Title: Metal Gear Solid: Elements of Destruction- Chapter 7: Training
Author: The Ice Goddess (FrozenBlueIce)
Fandom: Metal Gear Solid
Feedback: All feedback is welcome, whether it be negative or positive. I'm trying to improve on my writing so, please be honest: frozenblueice@yahoo.com
Pairing: The main pairing of this story is Snake/Otacon, which is obvious to anyone who knows of my fondness for Hal Emmerich, so therefore alright to disclose. There are others, but if I told you what they were, it'd ruin the story.
Series: No. There may be sequels in the future, but right now that is looking unlikely due to time constraints.
Rating: PG (this chapter only)
Disclaimer: All characters appearing in previous Metal Gear Solid video games are the property of Konami Computer Entertainment of Japan, and of their creator, Mr. Hideo Kojima. All new characters are the property of The Ice Goddess. This is a work of fanfiction, and in no way, shape, or form will I receive any monetary compensation for it. It is for entertainment purposes only.
Type: Action/Shounen-ai
Summary: This story takes place one year after the events of "The Big Shell." New information found by Otacon sends Snake back into action. (That's all I'm revealing!)
Chapter 7: Training
"Come on. It isn't going to bite you," Snake said, holding out his M9 to Otacon. "It'll be loaded with tranquilizer rounds. You won't have to kill anyone."
Hal's hands trembled as he eyed the gun. He hated guns and always left their handling to Snake. Even if it was only to pick them up off of the floor, he could never bring himself to touch one.
"I don't know, Snake," he said nervously, "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea."
The mercenary smiled. "Good. You've finally come to your senses."
"No. I don't mean about the mission," Otacon told him, "I mean, about…that." He pointed to at the M9, hands still shaking.
Dave let out a heavy sigh. So, his friend was still stubborn on the subject of going along. The one glimmer of hope that Hal would chicken out, had faded quickly into the dark.
"Look, Otacon. You said you'd do whatever it takes," Snake reminded him. "You're going to need to learn how to defend yourself."
The flighty scientist's shaking calmed a bit. Snake was right. He had promised him that he'd do whatever was necessary to prepare for the mission. If he was going to do this for his friend, he was going to have to gather some courage.
He timidly held out his hand, and Snake gently placed the M9 in it. The shiny, black metal felt cool and smooth, and surprisingly lightweight. Otacon stared at it with increased curiosity.
"Now," Snake said, positioning himself behind his student, "hold it firmly, with both hands, like this." He positioned his hands over Hal's, pulling his body in close against the engineer's back.
Otacon found himself blushing at the close contact with his friend.
The trained soldier manually adjusted Otacon's stance, spreading his legs apart. "Keep your feet apart a bit. You'll get a better shot off that way." With his arms resting on Hal's shoulders, Snake helped him aim the gun.
Otacon felt a wave of heat run up his spine and across his face. He began to sweat, making it difficult to grip the gun with his clammy palms. He felt a hand push on his hips.
"Hips should be straight but relaxed," Dave instructed.
Hal relaxed his body, the best he could. He found himself subconsciously pressing himself harder into Snake's body. His friend's presence empowered him with the strength to look down the sight of the barrel.
"Now squeeze the trigger gently to activate the laser sight."
Otacon did as he was told. He swallowed down a lump of nerves that had quickly built up in his throat, as the little red dot appeared on the head of the target in front of him.
"Alright, Hal, shoot!" Dave ordered.
The man hesitated, finding a lot of things distracting him: the realization that he was holding a gun, the thought of firing, the heat of Snake's breath at his neck. His trembling intensified.
"Damn it, Hal, I said shoot!" Snake ordered him.
The engineer fired the M9, releasing the dart. It hit the shoulder of the target, far off from the head in which he had meant to hit.
The mercenary released his grip on his friend. He shook his head. "You can't hesitate like that. You'll get yourself killed."
"I'm sorry. I panicked," Otacon replied.
"One moment of panic on the battlefield is enough to mean the difference between life and death. Why don't we just forget the whole thing, and leave this to me and Raiden?" Snake said.
Otacon looked down at the ground and adjusted his glasses. "Please Snake. I want to help. Help me help you."
Dave let out a sigh, then conceded. "Alright."
He positioned himself again behind his friend, helping him to aim the gun. He made a few last adjustments to Hal's stance, then gripped around his partner's hands tight.
"Shoot!" the soldier ordered.
Otacon squeezed the trigger on command, and this time, hit a lot closer to the mark.
"Better," Snake said, "but you need to watch the recoil. You keep letting your aim get thrown off."
Otacon felt the warmth of his partner leave his back. He turned to face him. "Thanks," Hal said handing the gun over.
"Eh, give it some time," Dave told him, putting an arm around the other's shoulder, "It'll come to you when you least expect it." He tousled the tidy man's hair.
"Hey!" Hal said, laughing a bit. He tugged Snake's bandana hard, causing Snake's head to throw back.
"Oh, ya wanna play rough now?" the mercenary taunted.
Otacon began to run through the endless halls of the VR program. "Gotta catch me first."
Snake began the chase. Otacon was pretty fast, but Dave's body was much more athletic, and he soon caught up to him. He grabbed the slender, almost weightless man by the waist and threw him over his shoulder.
The engineer, draped over his friend, tried to free himself from Solid Snake's grasp, but only ended up being dropped to the floor. He rubbed his now bruised rear.
The two men laughed, then ended the VR program. It was nice to see Otacon in good spirits again.
***
"What're you working on?" Snake asked, grabbing a handful of Doritos, and shoving them into his mouth.
There were all sorts of materials and electronics laid out neatly in piles around the worktable in Otacon's room. He was sitting, hunched over a large assembled heap in the center.
The scientist paused, looking up from what he was doing. "Oh, hey. I didn't see you come in."
He held up his unfinished work. "It's a new sneaking suit."
Laying it down, he rolled his chair over to his computer. Punching some keys, he brought up the desired file. "These are the schematics," Hal said, gesturing for Snake to have a look.
The mercenary came over and leaned in, looking at the screen over Hal's shoulder. He crunched on a few more chips as he read.
Otacon reached into the bag in Snake's hand, taking a few Doritos for himself. "This suit is more advanced than your previous suits. It's designed to thoroughly insulate the body, while generating heat to ensure that nothing freezes." He pointed to a small circular spot on the back of the suit. "This is the thermostat. It constantly monitors the body temperature of its wearer while calculating the minimum amount of heat needed to maintain 37 degrees Celsius. It's quite energy efficient." Hal pushed his glasses up his nose, then brought up another page of schematics. "If for some reason the heater ceases to function properly, I installed a fallback measure. These are the adrenal gland stimulators. They stimulate the flow of adrenaline to a level just short of dangerous. If you have too much adrenaline in your bloodstream, it could cause cardiac arrest. The purpose of the adrenaline is to speed up your heart. It's hard to freeze a flowing river, so if your blood moves faster, it'll be harder to freeze as well."
"That makes sense," Snake said, forcing another handful of Doritos into his mouth. "How's the suit affect mobility?"
"Well, it's like your other sneaking suits. It hugs your body tight so as to minimize bleeding and damage to your vital organs," the scientist explained. "I guess that the major difference between this suit and the others is this over-layer." He pointed to the darker section of the torso. "This is extra protection, as well as a bullet proof vest. It'll hold up to an average handgun, but it won't do you any good against an AK or FA-MAS. It also provides extra heat, pressure, and support to your chest and groin."
Hal reached up for some more chips, but Snake retracted the bag. "Get your own!" He teased, offering the bag back to him.
Otacon grabbed a few chips and ate them one by one, careful to make sure not to get too much of the orange cheese powder on his fingers.
"So I guess I'm almost finished making your suit, since I already have your measurements. After you test it out, then I'll work out the bugs and begin construction on Raiden's and my suits."
Snake gave Hal a wry smile.
"What? What is it?" the engineer inquired, knowing that look.
"I was just thinking about how odd it'll be to see you out of your lab coat, and into a sneaking suit. It's just so… weird."
Otacon let out a small chuckle, "Yeah, I know. But, I'll be right there with you guys, so I'll need to keep warm too."
"Did you fix the stealth camo yet?" Snake asked.
Hal shook his head, "No. Not yet. I need to go get some parts. The power unit's been totally fried."
Snake looked over his friend. He still looked tired, and the fact that Otacon was rubbing his temples more than confirmed that. The pale scientist sat in his chair, seeming ready to fall asleep at any moment. But Snake knew that he was at least going to finish the suit that he had already started on before finally going to bed. Dave knew that convincing him to go to sleep now would be a tiring effort, so he decided to offer some assistance instead.
"Is there anything that I can do for ya?" he asked.
"No. Thanks. I'm alright." Hal politely declined.
Snake almost forgot the fact that his accommodating friend would never outright ask anything of him. So, the mercenary would have to think of something to do for Otacon himself.
"I'll go brew up some coffee," he said, patting Hal's shoulder.
"Oh, thank you," his friend replied, rolling his chair back over to the table. He indeed intended to get that suit finished, and coffee sounded really good right about now.
***
After two pots of coffee, and the rest of Snake's bag of Doritos, Otacon laid his tools down and held up the finished suit in triumph. "I did it!" he shouted excitedly. He called for his friend, "Snake! Come check it out."
The mercenary came into Hal's room with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. He took a few draws from it before reaching back to lay it down in an ashtray that was on the end table just outside of the doorway. He glanced over the suit thoughtfully.
"Well, what'cha think?" Otacon prompted.
"Hmm…" Snake said, looking it over one more time, "It's a little bulkier than I'm used to, but I like it."
"Try it on," the engineer said eagerly, handing his partner the sneaking suit.
"I thought we were gonna save the testing for tomorrow," he returned. "You need your sleep."
"I know," Otacon said, shifting his specs once again, "but I'm just too anxious to see how it works."
Snake could see the almost child-like eagerness in Hal Emmerich's hazel eyes. It shined brightly through even the lenses of his glasses. Those glasses that the man always hid behind could not hid any bit of the pride that he was feeling right then.
"Alright," Snake agreed, lifting his black t-shirt up over his head. He slipped if off, letting it hit the floor. He moved to untie the drawstrings in his gray-black sweatpants.
Otacon found himself staring at Snake's hard, chiseled chest. He blushed feverously, turning his head before Dave could catch him looking. "Oh, d-do you have to do that h-here?" Hal stammered.
Snake threw his friend a questioning look. "Huh? Oh I'll pick them up. I know you like to keep your room neat," he said misinterpreting Otacon's embarrassment.
Hal allowed himself one more glance at his partner. His pants were now tossed aside, and he was standing there naked, trying to figure out how to put on the sneaking suit.
Otacon's eyes looked over Snake admiringly as his cheeks shifted to a darker shade of crimson.
"Well," the mercenary said, "don't just sit there. Help me with this!"
He mumbled to himself as he searched the suit. His friend really constructed it well: the seams were invisible, and the suit itself was streamlined. But where the Hell was the damned opening?
The scientist cleared his mind by shaking his head and walked over to where Dave stood. He took the sneaking suit from his hands and removed the over-layer, setting it aside. Unfastening the main part of the suit, he handed it back to Snake.
"This goes on first," Hal explained.
Snake placed his legs in the leg holes, and pulled the suit up his rippled body. The tight fit of the under-layer didn't leave much to the imagination about how well built Solid Snake really was. His body lines were deep and smooth, giving him a perfect shape.
Otacon helped his friend fasten the suit up in the back. It came clear up his neck, almost choking him. It took a moment for Snake to adjust to the pressure.
Next, Hal placed the over-layer on Dave. It was shaped like fencer's armor, except it had raised pads on the shoulders. Kneeling before Snake, Otacon fastened it securely over his groin, and between his legs.
Snake grabbed the elbow and knee guards, and slipped them on. The padding was thick and rather sturdy on his joints. He tested their weight by bending his limbs a few times. Dave then slipped on the boots. They were heavily insulated, and they hugged his feet comfortably.
"Well?" Snake asked. "How do I look?"
Hal eyed his friend thoughtfully. He looked powerful, but the scientist thought that would sound stupid. He had to think of something else to describe his friend's indescribable appearance.
"You look…like the Legend," he answered.
Suddenly remembering something, Otacon went over to the table, picking up a headpiece. It resembled somewhat like a ski mask, except there was a perforated piece of material over where the mouth would be, and a hard, clear shield to protect the eyes. "I almost forgot. Here's your headgear," Hal said.
Snake slipped it on over his head, pulling it down over his face. He turned to face himself in the mirror on the back of Otacon's door. Dave looked at his reflection, chuckling to himself.
"It's great," he told his friend. "I don't know if I've ever told you before, but you're truly a genius."
Hal blushed again, nervously scratching the back of his head. "Yeah… You have… Thanks," he said simply, not able to accept his friend's praise well. A man like Snake had nothing to praise a person like him for, he thought.
Solid Snake held up his index finger. "Wait a minute. It's missing something."
He went into the living room, and when he returned, Dave was tying his bandana around his head. "There. Now it's complete."
Otacon nodded in agreement. "I'll go fire up the VR. I wrote a new sub-zero climate survival program. It accurately simulates the sensation of the temperatures around you, and calculates those effects on your movement and performance."
"You've thought of everything, haven't you?" Snake said.
"Alright," the engineer said, collecting a mass of wires and electrodes, "it's ready to go."
Grabbing his Socom, Snake stood in front of the line of tall, cabinet-type computers. Otacon attached the sensors in the proper spots along his partner's forehead, temples, chest, spine, and legs.
When everything was in place, Snake found himself on an outdoor battlefield. The snowdrifts and glaciers were so accurately simulated, that he felt as if he was there already. The air smelled cool and fresh as it would on a winter's night. "Otacon didn't miss a single detail," he thought, admiring the engineering genius of his friend.
Solid Snake's senses were alerted to the sound of crunching snow nearby. He quickly ducked down behind the nearest snowdrift and peered out. There, in the distance, were three soldiers patrolling the area. They carried AKs, and marched in a tight formation.
He drew his gun and crawled along the ground on his belly, slithering like his codename implied. The mercenary got up on his knees, pressing his back against a slightly taller snowdrift. He moved to its edge, listening and waiting.
Before the soldiers even had time to scream, Dave had already disposed of them with a quick jump shot to each of their heads.
"You 'warmed up' now, Snake?" came Otacon's voice in his ear.
Hidden behind his mask, he smiled. "Is that supposed to be a pun?"
Hal chuckled, "Of course! You know me."
The two men laughed.
"So what's next?" Snake asked loading a new clip, and cocking the gun.
"How about something a little more challenging?" Otacon asked, bringing up the next part of the program.
"You're on!"