Title: Metal Gear Solid: Elements of Destruction- Chapter 15: Dr. Raznov
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 15: Dr. Raznov
Raiden followed close behind Snake, keeping a careful eye on his surroundings. Turning another corner, he could have sworn that they were going around in circles, but his radar maps showed him otherwise. All of the rooms and halls were the same, dull, metallic gray, making it hard to distinguish one place from another. Solid Snake seemed not to notice, and Raiden was amazed at the seasoned warrior's navigational instincts. Jack supposed, with a bit of a frown on his face, that something like that couldn't be taught in VR.
Snake stopped in his tracks, then Raiden heard it too. There were voices coming from the next room.
"Over there," the mercenary whispered. He was pointing to a ventilation shaft over in the corner.
Jack knew exactly what Snake had in mind. He removed the grate covering the crawlspace, and then went up inside.
The mercenary followed him in, crawling at a steady pace on his stomach.
As they moved further along, the voices grew louder and clearer, echoing throughout the ventilation system. Up ahead, there was a grate that looked down on the room from above. Both Dave and Jack squeezed together in such a way so that they could see what was going on.
***
"I don't think you quite understand your situation, Dr. Raznov. Dr. Chetnik is behaving, so why can't you just be a good girl and finish things the right way?"
Dr. Anja Raznov propped her hand on her hip, "I'm not working for 'them'," she snarled, "and I never will." Her amber eyes blazed with defiance as she threw a harsh look at Yadik.
"I'm growing tired of this game. Finish 'Phase 3' by tomorrow, or it's back to the torture room. And I doubt," Yadik added with a finger pointed right in her face, "that Genesis will have mercy this time."
The young scientist looked down at her bandaged arm, her long red hair falling to partially cover her bruised cheeks.
"Good," the middle-aged man said with a sneer, "You let that be your reminder. By tomorrow, you'd better produce." He turned and left the room, locking the door behind him.
Sliding her back down the wall into a crouched position, Anja sobbed softly into her knees.
She was suddenly startled by something from above her. The scientist looked up to see the grate on the ventilation shaft disappear. Anja curled up tighter into a ball, not knowing what was going to happen to her. Maybe Genesis had decided to punish her now instead? Her heart raced and she could feel her temples pulse with every beat.
Two men dropped down from the opening. They both wore the same uniform, but she had never seen any of the other soldiers in that type of gear. She watched them intently as they approached her.
"Dr. Raznov?"
"Who wants to know?" she asked, her voice faltering as her fear began to break through her seemingly iron will.
"Someone who's going to get you the Hell outta here," Snake said, pulling off his mask.
Though still suspicious of them, her eyes began to sparkle with hope. "Who sent you? How did you find me?"
"Whoa. Slow down a minute," Solid Snake told her. "First of all, are you alright?"
Anja nodded, "For the time being. My arm's been broken, but it's healing well. It's been about 2 weeks since my last trip to the torture room." She looked over at the other masked person. "And you are?"
Raiden removed his mask. "Me? Um… Just call me Luc."
"And what can I call you?" she asked Snake.
"Nathair."
"Dr. Anja Raznov," the woman formally introduced herself, holding out her good hand, shaking each of the other's. "So, how did you find me? You know, it's not exactly easy to get here."
"Luc" put his hand on Anja's shoulder. "We hitched a ride on the 'L'yednik'," he told her, "then stowed away on a cargo hauler here."
"I see," she said understanding. "So, who are you with?"
"A private organization," Snake answered, "Mercenaries for hire."
"Mercenaries, huh?" the scientist frowned, "I'm not sure that I can trust you, then. You could be working for another group who has the same intentions that this one does."
Snake felt her eyes studying the both of them. He shrugged, "You don't have to trust me. Just think about this though. What other options do you have?"
Dr. Raznov pursed her lips, "Good point."
"The question now is, where do you want to go after we get you off of this ice ball? Would you feel safe going back to Russia?"
"I don't know," she replied with a sigh.
Raiden nodded in Snake's direction, and the mercenary knew exactly what he was inferring.
"What about the States?" "Nathair" suggested.
Anja's brow wrinkled a bit in confusion. "You're Americans?" she said in richly accented English.
The men nodded.
"I never would have guessed. Your Russian is excellent."
Snake pointed to his throat, "We've had a little help from technology. To be honest, my Russian is terrible."
"Really? You'll have to show me sometime. I'm intrigued."
Raiden looked around the room. "Where's Dr. Chetnik?"
Dr. Raznov frowned at the mentioning of her partner's name. "He's somewhere else. He's working for them now, willingly even," she told the two men. "They offered him a lot of money. They tried to buy me too, but I have more pride than that."
"Hmm… Are you sure it's not just an act so that they'll spare his life?" Jack asked her.
Anja rubbed her forehead to release some of the tension of the past few days. "I've kicked that idea around myself. But, if that is the case, then he's really got me convinced. He's been working double time on his half of the project."
Snake crossed his arms over his chest. "What exactly is the 'E. Weapon Project'?"
The scientist's eyes widened with surprise from their knowledge of the project's codename. "You've heard of it?"
He nodded. "Only by name. We have no idea what it consists of. Though a friend and I theorize that it has something to do with Metal Gear."
"And you know of Metal Gear too?" Anja said, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Who are you, really?"
"Let's just say I've been around the block," Snake answered her. "Maybe someday I'll be able to tell you." He tucked his headpiece into his belt, re-tying his bandana around his head. "So, about the project?"
"Oh. Right," she said, lowering her voice to a whisper, "Do you have nanos?"
"Yes. That would be safer," Solid Snake agreed. "What frequency?"
"141.62"
Raiden and Snake patched into her frequency.
"You reading me?" Anja asked.
"I am," Raiden replied. "Nathair?"
"I got you, kid. Give me a sec, Doc," he told her, holding up a finger. "There are two others in our party that need to hear this."
Anja raised an eyebrow, "More of your mercenary friends?"
"Actually, they're the ones that take care of the more technical aspects of a mission," he corrected. "They'd understand you better than I would."
"I suppose I don't have a choice about this either?" Dr. Raznov gave in with a sigh.
"Don't worry. They're scientists like you," Raiden assured her.
"If we're going to destroy the weapons, we're going to need all the help we can get," Snake said, "Especially from you."
"Destroy the weapons?" she probed for confirmation of what she heard.
"That's right," he replied. "Half of our mission is to rescue you and Dr. Chetnik. The other is to destroy any weapons you created."
"You really aren't bad people, then." Anja concluded with a sigh of relief.
Snake stepped aside for a moment to inform the others of the situation.
"What's up Snake?" Mei answered her codec.
"A lot. You there too Otacon?"
"Yeah, I'm here," the engineer replied.
"I found Dr. Raznov," Dave told them, "She's here. I'm gonna patch you through to her. She's going to explain about the 'E. Weapon Project'. We gave her our aliases only, so don't forget to use them."
"Oh. Right," Mei said.
Snake switched over to Anja's frequency. "Alright. We're all listening," he told the scientist.
"Okay," she began, taking in a deep breath to help collect her thoughts. "I'm assuming then that you all are familiar with Metal Gear?"
"Mhmm," Otacon verbally nodded. "Go on Dr. Raznov."
"Well, the 'E. Weapon Project's' full name is 'Evolved Weapon Project'. It is a project divided into two parts. The first part is Dr. Chetnik's specialty: advanced arms design. He has studied the plans from just about every incarnation of Metal Gear ever created. Now, he's combining that knowledge with a few of his other tricks to create 'Metal Gear Shadow'."
"Metal Gear," Snake hissed. "Why does that not surprise me?"
Hal's breathing became shallower as his heart began to sink. He swallowed hard, trying his best to pay attention despite the guilt he was feeling.
Anja walked over to her desk and pulled out her chair. She turned it around to face the others, then sat down. "Metal Gear Shadow is built from a synthetic metal alloy called 'Polyalkasynthium'. It combines the strength and positive properties of several metals. It is virtually impenetrable from the impact of bullets and small missiles such as Stingers. Polyalkasynthium is dark gray in color, almost black."
"So that's why it's called 'Metal Gear Shadow'?" Raiden asked.
"Partially. Though more so because of what it can do."
"I'm almost afraid to ask," Snake said, letting out a low growl.
"With built in stealth camo and thermal camouflaging, Metal Gear Shadow can render itself invisible to almost any type of instrument," Dr. Raznov explained.
The other four were silent. An invisible Metal Gear…
"Shadow is nuclear-capable and carries many of the same types of weapons that 'Rex' and 'Ray did such as a rail gun and belly laser. It can travel by land, by sea, or by air. It is the ultimate weapon."
"What?!" Snake exclaimed.
Anja looked down at her feet. "There's more."
Hal swallowed hard, his voice trembling, "More?"
"Yes. That was just Dr. Chetnik's half of the project. My half is…"
Raiden's eyes rolled up into the back of his head as he passed out, falling to the floor, hard. Snake turned around in an instant, his gun pointed in the direction of the shot, but it was too late. He had already been hit with a tranquillizer dart. The room spun around him as he began to lose consciousness. The last thing he heard was the panicked screams of Dr. Raznov, and the frantic beeping of his codec echoing in his ears.
***
Hal's eyes were swollen as he cried. He tried Snake's personal frequency again and again, praying for an answer. "Snake! God, no! Snaaaaake!"
Author's Notes:
"Polyalkasynthium" is a made up material. I got the name this way:
Poly- Meaning many. This material is made from the strength of several metals.
Alka- Referring to the Alkali Metals on the periodic table. A particularly reactive group, they usually combine themselves with other elements in nature.
Synthium- A morphed form of the word 'synthetic'.