Chapter 19- Reality Check
Dolph's sight was trained on Snake, his cold-as-ice eyes burning a hole in his soul, piercing his heart. The Philanthropy commando reciprocated, instigating a stare down. No sounds whatsoever could be heard outside of the strong winds and one soldier cocking his FA-MAS. Both Snake and Scott stood their ground, waiting for the other to speak up, until Snake broke the deafening silence.
"So... you're behind this?" asked Snake, not expecting an answer.
"Snake... did you really think that blowing up the Tanker would get rid of me... or should I say, 'us'?"
Snake thought about Dolph's statement. He remembered back to 2009, the Tanker incident:
*Snake was still hidden from everyone's view behind a tall, steel structure in Metal Gear RAY's holding chamber. He watched the scene from afar; Revolver Ocelot was standing on top of the stage, the Marines all with their gun barrels pointed directly at him. They were hesitant to shoot, however, because of the fact that Ocelot's partner, Sergei Gurlukovich, was holding their leader, Commandant Scott Dolph, hostage temporarily. Sergei had a small pistol barrel jammed into the side of the Marines' leader, while Ocelot held a large device with a single button on it in his left hand. Gurlukovich had a pissed-off look on his face from the events that had unfolded just minutes earlier.
"...Mother Russia can rot for all I care," declared Ocelot.
"Since when, Ocelot! When did you turn?!" demanded Gurlukovich.
"I'm glad you noticed, comrade. I abandoned 'her' during the Cold War."
"Arrgh!"
"Metal Gear only has room for one! Gurlukovich, you and your daughter will die here!"
"Damn you!" screamed an enraged Sergei. He pushed his hostage forward, and Scott stumbled from the sudden force on his back. At the same time, Ocelot removed his large, brown coat and tossed in into the air, blocking him from Sergei's view.
"Die, you dog!" Sergei screamed at Ocelot, pointing his weapon at his ally turned foe. Ocelot, with cat-like speed, drew his revolver and aimed it at Sergei, pulling the trigger six times, cocking the hammer back after each. Four slugs sailed through Ocelot's coat and were intercepted by the body of the Commandant, easily cutting through his chest. However, two of the rounds went past Dolph and hit Sergei square in the heart, drawing blood.
Sergei also fired his weapon, and, once again, Scott's body intercepted them, and his back was drilled full of holes.
Gurlukovich and Dolph both dropped to the floor, screaming in pain, barely hanging onto life.
"Sergei... looks like you were long overdue for retirement." Ocelot dropped his gun as he taunted his foe.
"Traitorous dog..." were Sergei's last words before dying; Dolph, however, said nothing before expiring.*
Snake shook his head slightly, a puzzled look on his face. Scott was there... how did he not know that it was indeed Ocelot who had blown up the Tanker? And who exactly was this "us" that Dolph referred to?
"But no more talk is necessary from here," announced Dolph. "Take him."
At Dolph's command, the soldiers took action. One soldier went immediately behind Snake and slapped a pair of strong, steel handcuffs on his wrists, constricting his movement. Two other soldiers stood at either of Snake's sides, their guns ready and aimed, gun in one hand, the other on their two- way radios in case backup was needed. The last soldier stood next to Dolph, acting as lookout, making sure that no one was going to attack his leader.
Snake struggled in the handcuffs, jerking his wrists back and forth, groaning slightly as he resisted against the cuffs. The same soldier that had put the handcuffs on Snake jammed the barrel of his FA-MAS into Snake's spine, moving him along. They all followed Scott to a building, a dome, separate from the main structure. It was small, almost like a separate room... just a single room. They all entered, Snake in the very back, his face blank, expressionless.
The room was also blank, a mere white-walled room, nothing in it. It was completely empty, nothing occupying an inch of the room. Snake looked around, eyeing the other soldiers, when he saw something that made him blink the second that he saw it. Every soldier, even Dolph, suddenly dematerialized in the air, disappearing gradually from the legs up.
Snake's eyes widened when he'd seen what could only be called a phenomenon. Everyone was unexpectedly gone, and Snake had no idea why, or how to make sense of it.
He reached out with his left hand to where on of the soldiers was standing; the only part of his being left was his upper body as he slowly dematerialized. However, the soldier was quickly no more before Snake hand reached him, or it.
That's when Snake recalled. The handcuffs... no longer latched onto his wrists.
'What the hell is this?! VR?!' thought Snake, his thoughts screaming.
"It could be VR, Snake," said a disembodied voice that seemingly came from nowhere. Snake, startled, drew his 633 on instinct and looked around the room, his eyes searching everywhere, but finding nothing. Had this... voice read his mind?
"Or is it merely another part of the illusion that you call... your life?"
"My life is real!"
"Oh, really? As real as the soldiers that just captured you? Scott?"
Snake was beaten with that question. He knew that Scott and the soldiers couldn't possibly have been real. He could do nothing more, except listen to the voice.
"Snake, everyone has their own opinions of reality and illusion. Everyone has a line that separates the two... yours is slowly blurring, and will eventually be no more.
"How can you be sure, Snake, that anything is real anymore? Have your many victories against the likes of Fox-Hound, the Sons of Liberty and Black Chamber been real... or just more illusions? You believe that each victory was real... genuine. Once again, you buy into that illusion known as 'life'.
"You may even believe that you can defeat me. But tell me... how can you stop something that you're not even sure exists? How do you know for sure that I am real?
"Shadow Moses... the Big Shell... illusions lived over and over. The same nightmares, back-to-back, Snake. Yet you continue to buy into it.
"Snake, you and everyone else are the same. You see only two things: what you want to see and what you're forced to see. The only thing real about your life is the illusion that it is.
"You can make people see anything you wish them to, you see. That is what gives me strength. Your credulity is what empowers me."
At this point, Snake was getting angry and frustrated with whoever, or whatever this was. His gun pointed in every direction, the trigger just waiting to be pulled.
"Who are you?! Show yourself!" Snake yelled to anyone that might hear.
"Does it matter, Snake? What does anything matter if you're not sure of its existence?"
"Who are you?!" yelled Snake once more.
"As far as I am concerned, I have no name, Snake. Names only make things seem more genuine, realer than they actually are. However, you may call me by the only relevant name that I've ever had, the one given to me by the Leaders... 'Arcane'."
Snake then picked up the faint sound of footsteps behind him and immediately turned toward the noise. He noticed a tall figure, definitely a male, and easily well over 200 pounds. The man donned a full body suit, blue and white in color. It had many regions, on his forearms, shins and shoulders, which looked to be made of a steel alloy. Each had a small region, down the middle, where a bright white neon pulse flashed on and off monotonously, about as fast as a person's heartbeat.
He also sported an unusual-looking accessory over his heart region. It appeared to be a type of jewel, remaining in place thanks to two steel bands that went diagonally down both sides of his torso, forming an upside- down "V" on his chest. It also pulsed a bright white, at the same rate as the other regions.
Underneath the steel regions was a full, silver neoprene body suit, not leaving a single part of his body uncovered.
He also wore a helmet, blue in color, with a visor shielding his face, white in tint. He appeared to be carrying no weapons.
Snake immediately turned his attention towards the sound of Arcane's footsteps. He drew his Colt 633 and aimed it at the visored head of the stranger. He could clearly see a reflection of himself in the visor, staring into his own eyes.
Arcane then spoke up, once again trying to get into Snake's head.
"Tell me, Snake, can any of this be real? All that we've worked for, only to be defeated by you time and time again? The only possible explanation is that it's all an illusion.
"You were the first of their illusions. They needed to rid themselves of you. Which is why they... recruited us. They required a bit of reality to make the illusion real.
"Isn't it fitting, Snake, that we give you your own set of illusions to live for your entire life?"
Snake then expressed his frustration by letting loose a round of slugs from his assault rifle at his foe, pulling the trigger back until he heard a 'click, click, click' indicating the need of a new clip. He looked at his target after the smoke had cleared, and his eyes widened in amazement. His opponent simply stood there, not a scratch on his large frame.
'The bullets had to have gone through him,' Snake thought, since the spent rounds were on the other side of his enemy. He was shocked, not believing what he thought that he was seeing.
His weapon remained drawn as he slowly, hesitantly decided to walked towards Arcane; however, the second he brought down his right foot, a searing pain shot through his abdomen. It was far too much for Snake, let alone any human being to handle, and Snake dropped to one knee in agony. His weapon skidded across the floor, landing in front of Arcane, though he appeared not to notice it.
"Why fight the pain, Snake?" Arcane asked. "It's just another illusion."
"Aghh... my stomach... on fire!" groaned Snake, in obvious pain.
"Yes. It feels that way, doesn't it?"
"The pain. Must... fight it. So real."
Snake then reached for his weapon, the 633 laid out in front of Arcane. He looked down at his weakened foe. Snake's hand extended to grab the weapon from the floor. He soon found, however, that he was incapable of lifting it! The gun seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, thus making it impossible to pick up.
"No... just another illusion..." Snake told himself.
Another pain then shot through Snake's abdomen, and he collapsed on the floor out of sheer agony. He remained unmoving for a great length of time; illusion or not, the pain had defeated him.
Dolph's sight was trained on Snake, his cold-as-ice eyes burning a hole in his soul, piercing his heart. The Philanthropy commando reciprocated, instigating a stare down. No sounds whatsoever could be heard outside of the strong winds and one soldier cocking his FA-MAS. Both Snake and Scott stood their ground, waiting for the other to speak up, until Snake broke the deafening silence.
"So... you're behind this?" asked Snake, not expecting an answer.
"Snake... did you really think that blowing up the Tanker would get rid of me... or should I say, 'us'?"
Snake thought about Dolph's statement. He remembered back to 2009, the Tanker incident:
*Snake was still hidden from everyone's view behind a tall, steel structure in Metal Gear RAY's holding chamber. He watched the scene from afar; Revolver Ocelot was standing on top of the stage, the Marines all with their gun barrels pointed directly at him. They were hesitant to shoot, however, because of the fact that Ocelot's partner, Sergei Gurlukovich, was holding their leader, Commandant Scott Dolph, hostage temporarily. Sergei had a small pistol barrel jammed into the side of the Marines' leader, while Ocelot held a large device with a single button on it in his left hand. Gurlukovich had a pissed-off look on his face from the events that had unfolded just minutes earlier.
"...Mother Russia can rot for all I care," declared Ocelot.
"Since when, Ocelot! When did you turn?!" demanded Gurlukovich.
"I'm glad you noticed, comrade. I abandoned 'her' during the Cold War."
"Arrgh!"
"Metal Gear only has room for one! Gurlukovich, you and your daughter will die here!"
"Damn you!" screamed an enraged Sergei. He pushed his hostage forward, and Scott stumbled from the sudden force on his back. At the same time, Ocelot removed his large, brown coat and tossed in into the air, blocking him from Sergei's view.
"Die, you dog!" Sergei screamed at Ocelot, pointing his weapon at his ally turned foe. Ocelot, with cat-like speed, drew his revolver and aimed it at Sergei, pulling the trigger six times, cocking the hammer back after each. Four slugs sailed through Ocelot's coat and were intercepted by the body of the Commandant, easily cutting through his chest. However, two of the rounds went past Dolph and hit Sergei square in the heart, drawing blood.
Sergei also fired his weapon, and, once again, Scott's body intercepted them, and his back was drilled full of holes.
Gurlukovich and Dolph both dropped to the floor, screaming in pain, barely hanging onto life.
"Sergei... looks like you were long overdue for retirement." Ocelot dropped his gun as he taunted his foe.
"Traitorous dog..." were Sergei's last words before dying; Dolph, however, said nothing before expiring.*
Snake shook his head slightly, a puzzled look on his face. Scott was there... how did he not know that it was indeed Ocelot who had blown up the Tanker? And who exactly was this "us" that Dolph referred to?
"But no more talk is necessary from here," announced Dolph. "Take him."
At Dolph's command, the soldiers took action. One soldier went immediately behind Snake and slapped a pair of strong, steel handcuffs on his wrists, constricting his movement. Two other soldiers stood at either of Snake's sides, their guns ready and aimed, gun in one hand, the other on their two- way radios in case backup was needed. The last soldier stood next to Dolph, acting as lookout, making sure that no one was going to attack his leader.
Snake struggled in the handcuffs, jerking his wrists back and forth, groaning slightly as he resisted against the cuffs. The same soldier that had put the handcuffs on Snake jammed the barrel of his FA-MAS into Snake's spine, moving him along. They all followed Scott to a building, a dome, separate from the main structure. It was small, almost like a separate room... just a single room. They all entered, Snake in the very back, his face blank, expressionless.
The room was also blank, a mere white-walled room, nothing in it. It was completely empty, nothing occupying an inch of the room. Snake looked around, eyeing the other soldiers, when he saw something that made him blink the second that he saw it. Every soldier, even Dolph, suddenly dematerialized in the air, disappearing gradually from the legs up.
Snake's eyes widened when he'd seen what could only be called a phenomenon. Everyone was unexpectedly gone, and Snake had no idea why, or how to make sense of it.
He reached out with his left hand to where on of the soldiers was standing; the only part of his being left was his upper body as he slowly dematerialized. However, the soldier was quickly no more before Snake hand reached him, or it.
That's when Snake recalled. The handcuffs... no longer latched onto his wrists.
'What the hell is this?! VR?!' thought Snake, his thoughts screaming.
"It could be VR, Snake," said a disembodied voice that seemingly came from nowhere. Snake, startled, drew his 633 on instinct and looked around the room, his eyes searching everywhere, but finding nothing. Had this... voice read his mind?
"Or is it merely another part of the illusion that you call... your life?"
"My life is real!"
"Oh, really? As real as the soldiers that just captured you? Scott?"
Snake was beaten with that question. He knew that Scott and the soldiers couldn't possibly have been real. He could do nothing more, except listen to the voice.
"Snake, everyone has their own opinions of reality and illusion. Everyone has a line that separates the two... yours is slowly blurring, and will eventually be no more.
"How can you be sure, Snake, that anything is real anymore? Have your many victories against the likes of Fox-Hound, the Sons of Liberty and Black Chamber been real... or just more illusions? You believe that each victory was real... genuine. Once again, you buy into that illusion known as 'life'.
"You may even believe that you can defeat me. But tell me... how can you stop something that you're not even sure exists? How do you know for sure that I am real?
"Shadow Moses... the Big Shell... illusions lived over and over. The same nightmares, back-to-back, Snake. Yet you continue to buy into it.
"Snake, you and everyone else are the same. You see only two things: what you want to see and what you're forced to see. The only thing real about your life is the illusion that it is.
"You can make people see anything you wish them to, you see. That is what gives me strength. Your credulity is what empowers me."
At this point, Snake was getting angry and frustrated with whoever, or whatever this was. His gun pointed in every direction, the trigger just waiting to be pulled.
"Who are you?! Show yourself!" Snake yelled to anyone that might hear.
"Does it matter, Snake? What does anything matter if you're not sure of its existence?"
"Who are you?!" yelled Snake once more.
"As far as I am concerned, I have no name, Snake. Names only make things seem more genuine, realer than they actually are. However, you may call me by the only relevant name that I've ever had, the one given to me by the Leaders... 'Arcane'."
Snake then picked up the faint sound of footsteps behind him and immediately turned toward the noise. He noticed a tall figure, definitely a male, and easily well over 200 pounds. The man donned a full body suit, blue and white in color. It had many regions, on his forearms, shins and shoulders, which looked to be made of a steel alloy. Each had a small region, down the middle, where a bright white neon pulse flashed on and off monotonously, about as fast as a person's heartbeat.
He also sported an unusual-looking accessory over his heart region. It appeared to be a type of jewel, remaining in place thanks to two steel bands that went diagonally down both sides of his torso, forming an upside- down "V" on his chest. It also pulsed a bright white, at the same rate as the other regions.
Underneath the steel regions was a full, silver neoprene body suit, not leaving a single part of his body uncovered.
He also wore a helmet, blue in color, with a visor shielding his face, white in tint. He appeared to be carrying no weapons.
Snake immediately turned his attention towards the sound of Arcane's footsteps. He drew his Colt 633 and aimed it at the visored head of the stranger. He could clearly see a reflection of himself in the visor, staring into his own eyes.
Arcane then spoke up, once again trying to get into Snake's head.
"Tell me, Snake, can any of this be real? All that we've worked for, only to be defeated by you time and time again? The only possible explanation is that it's all an illusion.
"You were the first of their illusions. They needed to rid themselves of you. Which is why they... recruited us. They required a bit of reality to make the illusion real.
"Isn't it fitting, Snake, that we give you your own set of illusions to live for your entire life?"
Snake then expressed his frustration by letting loose a round of slugs from his assault rifle at his foe, pulling the trigger back until he heard a 'click, click, click' indicating the need of a new clip. He looked at his target after the smoke had cleared, and his eyes widened in amazement. His opponent simply stood there, not a scratch on his large frame.
'The bullets had to have gone through him,' Snake thought, since the spent rounds were on the other side of his enemy. He was shocked, not believing what he thought that he was seeing.
His weapon remained drawn as he slowly, hesitantly decided to walked towards Arcane; however, the second he brought down his right foot, a searing pain shot through his abdomen. It was far too much for Snake, let alone any human being to handle, and Snake dropped to one knee in agony. His weapon skidded across the floor, landing in front of Arcane, though he appeared not to notice it.
"Why fight the pain, Snake?" Arcane asked. "It's just another illusion."
"Aghh... my stomach... on fire!" groaned Snake, in obvious pain.
"Yes. It feels that way, doesn't it?"
"The pain. Must... fight it. So real."
Snake then reached for his weapon, the 633 laid out in front of Arcane. He looked down at his weakened foe. Snake's hand extended to grab the weapon from the floor. He soon found, however, that he was incapable of lifting it! The gun seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, thus making it impossible to pick up.
"No... just another illusion..." Snake told himself.
Another pain then shot through Snake's abdomen, and he collapsed on the floor out of sheer agony. He remained unmoving for a great length of time; illusion or not, the pain had defeated him.