Metal Gear Solid
The Patriots
By John Weathers
Part One: Raiden's Tale
I
Shadows of the Past
As always, the young man found himself being drawn to one particular spot on one particular street. Actually, many people often found themselves drawn to it, especially tourists. It was one of the most frequented spots in New York, save for the Twin Towers memorial. But for him, it was more that just a curiosity. It had been a major part of his life.
He never quite understood why he was constantly drawn back there. In truth, it represented a part of his life that he had hoped to leave behind forever, a part of his life that caused nightmares while he slept, that, when brought up in conversation, always caused a sudden and anxious silence. Especially when he talked about it with his wife.
But just as much as he would prefer it otherwise, it was just as much a part of his life as his current existence. And remembering it could only make him stronger. And, just as the man sometimes called Snake had once told him to, he would, someday, pass on the story of that part of his life to his, as of yet, unborn children.
Despite all this, the young man, otherwise known as Jack Raiden, couldn't help but feel a shiver as he approached the crash site of the immense Arsenal Gear.
It had been two years since the crash and still the city government had yet to come up with a realistic plan to remove the massive hulk of metal that was once a literal floating fortress. Jack was still surprised that no one had come and swooped up the big machine yet. Certainly there were many terrorists groups and militant factions that would have given anything for the incredible technological might that Arsenal Gear represented: a cargo hold full of the latest 'Tengus' line of military hardware, a nano-factory capable of mass producing hundreds of the smaller Metal Gears, and even, supposedly, a new and improved nuclear warhead that would make even atomic and hydrogen bombs pale in comparison. Jack suspected that the only reason why no one had snatched it up was because of, of course, Arsenal Gear's mysterious creators....
Jack pulled his brown coat tighter against himself and watched as a couple of ever-present police officers sent a warning glance at a tourist who was getting too close to the wreck. Jack slowly began to walk around the whole mess, which was easily as wide as a fair-sized, New York skyscraper from end to end.
What Jack couldn't understand was why Arsenal's Gears initiators hadn't removed the wreck yet, either. All that hardware sitting right there where their enemies could find it...and at least some of it had to be able to lead back to them. Unless of course, even they had no idea how to get rid of it....
So, it sat there, police officers all around it, attempting to keep the peace and people away from it as tourists snapped pictures and shook their heads in incredulity.
Jack blew out a long breath and watched as it turned into thin vapor. Checking his wrist watch, he realized that he had spent way too much time there already. Rose was probably starting to get worried.
Turning Jack, headed back down the street, with one, last glance back at the remains of Arsenal Gear. Seeing it brought back the dark memories of when he had actually ridden aboard it...and of the rest of his terrible mission onboard the Big Shell.
Jack opened the door to the apartment his shared with his wife, Rose, and walked in, never suspecting that anything could possibly be wrong.
"Rose?" Jack called softly. He wanted to be quiet. Rose had taken to napping now that she was pregnant. It helped ease her discomfort.
It was only when Jack walked into the empty bedroom that he began to feel the stirrings of unease.
"Rose?" He called again, louder this time. Quickly, but quietly, he checked the rest of the rooms in their apartment. It didn't take long; they had a small apartment.
Jack tried to quiet the fear that suddenly began to well up inside him.
"Maybe she just went out...." But even out loud, Jack's excuse sounded weak. Rose hadn't planned on going anywhere and she normally told him such things.
Just to be sure, he looked at the 'To Do' list tacked next to the phone in their small kitchen/dining room. Nothing. Rose had planned on being home all day. Now, Jack's fear went from a whisper to a dull roar. Something was terribly wrong.
"Where the hell is she?" Jack glared around the living room of their apartment, as if it held the answers. But the only answer he heard was the patter of rain and the muffled rumbling of thunder of an approaching storm.
And then, Jack heard a sound he had hoped he would never hear again, a shrill beeping that signified that someone was calling him on the Codec, the advanced nanite transmission unit plugged in directly in his brain.
And very few people were capable of contacting him on the Codec and most of those people he never wished to see again.
Tentatively, he reached a hand up to his ear, a move that the nanites in his body recognized as the one used to activate the Codec.
His vision of the apartment faded and was replaced by the black and teal background of the Codec, and waiting for him inside the Codec transmission was one of the people he had hoped he would never see again.
The Colonel.
"Raiden." The image said in its gravely, authoritative voice. The Colonel's appearance hadn't changed at all from the way Jack remembered it: old and haggard but with a commanding presence, a military green uniform decked out in medals, and a simple green beret to match. The truly frightening thing was that Jack was not speaking with human being: the Colonel was something alien and artificial and appeared to be only a mouthpiece for its darker masters.
The Patriots.
"You!" Jack shouted, hoping the being before him was able the detect every ounce of hatred that filled his voice, "What have you done with Rose!"
"Calm down, Raiden. She is safe...for the moment," the Colonel said ominously.
"I want to speak with her!"
"Raiden-"
"Now, dammit!"
The Colonel sighed, which was strange considering he wasn't human, and appeared to relent. The image of the Colonel faded and was replaced by that of Rose's.
"Rose!" Jack went to reach out to her, but quickly remembered that this was only a transmission and his hands dropped limply.
"Hello, Jack." She said, smiling weakly. She looked the same as when Jack had last seen her; that was to say, she did indeed look unharmed, but she was obviously scared, now.
"It's going to be alright, Rose...." He said comfortingly, wondering who he was reassuring: her or him.
"I know it is, Jack." She said, in a voice that was much more confident than his. "So far, they have treated me pretty well here. I was asleep the entire time here -wherever here is. I'm sure they planned it that way. Otherwise, they've been good about taking of...other things," she murmured, touching a hand to her swelling abdomen.
Jack tried to smile, but ended up swallowing nervously instead, "Don't worry, Rose. I'll get us out this."
"I know you will, Jack." She said quietly. "Jack?"
"Yes?"
"I love-"
"Time's up, Raiden." Instantly, Rose's appearance dissipated and was replaced by the Colonel. Jack glared vehemently, and began to clench and unclench his fists. The least you could have done is let her finish, you soulless bastard!
"It is simple, Raiden, as simple as it was before," the Colonel continued unemotionally, "do as we ask, or Rose, your unborn child, and Olga's child dies."
Jack squeezed his eyes closed and gritted his teeth together. This can't be happening. I left this all behind me. I started my life over. I have a wife and will someday have a family. Why can't they leave me alone? Why can't they just go away....
But he knew they wouldn't. Jack exhaled as his head fell and shoulders slumped. "What do you want?" Jack said, his voice that of a defeated man's.
"Do you recall a man named Revolver Ocelot?" The Colonel asked without missing a beat, "He was aboard the Big Shell during the Sons of Liberty incident, acting as Solidus Snake's second in command."
Jack only nodded, his face lowered. Although he and Ocelot had encountered each other only rarely, Jack remembered every detail of the Big Shell mission, especially the people....
"You also realize that he was acting as a Patriot double agent then, correct?" The Colonel continued, "He was there under our orders to supervise your mission and, as necessary, sabotage the Sons of Liberty's plans."
Again, Jack nodded dejectedly.
"Did you notice anything...peculiar about Ocelot's behavior when you were with him?"
At this, Jack perked up slightly. There was...something that he had never quite understood about the Big Shell mission. In the end, Ocelot had tried to kill them all using a commandeered Metal Gear, but suddenly stopped at one point. After that, he had spoken to Solid Snake, who had been with him, Solidus, and Fortune at the time, on the top deck of Arsenal Gear, but...his voice and his entire personality had changed. Ocelot then dove off Arsenal Gear with Solid Snake trailing behind him. Jack hadn't really gotten a chance to discuss it with Snake afterwards.
"Yes, I did. What...?"
The Colonel took a deep breath, "During the Shadow Moses incident, both Revolver Ocelot and a man know as Liquid Snake lost their right arms. Ocelot ended up using Liquid's arm to replace his own, since, because of Liquid's unique genetic engineering, it was able to function as well as if it was Ocelot's own arm. However, by that same genetic engineering, Liquid has somehow managed to...live on, inside of Revolver Ocelot!"
Jack blinked repeatedly in disbelief, "Are you serious, sir?" Old habits die hard, apparently.... Jack thought to himself inwardly. He had just called the Colonel 'sir', something he hadn't done in two years....
"I am incapable of joking, Raiden."
"So...where do I fit into all of this?"
"I am getting to that." The Colonel cleared his throat, another, bizarrely human gesture, and continued, "After Liquid possessed Ocelot's body, we lost track of it for quite some time. However, using the latest sensor technology, we were able to locate it in the remote regions of Antarctica."
Jack blinked. "Antarctica?"
"Yes. Specifically a region of Antarctica that contains an abandoned genetics research laboratory. Jack, that facility contains equipment that could be loosely classified as 'cloning devices'" The Colonel said heavily, "I believe you know where I am heading with this."
Jack's eyes widened. "Liquid is trying to recreate his body!"
"Exactly."
"So, what do you want from me?"
"We do not think that Liquid has had time to use the equipment. It is far too degraded. Instead, he appears to be gathering various allies, who are bringing with them the parts needed to fix the cloning machines. This may be our only chance to stop him."
"Uh...and how exactly would you like me to do that?"
The Colonel looked at Jack in disappointment, "Infiltrate the genetics facility and kill him, of course."
Of course. "What about Ocelot? Isn't he still you agent?"
"Ocelot is expendable in this matter. It is not as if we don't have other agents," Me, for instance, "Make no mistake Raiden, Liquid needs to die, no matter what form he takes."
Jack couldn't help but smirk mirthlessly, "Sounds to me like you are afraid of this guy."
The Colonel visibly bristled at this. "We fear no one, Raiden. Liquid merely represents a...quantifiable threat to us, that is all."
Yeah, right. "Why is he that much of a danger?"
The Colonel was thoughtfully silent for a time. "With Solidus," he said finally, "we knew exactly what we were up against. After all, he was our puppet, for a time, under the guise of President George C. Sears. During that time, our psychological analysts studied him until we were able manipulate him like a master puppeteer. In fact, as we told you before you fought him, the entire sequence of events that occurred aboard the Big Shell had been directed by us as a test for you. Our operation was never in any real danger because of Solidus, thanks to you and Ocelot."
"However," he continued, "Liquid is an unknown to us. Although we did psychological profiling on him, it was no where near as deep as Solidus's and that was several years before the Shadow Moses incident, an incident that our analysts had, strangely. been unable to predict. Additionally, unlike with the Big Shell, Liquid had come very close to starting a third World War, with him, using Metal Gear Rex, as the dominating force. If he has the cunning and skill to do that, there's no telling what else he is capable of. Worse, he now appears to be directly seeking a confrontation with us. Liquid is indeed a huge danger to us, Raiden."
Jack nodded slowly, "You mentioned him gathering allies. Who, exactly?"
"Well, there is the remnants of Gurlukovich's militia-"
Jack groaned. "I thought they died aboard Arsenal Gear!"
"Apparently, there were still a few cells hidden away. And without either Olga or Gurlukovich himself to lead them, they don't really have anyone else to follow but whoever will take them. Now, as I was saying," The Colonel cleared his throat again, "there's the militia, various terrorist groups that Liquid has somehow coerced into joining, a few mercenaries of a myriad of shapes and sizes, and even, if the reports are correct, the remaining members of the Sons of Liberty."
Jack, who had been nodding in thought, suddenly stopped cold. "No. That's not possible."
"Raiden-"
"I killed them all, Colonel. I watched each of them die." Well that was only partially true. Although he had seen all of them die, Ocelot was actually the one who finished off Fortune. "None of the Sons of Liberty could have survived."
"Believe me, Raiden, I know. After all, we monitored your confrontations with the Sons of Liberty specifically to make sure you neutralized them. But the fact remains that there are personnel inside of the research facility that, for some reason or another, resemble that of a member of the Sons of Liberty."
It can't be, I saw them all die.... But, from deep within him, a darker voice spoke up. Well, there was...him. You killed him twice, and you saw him return to life twice. You never saw if you had actually finished him off for good....
"Raiden?"
Jack realized, with a jerk of his head, that he had been briefly zoning off. "Sorry."
For just a few seconds, Jack could have sworn that the Colonel had given him what could only be described as a sympathetic look. But then, he was all business again, "The rest of the information about your mission shall be given to you when you arrive in Antarctica, in an as-you-need-to-know format."
Just like old times. "Understood." Jack gave one last, long sigh. "Raiden out."
The Codec screen disappeared from his field of view and was replaced by his apartment's living room. Through the window. Jack saw that, during the time he had spent on the Codec, the rumbling in the distance had become a full-fledged storm.
Completely numb on both the inside and the outside, Jack walked stiffly to the room he had once shared with his wife. Opening the closet, he reached up and pulled out a simple brown box, like one someone might put clothes in. But this box did not contain clothes....
Jack smiled slightly. Rose had begged him to get rid of it after about a year in their apartment. He had told her had, to make her happy, but kept it, secretly, for the same reason why he visited Arsenal Gear everyday: because deep down, he knew he could not outrun his past.
And he was right.
Jack angrily brushed away a stray tear that ran down his cheek and opened the box.
Outside, the thunder crashed as Jack lifted his SOCOM sidearm out of the box and shoved a clip into the handle. He was no longer Jack, loving husband and soon-to-be father. He was Raiden; warrior and agent of the Patriots.
Jack left the apartment the next day, never to return....