Chapter 30

Raiden couldn't believe his eyes, somehow Vamp was getting up. Blood was dropping from his wound.

Raiden didn't hesitate and pointed his gun at him, but just as he was about to pull the trigger something send the gun off flying out of his hand.

Vamp threw the daggers that Raiden removed from his body, one towards the gun and the other towards his radio rendering it useless. Vamp stood up straight and faced Raiden.

"I told you I have already died twice. I won't die a third time." Vamp said as blood came from his mouth.

He grabbed the handle of the HF Blade and began pulling it out.

Raiden was shocked. How had Vamp survived? He had no time to lose and went towards Vamp grabbing the handle on the blade. He pushed it in.

"You'll die today." Raiden was hurting all over the place. The big cut on his left hand and the wound on his right shoulder didn't help.

"Nooooo!" Vamp spat blood while screaming.

Raiden was wining. He was pushing the blade in as well as pushing Vamp towards the wall of the corridor.

Vamp tried but couldn't push Raiden away. He was getting dangerously close to the wall.

Raiden pushed harder, blood was coming from his left hand and his shoulder. "DIE!" Raiden screamed out filled with rage. He managed to push Vamp all the way to the wall. The blade struck the wall with incredible force. He knew the sword was deep inside the wall and that Vamp had no way of removing it. As he backed up he saw Vamp, blood was coming from his mouth.

Vamp was looking stunned at the sword.

"I told you, you would die today." Raiden had blood all over his hand and he was breathing heavily, tired from all the fighting.

Vamp looked at Raiden for a few seconds and then his face dropped and his body went limp. Even with Vamp's weight the blade didn't budge from the wall. Raiden sigh with relief and sat on the floor, he had to rest. He tighten the rag on his shoulder wound to stop the bleeding and stood there looking at Vamp's limp body.

Naomi pulled her self together and went near the computer. I have to find a way out of here. She searched for the security files. She needed to open the door and get out of there.

Big Boss was calmer. He started looking around. He couldn't see well from the right side. He tried to remember why but his memory was still foggy. As he looked around he saw several transparent boxes pinned to the wall, several clothes were inside them but what really caught his limited attention was an eye patch, all of sudden things came to his mind.

He remembered a young man spinning revolvers with his hands. Ocelot. He had his arms trapped but managed to prevent the young man from shooting a girl, however the bullet grazed Big Boss's right eye.

Big Boss tried to lift his hand and touch his injured eye to confirm but he didn't have the strength. He was remembering more and more things.

"Whoever wins, our battle does not end. The loser is freed from the battlefield, but the winner must remain there. And the survivor must live is life as a warrior until he dies."

A fight broke between Big Boss and Solid Snake. Solid Snake had no guns with him and Big Boss took advantage of that. However Snake was able to use a small can a lighter and create a flamethrower. Solid Snake caught Big Boss off guard and burned him. Big Boss screamed in pain and yelled out. "Snake! Not yet! Not Yet!"

He knew exactly what he was. He couldn't help but wonder where the hell he was. A girl stood behind some kind of glass behind a computer, Big Boss didn't have the strength to get her attention and talking would leave him breathless.

What has happened to me?

He didn't like what he was experiencing. He began shaking a little bit.

Naomi noticed it and went near him.

"Relax. I shouldn't have removed you from the bed, but the situation is critical and I think we need to get out of here." Although the presence of Big Boss was not all her fault she was the one that had finished the job. She felt responsible and would do everything in her power so that Big Boss didn't become another Gray Fox.

"…Wh…y?" Big Boss's voice was getting better, but it was still very harsh.

Naomi took the question very personally. She knew that Ocelot had told the Patriots that Big Boss had important information in his brain but she didn't believe it. How could memories of a man that had died twelve years ago have relevant information for the Patriots?

"I don't really know why." Naomi thought this was the best answer she could give him. "Listen I have to do something on the computer and as soon as I'm finished I'll be right back." Naomi went to the computer again.

Big Boss's mind was racing. Was this a dream? Or was it real?

After a few seconds of resting Raiden knew he had to get up and find Snake. As he did he thought he had heard Vamp talking. He looked at his body but didn't hear anything.

He's dead.

"Yes my Queen!" Vamp was still very much alive.

Raiden's eyes were opened wide. He couldn't grasp the idea that Vamp was still alive.

How the hell can I kill you?

He ran towards Vamp. He was going to use the blade and push it even further into the wall.

Vamp looked at the blade that had gone through his body, he grabbed the handle with his right hand and instead of pulling it he bended it to the right and it broke near the middle of the blade.

Raiden couldn't believe that he was still strong to do that.

Vamp grabbed the blade with both hands, raised his head and looked straight at Raiden. He got away from the wall, leaving in it the rest of the blade.

Raiden halted his run. Vamp was attacking him.

Vamp attacked with what was left of Raiden's sword. Raiden tilted his head back, but the blade made a small cut in his chest. Vamp was very near and he was going to attack again.

Raiden spotted his gun to the right from the corner of his eye.

It's now or never.

Raiden gathered his last strength and with no balance at all cart wheeled himself to the right avoiding Vamp's attack by an inch. He quickly grabbed his gun and when landed on his feet pointed it at Vamps head.

Vamp had been to slow and failed to notice that Raiden had a gun on his hand. As he turned Raiden shot. Vamp didn't even know what hit him. He fell to the ground on his side, and dropped the HF Blade. The blood seemed like it was coming from all over his body.

Raiden had the gun ready to shoot again in case he got up. He got near Vamp and picked up what was left of his sword. As Raiden stepped over Vamp's blood to investigate if he was in fact dead, an alarm went off. It could be heard in the entire corridor.

Snake!

Raiden had to leave Vamp, perhaps Snake was in trouble. He started running in the direction that Snake had gone. Vamp's body stood motionless on the ground.

As Snake shot his bullet hit nothing but air.

What!

"It's not the suit that gives me my ability. This is true power." Shadow had moved a little bit to his left and dodged the bullet.

Snake strained to see. He thought the fight was over the minute that Shadow lost his suit.

"When I was young I used this power as I saw fit, but that took a toll in my body, that's why I owe everything to the Patriots. They took me in and gave me a new body." Shadow pointed to the ripped suit on the ground. "You're the fist one to destroy one of my suits." Shadow then pointed at Snake. "I won't live a lot of time without my suit on, but it will be time enough to kill you."

The chaff grenade effect wore off, if it had been sooner Snake would have heard from Meryl.

Shadow disappeared in front of Snake's eyes. Snake then felt incredible pain in different parts of his body.

Dammit!

Shadow was using is staff and bashing it into Snake. With all of his speed and strength Snake wouldn't hold for much longer.

Snake wasn't going to waste bullets on him because he noticed that he wasn't as fast as before. He was able to put his SOCOM back in with his equipment and got ready for a hand to hand combat.

He defended himself in any way possible to avoid Shadow's staff.

Shadow was getting slower.

As soon as Snake saw the staff clearly with his eyes he knew he was much slower. He quickly grabbed the staff as it was about to hit him in the chest.

"Not so fast anymore huh?"

Shadow was with his eyes opened wide.

Why is this man this strong? I should be stronger.

Snake pushed the staff out of Shadow's hand and threw it to the ground. With his other hand he punched him.

Shadow responded with a well place punch, but Snake grabbed his hand with his own. It was obvious that Shadow's strength had vanished the moment he lost his suit.

"It's over for you." Snake punched him again and Shadow fell to the ground.

Shadow started breathing heavily.

"My suit…I need my suit…" Shadow was pleading Snake to help him.

Although Snake wanted to help him he wouldn't. He knew that once he had his suit he would undoubtedly try to kill Snake again.

"Your time is up. Accept it." Snake turned around and went to the other door. He had no time to lose.

Shadow wasn't over yet. You'll die with me Snake. He crawled to a computer that stood by the exit door as Snake turned around.

When Snake got to the door Shadow's voice stopped him.

"You know Snake this room as a backup system in case there's a fire."

Snake whipped around and saw Shadow near a computer by exit door.

"I'll override that failsafe and we'll die…" Shadow laughed. "…drowned." Shadow laughed again. He pushed the button and all of the sudden some kind of alarm began to ring. The air vents closed instantly leaving the papers and junk that was flying across the room fall to the ground. A noise was coming from the ceiling. Snake looked up and saw some sort of sprinklers coming out of it. They began pouring water into the room very rapidly.

Snake tried to open the door but it didn't budge. He was trapped.

"Damn you." Snake ran to Shadow and grabbed him by his neck. "How do you stop this?"

"Do you know why I'm called Shadow?" Shadow avoided eye contact with Snake. He seemed very weak and tired. "It's not because I'm faster than my own shadow, no." Shadow felt empty inside. Everything that he had worked for was destroyed. It was his demise and he embraced it. "It's because I've always lived in Big Boss's shadow, that's why." He then looked at Snake.

"There's no way to stop the water from here. You're dead just like me."

The water began to pour even faster. Snake let go of Shadow and went to reach his CODEC but before he could a desk that was moving because of the water hit him on his back and Snake hit his head on the wall. He was unconscious.

Shadow didn't have any strength to get up. He stood on the ground laughing as the water went over his body.