Chapter 17- An Alliance?
Snake eyed the soldiers. They reminded him of what he thought a personification of death might look like, a black shadowy figure with red eyes that just screamed evil.
Some were armed with 12-gauge shotguns; others were armed with FA-MAS rifles. Their hands were steady, not shaking, showing the probability that these men were true veterans. They meant serious business; you could tell just by looking at them.
Snake's eyes may have been looking all around him, but his gun remained trained on the lead soldier, the red dot that was the laser sight playing on his heart area, but Snake knew better than to shoot. He was greatly outmatched, both in number and firepower. A single shot fired while Snake was out in the open would mean an instant salvo of shotgun and rifle shells that even he wouldn't be able to avoid; it would tear him apart instantaneously.
Snake then took advantage of this momentary time of cease-fire, while both sides were waiting for the other to make the first move. He looked all around him for any possible cover. He saw the Metal Gear RAY, several crates, some cranes, a truck, and, of course, the structure from where he had come. Plenty of possible cover... he would need it.
But what was closest to him? He looked around once more, trying to find a place that he could quickly escape to. He then spotted a large, steel crate about eight feet away from him. Perfect, along with all the wide-open space there was around him.
Snake kept his gun trained on the enemy, not allowing anything to change that as long as he was breathing. He took his right hand off of the gun, however, and used it to reach for something on his hip. He gripped something in his gloved hand, and pried it off of the holster attached to his hip. It was a silver object, closely resembling a small soda can. It was slim and cylindrical, with a thin circular fixture on the top. It was something that any army personnel, rookie or veteran, should instantly recognize. It was a tactical diversionary tool... otherwise known as a flash bang grenade. It was a special type of explosive used to blind the enemy; it was a truly spectacular innovation.
Snake then noticed something. None of the guards seemed to notice a lonely, stationary Scott. He was standing behind the all of the sentries, doing nothing whatsoever, not wanting to draw attention to himself. It was no wonder no one noticed him. Snake then looked at him, and Dolph reciprocated, their eyes meeting. Snake gave a slight nod of his head, and Dolph knew what he meant. Dolph slowly removed the sidearm from the holster; a slight grinned formed slowly on Snake's face as this happened. Scott trained his pistol on the lead sentry; the same one that Snake's 633 was focused on. He took his time, no kind of rushing even remotely necessary. He was a sniper from ten feet.
The trigger was pulled back, sending a bullet into the guard's skull, killing him immediately. However, no blood flew.
That's when Snake put Step Two of his plan into action. He, still only using his right hand, removed the pin from the flash bang grenade clutched in his right hand and tossed it into the air towards the enemy sentries. As soon as the grenade left his hand, Snake let out a barrage of gunfire from his 633. They all connected with the guards' chest areas, but none of them went down, and only a few showed a slight sensation of any kind of pain.
He had actually thrown the grenade before Dolph fired his pistol, so that attention would immediately be drawn back to himself; Scott was in no condition to do any kind of fighting, as he had stated himself.
The guards did indeed turn around towards Snake and the explosion... right into the blinding white light that the explosive released. The guards let out screams of pain, their eyes stinging beyond any kind of description.
"Aahhh!"
"Somebody help me!"
"Find that--- aaahhh! My eyes!"
Snake then heard automatic gunfire, followed by the scream of another guard. This could only mean two things; either someone Snake didn't know about was helping him, or the guards were killing each other.... by accident, of course. Snake didn't care which, as long as the other guys were dying. He thought nothing more of it and dove behind the large metal crate that he had eyed earlier. He completed a forward roll and pressed his back against the side of the crate, a stinging cold, like so many razor sharp blades, finding its way onto Snake's bare skin, where his suit had been torn so earlier before in his battle with Revolver Ocelot. Snake winced slightly, but shook it off, his natural soldier's resiliency kicking in.
He then looked in the direction of the guards' last position and was able to view the trail of their thermal-imagery goggles, a steadily moving trail of red, easily visible. He also saw a vaguely visible silhouette in the distance. It was Scott, still standing in the open, an easy target.
"Scott! Get out of here!"
Dolph did not do as he was told, and hesitated to leave. He didn't move.
"NOW!" yelled Snake, not angry, per se, just... concerned for his partner and friend's safety.
He fired his gun in the general direction of their crimson tails, using burst fire, holding down the trigger for about two seconds at a time, never longer. He heard a rapid 'ping, ping' sound; he knew that the bullets had connected with something, most likely that strange armor that the sentries were wearing. Snake opened his ear, figuratively, and listened for a death rattle, a scream, anything that would tell Snake that he had dropped at least one guard... nothing, however.
Snake then thought of something. The fact that Snake didn't recognize the armor that the sentries were wearing and the fact that he had connected point blank on at least three guards with the result being... well, nothing, were not coincidence. Snake was what one might call a "military connoisseur". He knew more about military equipment than any other soldier that he knew.
He then decided to contact Otacon; he was one of the only people he knew that may have known more about this than he. He tapped the device in his inner ear slightly with his index finger. A ringing sound then chimed in his ear.
"Snake, are you okay? The camera was malfunctioning and I got worried--"
"That's exactly what I need to talk to you about. Otacon, can you see what's happening right now?"
"Well, I was able to, up until... I believe you had that battle with Ocelot in the, uh, the computer room. It malfunctioned about halfway into the fight. I was really worried about you, I had no idea what had happened."
Otacon had actually installed a small camera inside Snake's bandana. This allowed him to view everything through Snake's eyes, the vantage point perhaps a little higher, as it was on Snake's forehead.
"Uh... yeah, I was... uh... out of bandages," Snake said, rather embarrassed.
"You used your bandana as a bandage?" Otacon rhetorically asked. Only ---!" Otacon let out a surprised gasp, shock under the glasses that continually slid down his nose. Without what he dubbed the "Snake Cam" functioning properly, Otacon had to rely solely on Snake's voice and the sounds around him to help his comrade. However, he couldn't hear anything any longer, as gunshots and static rang in his ears, drowning out Snake's voice entirely on the codec. Otacon gathered himself and spoke into his codec, still on, as far as he knew.
"Snake?" he spoke into the codec, the concern for his partner obvious from his tone of voice. "Snake...? Snake, answer me! Snake! SNAKE!" He got no response whatsoever. Just yelling and the echoes of the gunshots fired. He silently prayed that Snake was fully capable of answering, but couldn't.
It turned out that Snake was still alive. He had been flushed out of his hiding spot while conferring with Otacon. Several grenades had been thrown in his direction as he was consulting with his partner; he had not seen them, and he was pissed off at himself for that alone. He had not noticed them until about half a second before they'd detonated. He stood up and sprinted towards one the helicopters that had been utterly destroyed, the first veritable cover option he'd spotted on the spur of the moment.
However, the second he stood, the grenades detonated, releasing a fairly weak fragmentation explosion, the blast not even knocking Snake off of his feet. The Philanthropy commando did, however, lose his balance briefly; he stumbled, but kept running, adrenaline pumping at the max.
Gunfire hurtled by his skull, hair literally being knocked off the top of his head by the slugs. The only thing that kept him from getting his brain tissue blasted out of his cranium was the fact that he lowered his head and crouched slightly... a veteran move by a veteran soldier. Nonetheless, several bullets still nicked his arms and legs, the soldiers against him showing their veteran skills, trying to incapacitate Snake's vital body parts. With an injured arm or hand, Snake would not be able to fire his gun, and with wounded legs, he'd be unable to walk.
But this did not slow Snake down; he continued to run towards the helicopter, the large mechanical structure seeming to get farther away with every step that he took. Automatic gunfire rang in his ears, but he tried his best to ignore it, concentrating only on reaching his goal... which he finally did, after what seemed like an eternity.
He crouched and leapt, a powerful headfirst swan dive over the tail of the Russian chopper, something he may not have been able to do under normal circumstances, the boost of his adrenaline greatly assisting him. The gunfire followed him, connecting with the tail of the chopper, barely missing their target.
Snake somehow landed on one knee right after completing his spectacular jump, and pressed his back against the outside of the mechanical bird, right next to where the door used to be. He reloaded his gun, and rethought his options. Grenades, at least flash bangs, had no effect on them, his gun was useless, and hand-to-hand was not an option in this scenario. He had no other types of grenades... in fact, that was his last grenade at all. He was knee deep in his fate, almost defenseless.
Suddenly, he heard something he wasn't sure that he had. He thought that he heard a 'whoosh' of a speeding object coming towards him. Indeed he had; something was coming at him, and fast. Snake was now prepared to take the ultimate gamble. It sped over the top of the chopper's roof. Without moving anything but his right arm, he raised his hand and caught whatever was coming at him. It was thrown so hard that it stung his hand, but he lived with it... it could have done a lot worse. He brought it down in front of his eyes. It turned out to be a not-yet-activated grenade, and Snake could tell by the four-letter code on the round object that it was a poison gas grenade.
It had to have been Dolph who'd aided the desperate and almost defenseless soldier. Snake wished that he could show his comrade his thanks, but he'd be risking his life doing that... it wouldn't be the smartest move he'd ever made.
Snake had new life now. He looked through the doorway of the helicopter and saw that the guards had just finished reloading and started firing again. He ducked back behind cover, almost getting hit.
Sweat was running down his brow, and he wiped the nervous perspiration off, his hand shaking from the near-death moment he'd just experienced.
He then knew what he was going to do. He got ready, taking a deep breath, and readying himself. He then carried on with his plan, as he pointed the barrel of his 633 through the doorway of the bird and pulled the trigger, "blindfiring", not really intending to hit anyone, but to just force the enemy on the defensive, making them duck to avoid the gunfire. He then stood as he heard the frustrated groans of the soldiers as his bullets got near them and readied his grenade, removing the pin and throwing it into the snow at his feet. He tossed it through the doorway of the chopper, the small green object racing towards a soldier's head, smacking his skull and detonating on impact. He was knocked back about a foot, and the grenade released a thick cloud of white phosphorous. It would have severely burned any unprotected person instantly... but these soldiers were not unprotected.
Snake now noticed that they guards were wearing gas masks that protected them from the dangerous gas that he had just used on them. The only thing that helped Snake in this situation was the fact that, for a moment, the guards could not see. Snake took advantage and made a run for it... "it" being the Metal Gear RAY.
He raced towards the gargantuan mechanical monster; it was behind the guards who were temporarily blinded. He was taking a great risk, but the possible benefit was greater than the gamble. If he succeeded, he'd be behind every single enemy, and they wouldn't even know it. If he didn't make it, he'd be hailed down in a barrage of automatic gunfire and shotgun blasts.
It turned out that he would make it to the Metal Gear, and find save haven behind its left leg. He spied the guards, and after about five seconds, they recovered from being momentarily blinded, and immediately looked at Snake's former position, behind the chopper. They looked for about two seconds, and opened fire without delay.
Shotgun shells and rifle fire filled the night air, connecting to the helicopter, destroying it, shells denting the metal. When they didn't get any return fire, they decided to investigate. They walked over, slowly, cautiously, not wanting to fall into a trap of any kind. They surrounded the bird, seven of them on one side, and six on the other. They crept up on where they thought that Snake was, and all pointed their guns in unison... at nothing.
They were confused at the situation. Where could he have gone that fast? Nonetheless, they reacted quickly, silently giving each other directions on where to go, so no one could overhear, using hand signals to do so. When they were done telling each other what to do, they broke into several different units. Four of them went past the helicopter, four more towards the building, and the last five went towards the Metal Gear. Snake's heart beat harder and faster every as they came closer. His time was running out; he needed to think of a plan. He rushed to activate his codec, to contact Otacon. He needed his advice now more than ever.
"Otacon, can you hear me?" Snake said in a low voice.
However, Otacon did not hear him. He only heard "Ot--- he--- ---e?" He responded to Snake, but it came out garbled and not understandable.
"I--- ---ake! ---ay!"
"Damn it!" Snake yelled, obviously frustrated.
The guards were coming closer every second. Snake stood and walked in a crouch position towards the front of the other leg. The guard's pointed their rifles downward and opened fire, obviously hearing him, but only hit snow, nothing more. Three of them then walked behind the monster of a machine, and the other two stood, playing lookout. Snake could hear the crunching of their boots on the snow as they came towards him. He sighed, and decided on what he'd do.
He jumped out of his hiding spot and opened fire on the guards, surprising them. A good number of his shots connected with the guards' bodies, except for a couple that strayed out of their direction. Snake jumped back into his hiding spot, but then he heard a loud, earth-shaking explosion.
"What the hell?" Snake yelled to himself.
He went back around and looked in the direction of where he thought that the explosion had come from. His eyes widened at the sight that he observed. Both guards that were acting as lookouts, on the ground, small fires burning on their backs. The other three guards were next to their comrades, trying to figure out what happened, just as Snake was.
That's when Snake first saw it. On the guard's back was some kind of cubical object, most likely having something to do with the gas masks that they were wearing. Snake then decided to test out what he thought had happened.
He trained his 633 on the back of the nearest guard, the laser sight steady on the cubical object. He let out a burst of gunfire, and each bullet connected. The second they did, there was an explosion, and a fire broke out on the guard's back. He was knocked off of his feet, immediately knocked unconscious, as was the soldier standing next to him. However, one sentry was still standing and turned around to face Snake. He met a knife blade right between his eyes, courtesy of Snake. Underneath his mask, the guard's eyes rolled back in his head and he crumpled, falling to the ground. Snake walked over to him and grabbed the grip of the knife, forcing it out of his victim's forehead.
"I'll take that," Snake told the guard, his face expressionless. Snake then searched the singed bodies for anything useful. He found several fragmentation grenades, but nothing else that would be useful to him. He pocketed the explosives and took out his assault rifle, the 633.
He searched his pockets for a fresh clip, as the current one was low. However, no new clips were to be found.
"Damn," Snake said to himself. He decided against using his 633, holstered it on his back, and took his Beretta out of its holster. He removed the current magazine and jammed a fresh one in its place. He clutched his gun in both hands and slowly walked towards the chopper, where he knew a group of soldiers were, looking for the enemy, the intruder... him.
He reached the helicopter, and peered through the doorway. He saw four guards, looking in every which direction. He readied his Beretta and pointed the barrel through the doorway. The laser sight radiated ahead in the night horizon, steadily moving, Snake trying to find his aim, taking his time. It finally stopped, targeted on the newly found Achilles' heel of the seemingly unstoppable sentries, the cubical device on their back that was filled with who knew what. The Beretta's trigger was pulled back, and the single bullet that came out of the barrel sped toward the strange piece of equipment on the guard's back. It reached it in a matter of half a second and penetrated the apparatus, igniting whatever was inside, and thus causing a tremendous explosion. The blast knocked every guard in the area off of his feet. When the smoke cleared, every soldier was face down in the snow, motionless, either unconscious or dead. It didn't matter to Snake, as long as they were no longer a threat.
He turned around, ready to find the last four sentries, and did... all of them, the barrels of their guns pointed at Snake's head. And, in front of them, arms crossed, was Scott Dolph...
Snake eyed the soldiers. They reminded him of what he thought a personification of death might look like, a black shadowy figure with red eyes that just screamed evil.
Some were armed with 12-gauge shotguns; others were armed with FA-MAS rifles. Their hands were steady, not shaking, showing the probability that these men were true veterans. They meant serious business; you could tell just by looking at them.
Snake's eyes may have been looking all around him, but his gun remained trained on the lead soldier, the red dot that was the laser sight playing on his heart area, but Snake knew better than to shoot. He was greatly outmatched, both in number and firepower. A single shot fired while Snake was out in the open would mean an instant salvo of shotgun and rifle shells that even he wouldn't be able to avoid; it would tear him apart instantaneously.
Snake then took advantage of this momentary time of cease-fire, while both sides were waiting for the other to make the first move. He looked all around him for any possible cover. He saw the Metal Gear RAY, several crates, some cranes, a truck, and, of course, the structure from where he had come. Plenty of possible cover... he would need it.
But what was closest to him? He looked around once more, trying to find a place that he could quickly escape to. He then spotted a large, steel crate about eight feet away from him. Perfect, along with all the wide-open space there was around him.
Snake kept his gun trained on the enemy, not allowing anything to change that as long as he was breathing. He took his right hand off of the gun, however, and used it to reach for something on his hip. He gripped something in his gloved hand, and pried it off of the holster attached to his hip. It was a silver object, closely resembling a small soda can. It was slim and cylindrical, with a thin circular fixture on the top. It was something that any army personnel, rookie or veteran, should instantly recognize. It was a tactical diversionary tool... otherwise known as a flash bang grenade. It was a special type of explosive used to blind the enemy; it was a truly spectacular innovation.
Snake then noticed something. None of the guards seemed to notice a lonely, stationary Scott. He was standing behind the all of the sentries, doing nothing whatsoever, not wanting to draw attention to himself. It was no wonder no one noticed him. Snake then looked at him, and Dolph reciprocated, their eyes meeting. Snake gave a slight nod of his head, and Dolph knew what he meant. Dolph slowly removed the sidearm from the holster; a slight grinned formed slowly on Snake's face as this happened. Scott trained his pistol on the lead sentry; the same one that Snake's 633 was focused on. He took his time, no kind of rushing even remotely necessary. He was a sniper from ten feet.
The trigger was pulled back, sending a bullet into the guard's skull, killing him immediately. However, no blood flew.
That's when Snake put Step Two of his plan into action. He, still only using his right hand, removed the pin from the flash bang grenade clutched in his right hand and tossed it into the air towards the enemy sentries. As soon as the grenade left his hand, Snake let out a barrage of gunfire from his 633. They all connected with the guards' chest areas, but none of them went down, and only a few showed a slight sensation of any kind of pain.
He had actually thrown the grenade before Dolph fired his pistol, so that attention would immediately be drawn back to himself; Scott was in no condition to do any kind of fighting, as he had stated himself.
The guards did indeed turn around towards Snake and the explosion... right into the blinding white light that the explosive released. The guards let out screams of pain, their eyes stinging beyond any kind of description.
"Aahhh!"
"Somebody help me!"
"Find that--- aaahhh! My eyes!"
Snake then heard automatic gunfire, followed by the scream of another guard. This could only mean two things; either someone Snake didn't know about was helping him, or the guards were killing each other.... by accident, of course. Snake didn't care which, as long as the other guys were dying. He thought nothing more of it and dove behind the large metal crate that he had eyed earlier. He completed a forward roll and pressed his back against the side of the crate, a stinging cold, like so many razor sharp blades, finding its way onto Snake's bare skin, where his suit had been torn so earlier before in his battle with Revolver Ocelot. Snake winced slightly, but shook it off, his natural soldier's resiliency kicking in.
He then looked in the direction of the guards' last position and was able to view the trail of their thermal-imagery goggles, a steadily moving trail of red, easily visible. He also saw a vaguely visible silhouette in the distance. It was Scott, still standing in the open, an easy target.
"Scott! Get out of here!"
Dolph did not do as he was told, and hesitated to leave. He didn't move.
"NOW!" yelled Snake, not angry, per se, just... concerned for his partner and friend's safety.
He fired his gun in the general direction of their crimson tails, using burst fire, holding down the trigger for about two seconds at a time, never longer. He heard a rapid 'ping, ping' sound; he knew that the bullets had connected with something, most likely that strange armor that the sentries were wearing. Snake opened his ear, figuratively, and listened for a death rattle, a scream, anything that would tell Snake that he had dropped at least one guard... nothing, however.
Snake then thought of something. The fact that Snake didn't recognize the armor that the sentries were wearing and the fact that he had connected point blank on at least three guards with the result being... well, nothing, were not coincidence. Snake was what one might call a "military connoisseur". He knew more about military equipment than any other soldier that he knew.
He then decided to contact Otacon; he was one of the only people he knew that may have known more about this than he. He tapped the device in his inner ear slightly with his index finger. A ringing sound then chimed in his ear.
"Snake, are you okay? The camera was malfunctioning and I got worried--"
"That's exactly what I need to talk to you about. Otacon, can you see what's happening right now?"
"Well, I was able to, up until... I believe you had that battle with Ocelot in the, uh, the computer room. It malfunctioned about halfway into the fight. I was really worried about you, I had no idea what had happened."
Otacon had actually installed a small camera inside Snake's bandana. This allowed him to view everything through Snake's eyes, the vantage point perhaps a little higher, as it was on Snake's forehead.
"Uh... yeah, I was... uh... out of bandages," Snake said, rather embarrassed.
"You used your bandana as a bandage?" Otacon rhetorically asked. Only ---!" Otacon let out a surprised gasp, shock under the glasses that continually slid down his nose. Without what he dubbed the "Snake Cam" functioning properly, Otacon had to rely solely on Snake's voice and the sounds around him to help his comrade. However, he couldn't hear anything any longer, as gunshots and static rang in his ears, drowning out Snake's voice entirely on the codec. Otacon gathered himself and spoke into his codec, still on, as far as he knew.
"Snake?" he spoke into the codec, the concern for his partner obvious from his tone of voice. "Snake...? Snake, answer me! Snake! SNAKE!" He got no response whatsoever. Just yelling and the echoes of the gunshots fired. He silently prayed that Snake was fully capable of answering, but couldn't.
It turned out that Snake was still alive. He had been flushed out of his hiding spot while conferring with Otacon. Several grenades had been thrown in his direction as he was consulting with his partner; he had not seen them, and he was pissed off at himself for that alone. He had not noticed them until about half a second before they'd detonated. He stood up and sprinted towards one the helicopters that had been utterly destroyed, the first veritable cover option he'd spotted on the spur of the moment.
However, the second he stood, the grenades detonated, releasing a fairly weak fragmentation explosion, the blast not even knocking Snake off of his feet. The Philanthropy commando did, however, lose his balance briefly; he stumbled, but kept running, adrenaline pumping at the max.
Gunfire hurtled by his skull, hair literally being knocked off the top of his head by the slugs. The only thing that kept him from getting his brain tissue blasted out of his cranium was the fact that he lowered his head and crouched slightly... a veteran move by a veteran soldier. Nonetheless, several bullets still nicked his arms and legs, the soldiers against him showing their veteran skills, trying to incapacitate Snake's vital body parts. With an injured arm or hand, Snake would not be able to fire his gun, and with wounded legs, he'd be unable to walk.
But this did not slow Snake down; he continued to run towards the helicopter, the large mechanical structure seeming to get farther away with every step that he took. Automatic gunfire rang in his ears, but he tried his best to ignore it, concentrating only on reaching his goal... which he finally did, after what seemed like an eternity.
He crouched and leapt, a powerful headfirst swan dive over the tail of the Russian chopper, something he may not have been able to do under normal circumstances, the boost of his adrenaline greatly assisting him. The gunfire followed him, connecting with the tail of the chopper, barely missing their target.
Snake somehow landed on one knee right after completing his spectacular jump, and pressed his back against the outside of the mechanical bird, right next to where the door used to be. He reloaded his gun, and rethought his options. Grenades, at least flash bangs, had no effect on them, his gun was useless, and hand-to-hand was not an option in this scenario. He had no other types of grenades... in fact, that was his last grenade at all. He was knee deep in his fate, almost defenseless.
Suddenly, he heard something he wasn't sure that he had. He thought that he heard a 'whoosh' of a speeding object coming towards him. Indeed he had; something was coming at him, and fast. Snake was now prepared to take the ultimate gamble. It sped over the top of the chopper's roof. Without moving anything but his right arm, he raised his hand and caught whatever was coming at him. It was thrown so hard that it stung his hand, but he lived with it... it could have done a lot worse. He brought it down in front of his eyes. It turned out to be a not-yet-activated grenade, and Snake could tell by the four-letter code on the round object that it was a poison gas grenade.
It had to have been Dolph who'd aided the desperate and almost defenseless soldier. Snake wished that he could show his comrade his thanks, but he'd be risking his life doing that... it wouldn't be the smartest move he'd ever made.
Snake had new life now. He looked through the doorway of the helicopter and saw that the guards had just finished reloading and started firing again. He ducked back behind cover, almost getting hit.
Sweat was running down his brow, and he wiped the nervous perspiration off, his hand shaking from the near-death moment he'd just experienced.
He then knew what he was going to do. He got ready, taking a deep breath, and readying himself. He then carried on with his plan, as he pointed the barrel of his 633 through the doorway of the bird and pulled the trigger, "blindfiring", not really intending to hit anyone, but to just force the enemy on the defensive, making them duck to avoid the gunfire. He then stood as he heard the frustrated groans of the soldiers as his bullets got near them and readied his grenade, removing the pin and throwing it into the snow at his feet. He tossed it through the doorway of the chopper, the small green object racing towards a soldier's head, smacking his skull and detonating on impact. He was knocked back about a foot, and the grenade released a thick cloud of white phosphorous. It would have severely burned any unprotected person instantly... but these soldiers were not unprotected.
Snake now noticed that they guards were wearing gas masks that protected them from the dangerous gas that he had just used on them. The only thing that helped Snake in this situation was the fact that, for a moment, the guards could not see. Snake took advantage and made a run for it... "it" being the Metal Gear RAY.
He raced towards the gargantuan mechanical monster; it was behind the guards who were temporarily blinded. He was taking a great risk, but the possible benefit was greater than the gamble. If he succeeded, he'd be behind every single enemy, and they wouldn't even know it. If he didn't make it, he'd be hailed down in a barrage of automatic gunfire and shotgun blasts.
It turned out that he would make it to the Metal Gear, and find save haven behind its left leg. He spied the guards, and after about five seconds, they recovered from being momentarily blinded, and immediately looked at Snake's former position, behind the chopper. They looked for about two seconds, and opened fire without delay.
Shotgun shells and rifle fire filled the night air, connecting to the helicopter, destroying it, shells denting the metal. When they didn't get any return fire, they decided to investigate. They walked over, slowly, cautiously, not wanting to fall into a trap of any kind. They surrounded the bird, seven of them on one side, and six on the other. They crept up on where they thought that Snake was, and all pointed their guns in unison... at nothing.
They were confused at the situation. Where could he have gone that fast? Nonetheless, they reacted quickly, silently giving each other directions on where to go, so no one could overhear, using hand signals to do so. When they were done telling each other what to do, they broke into several different units. Four of them went past the helicopter, four more towards the building, and the last five went towards the Metal Gear. Snake's heart beat harder and faster every as they came closer. His time was running out; he needed to think of a plan. He rushed to activate his codec, to contact Otacon. He needed his advice now more than ever.
"Otacon, can you hear me?" Snake said in a low voice.
However, Otacon did not hear him. He only heard "Ot--- he--- ---e?" He responded to Snake, but it came out garbled and not understandable.
"I--- ---ake! ---ay!"
"Damn it!" Snake yelled, obviously frustrated.
The guards were coming closer every second. Snake stood and walked in a crouch position towards the front of the other leg. The guard's pointed their rifles downward and opened fire, obviously hearing him, but only hit snow, nothing more. Three of them then walked behind the monster of a machine, and the other two stood, playing lookout. Snake could hear the crunching of their boots on the snow as they came towards him. He sighed, and decided on what he'd do.
He jumped out of his hiding spot and opened fire on the guards, surprising them. A good number of his shots connected with the guards' bodies, except for a couple that strayed out of their direction. Snake jumped back into his hiding spot, but then he heard a loud, earth-shaking explosion.
"What the hell?" Snake yelled to himself.
He went back around and looked in the direction of where he thought that the explosion had come from. His eyes widened at the sight that he observed. Both guards that were acting as lookouts, on the ground, small fires burning on their backs. The other three guards were next to their comrades, trying to figure out what happened, just as Snake was.
That's when Snake first saw it. On the guard's back was some kind of cubical object, most likely having something to do with the gas masks that they were wearing. Snake then decided to test out what he thought had happened.
He trained his 633 on the back of the nearest guard, the laser sight steady on the cubical object. He let out a burst of gunfire, and each bullet connected. The second they did, there was an explosion, and a fire broke out on the guard's back. He was knocked off of his feet, immediately knocked unconscious, as was the soldier standing next to him. However, one sentry was still standing and turned around to face Snake. He met a knife blade right between his eyes, courtesy of Snake. Underneath his mask, the guard's eyes rolled back in his head and he crumpled, falling to the ground. Snake walked over to him and grabbed the grip of the knife, forcing it out of his victim's forehead.
"I'll take that," Snake told the guard, his face expressionless. Snake then searched the singed bodies for anything useful. He found several fragmentation grenades, but nothing else that would be useful to him. He pocketed the explosives and took out his assault rifle, the 633.
He searched his pockets for a fresh clip, as the current one was low. However, no new clips were to be found.
"Damn," Snake said to himself. He decided against using his 633, holstered it on his back, and took his Beretta out of its holster. He removed the current magazine and jammed a fresh one in its place. He clutched his gun in both hands and slowly walked towards the chopper, where he knew a group of soldiers were, looking for the enemy, the intruder... him.
He reached the helicopter, and peered through the doorway. He saw four guards, looking in every which direction. He readied his Beretta and pointed the barrel through the doorway. The laser sight radiated ahead in the night horizon, steadily moving, Snake trying to find his aim, taking his time. It finally stopped, targeted on the newly found Achilles' heel of the seemingly unstoppable sentries, the cubical device on their back that was filled with who knew what. The Beretta's trigger was pulled back, and the single bullet that came out of the barrel sped toward the strange piece of equipment on the guard's back. It reached it in a matter of half a second and penetrated the apparatus, igniting whatever was inside, and thus causing a tremendous explosion. The blast knocked every guard in the area off of his feet. When the smoke cleared, every soldier was face down in the snow, motionless, either unconscious or dead. It didn't matter to Snake, as long as they were no longer a threat.
He turned around, ready to find the last four sentries, and did... all of them, the barrels of their guns pointed at Snake's head. And, in front of them, arms crossed, was Scott Dolph...