Title: Atonement
Rating: PG-13
Chapter 9
Feedback: synth3sis@yahoo.co.uk or review
Notes: Things get dark. Things get twisted. Enjoy, in a twisted sort of way.

Chapter 9

Snake looked around. They'd come down yet another flight of stairs, and this level was darker than the last. There were no windows, and he knew they were deep underground by now. He wondered how the Metal Gear launched; maybe it was designed to launch into the ocean, and that was why they'd built it underground.

The room was like a giant warehouse, with a single room inside it that seemed to lead somewhere. Otacon had left his side and gone to peer inside; Snake grumbled to himself. The lack of guards was unnerving, and his senses still told him to beware; they were, after all, in enemy territory, and the fact that there were no guards indicated some kind of trap.

Snake reached the doorway, where Otacon had already gone inside.

A blood-curdling scream cut through the air; Snake had never heard anything like it, and automatically rushed inside, drawing his SOCOM with his left hand. The scream was Otacon's, and Snake soon saw why. Otacon sat in the middle of the room, shaking, head in his hands, unable to look at the sight before him, still screaming, unable to emit any other sound.

The room was fitted with tanks along the walls; filled with inert human forms. Clones, Snake noted. Their eyes stared straight forward, trapped in death, fixed in a stare that chilled to the bone.

And all the clones were of Otacon.

^*^

Leon was tired of pacing the room. He looked up at the walls, filled with pictures of his beloved. Hal would understand eventually what it was to be loved by him, Leon thought. He sat down and flipped through a pile of journals; all contained articles Otacon had written, and Hal Emmerich was his, always. He would take revenge with him, or die with him; Leon didn't care which anymore. Anything for what he wanted…

He laughed; knowing his father would disapprove of his hobby. Technically, it had been his idea, he had said to keep an eye on Otacon, and find out what his plans were. He didn't know he would become so… obsessed. Ah, Hal Emmerich, so sweet and innocent, so intelligent and perfect . He hadn't meant to get so close, but now Hal burned in his blood, like every breath he took…

He knew it was a twisted fate; he would be gone soon anyway. If he didn't get shot by the only man who'd understood his pain, then his body would soon disintegrate; there were side effects to being sold off by your father for military experiments. The world had shunned him, his father had destroyed him – was it really so illogical to wish revenge? The only joy in his life was Hal, and even he had been taken from him by a soldier. Leon hated soldiers and the military, they were all pawns of the Patriots.

The "Patriots" experiment had been to enhance his brain and body – and the chemicals they had used still flowed in his bloodstream. They wanted to make super soldiers out of ordinary men, but the whole thing had been a disaster and they'd moved onto cheaper methods like the Genome Therapy program. Part of him wasn't even human; he knew there were several microchips in his brain that had taken away fear and enhanced his thought processes. He was a DARPA lab-rat, and why they'd let him live he didn't know. As far as he knew, they were still monitoring him; he wondered dryly if he'd been a success after all.

He looked out upon Metal Gear; he'd leave the launch until they arrived, a spectacular show of might to Otacon and that bastard Snake. Snake knew nothing about him; he had no right to be involved, but Otacon had dragged him in; looked to the soldier for protection instead of him. Leon looked at his soldiers milling about like ants; and the pilot, strapped in the throne of power. A work of art, and a fitting tribute to his beloved, he thought, as he looked back to the journals on the control panel. Now all he needed were the stars of the show… and then the grand finale could begin.

^*^

"The hell is this?" Snake yelled, filled with anger and disgust at the same time. He knelt down next to Otacon, who had now stopped screaming and was sobbing, refusing to open his eyes to the hideous sight before him.

"He's twisted, Otacon," Snake said, "That's why we have to find him and put an end to his crazy plans!" Snake put his arm around Otacon warmly; Otacon shivered at the touch, weeping quietly to himself. Even Snake didn't look at the wall; the sight was burned into his brain forever. He'd seen killing, he'd seen pain, but this was something else, something more psychologically terrifying then plain blood and gore.

"I need you, Hal," Snake continued, using Otacon's real name to reassure him, "You're the only one who can help me destroy this Metal Gear." He looked around the room; there were some corpses in the corner; more clones, Snake presumed. The longer they stayed here, the worse it became; it was as if a million eyes were casting judgement on them, a million cold, staring, lifeless eyes hidden in the shell of a man he trusted, a man he called friend, a man who had taught him many things, even when he thought there was nothing else he could learn about life. He wouldn't let Leon take that away from him with this twisted freak show.

When Otacon opened his mouth, it was to scream again. Then he took a deep breath, eyes still closed, and nuzzled close to Snake, who held him tightly.

"Otacon, I can carry you out of here. The steps down to the next level are in here. You can keep your eyes closed; I won't let you come to any harm, or open your eyes until we're in a better place. Nod your head if that's okay." He could feel Otacon's body trembling close to him, he nodded gently, and unfurled from the fetal position he was in so that Snake could carry him.

Snake looked down at his arm; it would hurt to carry Otacon, as it had when he'd pulled him from the gas room, but he knew Otacon was shaking too much to walk, and he didn't want him to fall into one of the glass tanks or the pile of corpses… he was scarred enough as it was. Snake picked him up, forcing back a grunt at the pain in his arm, and carried him through the hall of terror, barely able to look himself at the bodies floating in liquid, but concentrating only on getting the terrified, trembling form in his arms to safety. He rushed down the steps, glad to leave the horrors behind him. He knew he would never forget the sound of Otacon's scream or the look of those lifeless eyes as long as he lived.

^*^

"You and I… we could still bring the Patriots down together," Leon said, pacing the control room with his gun in hand, "Mankind will pay for their crimes, and we can start a new era!" He chuckled to himself.

A beep indicated a camera had picked the intruders up; Leon walked over to the console and watched Otacon's reactions to the clones. He saw Snake carry the fragile scientist from the room and burned in anger.

"You have stolen my love, captured his heart… Perhaps I can only win it back with a bullet," he said, bringing the gun up in a graceful arc. He let his arms drop, and shook his head; he knew he was crazy. The lead in the microchips was driving him to insanity, after years of poisoning his blood. It had taken all his efforts to act normal when close to Otacon; but this mission was his final hope at redemption through revenge. Even if he died, the clone of Otacon encased in the Metal Gear would be able to carry out his commands; that's what they'd been born for… to take revenge for their love, and revenge for their pain. It had been easy to take Otacon's DNA for the clone creation, and it seemed perfect to immortalize the man as he felt deserved to live forever. To the science journals he was just another name; to the Patriots he was nothing but a thorn in the side; to Snake he was just another conquest, he was sure; but the world would soon know the name of Hal Emmerich, burn it upon their brains, and have fearful respect for the man who had brought judgement on mankind! Nobody knew Leon; he was some forgotten experiment, he would be written off as just another nameless terrorist; but they would fear Hal, and that's why he'd chosen him as the pilot. Only his genetic code could activate Metal Gear; he'd made it that way when working as the designer. All those absences from Hal in the past year hadn't been questioned; he truly was naïve, Leon thought. But that purity was what made him perfect to rain judgement on the human race in Leon's mind. The Patriots, and the mindless society that they controlled to ignore the injustices of the world, would all be destroyed for their sins by a pure being. It all seemed so poetic to Leon that he smiled; life was a play, and everyone was performing their parts spectacularly. He felt no need to atone for his sins, for his redemption was at hand. The blood of those who had acted against him would soon be spilled in vengeful justice.

^*^

Snake was relieved to find a bare corridor in which he could set Otacon down. He rested him down against the wall, and nursed his arm, which had bled again. Once he was done, he knelt down beside Otacon.

"You can open your eyes now," he said, "This is just a bare corridor."

Otacon opened his eyes, trusting his friend to have brought him away from that hideous sight. The light blinded his eyes after the darkness, and he shielded his face against it.

"Leon's crazy," Otacon said shakily, needing to speak after his ordeal, to say anything. "He told me about his childhood… apparently his father sold him to be a test subject for DARPA… But he never told me what they did to him… I thought he was okay, Snake. I thought he'd suffered and could take it, could get on with life. I never expected this…"

"We all misjudge people," Snake replied, thinking of how Meryl had left him. He didn't care what she was doing now, or even if she was alive, but he regretted having ever met her, "I should have come with you, we could have started this organization ages ago, instead of me sitting in Alaska drinking too much."

"We can't go back, Snake… All we can do is keep putting one foot in front of the other, keep moving on until we find our path. I need to face Leon, Snake, I need to end this madness. The Leon I know is gone, perhaps he never truly existed. I can't go back and change it all now…" Otacon said, determinately, "Snake, help me face the future… I'm scared," he admitted, remembering the staring eyes of his dead clones once more.

Snake put his hands on Otacon's thin shoulders, "We can do this, Otacon, we can destroy Metal Gear and go home. Then we can retire, or hunt down more Metal Gears… we'll see. But right now, we need to get through this mission, and we need to do it together."

Otacon managed a faint smile, "Okay, Snake… Let's do it."

Snake reached for Otacon's hand, and took it in his. He guided him, teaching him a secret handshake, "Now try it," Snake said, and they performed the handshake, embracing each other at the end.

They parted, and stood up, filled with new resolve.

"Let's go," Snake said, and the walked the lengthy corridor side by side, determined to put an end to Leon's plans and Metal Gear – together.