This is Phase 10 of MGL:A. Last time, Snake was captured, and was
unsuccessfully interrogated by Fuyutsuki. The Rei-ninja seems to have
gotten away safely. Misato is getting ready to try and get some answers
out of Snake. Now, back to the story.
Quick note: I am not an Asuka/Shinji, nor a Rei/Shinji fan. I'm neutral in this matter. But, I realize that this story is leaning towards Asuka/Shinji (it's all for the plot), so in advance, if I hear any complaints from the R/S fanboys (and girls) to make it R/S, too bad, 'cuz I'm not changing anything. The basic plot is set in stone. Now, back to the story...
UPDATE 12.4.02 Thanks to one of my trusty pre-readers, he helped me fix some OOC and wording in this chapter. This new version of Phase 10 should read a lot better, especially the part about Snake's battle and... oops, I might say too much here if you haven't read the story. Bunches of Thank You's to my pre-readers Autophage, RagnarokZ, Phoenix512, Reckless, and Bad Ronald.
-------------------------------------
Shinji Ikari slowly woke up, his eyelids sliding open, the light of morning shining on his face. He craned his head to check the clock, and found out that it was 8:00AM, Tokyo-3 time. Rubbing his eyes, he sat up from his bed, looking around. He was in the same bland hospital room, with the same bland ceiling. Gently kicking off his blanket, he stood on his sleeping mat and walked over to his co-pilots' bedsides.
He looked over to Asuka's bed, and saw that she was still in a coma, her prone form taking slow, unconscious breaths. He looked over to Rei's bed, seeing that it was empty. Shinji nervously walked over to Asuka's bedside and sat beside her, thinking about the words (and the left hook) Kaji gave him in his dream. His left hand, shaking in nervousness, hovered for a second above Asuka's head, only to touch her soft, long hair, running his fingers through it. He bent over, as if to kiss her, but instead - -
"I... I won't run away, Asuka..." Shinji whispered softly in her ear, his lips gently trembling as he said these words. This caused Asuka to shiver slightly at the wind gently grazing her ear, and Shinji became excited at the possibility that she could wake up that morning.
He waited quietly for several minutes for a reply, and was disappointed when Asuka had returned to her stoic state soon after. Shinji stopped stroking her hair and moved his hand to touch her warm cheek before standing up, breathing in a lonely sigh.
Shinji felt his stomach grumbling, and realized that he hasn't had anything to eat last night. After getting out of his plug suit and into his usual school uniform (which was laid out for him on a bedside table). Knowing that it probably wasn't safe to go to the NERV cafeteria, he headed to the control room, where everyone else was.
-------------------------------------
Misato, running on four cups of coffee, rode the elevator down to the holding cells. The last nerve-wracking 12 hours have taken its toll on her, and she looked terrible. Nevertheless, she kept on a determined face as she headed to the interrogation room. On the way, she passed by another occupied cell - - Ritsuko Akagi's. Misato became nervous as she walked as quickly as possible to keep away from the door, since she knew Ritsuko was most likely watching her.
-------------------------------------
Inside a darkened cell, a disheveled Ritsuko whispered to herself as she watch Misato quicken her pace.
"You won't be able to run soon... no one will."
-------------------------------------
Metal Gear Legends: To Thwart an Apocalypse
11-41 Studios
Enter Phase 10: Betrayals
-------------------------------------
Snake was already up, having a morning smoke. He finished the cigarette, taking one last drag, and tossed the butt away. He appeared to be in good condition, despite the situation he was in last night. He may have been a prisoner, but they still fed him, as was evidenced by the empty food tray on the floor. He thought back to the Codec call he received during breakfast...
-------------------------------------
"Hey Snake, are they feeding you there?" Otacon sounded cheerful this morning.
"Yeah, actually, they have. Could use a little ketchup though..." Snake joked.
Otacon chuckled a bit at the inside reference. "Well, they'll probably be interrogating you soon, so when that happens, keep your Codec on so we can hear what they're saying."
"So, who do you think will be doing my interview? I better get ready for my close-up," Snake asked. Eliza Akane's face appeared on the screen.
"I think I can answer that. If you say that Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki already tried to question you, I'm willing to guess that it will either be Major Misato Katsuragi, or Dr. Ritsuko Akagi... an old... colleague of mine." Snake raised an eyebrow as he heard her voice tense up as she said the word "colleague".
"Colleague, huh? Sounds like you two didn't get along well."
"You could say that." Akane looked uneasy, as she answered Snake's question.
Akane was suddenly cut off as Commander Tadokoro's face flashed on the screen. "Snake, it is imperative that you escape from there as quick as you can, and continue your way towards Gendo Ikari. My guess is that he's somewhere deep in the facility, probably near the LCL plant."
"LCL?" Snake inquired.
"Link Connecting Fluid. Otacon knows more about that." The screen flickered to show Otacon's face.
Otacon sighed and pushed up his glasses before he began to explain to Snake. "LCL is a fluid that we used to fill the pilot's entry plugs with. Once immersed, the pilot is able to breathe in the LCL, because it provides him with oxygen. The LCL allows the pilot to synch with the Evangelion better, allowing for better control. It also protects the pilot's mind from damage. Even though I worked with the Eva project, I have no idea how they make the LCL - - I just know where it was made, and that's in the Terminal Dogma of the NERV headquarters."
"So, you worked with NERV? You must have worked in the Second Branch in New Mexico." Snake asked.
"Yes, that's right. I worked with the development of the EVA Unit-04." Otacon's voice sounded enthusiastic. "It was to be a revolutionary new design, because it would be the first Eva to use a working S^2 engine!"
"S^2?"
"That's right. Using information based on the Super Solenoid Theory, we were able to recreate the very same power source that the Angels used! It allows for free movement, unrestricted by the umbilical power cables that Evangelions typically use to power themselves up."
Snake thought for a second as he chewed his eggs. "Wait a minute... the purple Eva last night didn't have a power cable, and neither did the red one."
"Well, all Evangelions are able to run for five minutes without an external power source, they run on internal battery," Otacon answered, blinking earnestly. "Evangelion Unit-01 is a special case, however. It ate, that is to say, literally ate, an Angel's S^2 engine, making the engine its own. I was lucky enough to obtain video footage of this! You should've seen it, Snake; it just dove into it and ripped it apart, chowing down on everything!"
Snake paused briefly on his meal. The sides of his jaw clenched tightly, his fork quivering over his food. "Otacon..." he muttered. "I'm trying to eat here."
"Hehe... sorry about that, Snake," Otacon said, smiling sheepishly.
"Don't worry about it, Otacon..." Snake said with a small smirk on his face. "Anyways, what happened to the Fourth Unit?"
Otacon was silent for a second. "Well, when activating the unit's S^2 engine, the Eva - - along with the base - - just disappeared... I was on routine business in Washington that day, but if I had been there..."
Snake lit a cigarette. "I understand. I'm sorry, Otacon," he said with sympathy in his voice.
"It's alright. Oh, the commander wants to talk to you."
Tadokoro appeared on the screen. "Snake, when you get a chance to escape, take it. By our estimates, Ikari might start the Third Impact ritual as early as noon. Find him, and kill him. Keep this line open, they'll be coming to interrogate you soon." The screen turned blank, but the Codec line was still on.
-------------------------------------
"Be careful. This guy's dangerous," Misato warned to the guards who were about to open the door to Snake's cell. They brandished their own stun batons nervously, and there were four more riot guards behind them, just in case things heated up. Misato took in a deep breath and put on her best poker face, hoping that all this would move along smoothly. The door in front of her slid open.
Misato stared as the hunched stubbled man sitting on the metal chair turned to her, his intense gaze unwavering.
Snake scowled, and then studied the shapely figure in front of him. He smirked. "I didn't think they'd send someone like you."
She fought off the urge to roll her eyes, and said crisply in Japanese, "Solid Snake, is it?"
He nodded, that damned grin still plastered on his face.
"I am Captain Misato Katsuragi. We need to talk."
A voice echoed in Snake's ear. It was the Eliza's. "Go ahead, and try not to cause too much trouble, ok?" Snake smiled, and allowed the guards to put restraints on him before following the Major to an interrogation room.
Snake examined his new surroundings. He was in a different interrogation room from last night. This one did not have the one-sided glass, nor did it have any security cameras or any signs that the room was being monitored. The guards sat Snake down in a folding metal chair, and Misato motioned for them to leave. Snake pulled out another cigarette and his lighter from a pouch, and proceeded to smoke in front of Misato.
Misato was puzzled. "Where did you get that? We took all your things from you."
Snake chuckled. "Well, obviously not everything..."
Misato smiled faintly for a brief second, and began the interrogation. "Looking at your record, I can see you're well suited for whatever it is you're doing here." She looked at her list of questions on her clipboard, which wasn't really much. "How did you manage to get into the facility undetected?"
Snake took a long drag on his cigarette. "Magicians never reveal their secrets, do they?" This caused Misato to tighten her lips and narrow her eyes.
"Go ahead, you can answer this," the Codec said to him. It was Akane's voice again.
Snake sighed, and complied with Eliza's request. "Well, your ninja friends took out most of the cameras and guards around here, so it just made a simple job even easier," he said boastfully.
Misato was taken aback by this show of pride. She regained her poise, and began to ask more questions. "So, exactly what is your purpose here?"
The Codec talked to Snake again. "Just give her the basics."
"I'm here to kill your boss," he said rather bluntly. It disturbed Misato, almost causing her to lose her poker face. Taking in a deep breath and gaining her bearings, she lifted her nose up at him and asked quickly, "Why?"
"Go ahead and tell her. This sounds crazy, but it just might give you an opening to escape," Tadokoro said to Snake over the Codec. (That _is_ crazy, but it's worth a shot...) Snake thought.
Snake took a long drag on his cigarette, then proceeded talking. "To keep it short, your boss is a bastard who wants to kick-start the Apocalypse and murder everyone in the world, including all the people in this sorry base, for his own means. Don't bother asking me any more questions. people treat me like a grunt all the time, so that's all I know."
Misato remembered now. She knew all of the truth when she took a visit to the NERV computer archives. Third Impact, Lilith, the Angels, the Evangelions... (And one man is going to stop all of this?!?) She thought to herself, staring in the stranger's eyes. This man was an intruder, but he might stop the end of Mankind... he _can_ stop it, and he _will_. She could see the determination in his eyes. Misato Katsuragi did not want the world to end, and in front of her was the person who could prevent it.
So. she closed her eyes, clenched her fists. and made a choice.
-------------------------------------
Shinji found Rei seated next to a console in the control room, eating a piece of toast. The cafeteria, under the supervision of several guards, had brought food up to the control room, where most of the people were (Gendo Ikari and Kouzou Fuyutsuki, the guards patrolling the hallways, and Misato, who was currently interrogating Snake, were possibly the only ones who were not here). Shinji took a plate of eggs and toast, and sat next to Rei.
"Umm. A-Ayanami, how do you feel?" the young Ikari asked quietly.
"I am feeling adequate, pilot Ikari," was the brief reply she gave.
Shinji paused for a brief second, and decided to ask Rei something. "Ayanami, last night, wha - -" Shinji stopped himself in mid-sentence. (I remember now, Rei doesn't recall anything from last night.) "N-never mind." Shinji said sadly, and returned his attention to his meal. A few awkward minutes passed between them until - -
Rei stood up abruptly. "I apologize, pilot Ikari, but I must attend to something." Rei walked away, leaving a very confused Shinji alone.
-------------------------------------
Snake looked up at his gray cell door, with a peculiar smile on his face. The guards behind him - - the same guards that took him out last time - - had held him still while another guard stepped ahead of them and took out his keys to open the door, his stun baton hanging loosely off his belt.
Snake looked back at the guards behind him, and saw that Misato wasn't with them, and neither were any of the riot guards. He recalled one of them talking about more pressing matters involving the death of a guard by decapitation.
The door swung open, and the guard stepped back to let him walk in. Snake turned to all three of them, who were glaring at him impatiently to get in.
"You know, for heavily armored guards, you guys are kind of careless..." he shrugged, returning their glare.
They only folded their arms in response, their glare unwavering.
"I mean, I could just slip my hands out of my restraints like so..." Snake said, smoothly dropping the loosened cuff, which clattered on the floor with an audible clang!.
They reacted instantly, their hands darting for their stun batons.
"Those are some nice toys," Snake said, stepping aside as one of the guards lunged in with the baton. He wrapped an arm around the guard's neck and snatched away the baton, spinning the guard around so that the guard was facing the others.
The second guard stepped forward with his arm reared back, his baton swirling towards Snake's head. Snake moved his head to the side, the baton smashing against his shoulder and the captive guard's helmet. He scowled at the pain, and then smiled as he heard an agonizing scream erupt from the injured guard. He quickly shuffled backwards, the injured guard moving with him. He then quickly shook off his leg restraints from one leg and kicked them towards the two rushing guards, one of them catching the restraints with his face. Snake clutched the baton and looked down at it.
"You mind if I play with them?" he asked the struggling guard, showing him the tazer. Wasting no time for an answer, Snake buried the tazer edge of the baton into the guard's open helmet visor, the man shaking violently from thousands of volts of electricity before falling unconscious.
The last guard moved forward, and Snake threw the baton at him. The guard caught it with one hand and scowled. He aimed both tazer ends towards Snake and lunged at him.
Snake dodged to the side and spun on his heels twice, punching away the batons on the first spin, letting the guard rush past, and used the second spin as a set-up for a spinning back kick, burying his heel onto the guard's unprotected neck and forcing him to stumble into the open cell.
Snake stepped forward and spun around as the guard turned to face him, planting a roundhouse kick into his neck, sending him sprawling on the wall. He showed no mercy by pulling a pistol from his vest, a Glock G18 automatic that Misato handed to him, and thrust it under the guard's chin, double-tapping his head and staining the steel cell wall with his brains.
As soon as the guard dropped, Snake kicked his lifeless carcass for good measure.
"You guys are lousy! I've killed faster Genome Soldiers than you," Snake muttered as he tucked the borrowed gun back under his vest and lit another cigarette.
As Snake finished placing the bodies inside the cell and closed the door, he could hear someone banging on a door. It was coming from one of the other cells down the hallway. "Hey! What's going on out there?" said someone in Japanese.
Using a key that Snake pilfered from one of the dead guards, he opened the door, Glock at the ready. The door revealed a blonde woman in her thirties, wearing a pair of eyeglasses. Snake remembered the face when he was being briefed on his mission.
"You must be Dr. Ritsuko Akagi," Snake said.
Ritsuko was surprised at the sight of a gun-wielding stranger, especially since the gun was pointed straight at her. "Who are you," she asked, "and how do you know me?"
"A little voice inside my head told me," Snake sarcastically retorted.
The Codec line was still on. Eliza talked to Snake. "Ritsuko? In a holding cell? Something isn't right... she's one of the most trusted individuals in the facility. You'd better question her." Tadokoro appeared on the screen. "If she's in a holding cell, she must have done something to betray NERV. She might be useful later on."
Ritsuko was a bit puzzled as to why Snake had his hand up to his left ear, as he was listening to something inside it. "Who are you? Who sent you? Are you a spy?"
"Quiet. Listen, you don't ask the questions here - - I do. And you're going to answer them in exchange for your freedom."
-------------------------------------
The morning sun revealed a battle-scarred face, with a few long strands of platinum-blonde hair dangling in front of it. A chopper was waiting for him outside. Currently, he was talking to someone on the phone - - his spy.
"How are things today, my trusty accomplice?" He asked his spy.
"Everything's going according to plan. Snake is captured as well, so when this is all over, you may do with him as you wish."
"Excellent. Well, if Snake isn't around to kill Ikari, then you will have to do it. I'm sure that is... to your liking."
"Of course. So, can we expect you here in a few hours?"
"I will be arriving soon. Get ready for my arrival, and make sure I have a clear way of getting into the Dogma. Remember to take Adam from Ikari, and give him to me."
"Understood. Over and out."
The man chuckled to himself as he stepped out of the door to meet the chopper waiting for him.
"I'll see you soon... dear brother."
-------------------------------------
END PHASE 10
Horror of horrors! Could Snake's greatest adversary still be alive? And what can Ritsuko do to help Snake? Find out in the next exciting chapter of MGL:A!
Story (c) 2002 11-41 Studios. All your characters used in this story are belong to their respective owners.
Quick note: I am not an Asuka/Shinji, nor a Rei/Shinji fan. I'm neutral in this matter. But, I realize that this story is leaning towards Asuka/Shinji (it's all for the plot), so in advance, if I hear any complaints from the R/S fanboys (and girls) to make it R/S, too bad, 'cuz I'm not changing anything. The basic plot is set in stone. Now, back to the story...
UPDATE 12.4.02 Thanks to one of my trusty pre-readers, he helped me fix some OOC and wording in this chapter. This new version of Phase 10 should read a lot better, especially the part about Snake's battle and... oops, I might say too much here if you haven't read the story. Bunches of Thank You's to my pre-readers Autophage, RagnarokZ, Phoenix512, Reckless, and Bad Ronald.
-------------------------------------
Shinji Ikari slowly woke up, his eyelids sliding open, the light of morning shining on his face. He craned his head to check the clock, and found out that it was 8:00AM, Tokyo-3 time. Rubbing his eyes, he sat up from his bed, looking around. He was in the same bland hospital room, with the same bland ceiling. Gently kicking off his blanket, he stood on his sleeping mat and walked over to his co-pilots' bedsides.
He looked over to Asuka's bed, and saw that she was still in a coma, her prone form taking slow, unconscious breaths. He looked over to Rei's bed, seeing that it was empty. Shinji nervously walked over to Asuka's bedside and sat beside her, thinking about the words (and the left hook) Kaji gave him in his dream. His left hand, shaking in nervousness, hovered for a second above Asuka's head, only to touch her soft, long hair, running his fingers through it. He bent over, as if to kiss her, but instead - -
"I... I won't run away, Asuka..." Shinji whispered softly in her ear, his lips gently trembling as he said these words. This caused Asuka to shiver slightly at the wind gently grazing her ear, and Shinji became excited at the possibility that she could wake up that morning.
He waited quietly for several minutes for a reply, and was disappointed when Asuka had returned to her stoic state soon after. Shinji stopped stroking her hair and moved his hand to touch her warm cheek before standing up, breathing in a lonely sigh.
Shinji felt his stomach grumbling, and realized that he hasn't had anything to eat last night. After getting out of his plug suit and into his usual school uniform (which was laid out for him on a bedside table). Knowing that it probably wasn't safe to go to the NERV cafeteria, he headed to the control room, where everyone else was.
-------------------------------------
Misato, running on four cups of coffee, rode the elevator down to the holding cells. The last nerve-wracking 12 hours have taken its toll on her, and she looked terrible. Nevertheless, she kept on a determined face as she headed to the interrogation room. On the way, she passed by another occupied cell - - Ritsuko Akagi's. Misato became nervous as she walked as quickly as possible to keep away from the door, since she knew Ritsuko was most likely watching her.
-------------------------------------
Inside a darkened cell, a disheveled Ritsuko whispered to herself as she watch Misato quicken her pace.
"You won't be able to run soon... no one will."
-------------------------------------
Metal Gear Legends: To Thwart an Apocalypse
11-41 Studios
Enter Phase 10: Betrayals
-------------------------------------
Snake was already up, having a morning smoke. He finished the cigarette, taking one last drag, and tossed the butt away. He appeared to be in good condition, despite the situation he was in last night. He may have been a prisoner, but they still fed him, as was evidenced by the empty food tray on the floor. He thought back to the Codec call he received during breakfast...
-------------------------------------
"Hey Snake, are they feeding you there?" Otacon sounded cheerful this morning.
"Yeah, actually, they have. Could use a little ketchup though..." Snake joked.
Otacon chuckled a bit at the inside reference. "Well, they'll probably be interrogating you soon, so when that happens, keep your Codec on so we can hear what they're saying."
"So, who do you think will be doing my interview? I better get ready for my close-up," Snake asked. Eliza Akane's face appeared on the screen.
"I think I can answer that. If you say that Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki already tried to question you, I'm willing to guess that it will either be Major Misato Katsuragi, or Dr. Ritsuko Akagi... an old... colleague of mine." Snake raised an eyebrow as he heard her voice tense up as she said the word "colleague".
"Colleague, huh? Sounds like you two didn't get along well."
"You could say that." Akane looked uneasy, as she answered Snake's question.
Akane was suddenly cut off as Commander Tadokoro's face flashed on the screen. "Snake, it is imperative that you escape from there as quick as you can, and continue your way towards Gendo Ikari. My guess is that he's somewhere deep in the facility, probably near the LCL plant."
"LCL?" Snake inquired.
"Link Connecting Fluid. Otacon knows more about that." The screen flickered to show Otacon's face.
Otacon sighed and pushed up his glasses before he began to explain to Snake. "LCL is a fluid that we used to fill the pilot's entry plugs with. Once immersed, the pilot is able to breathe in the LCL, because it provides him with oxygen. The LCL allows the pilot to synch with the Evangelion better, allowing for better control. It also protects the pilot's mind from damage. Even though I worked with the Eva project, I have no idea how they make the LCL - - I just know where it was made, and that's in the Terminal Dogma of the NERV headquarters."
"So, you worked with NERV? You must have worked in the Second Branch in New Mexico." Snake asked.
"Yes, that's right. I worked with the development of the EVA Unit-04." Otacon's voice sounded enthusiastic. "It was to be a revolutionary new design, because it would be the first Eva to use a working S^2 engine!"
"S^2?"
"That's right. Using information based on the Super Solenoid Theory, we were able to recreate the very same power source that the Angels used! It allows for free movement, unrestricted by the umbilical power cables that Evangelions typically use to power themselves up."
Snake thought for a second as he chewed his eggs. "Wait a minute... the purple Eva last night didn't have a power cable, and neither did the red one."
"Well, all Evangelions are able to run for five minutes without an external power source, they run on internal battery," Otacon answered, blinking earnestly. "Evangelion Unit-01 is a special case, however. It ate, that is to say, literally ate, an Angel's S^2 engine, making the engine its own. I was lucky enough to obtain video footage of this! You should've seen it, Snake; it just dove into it and ripped it apart, chowing down on everything!"
Snake paused briefly on his meal. The sides of his jaw clenched tightly, his fork quivering over his food. "Otacon..." he muttered. "I'm trying to eat here."
"Hehe... sorry about that, Snake," Otacon said, smiling sheepishly.
"Don't worry about it, Otacon..." Snake said with a small smirk on his face. "Anyways, what happened to the Fourth Unit?"
Otacon was silent for a second. "Well, when activating the unit's S^2 engine, the Eva - - along with the base - - just disappeared... I was on routine business in Washington that day, but if I had been there..."
Snake lit a cigarette. "I understand. I'm sorry, Otacon," he said with sympathy in his voice.
"It's alright. Oh, the commander wants to talk to you."
Tadokoro appeared on the screen. "Snake, when you get a chance to escape, take it. By our estimates, Ikari might start the Third Impact ritual as early as noon. Find him, and kill him. Keep this line open, they'll be coming to interrogate you soon." The screen turned blank, but the Codec line was still on.
-------------------------------------
"Be careful. This guy's dangerous," Misato warned to the guards who were about to open the door to Snake's cell. They brandished their own stun batons nervously, and there were four more riot guards behind them, just in case things heated up. Misato took in a deep breath and put on her best poker face, hoping that all this would move along smoothly. The door in front of her slid open.
Misato stared as the hunched stubbled man sitting on the metal chair turned to her, his intense gaze unwavering.
Snake scowled, and then studied the shapely figure in front of him. He smirked. "I didn't think they'd send someone like you."
She fought off the urge to roll her eyes, and said crisply in Japanese, "Solid Snake, is it?"
He nodded, that damned grin still plastered on his face.
"I am Captain Misato Katsuragi. We need to talk."
A voice echoed in Snake's ear. It was the Eliza's. "Go ahead, and try not to cause too much trouble, ok?" Snake smiled, and allowed the guards to put restraints on him before following the Major to an interrogation room.
Snake examined his new surroundings. He was in a different interrogation room from last night. This one did not have the one-sided glass, nor did it have any security cameras or any signs that the room was being monitored. The guards sat Snake down in a folding metal chair, and Misato motioned for them to leave. Snake pulled out another cigarette and his lighter from a pouch, and proceeded to smoke in front of Misato.
Misato was puzzled. "Where did you get that? We took all your things from you."
Snake chuckled. "Well, obviously not everything..."
Misato smiled faintly for a brief second, and began the interrogation. "Looking at your record, I can see you're well suited for whatever it is you're doing here." She looked at her list of questions on her clipboard, which wasn't really much. "How did you manage to get into the facility undetected?"
Snake took a long drag on his cigarette. "Magicians never reveal their secrets, do they?" This caused Misato to tighten her lips and narrow her eyes.
"Go ahead, you can answer this," the Codec said to him. It was Akane's voice again.
Snake sighed, and complied with Eliza's request. "Well, your ninja friends took out most of the cameras and guards around here, so it just made a simple job even easier," he said boastfully.
Misato was taken aback by this show of pride. She regained her poise, and began to ask more questions. "So, exactly what is your purpose here?"
The Codec talked to Snake again. "Just give her the basics."
"I'm here to kill your boss," he said rather bluntly. It disturbed Misato, almost causing her to lose her poker face. Taking in a deep breath and gaining her bearings, she lifted her nose up at him and asked quickly, "Why?"
"Go ahead and tell her. This sounds crazy, but it just might give you an opening to escape," Tadokoro said to Snake over the Codec. (That _is_ crazy, but it's worth a shot...) Snake thought.
Snake took a long drag on his cigarette, then proceeded talking. "To keep it short, your boss is a bastard who wants to kick-start the Apocalypse and murder everyone in the world, including all the people in this sorry base, for his own means. Don't bother asking me any more questions. people treat me like a grunt all the time, so that's all I know."
Misato remembered now. She knew all of the truth when she took a visit to the NERV computer archives. Third Impact, Lilith, the Angels, the Evangelions... (And one man is going to stop all of this?!?) She thought to herself, staring in the stranger's eyes. This man was an intruder, but he might stop the end of Mankind... he _can_ stop it, and he _will_. She could see the determination in his eyes. Misato Katsuragi did not want the world to end, and in front of her was the person who could prevent it.
So. she closed her eyes, clenched her fists. and made a choice.
-------------------------------------
Shinji found Rei seated next to a console in the control room, eating a piece of toast. The cafeteria, under the supervision of several guards, had brought food up to the control room, where most of the people were (Gendo Ikari and Kouzou Fuyutsuki, the guards patrolling the hallways, and Misato, who was currently interrogating Snake, were possibly the only ones who were not here). Shinji took a plate of eggs and toast, and sat next to Rei.
"Umm. A-Ayanami, how do you feel?" the young Ikari asked quietly.
"I am feeling adequate, pilot Ikari," was the brief reply she gave.
Shinji paused for a brief second, and decided to ask Rei something. "Ayanami, last night, wha - -" Shinji stopped himself in mid-sentence. (I remember now, Rei doesn't recall anything from last night.) "N-never mind." Shinji said sadly, and returned his attention to his meal. A few awkward minutes passed between them until - -
Rei stood up abruptly. "I apologize, pilot Ikari, but I must attend to something." Rei walked away, leaving a very confused Shinji alone.
-------------------------------------
Snake looked up at his gray cell door, with a peculiar smile on his face. The guards behind him - - the same guards that took him out last time - - had held him still while another guard stepped ahead of them and took out his keys to open the door, his stun baton hanging loosely off his belt.
Snake looked back at the guards behind him, and saw that Misato wasn't with them, and neither were any of the riot guards. He recalled one of them talking about more pressing matters involving the death of a guard by decapitation.
The door swung open, and the guard stepped back to let him walk in. Snake turned to all three of them, who were glaring at him impatiently to get in.
"You know, for heavily armored guards, you guys are kind of careless..." he shrugged, returning their glare.
They only folded their arms in response, their glare unwavering.
"I mean, I could just slip my hands out of my restraints like so..." Snake said, smoothly dropping the loosened cuff, which clattered on the floor with an audible clang!.
They reacted instantly, their hands darting for their stun batons.
"Those are some nice toys," Snake said, stepping aside as one of the guards lunged in with the baton. He wrapped an arm around the guard's neck and snatched away the baton, spinning the guard around so that the guard was facing the others.
The second guard stepped forward with his arm reared back, his baton swirling towards Snake's head. Snake moved his head to the side, the baton smashing against his shoulder and the captive guard's helmet. He scowled at the pain, and then smiled as he heard an agonizing scream erupt from the injured guard. He quickly shuffled backwards, the injured guard moving with him. He then quickly shook off his leg restraints from one leg and kicked them towards the two rushing guards, one of them catching the restraints with his face. Snake clutched the baton and looked down at it.
"You mind if I play with them?" he asked the struggling guard, showing him the tazer. Wasting no time for an answer, Snake buried the tazer edge of the baton into the guard's open helmet visor, the man shaking violently from thousands of volts of electricity before falling unconscious.
The last guard moved forward, and Snake threw the baton at him. The guard caught it with one hand and scowled. He aimed both tazer ends towards Snake and lunged at him.
Snake dodged to the side and spun on his heels twice, punching away the batons on the first spin, letting the guard rush past, and used the second spin as a set-up for a spinning back kick, burying his heel onto the guard's unprotected neck and forcing him to stumble into the open cell.
Snake stepped forward and spun around as the guard turned to face him, planting a roundhouse kick into his neck, sending him sprawling on the wall. He showed no mercy by pulling a pistol from his vest, a Glock G18 automatic that Misato handed to him, and thrust it under the guard's chin, double-tapping his head and staining the steel cell wall with his brains.
As soon as the guard dropped, Snake kicked his lifeless carcass for good measure.
"You guys are lousy! I've killed faster Genome Soldiers than you," Snake muttered as he tucked the borrowed gun back under his vest and lit another cigarette.
As Snake finished placing the bodies inside the cell and closed the door, he could hear someone banging on a door. It was coming from one of the other cells down the hallway. "Hey! What's going on out there?" said someone in Japanese.
Using a key that Snake pilfered from one of the dead guards, he opened the door, Glock at the ready. The door revealed a blonde woman in her thirties, wearing a pair of eyeglasses. Snake remembered the face when he was being briefed on his mission.
"You must be Dr. Ritsuko Akagi," Snake said.
Ritsuko was surprised at the sight of a gun-wielding stranger, especially since the gun was pointed straight at her. "Who are you," she asked, "and how do you know me?"
"A little voice inside my head told me," Snake sarcastically retorted.
The Codec line was still on. Eliza talked to Snake. "Ritsuko? In a holding cell? Something isn't right... she's one of the most trusted individuals in the facility. You'd better question her." Tadokoro appeared on the screen. "If she's in a holding cell, she must have done something to betray NERV. She might be useful later on."
Ritsuko was a bit puzzled as to why Snake had his hand up to his left ear, as he was listening to something inside it. "Who are you? Who sent you? Are you a spy?"
"Quiet. Listen, you don't ask the questions here - - I do. And you're going to answer them in exchange for your freedom."
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The morning sun revealed a battle-scarred face, with a few long strands of platinum-blonde hair dangling in front of it. A chopper was waiting for him outside. Currently, he was talking to someone on the phone - - his spy.
"How are things today, my trusty accomplice?" He asked his spy.
"Everything's going according to plan. Snake is captured as well, so when this is all over, you may do with him as you wish."
"Excellent. Well, if Snake isn't around to kill Ikari, then you will have to do it. I'm sure that is... to your liking."
"Of course. So, can we expect you here in a few hours?"
"I will be arriving soon. Get ready for my arrival, and make sure I have a clear way of getting into the Dogma. Remember to take Adam from Ikari, and give him to me."
"Understood. Over and out."
The man chuckled to himself as he stepped out of the door to meet the chopper waiting for him.
"I'll see you soon... dear brother."
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END PHASE 10
Horror of horrors! Could Snake's greatest adversary still be alive? And what can Ritsuko do to help Snake? Find out in the next exciting chapter of MGL:A!
Story (c) 2002 11-41 Studios. All your characters used in this story are belong to their respective owners.