enemy's comrade, and wait for him to come out and save his friend.
"I... I'd just slow you down... Shoot me, Snake!"
"NO!" Snake exclaimed. His shock paralyzed him, and she was dying right before his eyes. "K-keep on fighting... and don't give up on people!", Meryl wheezed, tears streaking down her cheeks, a thin trail of blood sliding down her mouth. "D-don't forget me, Snake..."
The CODEC rang incessantly in Snake's ears, and he frantically reached out to activate it.
Snake woke up abruptly.
Covered in sheen of sweat, he blinked. He was tied down in a chair, his restraints canceling out his struggle to move his arms and legs. Taking in his surroundings, he sighed.
He was captured, and in a room that used to be a usual interrogation room, complete with the standard one-sided glass. His head whipped to the side as he saw a door open and close. A tall man, most likely in his 50s, stepped into the room. He walked up to Snake.
Snake blinked up at him, trying to see his features. Then the man spoke.
"The legendary Solid Snake - - The hero of three separate Metal Gear uprising incidents. Your reputation precedes you in the defense business," he spoke with a voice that was soft and calm. Speaking in English, his Japanese accent was thick and almost undecipherable.
Snake shook his head, trying to ward away the fog that clouded his consciousness. He could see a little bit of the man's features, but most of him was still blurred.
"...The hell do you want, Colonel Sanders?" he demanded, breaking off with a rasping cough.
The man was taken aback by the strange reply, but continued to talk. "I am Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki, second-in-command here at NERV. I must say, you are a long ways from Americans."
"I could say the same thing about your English. Your accent is as bad as Mei Ling's.," Snake retorted in Japanese, then looked the man over and smirked. "And you're a lot less cuter, too."
Fuyutsuki frowned. He began to talk to Snake in Japanese from then on. "I must ask you, what is your business here in NERV? Who are those ninjas? Are you associated with them?"
"Whoa, slow down, Slick," Snake interrupted. "I just woke up from my nap. By the way, sorry about the little mess I made in your playhouse with your toy robots."
Fuyutsuki just smiled. "You're absolutely right. I invite you to stay for the night. You will be dealt with tomorrow morning." He motioned for the guard behind Snake, and the guard shocked him once with a stun baton, making Snake barely conscious. He was dragged back to his cell. (Arrogant cowboy...) Fuyutsuki thought to himself with an evil smirk across his face. (He'll get what's coming to him,) he thought to himself with an evil grin. (...and so will everyone else.)
Snake regained his consciousness again, and found himself unrestrained, in a prison cell. There was only one small window, which was on the triple- steel reinforced door. All his weapons had been taken from him, but one thing went unnoticed - - a pack of cigarettes: his favorite brand. (These things are hard to find ever since the abolishment of tobacco in the U.S.,) he thought to himself, as he lit one up. He had to give them up a while back, until he came to Japan and realized that cigarettes were perfectly legal here. He took this moment to report to his Codec crew.
"Snake, you're all right!!" an ecstatic Otacon exclaimed on the screen. It was good to see a familiar face. "Jeez, you look like crap, what did they do to you?"
"They kicked my ass," Snake replied dryly. "So, I don't suppose you can get me a ketchup bottle right around now, could you?"
Otacon smiled. "No, I suppose not. Our satellite images here show that you held off an _Evangelion_ for almost 4 minutes. Entire armies aren't able to do that! That's amazing!"
"Well, yeah, those things can take a punch," Snake replied.
"I would have expected so. Those Evas are able to withstand a full N^2 charge without missing a beat!"
Snake took a long drag on his cigarette as he thought about this. "Pretty impressive. So, if that purple robot hadn't shown up to save my ass, would I have been a goner?"
Otacon nodded, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Well, it would have been very likely."
There was a short pause in the conversation before Snake decided to say something. "Otacon... how do I get the hell out of here?"
"You should talk to the Commander. He knows more about this." Tadokoro's face appeared on the codec screen.
"It's nice to see you're still alive," he said. "What you need to do right now is just rest. They'll probably ask you some questions in the morning. Don't answer anything that might incriminate us."
"Yeah, I know," Snake smiled to himself as he thought about that old bastard's terrible English. "Now, you need to answer my questions. Who the hell are those ninjas?"
Tadokoro replied. "I believe our analyst Akane has those answers. She used to work in NERV, and now, she works for the UN." Eliza's face appeared on the screen.
"You used to work for NERV? What did you do?" Snake asked.
"Well, I worked on part of the headquarters design. I made it so it could withstand Angel attacks, but never human attacks. I also helped contract Fabrique Nationale, the weapons company who made armaments for NERV's personal defense. I also helped a brilliant scientist there by the name of Dr. Akagi, assisting her in the Clone Transfer System."
"Clone Transfer System?" Snake asked.
"Yes, it's a system designed to sort of pull one's soul out to transfer it to another body. It is also used to repress memories from the soul. You see, Snake, not only do memories have a physical presence in the brain, they also have a presence in your soul - - in your essence, in a manner of speaking. I- - I'm not sure what it was used for... I would imagine that it was used for some type of clone; hence the name."
"So why did you quit NERV?"
Oh... well, I didn't really quit... Umm, I was transferred to the Russian NERV branch, then I was released, and decided to work for the UN as an analyst." Snake could sense that she was avoiding something.
"Well, to answer your question, Snake, the history of that ninja goes back to before I was assigned as the chief analyst for the UN. My predecessor helped in the study of AT-fields and superhuman power in humans. They came across a breakthrough, but decided that they would need a human subject for it. They took a person who was already dead, revived him, and drugged him for several weeks while they did tests on him. The test subject showed signs that he had a significantly strong AT-field, but he could not control it, and he went berserk. He killed everyone in the test area, and escaped. From what I understand, the project was canceled, so I have no idea why there would be more than one ninja..."
"So why is he attacking NERV?"
"I'm not sure. I don't know much else about the project. Anyways, you shouldn't worry about that now. Focus on the next morning, but for right now, try to get some rest. I have a feeling that you'll need it for tomorrow." Eliza blew a kiss to Snake. "Good luck." The codec shut off.
Snake lied down on the prison mattress. "She's pretty cute," he said to himself. He threw the cigarette butt away, and closed his eyes.
It was 6:30 AM. It was Misato's turn to stay up now, along with a few computer operators. Everyone's been sleeping in shifts in the control room (with the exception of Gendo and Fuyutsuki, who slept in their quarters), because everyone was afraid of the ninja. Maya had been a total wreck after the incident with Shigeru, so she was allowed to sleep through the night.
Misato wondered what this man might be doing here in Japan. She found it hard to comprehend how the government would send just one man to bring down this whole operation. But after looking at his record, it wasn't all too impossible for this guy to do anything! 32 forms of oriental combat, fluent in 6 languages, attended sneak attack school, ex-Marine and CIA... In 1995, he forced an entire terrorist nation to surrender. In 1999, he put down the Zanzibar riot, and in 2000, just before Second Impact, he stopped the Genome revolution. Coincidentally, all three events involve Solid Snake destroying a nuclear weapon-equipped walking battle tank called "Metal Gear."
(So, it would explain a little bit how he was able to hold back an Evangelion like that,) she thought to herself. Later on that morning, she will have to interrogate him, she reminded herself. (That man seems impossible to talk to. I hope I can get some answers out of him.)
Amazingly, she wasn't too badly injured, especially after an explosion like that. Just a few things - - cuts, a dislocated shoulder (which she fixed easily, albeit with a lot of pain) - - but it was nothing she couldn't take care of. The AT-field did its job well. She found a treatment room (without killing or getting discovered; she wasn't in the type of shape to kill)... but it was not empty. A soldier was there, searching through the cupboards for something. He seemed to be sneezing a lot...
"Damn, I caught a cold! I hate Tokyo-3. Boy, is that Major Katsuragi hot... AACHOOO Now, where is that medicine?"
The ninja activated her stealth, and proceeded to walk up to the soldier from behind. With the lightest touch, she grabbed his head with both hands and twisted it violently, breaking the neck. Dropping the body gently, she briefly glanced at his ID (Sasaki, Johnny), and proceeded to search the cupboard for medical items.
END OF PHASE 9
There we go. I know there's not much action in this one. I just thought it would be fitting that there shouldn't be any gunfights at 3 in the morning. Besides, it's been one combat-packed chapter after another, so this is a nice break from the stress. Eh... maybe next chapter, right?
Now for a special acknowledgement. I would like to thank my pre-reader, Bad Ronald, for the immense amount of help he's given me to improve this chapter. I never thought this writing could improve so much in this way, so I thank him for that. Also, be on the lookout for his Evangelion fiction called "The Mask." It's looking good so far. Look for chapter 10 soon. Coolness! Latz.
Almost forgot! To answer Deathangel's question, the fake darpa chief, was in fact, Decoy Octopus. When he took the chief's blood as his own, he also took FOXDIE with him, so he's the one that ended up with the heart attack.
UPDATE 11.10.02 alas, i have been rejected again! evafics.org has decided to reject my fiction once again (that's twice already) after i corrected a few things. it's disappointing, but it only shows my n00bieness as a fan fiction writer, which i mean to correct. each time i write a new chapter, i learn new things that i can use to improve myself.
one thing i discovered was the absolute usefulness and necessity of a pre- reader. i have one right now, and he's shown me so many ways i can improve my writing, and that's just with one chapter! so, i'm asking for more help. i'm looking for 2-3 more very good pre-readers who can help me spruce up the first 8 chapters, as well as for upcoming chapters. if you can show me in some way that you are a good pre-reader, i'll take you. e- mail me at KLstumpy@yahoo.com with the subject "PREREADER." i'd appreciate it a lot.
Story (c) 2002 11-41 Studios. All characters used in this story belong to their respective owners.