Disclaimers 'n' crap: Haihai peeps! Yeah, I know it's been a while since my last update. I've had writer's block and a trip to Costa Rica to worry about. I'm not making that up. Anyhoo, this fic is almost wrapped up! Actually, this is the last chapter of REAL story in this fic. Everything after this will be some heartwarming epilogue material. THAT DOESN'T MEAN STOP READING THIS FIC WHEN YOU'RE DONE WITH THIS CHAPTER! I also noticed a sharp drop in reviews for this fic. Disappointing, I must admit, especially on the part of my regulars (AstarothTheFallen, where've you been?). I'm not blaming anyone, I'm just a bit disappointed. Anyhoo, on with the Metal Gear goodness! You know the drill. Enjoy!

George had had a long day. He had been memorizing the Declaration of Independence all morning and the Bill of Rights all afternoon, taking a break for a new issue of Spiderman sometime around lunch. As much as he enjoyed this, he was always grateful for some sleep at the end of the day. He went to Big Boss' room to say goodnight, gently opening the door so as not to abruptly disturb his father.

"Father?" he said, tentatively. He heard groaning and grunting coming from the floor. "Father? Father! Are you alright?" Big Boss was lying curled up in a ball on the floor, clutching his skull like it was about to explode.

"G…George…? So…lidus…?" he mumbled. There was definitely something wrong with him. "My…son….My loyal…loving…son…"

"Father," said George, sounding panicky "Are you alright? Should I get help?" He turned to go.

"No!" gasped Big Boss, reaching out his hand in desperation "No…you're…the only…help I'll need…Solidus…" He gestured for his young replication to come closer. "Listen…to me…Solidus…" he gasped "Raikov…worked…for…the enemy…during the height…of the Cold War…He…and his family…they are…the enemy…as…is…the US…SSSD…" George knelt closer, his belief and understanding of the truth weakened by this strong feeling to protect his father. Simply put, George would believe anything Big Boss said right now and obey any of his commands. "Solidus…you…must…" He reached out and grabbed George, holding them face-to-face.

"...kill…Raikov…!" George's eyes widened, then shrank.

"I will, father," he said with the voice of a soldier who was just following orders. Music to Big Boss' ears.

"That's a good boy," he said "This is exactly…what you were born to be. Listen to me: find Major Gabriel Fisher. He will know where to find Raikov." Big Boss reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. "Take this to the Command Center. They will give you some soldiers for your attack." George looked at the paper and paused.

Soldiers? Kill? Attack? George thought about this for a minute. He was only a kid! Sure, he didn't like Raikov, but he certainly didn't hate him. A sudden vision came to him. A woman's voice was speaking.

"It is impossible for a child to feel true hatred. Their hearts are too pure."

George was still pausing. Sure, he was going through training and everything, but did he really want to kill someone? He looked down at his father. He was unstable, he was probably insane…but George still loved him. He would follow his orders.

"Hello? Ah, yes, hello, Roy. No, I haven't heard from him. Why? What's going on? Big Boss hasn't returned your calls in how long?"

A sudden gunshot tore the phone out of Major Fisher's hand. He spun around and found himself facing, to his horror, five fully armed soldiers led by a pre-teen boy holding a handgun.

"What?" said Major Fisher in astonishment "How did you get in?"

"Front door," said the boy "Now, tell us where Raikov is." The soldiers raised their weapons and surrounded Major Fisher. He stood, seemingly unfazed. Then, he smiled.

"You couldn't command these men to kill me, George Sears," said Major Fisher coolly, putting much emphasis into the boy's name.

"That's 'Solidus Snake' to you!" said the boy, Solidus. He spoke with a sense of commanding in his voice, though, on the inside, he was frozen in the tight grip of fear.

"Solidus, then," said Major Fisher "What do you want with Ivan?" Solidus didn't really know where his next move came from. It may have been impulse from the shear fright that consumed him on the inside, but he leaped up on the desk, seized the Major by the front of his shirt, and stuck the gun in his face.

"Big Boss wants him dead," he said. Major Fisher knew that Solidus was using the "tough guy" attitude mainly as a cover for his fear, but he could also tell that Solidus really meant business. Major Fisher knew too much. He had too much information about Raikov and his family.

"Raikov?" he said "I'll protect that family with my life if necessary!" As he said this, he reached into the top drawer of his desk and grasped a gun. A gun that only had one shot left in it. Without warning, one of the soldiers fired, taking Major Fisher's left ear off. He shrieked in pain but didn't take his hand off the gun.

"Tell us," said Solidus. Major Fisher gripped the gun more tightly and closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Roy," he said before wrenching the gun out of the drawer, pointing at his own head, and firing.

His dead body fell to the floor at Solidus' feet.

"Foolish man," said Solidus, his adrenaline level slowly starting to drop "Men, search the whole office! Find whatever you can about an 'Ivan Raidenovich Raikov'!" The soldiers began to rummage through everything in the room. After a few minutes of searching, one of them found a folder with Raikov's name on it. He handed it to Solidus. "Good work, soldier," he said, opening the file. Major Fisher's sacrifice had been in vain. The file contained everything: Raikov's addresses, his records, and, most importantly, the paper that proclaimed him the eventual successor of Major Fisher as commander of the USSSSD. Of course, now, this paper was in full effect. Now that Major Fisher was dead, Raikov was the commander of the USSSSD.

"…and they lived…" said Marilyn.

"…happily ever after!" Jack finished as Raikov applauded. Marilyn smiled and put the book down. The family was having a quiet reading night in the living room. Of course, with Jack reading many of the parts out loud, it was hardly quiet. Still, it brought the three together in the evening.

"You're a really good reader for someone your size," said Raikov "At this rate, you won't have to study has hard as I did if you want to become a teacher like me!" Jack smiled and flung himself around his father's neck.

"I love you, daddy," he cooed. Raikov's heart melted. He looked at Marilyn and then down at Jack.

"I love you too, Jack…"

CRASH!!!!!

"What was that?!?" shrieked Marilyn spinning around. She found herself facing a soldier with a gun…pointed straight at Raikov. "NOOOOOO!" she cried, flinging herself in front of her husband and son.

The following gunshot seemed to echo in Raikov's ears forever like the bell tolls of death itself. Marilyn fell to the floor, bleeding heavily.

"MARILYN!"

"MOMMY!"

Suddenly, as though his long-dormant soldier's spirit had been reawakened, Raikov threw his son onto the couch for safety and lashed out at the soldiers, knocking them all to the ground in a matter of seconds. He scooped Jack and Marilyn into his arms and ran for cover before the soldiers recovered. He slammed the closet door behind them and cradled his dying wife in his arms.

"Daddy?" said Jack, soundly positively terrified "What's happening?" Raikov shook his head.

"I don't know," he said, his voice shaking "But…your mother…" Marilyn somehow managed to lift her left arm and put it around Jack, pulling him close. The other she raised to Raikov's face.

"…Ivan…?" she breathed, the last of the life leaving her "…please…don't…leave me…" Raikov put one arm around Jack and the other hand on Marilyn's.

"Alright, then," he choked for the last time. The door was flung open. Light flooded the small closet. A loud gunshot was heard. Raikov fell to the floor, a bullethole in the middle of his forehead. He was dead.

"Father said that Raikov and his family were the enemy," said the holder of the murder weapon, Solidus. Jack clung tightly to Marilyn's dying form, shaking with fear, desperate for any last shred of comfort to ease the horrors he was being forced to witness. Marilyn looked up to face Solidus.

"Let me…join my husband…" she said "But don't…hurt…Jack…please…don't…be…a monster…" These words sent one thought through Solidus' mind: not being a monster meant putting the woman out of her misery by killing her but letting the child live. Solidus aimed his gun at Marilyn and fired. Just like that, George Sears, Solidus Snake, only about 11 years old, had orphaned a boy young enough to be his little brother. He lowered the gun. Another strange vision came to him.

"Your acts against the Raikov-Flynns were not committed out of hatred. Only a simple, childish disliking of another individual backed by the words and will of the mentally disturbed father you loved so much."

"Mommy?! Daddy!!" Jack wailed. Solidus took real notice of him for the first time. The soldiers gathered behind Solidus and aimed at Jack. Solidus raised his hand for them to hold their fire.

"Mommy and daddy aren't coming back," said Solidus, bitterly. He walked over to the terrified 3-year-old and grabbed his shoulder.

"Lemme go!" Jack grunted, struggling against Solidus' grip.

"You still have some use," said Solidus. If he was going to let the boy live, he might as well make something useful of him. And, in this world, if you want something done, do it yourself. "C'mon, kid." Solidus dragged Jack away.

"No!" yelled Jack, struggling and reaching out for his parent's lifeless bodies "No! DADDYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!"

Epilogue

That day was the beginning of hell for our polygonal friends. After Jack was taken by Solidus, he became the first in a large group of children that Solidus trained as child soldiers to fight in the Liberian civil war. The bodies of Major Fisher, Marilyn, and Raikov were discovered by authorities the day after their deaths and were given proper burials. However, all files concerning the USSSSD (officially disbanded after the 3 deaths) mysteriously disappeared. It was discovered by Solidus some time later that they had been destroyed by The Patriots.

A few years later, Carrie left Meryl and Matt who was killed in combat not long after, leaving Meryl to be raised by Roy Campbell (who was secretly her real father). In 2000, The Patriots, in an effort to clear away all traces of the USSSSD, caused a car accident that killed Christopher and Carol Zenning, orphaning Basil and Rosemary who were in college at the time. A few years later, Dr. Herbert Emmerich drowned himself, causing his son, Hal, to abandon what was left of his shattered family.

Looking back on this nearly 4 years later, I decided that this would be considerably better off without the Crystal Journeys epilogue, so I have removed it. Let's face it, this works much better as just a plain MGS fic. Thank you for understanding.