chapter TWENTY-EIGHT: At the Hands of the Demon

"So much went wrong, then."

~*~

The hallways were quiet, but the silence fooled no one. Ocelot was led, with the others, by four Spetsnaz and as they exited the room three more flanked their line and closed them in, aiming their guns every which way in case a noise were to sound in the distance. They moved stealthily – all of them but Ocelot, Liquid, Tintern and Daves. They were the only three that felt comfortable any longer, but their casual steps were less confirmed and more foolish. They had no idea what was waiting in the silence. They believed it to be a lesser opponent. Something not worth worrying over. They were all unwise in their assumptions.

Snake was moving ahead of Tintern calmly, but with a weightlessness that made it seem almost as if he were gliding as May always did. A Spetsnaz was at his side, aiming his gun off to the right every time they passed an intersecting hallway. Many times, Snake saw another Spetsnaz at the end of the intersecting halls, moving parallel to their line and constantly making sure that their path was safe and secure. Liquid, who Snake could hardly see from where he was – KING and Sears and Red standing in his way – was toying with the SOCOM at his side, spinning it and stroking it and brushing dust or gunpowder from its grip. He was smiling all the time he handled it, but Snake was not so much angry as frustrated.

He liked that gun. He wanted that gun.

"Stop!" A voice echoed from the radios buckled at each Spetsnaz' hip. The leading three pushed Ocelot down so that he was crouching along with them. The rest of the units did the same to those they were guarding and in a few moments they had all ducked to the floor, eyes scanning the area. The Spetsnaz stood after a short time and began rounding the line, pulling NVG's over their eyes and looking down the dim halls. One of them pulled forth his radio and clicked it on.

"What is it?" he asked quietly. Static returned for only a second before the voice returned on all the radios again.

"A noise," he said plainly. "Just stay still. We're reassembling the line around your position. Standby," he finished and the radios went silent again. They waited. Listened to each other breathe. Watched each other watch. The voice returned on the radio. "You're clear," it said, and the Spetsnaz raised the rest of them to their feet.

"Got it," one of the nearest Spetsnaz said, the one with the flowing, greasy black hair. "Continuing on course," reattaching his radio to his belt. "Come one," he said, his voice a little more kind than that of most Special Forces or military personnel. He waved them forward and, with a smile, grasped his gun and held it ready in his hands.

"A noise," Ocelot snorted. No one else seemed to mind the delay besides Liquid. But, then again, it seemed they were the only two who had a schedule to keep with.

And then, in that very instant, there was a very faint release of air and the greasy-haired Spetsnaz who was now leading the group let out a stifled scream as his face seemingly exploded in a spray of blood and tattered flesh too small to discern from the gory mess. As his body slumped backward and flopped out on the floor, everyone made to crouch, some aiming off ahead, and the rest simply looking for cover in the open hall. The Spetsnaz immediately reacted, firing a number of shots down the hall and tossing a grenade in the same direction.

There was yelling and screaming as the Spetsnaz crowded tightly around Ocelot. Snake was crouched down, one knee on the floor and the other stretched outward. Red, Crais, Turkish, and Tintern were watching Daves, Raiden, and Snake very heavily in the midst of the ambush. No one knew what was happening for sure, but the Spetsnaz would take care of the demon. It was up to the others to keep an eye on the 'prisoners.'

"Unit down! We're taking fire!" The man with the sharp goatee and the thin little mustache yelled over the radio. Snake shook his head. The demon wasn't returning fire, but the Spetsnaz were too busy hailing its former location with bullets and grenades to see that. Eventually, they ceased their fire and moved to the back of the company, aiming their weapons in every direction.

Crais, who was holding up the back, let out a stifled scream and stumbled onto his stomach, blood pulsing out of a fresh wound in his side just before Turkish did the same, a bullet lodged in the back of his knee. When the Spetsnaz noticed the attack they redirected their attention, but before they could fire their guns or toss their grenades another bullet broke free from the invisible gun and splintered Raiden's left shoulder, shattering his bone into tens of pieces and drawing a short cry from his lips.

Snake turned to him and moved to aid him when Trinket set the muzzle of her gun to the back of his skull. "He'll live," she said simply, but Snake leaned closer to Raiden, lifting his neck and resting his head on his knee. There was a click from Tintern's gun as she readied to fire. Snake ignored the act, Spetsnaz crying out in fury as they sent everything they had in both directions. He pulled a syringe from a pocket in his suit, in which resided two other syringes, and pulled off the cap, pressed it into the crook of Raiden's arm. He pushed the liquid into Raiden's vein and then plucked it from his arm, tossing it aside.

"Bad move, kiddo," Tintern sighed and pulled the trigger. Snake jumped a little, expecting to be dead for a second time, but he wasn't. Raiden had let another, longer cry escape his lips, the bullet from Tintern's gun nestled in his other shoulder and blood spilling onto the floor like a narrow river. Snake spun his head around and pulled Tintern close, swinging his second fist and smashing it into her jaw. It sent her reeling sideways, but when she made to stand and fire at Snake, May set his hand on her shoulder and shook his head. Snake was all ready turned back to Raien. He was shaking, head on Snake's knee still, legs stretching and pulling close to his body, teeth clenching and head thrashing.

Snake was crouched over him, watching him writhe in pain – that pain reflecting in Snake's eyes as he tried to hold his friend still. Daves was watching closely, but he wasn't sad or happy. He was just watching, the Spetsnaz moving about, Crais and Turkish cursing, Tintern shaking her head, and May staring at the insides of his eyelids in silence.

"Come on, kid," Snake said, trying to help but not knowing how. Raiden was squeezing his eyes shut, tears and sweat running down his face. He was coughing and breathing strange, gasps of pain erupting every few seconds. "I thought you said 'clear!'" one of the Spetsnaz was yelling over the radio, most everyone else turning their attention to Snake and Raiden. "Get a grip, kid," Snake said as one of the Spetsnaz came over to him and checked the wounds.

Raiden was fighting for air in between sobs, his face muscles contracting, his teeth grinding and his body doing anything to be rid of the pain. The shot Snake had given him didn't do anything to help. And it seemed, as the Spetsnaz slowly backed away and stood, that he didn't know what to do either.

Someone said the area was clear and told them to start moving out. Most of them stood, but when they walked off two Spetsnaz and May were standing behind Snake, watching. They gave him some distance and turned their backs as Raiden attempted to speak.

"It—it hurts," he choked and Snake nodded quickly.

"I know," he said, clenching his fists. Snake knew pain. He'd taken a bullet before – several, actually – but he couldn't imagine what Raiden was feeling with both of his arms paralyzed and blood spilling onto the floor without any sign of ending.

"God, it hurts…Sn-Snake," he tried to say, choking and going silent, head cradled on Snake's knee. Snake shook his head. "Just stay in there," he said, taking his bandana and tearing it in half, like he had for Otacon, and pressing it over one of his shoulders. Raiden went tense very quickly, breaths coming rapidly still. To stop the bleeding meant a whole lot of pain. Raiden shook his head slowly. Snake paid no attention to him.

"It's not s-so bad an-anymore," he managed, just barely, before squeezing his eyes tight again and waiting for the tears to pass. Snake was watching him painfully. He was watching him give up. Give in.

"Don't forget the pain," Snake said. "Don't let it go. Hold onto it," he said, his own voice beginning to crack. "Hold onto it, buddy," Snake said, the usual gruffness having faded entirely. Raiden was still shaking, but not as much. His face was losing its color. His sweat and tears were all the same now. Just a slick cold film stretched over his entire face.

"Snake?" Raiden said, opening his eyes just a little. Enough to see Snake crouched over him. "You were…a good pa-partner," he choked. Snake nodded, his face growing slick and cool with sweat. "A good…very –" he coughed, eyes flickering out, lids slowly shutting, breath slowing, legs relaxing. "very good friend," he said again and Snake nodded subtly. He didn't need to say anything more. Snake knew how he felt and as the cold touch of glass prickled his lower eyelid, a tear spilling down his cheek, he swallowed hard. Raiden felt the tear splash on his forehead and his breath quickened just before his eyelids fell shut one last time, like anvils crashing down on Snake's heart.

And when his eyes were shut, his body going limp, Snake leaned even further forward and dropped his face in his hands. And he stayed crouched there, saying nothing more, just making quiet little noises as he tried to quell his tears.

And after a while he just cried.