Tira's eyes slowly opened. The room was dark, but one small window emitted light. She suddenly remembered how Ocelot had shot her, and she quickly sat up. A sharp pain shot through her chest, causing her to gasp for air.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." A voice said from the corner. The lights snapped on, and Tira caught something on the other side of the room. Ocelot's body was slumped on the ground. One bullet had gone through his head at close range. There were blood marks on the wall from where he had slid down after being shot.
A blonde man walked up to Tira, and she clenched her fist.
Gunshots echo through the empty room. At the far end of the room, the sniper is positioned at a catwalk. Snake shoots in that direction blindly until he empties a magazine. He presses his back to a wall outstretch and reloads his gun. He slowly peers around the corner where he can see Meryl.
"Snake, leave me and run…" Meryl says slowly, struggling for breath.
"Meryl…"
"I guess I am a rookie after all…"
"Don't worry, Meryl. It's me they want."
"Even I know that." Meryl manages to release a small laugh. "It's the oldest trick in the book… The sniper's using me for bait to lure you out."
"Damn!" Snake yells as he hits his head against the wall.
"Shoot me, Snake!" Meryl begs.
"No!"
"My gun… I can't reach it by myself…" Meryl tries to inch her way to her gun, but is unable to reach it.
"Don't move!" Snake orders ignoring her demand.
"I promised… I wouldn't slow you down! I… I can still help… I want to help you!"
"Quiet down. Save your strength!"
"I was a fool. I wanted to be a soldier…" The sniper's laser comes down and rests on the middle of Meryl's forehead. "War is meaningless. Nothing comes out of war. Snake, please! Save yourself! Go on living and don't give up on people. Don't forget me! … Don't forget what I said! … Now… Get out of here!"
Snake jolts awake, remembering the grenade. He shakes his head hoping to get rid of his blurring vision. Slowly, he stands up and debris falls off him onto the floor. Finally his vision clears, and he notices Raiden lying on the floor.
"Raiden!" Snake shakes Raiden's body trying to wake him. After multiple attempts, Raiden still lays unconscious. Snake gets an idea, and clears his throat. "Jack!" He says in the girly way that Raiden's fiancée, Rose, would. "Jack, love me for who I am."
"Rose…" Raiden opens his eyes and sits up. "I could have sworn I heard Rose just now."
Snake suddenly coughs before replying to Raiden. "You must have been hallucinating. Get up."
Raiden clutches the wound on his arm and stands up. "It was Ocelot who threw the grenade. He shot Tira in the chest, and shot me in the shoulder. When I blacked out, he must have taken her with him." Raiden said as he wrapped his arm.
"You let him take her!"
"I didn't let him. He shot me, dammit! I can't stop myself from passing out!"
Snake slammed the wall with his fist. "Fine, let's go find her." He rushed out of the room with Raiden behind him. Unfortunately, the elevator was still broken, and the vents only went around on floor B1.
"Now what do we do? There's no way out of here."
"Ocelot found a way in and out. We'll use that way." Snake started to search the hallway.
"Um… Snake?" Raiden called.
"Not now! Help me look." Snake continued to look down the hall.
"But Snake…"
"I'm a little busy Raiden." Snake said a little irritated.
"But look…"
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT!" Snake spun around and pointed his gun at Raiden.
"How about that way?" Raiden pointed to a hole that had been blown into the wall, leading outside. Snake lowered his gun and mumbled before going through the opening. Behind Snake, Raiden stuck out his tongue and flipped him off before following.
A blizzard had started outside, making it impossible to see five feet ahead. The door they had used earlier was sealed. Snake knew that taking the long way through all of the buildings would take too long. Metal Gear, if that's what it was, could be activated already and he needed to stop it.
That's when Snake noticed an armored truck equipped with a rocket launcher. He smiled devilishly before rushing to it. Out of curiosity, Raiden followed him.
"Raiden, I need you to do something."
"Am I going to die doing this?"
"I need you to drive towards that door over there." Snake said ignoring him. He jumped into the back of the truck and grabbed hold of the rocket launcher.
"I knew it! I'm going to die!" Raiden complained as he got into the driver's seat. He pulled a crucifix out of nowhere and kissed it before starting the truck.
Raiden lined the truck up with the door before flooring it. In the process of speeding toward the door, Raiden closed his eyes. Snake leaned forward before shooting a rocket at the door. The burst thrust him backwards and he grabbed the end of the truck before flying off. Just as he had hoped, a hole had been blown through the door. They sped through and spun to a stop inside the building. Raiden pried one eye open before jumping out of the truck.
"I'm alive! Either that, or we both died and this is what Hell looks like."
"We're alive Raiden. Now for the next door." Snake nodded to the cargo door.
"I hate you." Raiden snapped before getting back in the truck.
"Stop at the door." Snake commanded.
"Okay…"
Raiden drove slowly to the door and stopped, just like Snake had said. Snake got out of the truck and walked up to the key panel. He pulled out a Level 3 key card and inserted it into the slot, then pulled it out again. The red light turned green and the door lifted open.
"You could have told me about this before I started pretending my life was flashing before my eyes." Raiden said to Snake as he got back into the truck.
Snake grinned keeping his comment to himself as Raiden drove through the door as it started to close. Again, they were outside. This time they were facing the next building. The blizzard had calmed down somewhat so they were able to see. Snake noticed a path cut through the trees on the left and motioned toward it. Raiden caught his signal and drove to the path.
The road hadn't been used in awhile considering it was not flat at all. It would have been a different story years ago. They passed the next building and saw two towers. (No this is not Lord of the Rings, there actually are two towers on Shadow Moses. Game players would know this.) The top of one had fallen apart and crumbled. The other was almost in perfect condition. Raiden drove by those as well. They then came to a fork in the road.
"Which way?" Raiden asked.
"The left goes to the Snowfield. Take the left."
"Yes Master Obi Wan."
Raiden drove left which came to a tunnel that went underground. The road was still in good condition, but an overturned truck was blocking the entrance. Snake pulled out the rocket launcher and shot the truck blowing it about ten feet away. They continued down through the tunnel. Oddly enough, there was a parking garage at the end of the tunnel. Snake remembered it, but Raiden seemed to be confused. Still he parked the truck in the 'Personnel Only' spot.
"Now what?" Raiden asked before looking around.
"We go the only other way out of here. Down that hallway."
"I knew that… I was just seeing if you knew."
"Go!"
Snake and Raiden went into the hallway. The flash of a red light from the next room could be seen. Snake hoped it wasn't what he thought it was. They emerged from the hallway into a large building, twice the size of a warehouse. In the center of the building was the dragon Snake had seen. It was activated, and on one of the legs were giant letters that read 'METAL GEAR'.
"Just as I thought. It's Metal Gear!" Snake called out.