Chapter 42

Otacon knew what that noise meant.

"Hold on Otacon!" Raiden seemed like he was busy.

Otacon could hear several sounds coming from the CODEC. What in god's name is happening down there? Otacon could also hear noises coming from the tunnel, they were getting near.

"What's wrong Otacon?" Rose asked curious and sensing it had something to do with Jack.

"I don't know yet." Otacon was unsure of what he should do.

"Oh crap!" Raiden was definitely worried.

Otacon heard even more noises, clashing of metal and weird sweeping sounds.

"What's going on there Raiden?" Otacon was definitely getting more frightened.

"What! Are you crazy Snake? There's no way in that thing." Raiden seemed like he wasn't talking to Otacon.

"Raiden I can hear you talking can you please answer me?" Otacon was getting aggravated. Why doesn't he answer? "Raiden!" Otacon yelled.

"Hold on Otacon…" Raiden said trying to calm Otacon.

After a few more indistinctive noises Raiden talked again. "Oh damn!"

Otacon was upset for not knowing what was going on down in the tunnel.

"Snake what the hell do we do now?" Raiden sounded even more confused than Otacon.

"Otacon! Get the chopper ready and get Rose and the child to somewhere safe." Raiden seemed decided as he said it.

Then Otacon and Rose saw it, through the cockpit window, the massive Ray jumped from the tunnel and landed near the abandoned factory, still far away from the Kamov. A massive block that Otacon couldn't make out came out next with incredible speed. It crashed right into a structure of the abandoned factory. The sight had made both Otacon and Rose open their jaws.

"Otacon did you hear me?" Raiden was still on the CODEC.

"Hmmm – yeah I'm here." Otacon was still thunderstruck by what he saw.

"Good hurry up because we're almost there." Raiden turned off the CODEC.

"Rose, get the child" Otacon ordered.

"Why?" Rose was still staring outside.

"Please just do it." Otacon knew this was far from over. Snake wouldn't allow the Ray out in the city to cause mayhem.

Rose got to the cargo room and quickly grabbed the child, which was still very sleepy.

"Now what?" Rose asked Otacon with the child in her arms.

Otacon got to the cargo room and opened the side door, rendering the Kamov visible. "Follow me!"

"Wait, where are we going?" Rose asked as Otacon was stepping outside in to the rain.

"I'm taking you somewhere safe." Otacon handed a hand to her so she could get out of the Kamov.

"What could be safer than this helicopter?" Rose was unsure about Otacon's motives.

At the distance the Ray cried out overshadowing any noise.

Rose got out into the rain with Otacon's help.

After Ray's cry Otacon heard something approaching the Kamov. It sounded like a car but it only had one headlight on. As it got close he noticed the two men seating on it. Snake, Raiden. The jeep stooped right beside the Kamov and both Snake and Raiden leaped out.

Instead of a hydro pressurized water jet the Ray was now equipped with a high precision and power laser. The high concentrated laser came from the Ray's mouth directed at the jeep.

"Raiden, look out!" Snake yelled out.

"Hold on Otacon!" Raiden stopped talking and swerved the jeep to the right.

The laser hit the tunnel wall and left behind a massive hole. The jeep almost touched Ray's platform as it veered to the right.

"Ha, ha." Liquid's laughter resonated all the way through the tunnel.

The jeep moved again to the left.

"Damn you Liquid." Snake took aim and fired a couple of shots to Ray's head, his wound was throbbing with pain. He quickly noticed that the bullets made no damage whatsoever.

The Ray got ready to fire again. "This time I won't miss!"

"Raiden move!" Snake shouted.

The laser came bursting from Ray's mouth directly towards the jeep, but with Raiden's fast reflexes it missed again as he turned right.

However the laser followed the jeep, it was going to hit the left side of the jeep and possibly Raiden.

"Oh crap!" Raiden said as he saw it moving closer.

"Get to the side Raiden!" Snake shouted as he grabbed and pulled Raiden's right arm.

The laser struck the jeep in a diagonal sweep cutting a part of the windshield and of the front chassis. The jeep smashed into Ray's platform as no one was driving it and its right side was getting beat up pretty badly.

As the laser stopped Raiden took his position has driver and quickly gained control. Despite all the damages to the chassis Raiden thought the steering was good enough.

"What's going on there Raiden?" Otacon asked feverishly.

Snake threw the machine gun to the backseat and checked his equipment for the SOCOM. "Raiden get me close so I can jump."

"What! Are you crazy Snake? There's no way in that thing." Raiden was eyeing both Snake and the road.

"Raiden I can hear you talking can you please answer me?" Otacon sounded upset.

"If I catch Liquid now we can end this quickly." Snake got ready to jump.

"Raiden!" Otacon was yelling at the CODEC.

"Hold on Otacon…" Raiden was turning the jeep towards the platform.

"End of the line!" Liquid shouted as the tunnel surface entrance came into view.

"Snake!" Raiden shouted as he saw it too.

"Crap." Snake forgot about jumping as the exit was getting near.

"Now it's my time!" Liquid gave one last laugh as he pressed a button within Ray's cockpit. The clamps that were holding the Ray to the platform were opening.

"Oh damn!" Raiden shouted.

"It's coming loose!" Snake replied.

The Ray cleared away from the clamps as the platform still moved at high speed towards the exit.

"Snake what the hell do we do now?" Raiden was fresh out of ideas as he saw the Ray getting free from the platform. He had experience on fighting Metal Gear Ray's, but before he had Stinger missiles now his only weapon was a small handgun and half a sword.

"Tell Otacon to get the Kamov ready and tell him to make sure to get Rose and the child to someplace safe." No one had told Snake who the child was, but from the child's face Snake guessed it was Olga's.

"Otacon! Get the chopper ready and get Rose and the child to somewhere safe." Raiden was looking at the Ray as he was talking.

The platform was just a few feet away from the exit showing no signs of stopping. The magnetic tracks ended before the exit and the platform started to grind on the rough road. Sparks were flying all over the place as the platform slowed down.

As the exit came close the Ray, still on top of the platform, jumped out and faced the dying storm outside. Ray's legs hit the ground with a deafening noise, almost sounding like the last thunder of the storm. The platform soon followed still moving quite fast. The Ray moved to the left away from its path and the platform came out ploughing away the mud on the ground and finally crashing and ultimately stopping into an old structure of the abandoned factory.

"We can't lose him Raiden." Snake jumped into the front seat beside Raiden. "We have to find Otacon, step on it."

Raiden nodded and pressed the accelerator until it wouldn't go any further. They exited the tunnel and embraced the night sky. Raiden quickly turned on the headlights and noticed only one worked the other had been cut off by Ray's mouth laser. The jeep hastened and turned right getting away from the Ray. "How do we find Otacon?" Raiden was inquisitive as he could only see a few feet ahead of the jeep.

"Don't worry about that!" Snake quickly grabbed his Night Vision Goggles and his Soliton radar. He tried to find something that looked like a helicopter. He just hoped the Kamov wasn't camouflaged.

The Ray cried out and at that moment Liquid came to Snake's mind. I won't let you get away, not again.

"Straight ahead Raiden." Snake could see the Kamov's shape in the Soliton radar. Snake could see through the goggles two very familiar shapes.

"Snake the Ray isn't moving." Raiden noticed through the middle rear-view mirror.

"Better for us – there they are." Snake pointed straight ahead.

They stopped right beside the Kamov and jumped out.

Otacon got near Snake. "What happened to you?" He noticed Snake had some sort of cloth around his chest.

Snake removed his night vision goggles. "Liquid!" This was all he wanted to say.

Otacon sighed heavily as he knew what that meant. "He took over Ocelot again."

"This time it's different." Snake turned his head to the Ray. "Is the Kamov ready to go?"

"Of course, but we don't have any weapons on board." Otacon was aware that Snake wanted to take on the Ray.

"This will have to do." Snake grabbed the machine gun for the jeeps backseat.

"Are you crazy?" Otacon raised his voice wondering if Snake was joking.

"Maybe, c'mon let's go." Snake made his way to the Kamov side door with Otacon by his side.

As the Ray jumped away from the platform Liquid smiled inside the cockpit. What incredible machine. This Ray, Liquid thought was immensely superior to the one he had used two years ago. Liquid quickly manoeuvred the Ray so it wouldn't hit the platform, which with a rumbling noise crashed into a structure. Now let's see what this can do. Liquid pressed a button that stood near his right hand. I hope the laser works. As he pressed it the Ray gave a thunderous cry and everything went dark inside the cockpit except for a screen that read. "Laser Charging Up – Phase 1 – 2:13" Two minutes without power. "Damn!" Liquid smashed his fist into the controls, but instantly calmed down. It doesn't matter. They can't stop me. Not now.

Raiden rapidly made his way to Rose kissing her on the forehead. "Rose, you okay?"

"Yes I'm fine." She was beaming. She grabbed Raiden's left hand and took it to her face. "Never leave me again alright."

Raiden twitched his eye as the deep cut on his left hand was far from healed.

"Oh – I'm sorry Jack." Rose noticed the deep cut by the light coming from the jeep's headlight.

"Its fine Rose, don't worry." Raiden embraced Rose.

"Be careful no to wake the child Jack." Rose was trying to keep her asleep.

"Are you crazy?" Raiden heard as Otacon raised his voice. He let go of the embrace and saw Snake, ready with his gun, walking towards the Kamov's side door.

"I guess this is goodbye for now Raiden."

"Goodbye? But we still have to deal with Liquid." Raiden was still holding on to Rose, but we wanted and needed to help Snake.

"No this is my fight. You have things to do." Snake turned his head and got ready to enter the side door.

"No Snake, this is also my fight." Raiden's words made Snake stop. "I'm fighting for my family and my friends."

Snake turned his head and raised his eyebrow. "Liquid's a different story he's my…"

"No Snake, you've been fighting alone for too long. It's time you got some help." Raiden interrupted.

Rose flinched as the thought that Raiden was going to help Snake again sunk in her mind.

"What about Rose and your child? Aren't you forgetting about them?" Snake asked.

"No I'm helping you because of them, because I want them to live in a better world."

Snake smirked. "That's good enough for me." Snake got into the Kamov followed by Otacon.

"Rose I'm sorry but…"

"It's okay…" Rose had come to terms that Jack was doing this for her. "…Raiden..." The last time she called him Raiden was two years ago. "…Just comeback alive."

Raiden kissed her and entered the Kamov's side door. "Are we leaving her all alone?"

"Give her this and tell her to contact Meryl on frequency 140.15." Snake said handing his CODEC to Raiden.

Rose listened carefully to the instructions and stepped backwards.

Raiden reassured Rose. "Don't worry you'll be safe…"

Everything was interrupted when the Ray gave another deafening cry and started moving.

"We have to go, close the door Raiden." Snake ordered.

"I'll be fine." Raiden said as he closed the side door and the Kamov disappeared.

Rose walked backwards and heard the Kamov taking off.