The blazing sun set behind the small mountaintops of the Czech Republic as a small cargo plane carrying Snake and Otacon flew toward their destination. Inside Otacon was setting up a syringe carrying a sort of serum.
"What's the shot for?"
"There's a sort of plague running through Eastern Europe causing some pretty bad symptoms. No too sure what it is but we don't want to take any chances."
Otacon flicked the syringe several times to dispose of all bubbles in the casing. He then gently pressed it onto Snake's arm and pierced it through, injecting the serum.
"There you go, all set."
"So can we go over exactly what I'm suppose to be doing here?"
"Sure. Snake this "Director X" is located inside a small mercenary base made from an abandoned warehouse. He shouldn't have too many guards on the scene. Not the most secure man alive. But he does have many mercenaries under his belt. They could be all around. No one knows for sure. Unfortunately we don't even know what he looks like. You'll just have to improvise. Just get yourself in there and contact him. Try your hardest not to get too lethal on him. We need him alive Snake, otherwise you're just wasting your time."
"And what if he doesn't give up anything?"
"...Well then Snake we'll just have to figure something else out."
"Got it. So what will I be equipped with?"
"You've got your usual .45 tranq pistol. It's actual been customized to your liking Snake. Much more comfortable and a better sight system." Otacon handed Snake the pistol.
"Looks good." Snake said as he pointed the gun.
"And of course you already know but you can contact me through your codec if you have any problems."
Snake tapped his right ear.
"We've got about 3 hrs until we make it to our location in the Carpathian Mountains. That's were his base is located. I suggest you rest up and gather strength until then."
Snake nodded his head in agreement and pulled out a cigarette.
"Snake!"
"What? I'm gathering my strength." Snake chuckled as he lit his cigarette.
Otacon shook his head and walked through the door toward the cockpit. Snake lied down on the bench and relaxed himself. He forced his eyes shut and tried to get that rest he so sorely needed...
"Snake. Hey Snake. Snake!" Otacon yelled out.
"Hmmm?" Snake lifted himself up in exhaust and let out a long yawn.
"You've got about ten minutes until jump, better get yourself ready."
Snake pulled himself together and stood up. He stretched out his arms in all directions and then grabbed his backpack from off the bench. Snake fitted the backpack around his body and clipped all the loose ends together. He checked both parachutes for safety measures and made sure all of his necessary equipment was properly strapped to his body in order to stay secure during the jump. After everything was checked out he gave Otacon a thumbs up.
"Seven more minutes Snake. This your first jump?"
"Yeah."
Otacon nodded his head and sat down on the near by bench. He crossed his arms.
"Snake, so what were you doing over the two years after the Big Shell?"
Snake thought to himself intensely.
"Well... I knew it was pointless to try searching for Liquid."
"So what did you do?"
"I tried to find any possible lead on the Patriots location. Maybe I could have gotten there before Liquid if he actually did know where they were."
"Even though the disc said that they all died nearly 100 years ago, we're both continually looking for them."
"Yeah..."
"Snake, those names weren't fakes. But then again those names weren't of the Patriots now days. Those names on the disc were of the original 12 members, the "Wiseman's Committee." The original ones did die almost 100 years ago. But the new Patriots were still alive until just last week."
A long pause took place before Snake interrupted with a simple.
"Hmm..."
"Anyways Snake we've got to get you down there. Come on." Otacon stood up and gave Snake a farewell. "Be careful down there."
"I will."
Snake opened up the side door unleashing the loud howling wind. He gave Otacon is final thumbs up, took a deep breath, and took the jump. He was immediately met with piercing wind as he fell toward the earth. He properly spread his arms and legs into a diving position and waited for the precise moment to pull the chord. But before he did, he enjoyed the few moments he had and he glided down toward the earth. He felt as if he was a bird.
"5, 4, 3, 2, 1." He mumbled to himself as he whipped out the chord unleashing the massive parachute. Everything happened accordingly and Snake was floating down toward his next mission, "Director X"
METAL GEAR SOLID: A TRUE PATRIOT
by: Plasma-Snake
He plummeted through the branches as his parachute was shredded to pieces. He brought his arms in front of his face to block all incoming limbs and such until suddenly he came to a violent stop. Snake inspected around him only to find his parachute was stuck on a branch above him. He was about 20 feet above ground.
"Grrr..."
Snake began to unhook all of the straps to separate himself from the chute. After he unhooked the last one he fell to the ground in a violent (THUMP) .
"Arghh... Damn that was nice." Snake said sarcastically.
He was immediately interrupted by the ringing of his codec. He placed his hand on his ear.
"Snake, I see that you've made it down."
"Yeah, not the cleanest jump in the world but I'm down."
"Alright Snake, you've got about 3 hrs until we're picking you back up. Contact him before then."
"Alright."
Snake stood himself up while wiping all the dirt off his clothing. He inspected his location to see nothing but foliage. Tall almost leafless trees, long grass, and brightly orange colored leafs covering everything. The moon shined brightly through the trees providing a luminous blue light. It was also cold out, but what could he have expected, it was almost winter.
"Alright, let's get this over with."
Snake pulled out his .45 and began his walk. He needed to find the base, but had no idea how off course he was. (Crunch) (Crunch), the sounds of his footsteps echoed throughout the area. He positioned his eyes directly in front of him and concentrated. Running into someone now would screw up everything. Distracting sounds could be heard all around him. Rustling in the bushes, crackling of twigs, the low howling wind twirling the leafs all around. But there was one sound Snake did not want to hear, the voices of men. He ran up to a nearby tree and pressed his back against it. He crouched himself and peered over to see two men on a nearby stretch of road. One man on a motorbike, and the other standing. Snake crept out a bit more and pulled out his binoculars to see what was going on. He could faintly hear their conversation.
"I hear Mr. X just got a huge sum of money early this week."
"I'm hoping that means bigger paycheck for all of us."
"Maybe, --(not audioable)--, seems like he has his mind on something more important than his men."
"You mean---(not audioable)--, yeah that would seem to spark his interest."
"Not like that's a good thing though."
"Maybe this isn't worth it, it's dark and cold out here."
The men both waved each other goodbyes and the motorbike sped off down the road. The other man walked off in the opposite direction from Snake's position. Snake was then able to zoom his binoculars past the stretch of road to see the top of the supposed base. He was relieved and pressed his finger against his right ear.
"Otacon."
"Yeah Snake?"
"I have visual confirmation of the base. I can see the roof from my current position."
"Great job Snake, just make your way down there and find the quietest way to sneak in."
" Got it."
Snake stood back up and began to make his way toward the road. He placed his binoculars in his pack pouch and pulled out his .45. While walking closer and closer toward the road he shifted his eyes back and forth to check the current situation. He then made a quick and risky run across the road until he made it to the other side. He dove into a pile of leafs and covered himself. Afterwards he laid still and quiet to see if anyone saw him. A guard further down the road was none the wiser to Snake's presence.
"Easy enough." Snake said as he stood back up and began further down the forested path toward the base. As Snake got closer and closer he was able to further inspect the structure of the base. There were dull, plain concrete walls all around. One spotlight to the corner of the base. Two sentries posted around the outside of the base. Seemed simple enough.
"Guess Otacon was right. Apparently this guy wasn' t really expecting anyone." Snake thought to himself as he came closer and closer to the base."Which reminds me."
Snake stopped and crouched at his current position and called Otacon.
"I've been able to reach the base."
"Good job Snake. Remember, your only objective is to contact Director X and find out what he knows."
"I remember."
"Nothing else Snake. Good luck."
"Alright. I'll contact you again when I need the pick up." Snake said as he smiled.
"Got it."
Snake continued down just a bit further until he reached the base. He crouched by a nearby bush and inspected the perimeter through his binoculars trying to find some sort of crawl space or anything of the sort.
"Hmmm...Only two sentries guarding the front gate. At least I don't plan on knocking on his front door." Snake thought to himself.
He continued inspecting all around the concrete walls.
"There's got to be some other way in." Snake continually inspected until he heard a slight trickle of water. "Hmm?" Snake put away his binoculars and began to walk away from the base. He crept further into the forest, the trickle of water became louder and more pronounced the further he went in. Snake then saw a small stream of water, all making it's way into the warehouse by sewer.
"Thank you." Snake said to no one in particular.
He jumped into the stream and walked up to the long bars blocking him from his entrance. Snake searched around his equipment to find some way to get through the bars. But none of his equipment seemed suitable. Snake them expected the bars further to see that they were thin and rusted. He then searched around his body to find a small piece of clothing. But he found nothing suitable. Snake scratched his head in confusion only to feel on his bandana.
"I guess this'll have to do."
Snake unwrapped the bandana from his head and drenched it in the stream. He then tied the soaked bandana around two of the bars and began to tighten it with all his strength. Snake pulled until the bars began to bend inward.
"There, that should do it."
Snake untied the bandana and stuck it into his pant pocket. He then squeezed his way between the two bars and began his walk down the dark murky tunnel. His thumping footsteps made loud echoes throughout the tunnel, which stopped as Snake saw a light coming from around a corner. He pulled out his .45 and cautiously made his way toward the light. As he got closer he began to hear voices. Snake then pressed his back against the wall and slid the rest of the way down until he reached the corner. Snake peered over to see two men.
"Look, place them right there, we have one more places to set up and then this place is ready to go boom."
"Alright, alright. Just hold on a sec. I've only got two more blocks of C4, how many more are we suppose to place on the next point?"
"Just two. Once all these points blow at the exact time, this place is history. We just have to get out before then."
Snake quickly jumped from around the corner and pointed his pistol.
"Drop the C4 now!"
"Who the hell are you?" The guard shouted back.
"That doesn't matter, I've got the gun, drop the C4!"
"I'm not going to abandon all these work cause of some American!"
Both men then dropped their C4s and pulled out their AK-74u rifles. Snake quickly hid back behind the wall as the two men unleashed a fury of bullets. As soon as they needed to reload, Snake made his move. He jumped out and fired his tranq darts into one of the soldiers necks. He instantly passed out. The other finished reloading and Snake had to hide back again.
"You damn Americans love to wreck all our work don't you?" The soldier said as he back into a protected position.
"And all you guys ever do is try blowing everything up."
Snake hid back patiently and waited for a opportunity. Both men seem to have the same idea. Snake was searching around him to find some sort of distraction, only to find the wet bandana. He grabbed and pulled it out, ready to toss it out.
"3, 2, 1." He whispered to himself.
Snake tossed the bandana out the side and into the open. The soldier took the bait and fired a burst from his rifle. Snake jumped out and shot a dart into his chest.
"Dammmnnniiitt..." The guard fell to the ground.
Snake let out a relief and then gave a call to Otacon.
"What is it Snake? You already need a pickup?"
"No, not yet. But I made my way into the base by sewers."
"And?"
"Only to find out this place was set to blow."
"What?"
" Two soldiers were setting up C4 all around the sewers. Planning to take this place out in one quick swoop."
"That doesn't make any sense..." Otacon thought to himself shortly. "But that doesn't change anything. Snake get in there and find Director X. We'll have to worry about the C4 later. Times running out."
"Alright."
Snake put away his .45, grabbed his wet bandana from the floor, and put in back in his pocket. He found a nearby ladder and started to climb up. At the top was a small door trap. He opened it quietly and inspected around the base's interior. Only to find there was no one around. Snake opened the hatch all the way and climbed up into the base. He searched more, all around there wasn't a single sentry. Just barrels, crates, and a stingy smell that occupied the base.
"Weird. Why are sentries guarding a warehouse full of garbage?" Snake said as he still continued to inspect the area.
On the opposite side of the wall, there was a stairway that lead to a set of doors. Three to be exact. Snake pulled out his .45 and made his way past the barrels and crates of the deserted interior. He slowly crept up the stairway and began inspecting each door through the small windows. Through the first door was a small room filled ceiling high with boxes. In the next, there was a table in the center of the room and several chairs surrounding it. Snake then slowly checked the next one. He peered his head over the door into the window. He saw a tall slender man with long white hair. His hands gripped tightly behind his back. The man also sported a long brown trench coat. He was looking out the window, admiring the beautiful backdrop of forest.
"Alright."
Snake busted through the door and quickly pointed the gun at the back of the man.
"Freeze."
The man did nothing.
"Are you Mr. X?"
The man said nothing.
"Are you Director X? Answer me!"
"And what if I am." the man spoke with a deep slow voice.
"Then I have a couple of questions for you."
"Hmm... Ask away."
"Turn around first. I need to see your face."
"If you truly wish." The man turned around to show his mutilated face. Scars, burns, cuts, gashes. They covered his face.
"What happened to you?"
"I do this to myself."
"Why? Self loathing?"
"No, I just love the pain."
"Sick. But I didn't come here to ask about you. Tell me about The Revolution... Tell me about the Patriots."
"And why should I tell you?"
"Cause I'd greatly appreciate it." Snake said with a grin on his face.
"Hmm... Good enough for me. Well what is their to say, we were nothing but heartless assassins, but we all loved and enjoyed it."
"Yeah I know, apparently you killed any person who got way of too much info. I guess that means you should have killed me."
"Maybe I still can." He said as he laughed.
"Yeah well, you seem to not be having any problems telling me this. No loyalty?" Snake questioned.
"Yes, my loyalty is not to the Patriots. I have better plans then using their money to build this base."
"Well good, this is making this easy for the both of us then. So keep talking." Snake suggested.
"We were employed by the Patriots... Well I wouldn't really say "employed" more like controlled. We weren't paid for a single thing. We were simply pawns."
"So you killed them cause you weren't getting any money huh?" Snake said pointing the gun at his face.
"Ha ha ha ha! You are clueless aren't you. I've never even laid my eyes on a single member. Hell I don't think anyone has."
"Well now that they're dead every single United States civilians have seen their dead bodies."
"What a shame that I couldn't take part in that joyous occasion."
"So you're saying you don't know a single thing about their deaths? Or don't know a single thing about them?"
"Oh no, I never said that. I knew very little about them, nothing very useful."
"What about their deaths?"
"I might." He said with a grin.
"Well?"
"These new members have been in business for almost twenty years now."
"New members?"
"Yes, the original members that created the Wisemen's Committee all died out in the 1930s. The next came and all died out during the 1990s. And now the ones ruling now have been in business for 20 years."
"I see..."
"So is that all you wanted to know?"
"Hmm..." Snake thought to himself. "Let me ask you this, did you know that this place was set to blow?"
"What?" He said in confusion.
"Yeah, seems so. Soldiers underneath this base were setting up C4 blocks in the sewers. Planning to take you and this base out in one quick swoop."
"...I... I can't believe this. So it was already my time. They were already done with me."
"What do you mean?"
"Those damn Patriots. They didn't even give me enough time."
"What are you talking about?"
"The Patriots, they...they paid me to set up this base." He began to sweat.
"Yeah, you said that. But you apparently weren't going to use their money for the base."
"I... I was planning to use the money to help my family...my father..." He continued thinking deeply to himself. "The Philosopher's Legacy."
"What the hell is going on?"
"I was too late. I wasn't able to do it. I wasn't able to help.Somebody snitched! They'll continue to send people until I'm dead. Save them the trouble and kill me now!" Director X suddenly grabbed hold of Snake's gun.
"What are you doing?"
"Kill me! I have failed!"
Both men continued to struggle between the hold of the gun.
"Pull the trigger now!"
"Are you crazy?"
(BANG)
Director X fell to the ground with a hard thump. Snake put away his gun and dropped to the aid of the man.
"Damn, it was just a tranq." He slightly chuckled.
"Lucky for you."
"Please, give me my knife. It's in my front pocket." Snake did so reluctantly. But he still didn't want to prolong the soldier's wish.
"Why are you doing this?"
"I failed my father, my goal. I wanted to help him... But I screwed up, I can't go on any further." He said as he lifted the knife toward his throat. "My pocket." He sliced deep into his throat without resistation. The crimson blood squirted from the wound. He was then dead in Snake's arms.
"Pocket?" Snake searched through the long pockets of the trench coat. And pulled out a small disc from the side pocket.
"An optical disc?" He then contacted Otacon.
"Yeah Snake."
"Director X is dead."
"What?"
"He stabbed himself."
"And you didn't get anything?"
"I got some info, and an optical disc. Apparently the Patriots were paying him to complete the base but he had other plans. So he was considered a deadman, I'm guessing someone snitched."
"I see...Snake you got what we need. Let's hope that optical disc proves useful."
"Yeah."
"I'm sending a chopper your way."
Snake stood up and placed the optical disc into his front pocket. He thought about everything Director X had told him. He tried placing the pieces of the puzzle in his mind. But there just wasn't enough. Snake was still clueless.
"The Philosopher's Legacy." Snake said to himself aloud."What is it?"