Finally, we have Chapter 2 out. Both me and MCCXXII are amazed by the response that this story has gotten, so i'd like to take a moment to thank those many people being patient. The delay was mostly due to procrastination and the (as of this chapter being posted) ongoing SARS-2 (COVID-19) pandemic. Stay safe people, and make sure you've said anything you've needed to say to any high-risk family members before it's too late.
Here is Chapter 2... we had a lot of fun writing this one. And as always... fuck the document managers' automatic corrections.
The optional youtube playlist soundtrack: /playlist?list=PLfUttKNcUeSbjeMmG9z98WlI5VDId3X0P
-Chapter 2, Act 1-
-?'s PoV-
🎵Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker - Mission Select🎵
Sometime at noon on a remote island, the three mischievous soldiers that Snake had spared have awoken offshore. Unsure of their unfamiliar surroundings, they have searched the island they found themselves on; no other survivors were found. Instead, chunks of debris, the remains of Mother Base, were scattered across the island. God must have spared them, because it was just their luck that a ship just so happened to pass by them right as they were about to lose hope. But the question is... were they saved by the right people?
Fog rolled in as the ship that arrived. It was unlike any ship the three have ever seen. They could tell it was some kind of warship because of the large cannons that stuck out from the top of the ship. The appearance was much more ominous thanks to its black paint accompanied by glowing accents on the ship. After a long silence from the ship stopping along the shore, footsteps could be heard from the ship, followed by an unfamiliar voice.
"Are there any more survivors?" said the unfamiliar voice.
"No... it's just us." One of the Diamond dogs replied.
"Men... you are lucky to have been saved."
A woman then stepped forward on the deck of the ship. She was wearing a black jacket and black camo trousers, and had a metal respirator with a tube that connected to a strange backpack on her back. She appeared to be quite young, but she spoke like she was far more older than she seemed. The sound of her breathing was amplified and muffled by the respirator that concealed her lower part of her face, leaving the three men to feel slightly unnerved in her presence.
The men saluted the woman with impeccable posture. One of them spoke afterwards, "We're pretty damn grateful that you saved us. If you need us to do anything while you take us back to shore, we'd be happy to help."
The woman's reaction was even more unnerving - she let out a sharp breath, almost as if she was amused.
"You."
She stepped towards one of the men. "What are you and your men's names?"
The man saluted with fearful resolve. "Hudson."
She directed her gaze to the other men. Frankely, Hudson didn't care much about them as they arrived separately to Mother Base, nor ever interacted with each other. Her eyes fixated on the other two Diamond Dogs, their resolve seemed to buckle.
"...Marcus." one of the other two feebly squeaked out. Immediately after, the other soldier spoke. "Richard."
"And what are your last names?"
Markus spoke up for the other two. "We're not authorized to give them out."
The tiny woman paused for a few moments. The soldiers had expected to be questioned, but she merely just shrugged.
"No matter. You three will be useful in our cause..."
The three soldiers looked at the woman questioningly. She turned back and began to walk away. But before she left, she said something.
"I offer you all a chance to live. You could join our cause and fight with us, or you may stay here on this remote ocean and die of deprivation of resources." She said, giving the three an ultimatum. "Make your choice."
The three soldiers proceeded to huddle together. Terrified of what she would do to them if they refused.
"Are you serious?" Richard whispered. "We have no choice. We either die here dishonorably, or die fighting for the wrong people..."
Marcus sighed from behind his ski mask. "Well, me and Richard are gonna help this lady. What about you, Hudson?"
Hudson paused for a few moments. His silence did not go unnoticed by anyone in the room, but they chose to do nothing about it. After finally gathering his thoughts together, he finally had his answer.
"...Damn. I guess i've got no choice either, huh..." he whispered in frustration. "...Alright. I'm onboard with this, too. But if I see the Boss, then i'm not fighting him."
The other two soldiers nodded, and they disbanded. "Have you made your choice?" the woman asked while she breathed out a large breath from underneath her respirator.
After taking yet another few moments, Hudson spoke for the group.
"Yes. Just give us orders and we will follow them." he said, saluting yet again.
The woman's respirator was the response they got. It was followed up with her muffled voice, however.
"At ease, soldier. As new members of my battalion, my first orders are for you three to board the ship and report to the main deck of my ship."
"Aye Ma'am!" the three dogs barked, moving towards the ladder that was thrown down from higher up on the ship. She then walked over to the edge of the ship where the three soldiers climbed up the ladder. Hearing footsteps behind her, she turned around to face one of her soldiers patrolling the ship.
"Commander, where should I escort these three men?" The masked soldier asked.
She looked back over at the three Diamond Dogs as they finally climbed up onto the main deck of the ship. She then turned to face the soldiers starting out on the three men.
"Take them to the brig for now, they need to meet our chain of command so they have an idea of who they are working for. If any resist, you are authorized to use deadly force." The last sentence that came out of the little girl's mouth put the three men in shock.
"Aye Ma'am" the soldier barked, saluting her and prodding the three Diamond Dogs with his rifle to go in a direction away from the commander of the ship. The Diamond Dogs walked slowly down the deck with the Soldier trailing behind. The girl stared out over the debris of wreckage on the island - the remains of Mother Base scattered throughout the island and waters.
She then heard a beeping sound and quickly reached into her pocket to pull out a tablet like device. She pressed a button on the screen to reveal a distorted voice speaking on the speakers.
"Have you arrived at the sight of where the rift opened?"
"Yes." She replied.
"Have you found any survivors on the islands?" asked the voice on the tablet.
"Yes, only three and they all appeared to be wearing a uniform like us." there was a long pause from the voice coming from the tablet before it decided to speak once again.
"Bring them back to base, we would like to meet these military personnel." the voice paused before speaking shortly after.
"Send an extraction team to the site, savage anything you can find... and be sure to keep your ships jamming radar functional. We do not want any Kansen to discover us."
"Aye Aye... Sigma." She replied in a less confident tone before tapping the screen on the tablet and putting it back into her pocket of her trousers. She then looked out in the distance with a serious look on her eyes as she stared in the general direction of the wreckage. Everything around her was silent as a distant fog began to roll.
All was quiet, with nothing but the sound of her breathing from underneath her respirator.
.
..
...
-Snake's PoV-
🎵 CoD Modern Warfare 2 - Multiplayer Theme🎵
After he shook the Commander's hand, they both sat in chairs. Z23, Cleveland and Rodney made themselves scarce shortly after. Once a few moments of silence had passed, the Commander started talking.
"I do hope you've found the base to be pleasant. After all, we've spent significant capital on it's looks."
Snake smiled. "I do. Must be good at staying hidden in plain sight."
"It quite is." the Commander replied with a smile that didn't have any specific emotion behind it. "It's 'hidden in plain sight' motif is quite effective at fooling spy planes. I'm sure it's fooled you equally well."
A silent nod from Snake was all he responded with. The Commander continued. "Although, I must say that your attire is quite unusual. You must not be from around here."
The Commander reached under his desk to grab a bottle of whiskey, and two shot glasses. He poured himself some of the fluid, sipping on it quietly. Snake could go for a drink right now, but he didn't want to immediately go for one just yet. He still had yet to eat something, after all.
But that's when the mood suddenly shifted. The Commander's expression grew serious - so serious, that it even unnerved Snake a bit. As the tension in the air thickened, the Commander began asking questions.
"Why have you come here?"
His voice got deeper as he asked that question. Snake took a moment to assemble an answer. He spoke like one of his own soldiers while he passed them.
"I don't know. I was brought here by a rift, and it took my base and men with it. I haven't seen either of them since."
The Commander poured whiskey into his glass again, but placed the whiskey bottle back into his desk.
"Very well. Next question; what are your intentions?"
This time, Snake didn't have to hesitate to think up an answer. "Find my men, find out who's got happy trigger fingers and a bad case of bloodlust, and then gather my soldiers - my Diamond Dogs - to go take them down."
The tension in the air seemed to relax somewhat after Snake's answer. He unintentionally sighed to release the stress building within him. But the tension wasn't gone yet, because the Commander asked yet another question.
"What do you think of my subordinates?"
Snake was baffled by the question. "...I need that rephrased."
The Commander grabbed a piece of paper on his desk. On it was a diagram of how these girls were equipped.
"What do you think of these?" he said, handing Snake the piece of paper.
He took a moment to study it, noting how the equipment functioned in a way that could be put into practice back in his world, but in a very clunky and cost-inefficient style. It was impractical to be replicated in his world, wasn't it? The way they are foldable, and how they're lightened for the user... it had to cost a substantial amount of GMP to do so. But what derailed this train of thought was when he recalled seeing Suffolk's paddle seemingly disappear out of thin air. After Snake's long silence, the Commander spoke again.
"I know you're quite curious, but please answer my questions before I answer yours... if you have any."
Snake put down the paper. He closed his functioning eye, taking a moment to account for the information he had just found out about. They all seemed a lot less like soldiers, and more like simple civilians. Were they really equipped to do battle in the seas? If they had this technology, then they might be...
After a brief moment of silence, Snake stated his answer.
"They need training. With a proper instructor, they could be forces of nature on the battlefield." he stated objectively.
The Commander closed his eyes, breathing in through his nose. Yet another period of silence followed, but it was significantly more nerve-wracking then the previous ones. A dozen seconds later, and he finally opened his eyes - the tension seemingly disappearing.
"Hmm..." the Commander put both arms on his desk, hands under his chin balled up into fists. "I think I now understand where you are."
With those words, the Commander reached underneath his desk once again and grabbed the bottle of whiskey from earlier. As he poured another shot for himself, he grabbed the other shot glass, pouring some into it and sliding it over to Snake.
"Drink it if you desire."
Snake looked at the glass, then at the whiskey bottle. Shrugging, he took the glass and downed it in one gulp. The Commander watched, smiling as Snake drank it like a dehydrated animal.
"Careful now, you'll want more if you drink it that fast."
Snake took note of this, putting the shot glass back down. He looked up from the glass to the Commander. "So why did you do that? Aren't I your enemy?"
The Commander's smile didn't change. "Not necessarily. You could choose to be, but you haven't made the actions or have the ambitions of one. In fact, your goals line up quite nicely with ours."
Snake's eye widened. "How so?"
The Commander put the whiskey bottle back under his desk again, closing the cabinet door as he did so. "I'm suspecting that some factions that co-exist with us are starting to have a change of heart. Intel reports I've gotten from my spies have indicated that a few factions have gotten hold of some technology... troubling technology at that."
"And you want me to help you deal with them?" Snake finished his sentence for him.
The Commander's smile widened. "Indeed. I knew you'd catch on fast." He grabbed his shot glass in his right hand. "As an incentive to gain your alliance, I will assist you in helping you find your men and let you function independently of us." He downed his shot, turning it upside down on the table. "So... what do you say?"
He reached his hand out again, though with a sense of comradery this time instead of simple formality. Snake took a moment to weigh the facts; he had no idea where he was, what these other factions were and had no clue where his men were. Add on top of that the fact that his base is destroyed, and he's just a single man. It was strangely convenient that this was all playing out the right way... but yet...
...No brainer, isn't it? Snake took his hand, shaking it with a genuine smile on his face. "You've got a deal."
The Commander then looked over at the girls who gathered around a couch in the commander's office. Z23 was sitting up straight reading a magazine on fashion, Rodney looked like she was observing the conversation between the commander and Snake and Cleveland was laying on the couch with her feet on the coffee table, throwing a red gemstone up in the air and catching it.
The commander smiled "Heh... sorry for leaving you three in here. I was just having a conversation with a new friend."
Friend? The word stirred around in his head for a brief moment. He only first met the commander about 30 minutes ago and during that time questioned him for showing up to his base. Despite that... he, too couldn't help but feel that he made a friend. Shortly after, the commander spoke once again.
"If any of you aren't busy, I would like one of you to give a tour of the base to Mr. Snake. Get him familiar with our base's facilities."
Cleveland moved her legs off of the coffee table and jumped up from the couch followed by Rodney standing up from the couch. Z23 was still sitting down on the couch reading her magazine.
"You can count on me commander!" Cleveland gleefully responded.
"I am free at this time, so I'd be glad to help show him around the base," Rodney said with a smile on her face.
Z23 looked up from reading her magazine and directed her attention towards the commander. "Unfortunately, I've been assigned to secretary duty while Enterprise is away and the head maid may need some help with organizing paperwork on this week's mission files, so I'm afraid I will have to decline this offer."
"It's alright. Once Enterprise gets back, you're free to go." The commander said as he walked towards the door to let everyone out of his office. Snake got up from his chair and trailed behind the girls as they exited his office. While Snake was walking out, the commander put a hand on his shoulder. Snake instinctively looked behind him.
"May I ask you a quick question?" The commander asked him. Snake nodded as he turned to face the commander to hear what other questions he had for him.
"I noticed that your eyepatch seems bulkier than the ones I've seen... and that shrapnel in your head looks painful." Snake was surprised that the commander had noticed such a small feature on his eyepatch that would go unnoticeable by most people who encounter him. The shrapnel embedded in his head however...
He then quickly responded. "Don't ask about the shrapnel." Snake replied flatly. "My eyepatch is an electronic multipurpose eyepatch. My sight in this eye hasn't worked right for years."
The commander nodded at Snake's response and replied, getting a closer look at the eyepatch.
"I see... well maybe Akashi could fix it, she's the fleet's repairship and head engineer. She also owns a shop somewhere off in the city nearby." Snake took note of his words before departing from the commander's office, trailing off behind Rodney, Cleveland and Z23.
Hopefully he could start finding his men soon.
-Chapter 2, Act 2-
🎵Azur Lane - Spring Soundtrack🎵
After taking another journey through the commander's dormitory, Snake, Cleveland and Rodney walk out the front door of the building while Z23 went back to her desk to file some paperwork.
"So Cleveland, where should we take him first?" Rodney looked at Cleveland.
"Hmm..." Cleveland thought out loud as she put her hand on her chin as she looked up into the sky, thinking of a facility on the base to visit first.
A light bulb appeared over her head as she jumped up into the air, "I know! Let's go to the Munition shop, I heard there's a sale on single 150mm cannons!"
"Shiranui offering discounts? That's something I've rarely heard of." Rodney replied, following Cleveland who's already walking towards the Muntion store. Snake trailed behind Rodney as she increased her walking speed to catch up to Cleveland. Snake took the time to look around the heart of the base while he slowly walked in the general direction of where Rodney and Cleveland are heading. He wasn't able to fully admire the fresh sense of scenery this naval base had to offer, as he was too busy lost in thought over his men.
He looked over at the center and saw a water fountain with a bunch of plaques around the floor. At the center of the fountain was a large golden anchor that looked free of corrosion from the lingering salty air. He then looked over to his right to look at a group of cherry blossom trees, and a girl who was sitting underneath it while eating an apple - watching the birds eating seeds from off the floor.
While Snake was slowly walking and admiring his surroundings, he wasn't paying attention to a rope that was being stretched across the walkway and tripped over it and fell forward on the ground. This caught Snake off guard, who quickly utilized CQC to cartwheel back onto his feet. He heard the sound of laughter coming from behind both rows of benches.
"Some pretty fancy moves you got there, buddy!"
"D-damm it, he didn't fall flat on his face!"
Snake looked over to his left side to see a little girl with white hair, green eyes and cat ears while smiling as if she was amused with Snake's carelessness.
"My, why the long face? You look like you just woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning!" the girl with cat ears remarked with a smug attitude.
"I told you we should've raised the rope higher!" he then looked over to see another young girl with light teal hair, orange eyes and two feathers in her ponytail. Snake then gave both of them a frown as he brushed off the leaves sticking to his pants.
"Relax, it's just a prank bro." said the smirking little girl who's slowly irritating Snake. He didn't like the smug aura of this young looking girl with cat ears; it gave him the feeling she's mocking him.
Regardless, he decided to remain quiet as he walked away from the two girls, heading over towards the munition store where Cleveland and Rodney were waiting for him. After another brief and peaceful walk, he arrived at the munitions store with Cleveland and Rodney sitting on a table in the sun.
"Ugh... maybe we should have changed into our normal clothes!" said Cleveland as she tried to shield her head with her hands.
"I told you that you should've put on sunscreen." Rodney replied as she used her hat to fan herself. Cleveland then sat back up and looked over at Snake who had just arrived. She felt relieved that Snake finally regrouped with them as she was already starting to get a sunburn on her shoulders.
"Oh, there you are! Where you've been!?" Cleveland shouted at Snake.
"Did you get lost? Or were you taking your time to admire the scenery?" Rodeny asked him.
Snake recalled the incident he had with the two girls who almost caused him to fall on the ground, but distracted himself by thinking of the scenery surrounding the base.
"The latter." He replied simply.
"Well it's about time you got here! I just hope they are selling sunscreen in there." Cleveland said, getting up from the table and heading straight towards the door. Rodney and Snake trailed behind her while they all walked into the building. As the group walked in, Snake felt a cold breeze of air - it was certainly refreshing compared to the heat outside. The room was silent with nothing but the sound of footsteps coming from Cleveland and Rodney. He looked at the shelves in the room, and on them were metal boxes with labels that filled the entire row of shelves on one side of the room.
He then walked through another row of shelves. This time, something strange caught his attention; there on the shelf next to several rolls of blueprints was a glowing blue cube. He had never seen anything like it, or how it seemed to glow with such radiance. He couldn't help but to pick it up and hold it in his hands. Snake suddenly felt strange holding the cube in his hands, so much so that he quickly put it back on the shelf where he found it before his bad feeling came true. He scanned around for Cleveland and Rodney.
"Well it looks like Shiranui isn't here, so we can't buy anything." Rodney remarked to Cleveland, the latter sighing in irritation.
"Aww, man! I guess I'm gonna have to go in the city and buy some myself later today..." Cleveland said in a disappointed tone. "Snake, where are you?"
Snake emerged from the row of shelves and walked towards Rodney and Cleveland standing near a desk in the room, taking a brief glance back at the blue boxes before looking towards the duo.
Rodeny looked over at Snake and smiled, "Ah, there you are. Unfortunately, the shop is closed so we can't buy anything from here. Let's get going to the next destination on your tour of our base - The Study Hall."
"Ugh, I don't like going to the study hall. They don't have any books I like in there..." Cleveland said with a tone of disgust.
Rodney laughed, "Oh Cleveland... if it wasn't for your lack of interest in reading books, you wouldn't be able to know how to fire your cannons more efficiently."
Cleveland puffed out her cheeks. "It's not that I don't like books... I actually like reading. I just don't like reading boring stuff like textbooks."
The three of them walked out of the air-conditioned Munitions building and headed straight to the study hall. The sea breeze felt nice on Snake's skin. It was a source of fondness for him - it reminded him of Mother Base. Maybe one day he'll ask the Commander if he's got a spare oil extraction plant. Thinking various miscellaneous things, he took his time enjoying the brief walk to the Study Hall.
They soon were standing in front of the building, which looked like it would belong in Washington D.C. it's curved shape did make it seem unique, though. Cleveland nudged Snake's arm.
"This is the Study Hall. It's where the Commander sends us when he wants us to improve our skills." She announced. "I just wish they had more than studying books there..."
Rodney followed up. "I suppose I would have to agree. Perhaps we should go ask the Commander to consider expanding the building to have a library section?"
"I like that idea!" Cleveland said, smiling enthusiastically. "Maybe I can have 'em stock some comic books, too! Or maybe even manga!"
Snake was starting to warm up to these two. He smiled at the duo's excitement. But then he remembered something that he said to the commander earlier.
"They need training. With a proper instructor, they could be forces of nature on the battlefield."
And that's when he got an idea.
"Hey, you two." he called out to Cleveland and Rodney
The two girls turned back to him. "Yes?" Rodney responded.
"You said that the Commander sends you here. Does he have you read books, or has a teacher around to help you study?"
"Actually, both." Cleveland answered. "We study with books in here, but a teacher lectures us in the Lecture Hall. Surprise surprise..." she said that last part flatly.
Good. Maybe he could use his idea after all. But first, he had to ask another question.
"Do they just talk or have you do training exercises?" he asked, looking over at the other building right next to it.
Cleveland's positive smile didn't fade. "Mostly just talk. I wish they'd have us do more physical training! Just sitting in a chair listening to someone is sooooo~ boring~!"
Snake smirked. "Maybe I'll have to get the Commander to change that. All of you girls could use some real training."
Rodney spoke up instead of Cleveland. "And why is that? I can assume that you have experience based on your uniform and looks, but how much of it do you have?"
"Excessive." Snake replied immediately. "I've done stealth missions on my own that could end your life in severe pain if you didn't have the will to succeed. After that, I met some people who showed me things I didn't know, and intel I couldn't have gotten on my own."
While Cleveland and Rodney were listening with sparkling eyes and amused smiles, respectively, Snake smiled fondly. "Add me leading an army of my own on all of this... and you get a man like me. A man who's seen a lifetime of battles in just 20 years."
Cleveland's eyes sparkled even wider. "Wow! That sounds right up my alley! If you do end up being a teacher, then I want you to teach me your stuff as well!"
Rodney chuckled. "My my, I haven't seen Cleveland this excited in a while. Perhaps I, too, might have to join her in your class."
Snake smiled with genuine kindness. But then he remembered that they were still standing in front of the building, instead of inside it.
"Do you want to show me the inside, or move on?"
"There is nothing notable on the interior." Rodney replied. "It is mostly just rows of rooms with tables and chairs. I suggest we move onwards to the Lecture Hall."
Cleveland smiled. "Normally I'd hate going there, but now I actually want to go there!" she said enthusiastically. And with that, they all journeyed over to the next building. The smell of nature got Snake's mind going again, reminding him of his- no, Big Boss's time in Tselinoyarsk. At the same time, it reminded him of that day...
"Do it, Snake... you have no other options."
Snake shook his head, trying to dismiss the words playing back in his head.
"One must die and one must live. No victory, no defeat. The survivor will carry on the fight. It is our destiny... The one who survives will inherit the title of Boss. And the one who inherits the title of Boss will face an existence of endless battle."
Snake shook his head even faster, trying even harder to get her voice out of his head. He wouldn't let The Boss's phantom words haunt him like they did for the original Big Boss. He had his own army, and his own will. His Diamond Dogs had taught him that.
"Hey, Snake! You coming or what?!"
Cleveland yelled from a short distance away, waving her hand. Snake smiled subtly, and walked over to the two girls.
"BIG SIIIIISS~~!"
An unknown voice yelled those words loudly, startling Snake, Cleveland and Rodney. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw another girl making a mad dash straight for the two girls. Stopping, he decided to watch the encounter from a distance. The unknown girl had long, silver hair that reached down to her kneecaps. It also had extra hair sticking out that resembled cat ears. Unlike the other two, she wasn't wearing a swimsuit - she instead wore a long-sleeved black shirt with red accents, with a side-facing cape and a long, narrow scarf going down her torso. She had track shorts, and thighhighs that showed a small amount of skin.
She ran up to Cleveland, panting heavily. Cleveland wrapped her arm around the unknown girl's shoulders.
"Hey there, Monty! Wanted some good ol' spoiling from big sis again?" she said, grinning widely.
The girl was caught off guard by Cleveland's words "U-Um..." her eyes darted around nervously.
"Ahaha~ I'm just kiddin'." Cleveland said, nudging the girl in the arm. "I know you just wanted to say hi. But if you really do want to be spoiled, we can do that later. I'm giving someone a tour of the base right now.."
She looked over at Snake, who was standing a short distance away. He walked over to them, his combat suit clanking loudly with each step. The girls watched him as he approached, with the unknown girl looking especially wary.
When he arrived, he stuck out his hand to the girl. "Snake. Your 'big sister' is one hell of a character." he said, smiling. Cleveland also smirked at this, but she just stood there looking at the hand blankly. Cleveland nudged her again.
"Go on, Monty. Give the new guy a handshake." she said in a surprisingly gentle tone of voice. This seemed to break the girl out of her stupor, since she slowly and unsurely grabbed Snake's hand.
"Montpelier, reporting in. I'm guessing you haven't seen the Commander yet."
Rodney, who was quiet all of this time, finally spoke up.
"Oh, he has. It seems the Commander has taken a liking to Snake as well, as he gave him some whiskey during their conversation. I haven't seen him do that for a very long time."
Montpelier autonomously replied with an 'Oh', turning back to walk away in the direction of the Office. When she was a fair distance away, Cleveland grabbed Snake's arm, tugging him along to the front doors of the Lecture Hall.
"Alright, with that out of the way; let's keep going with the tour." Cleveland said as they entered the building.
...
-Chapter 2, Act 3-
They walked up the stairs of the lecture hall, and into the building. Snake stared down the hallway lined with lockers. At the edge of the hallway were a group of girls talking amongst each other. The group could hear them talking from the other end of the hallway.
"Let's try to keep our voices down, I think there are classes in session at this time." Rodeny whispered as she walked down towards a hallway to the left of Snake while Cleveland signaled to Snake to follow them.
While they were walking, Snake could hear voices coming from a few rooms in the hall. He looked through the windows on the doors to see what the insides of the classrooms looked like. They were simple, they had a few desks with a large desk in the middle for where the teacher would sit.
He then looked towards the hallway they were walking down. Rodney then stopped at a random classroom in the hall, with Cleveland and Snake stopping as well to look into the door of the classroom. It appeared there was a class in session, the one who appeared to be teaching the class was a young girl with blonde hair with twin long tails and blue eyes who was wearing a formal military uniform.
"Heh, looks like Amazon is giving another lecture on evasion techniques." Cleveland said with a smirk on her face. They watched as she started to hop from side to side, back to front and then a mix of them - all while the students sat in their tablets to watch. She then walked over to a girl sitting at her desk, who got up from her desk and walked to the front of the class.
She looked worried, scared to perform in front of the class while the teacher sat on top of her desk. She then jumped to the left. then to the right and almost losing her balance while jumping. She corrected herself as she stood back up straight. Everyone clapped for her, with Amazon walking right up to her to shake her hand. Cleveland smiled and clapped quietly while Rodney giggled.
"Heheh~, Arizona is quite the introverted one isn't she?" Rodeny said, turning to face the direction they came from. "Let's move onto the next destination in our tour." She said as she waited for Snake and Cleveland to move ahead of her. Snake led the way while Cleveland and Rodney followed him out the main entrance.
"So Cleveland, where should we take him now?" Rodney asked.
"Well, if I were honest... I think we covered all the main parts of the base." Cleveland said, looking around the base to find other spots. "The only places we haven't checked out is the officer's lounge, the oil warehouse and the merchant shop." Cleveland said as she rubbed the sun burns on her forearms.
"I think he can see those on his own time." Rodney replied, "I hope you don't mind if we've cut the tour short."
Snake gave her a smile. "Not at all. Thanks for the tour."
Cleveland and Rodney Smiled back.
"Your welcome~!" they both said. Cleveland stepped forward.
"If you need anything else, you can always ask me!" said Cleveland as she gives Snake a thumbs up.
"If you need to find us, our dorm numbers are B12 and G26." Rodney remarked. Snake took note of the numbers. "Just be careful not to knock too hard on mine! Monty gets paranoid easily." Cleveland said, looking back at Snake as she headed straight towards the group of buildings at which Snake can assume are the girl's dorms.
"See ya Snake! I gotta go get me some Sunscreen!" Cleveland yelled as she walked away.
"Hope to see you again soon Snake, goodbye." Rodeny said while waving to him before rushing off after Cleveland. "Wait for me, Cleveland!"
.
..
...
🎵Metal Gear Solid - The Best is Yet to Come🎵
Snake was left alone now. It had been a while since he could hear his own thoughts clearly. At the same time, he had no idea what to do now... maybe some relaxing could be called for. He then quickly remembered his idea from earlier... and with that realization, Snake set a course for the Office again. During his walk, he experienced flashbacks of Mother Base.
"Boss, shouldn't you head back to mother base every so often?"
Ocelot's voice rang out in his head with an echo. He was constantly reminded by him to come back to Mother Base, since Snake commonly spent a lot of time off-base. At least this time, he had more than a base to come back to.
"Boss, the R&D team has come up with something special - I think you'll like the things they showed me."
Ah, this memory... When the R&D team showed him the Riot SMG that was outfitted with rubber bullets, Miller excitedly radioed him that day. Needless to say, Snake was as excited as Miller was, since he was tired of using only the Tranq. Gun on his missions. Eventually, he had more than just a submachine gun, too - assault rifles, shotguns and even rocket launchers were all made non-lethal thanks to his team. They had his immense respect.
"Boss... there's been another outbreak on Mother Base. Get back here, ASAP."
And then his brain decided to pull a 180 by showing him this memory... The memory of when he had to kill his own men to prevent another vocal parasite outbreak. This memory had haunted him since - the loyal men he lovingly trained like his own children were slaughtered by his own hands. Even then, he still found the self-control to spare the man responsible. it was something that showed that he was more than just a demon.
"Let's let the Boss decide. We live and die by your orders, Boss."
*BANG x7*
After he had euthanized those loyal of their misery, he only just barely managed to keep his emotional pain in check. That is, until he crumpled to his knees in the quarantined building, letting out a scream of pure despair was heard by no-one except him followed soon after.
Snake stopped walking, clenching his fists. He had to get this memory out of his head before he started to break down again. He dramatically quickened his pace to a run, making a beeline straight up the stairs to the fifth floor. Nearly kicking open the door, he stopped right in front of Z23's desk, getting down onto one knee and panting quickly. Z23, surprised by Snake's exhaustion, quickly exited her chair and knelt down next to Snake, putting a hand on his back.
"Hey, are you okay?" she said in concern.
Snake took several seconds to take in the necessary oxygen that his legs were demanding, and finally stood up. He looked down at her, attempting to smile reassuringly.
"I'm fine. Just wanted to see how fast I could get here." he replied, hiding the true reason.
Z23 sighed in relief. "That's good. The way you were panting reminded me of how some of our staff run back for cover while wounded... it made me worried." She walked back over to her chair, sitting on it and moving several papers to the side. "So, what warranted your quick pace?"
Snake looked past her to the door. "I've got something to talk about with your Commander."
"Again?" Z23 said in a monotone voice. "Very well. I cannot guarantee that the Commander will have enough free time for a second visit, so please be ready to accept that."
Snake nodded in silence. Z23 once again picked up the phone, now replaced with something significantly more modern. Pressing a few numbers into the keypad, she put the phone to her ear.
"...Ah, Commander. This is Z23. Snake wishes to ask you something... You were just about to take a break?... Yes, I will send him in."
Z23 put down the phone, ending the call. "It seems you were quite fortunate, as the Commander was just about to take a break. You may enter without me accompanying you."
Snake got off his chair, walking over to the door behind her. Z23 turned back around, grabbing some sort of large mobile device from under the desk. As he entered the room, the smell of paper was rife in the air - a smell that wasn't there before. The Commander was getting up from his chair, putting a piece of paper onto a neatly piled stack. Noticing Snake, he moved the papers to a drawer from his right.
"Welcome back, Mr. Snake. Please have a seat. I just finished filing some paperwork." the Commander said as he directed Snake to the couch on the right side of his office. Snake took a seat on the couch, and the Commander took a seat opposite of him.
Snake started with some small talk. "Fancy office you have."
"Why, thank you. I do my best to keep it in excellent shape." The Commander replied.
Snake motioned to the desk. "How about you bring out some of that Whiskey?" he said, faintly smiling.
"Hmm... very well. I could go for a couple of drinks." Said the Commander as he walked back over to his desk. He opened the cabinet where he kept his bottle of whiskey. He pulled it out and set it on top of his desk along with two shot glasses.
Snake grabbed one of the glasses while the Commander then opened the whiskey bottle and poured shots for the both of them. The Commander took the first shot, with Snake soon following up. Snake spoke first.
"You said that you'd assist me in finding my men, right?" Snake asked, putting down the glass. The Commander kept his glass in his hands. Smiling.
"Indeed." he replied. "Since you have decided to work with us, I think I may have something that can help start the process."
Snake's eyebrows raised up. "What?"
The Commander proceeded to walk over to his desk, grabbing a seperate piece of paper that was left out from the pile earlier. He walked back over to the couch, placing it on the coffee table in front of them. He started to speak again.
"This is a photograph of an old offshore oil extraction plant that we had previously used. However, it has been abandoned due to its location in a hostile faction's territory."
Snake looked down at the paper. It was indeed an oil extraction plant, and it had a bit of resemblance to the one that MSF used to own. And to think he was thinking about this not twenty minutes ago... odd.
Snake grabbed the paper. "Looks like it could use some repairs. Enough arm grease and it might be useful."
"That is quite right." The Commander remarked. "I wish to give this to you as a token of goodwill."
Snake put the paper back down on the table. "Is that so...?"
The Commander grabbed the whiskey bottle, pouring some more shots into the glasses. He took a sip of his own instead of downing it immediately. Once he placed the glass back onto the table, he finally answered.
"It is so. It was constructed to be modular in case we ever required more oil extraction. We have several blueprints of modular, multipurpose platforms somewhere in the Study Hall. At a later time, I will retrieve those and give them to you."
He was getting a sense of Deja Vu now. The way that this conversation was going was reminiscent of how Big Boss acquired the initial Mother Base platform, and how he acquired the Diamond Dog's version of Mother Base. Even more odd.
The Commander continued sipping his whiskey, while Snake immediately also did the same, not opting to get drunk. Several seconds of silence pass, the both of them enjoying their whiskey. The Commander put down his cup, and leaned forward to take a good look at Snake's face. Snake, feeling slightly uncomfortable, didn't know how to react.
"You look a bit weathered." the Commander stated. "When was the last time you got some sleep?"
Snake took a moment to think about that. He had woken up in the morning in his own world at 0530 hours, and it was currently 1800 hours. He had been touring this facility for a few hours, which meant that he would have spent either significant time on the boat or significant time knocked out on that uninhabited island.
Needless to say, it was a long time.
Snake emptied his cup in one swig, putting it back on the coffee table and sliding it away. "Roughly 15 hours."
The Commander's eyes widened. "Oh my. In that case, I think I shall cut this short." he said, getting up from the couch and walking over to his desk. "Have Cleveland or Rodney shown you the Dorms yet?"
Snake shook his head. The Commander opened a cabinet door to his left, revealing a phone behind it along with some other electrical equipment that Snake couldn't identify. The Commander picked up the phone, and dialed a number.
"...This is the Commander. If you aren't currently occupied, I have someone I would like for you to escort to the Dorms... yes, it is in fact him... ah, I see. Please hold on for just a moment."
The Commander put a hand on the microphone part of the dialer. "I have someone who will escort you to the Dorms. She will be here in a few minutes, as she is currently preoccupied, so feel free to relax on the couch if you wish."
Snake merely laid his head back on the couch, only just now realizing that he was actually pretty tired. He was used to staying up far later for the purpose of Side Ops, but he was still human. The Commander brought the phone back to his ear.
"I appreciate the help as always. We will see you shortly."
The Commander ended the call, placing the phone back into the cabinet. Snake closed his eye, letting himself relax naturally for a moment. He heard the sound of paper being put onto the desk as he laid down on the couch.
.
..
...
After a few minutes of sitting quietly with his eye closed, he started to drift off into sleep. In his dream, he saw himself at Mother Base. It was their first day going into headquarters, and Ocelot was showing him around the Command Platform. Ocelot was having a training session with a small group of soldiers. They each took turns firing a gun, until one of them took his turn.
"Hold it."
Ocelot stopped the soldier from firing. The soldier looked back to Ocelot, attempting to hoister his gun. Ocelot stopped him however, raising the soldier's hand with his own.
"The way you're firing that is wrong. With an automatic, you don't need to account for recoil - you do that with revolvers."
Ocelot was about to continue speaking, but suddenly the dream stopped. The sound of a door opening brought Snake back to reality. He opened his eye and was greeted with a blurry vision for a moment.
With his blurry vision, he saw a figure walk through the doorway and into the room. After a few moments, his vision cleared up to reveal a woman in a maid uniform standing before him and the Commander.
She spoke in an elegant manner. "Good afternoon, Commander. I am here to escort the new individual to his living quarters."
"Good afternoon Belfast, he's right over there on the couch." Said the Commander as he pointed to Snake laying on the couch.
Snake's eye widened at the sight of the lady who stood before him. She had long white hair and big navy blue eyes. Her figure was an incredible sight to look at, and her skin tone was pure. The beauty of this girl amazed him; it almost baffled him that a girl like her would take on the role of being a maid, since she looked almost like a princess of a royal family. She looked over at Snake and smiled.
🎵Final Fantasy XIII-2 - New Bodhum🎵
"Greetings mister, I am Belfast, the head maid of the royal navy." she bowed formally. "I will be at your service this afternoon and in the evening." She said formally as she lifted up the sides of her skirt and bowed her head towards him.
Snake didn't know what to do in this situation - he had never given a greeting this way before. He decided to remain quiet and sat up straight to look her in the eyes.
"My, is he okay Commander?" Belfast asked in a mildly concerned tone.
The Commander spoke up. "Yes, he's just tired. This is Snake; he is a commander of a group known as the Diamond Dogs. He will be staying with us for a while."
Belfast replied, "Very well. I will take him to his living quarters and help him get settled in."
"Great. I will give you the keys to his room. Be sure to give him some information on the times of chow. I bet he's hungry." the Commander replied.
While Snake wasn't bothered by his lack of hunger, he would like to get something to eat as he only had a couple shots of whiskey today. Belfast then nodded in response and she walked up to the Commander's desk where he handed her the keys. She looked towards the couch and walked over to Snake.
"Come, I will take you to your quarters now."
Snake stood up and followed Belfast out the door.
"Thank you Belfast." The Commander said as he walked back over to his desk and sat down in it. "If you have any more requests or things you wish to talk about, give me a call. I'll do my best to arrange some time if needed."
Snake followed behind Belfast as they both walked out of the Commander's office. She led the way down the hallway as Snake trailed behind. After a somewhat lengthy journey through the floors, they arrived at the 2nd floor at a dorm labeled, B80.
A coincidence? Snake thought to himself.
Belfast then unlocked the door, and opened it wide while signaling for Snake to go inside.
"Thank you." He said to Belfast as he walked inside of his room.
It was fairly roomy for a soldier's living quarters; enough room for him to call it home and not too big for it to be considered an apartment. Strangely enough, he already felt like he was at home. As the leader of the Diamond Dogs he was treated with higher respect - like a living legend. Despite this, he prefered to live under the same conditions as his men. Throughout his entire service in the Diamond Dogs, he lived in the same sized living quarters as his subordinates. Every time the higher ups offered him a more luxurious living space, he always declined the offer and stuck with his smaller living space, citing 'just because i'm put on a pedestal doesn't mean I'm entitled to better living conditions.'
The living quarters he walked into was for the most part empty. The walls were painted light blue and the floor was polished wood. It had a bed near a window that was in view of the oceans and a desk with a chair in the corner of the room. Belfast walked in behind him and spoke.
"This is where you will be staying Mr. Snake, I hope the living space is sufficient for your comfort."
He turned around to face Belfast and gave her a small smile.
"Yeah, this will work." He said before turning around to examine his new living space.
"If you need anything, you may call for me. I am at your service. However, if I am not available, one of the other maids will assist you. Now I must go, I have laundry that I must attend to, goodbye." Belfast said as she bowed her head before leaving the room.
Snake scanned his room, examining all the imperfections before walking over to the door to close it. He slowly strolled over to bed and laid down onto it. Snake could tell this room hasn't been occupied for awhile as he was looking up on the ceiling, noticing a few cobwebs in the corner of the room. The room had dust particles floating in the air, and some of it got into his nose which made him sneeze uncontrollably. He looked to the window and immediately opened it. Fresh air flooded the room, carrying the dust particles outside.
The room needed maintenance if he was going to call this room his own. He wanted to start cleaning up his living space, but he felt too tired to get up again... So, he laid his head down back onto the pillow.
Snake stared directly up at the ceiling again, thinking about where his men could be. He couldn't shake the thought out of his mind. He was deeply concerned with where his men were and couldn't rest easily knowing they were most likely stranded on an island, cut off from the outside world. He didn't like the thought that he was safe in a naval base while his soldiers were still out there. It filled him with a sense of guilt.
Snake could only hope that all the wilderness training he instilled into them would help them survive until they could regroup. This thought sank deep into his mind as he slowly began to fall asleep. Tomorrow, he knew it would be a big day. Knowing that he's in a new world, part of a new military base and working with new allies, he would begin his search for his men.
He would make damn sure of it.
.
..
...
-Chapter 2, Act 4-
-Suffolk's PoV-
🎵CoD Modern Warfare 2: Plan B🎵
Meanwhile, somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, Suffolk and Norfolk continue their patrol route; albeit with a delayed start due to rescuing Snake. They skated across the water at a quicker pace then usual; their unexpected rescue of the quiet soldier had cost them some time... time they could have used to help Hood evacuate. A few hours later, they entered colder waters where icebergs were floating amongst the infinite seas.
"This is Command Central, do you copy Alpha Team?" the chest-mounted radio from Suffolk crackled with the voice of Z23... or as most of her allies call her, Zed.
Norfolk looked over at Suffolk, she was staring off over the horizon where the oceans seemed to span infinitely. Norfolk, who quickly realized she was daydreaming again, skated closer to her sister and tapped her on the shoulder.
"Suffolk?" Norfolk said with a look of concern on her face. Suffolk immediately snapped back to reality from her gaze over the ocean.
"Huh!? What happened?" She said in a surprised tone.
"Come in, Alpha Team. What's the situation? Over." Zed asked again, but in a more frantic tone.
Suffolk quickly responded to Z23. "Oh... Y-yes, we haven't detected any Ironblood ships over our radars... we are within the AO of Hood and Prince of Wales and continuing our scouting missions, over."
"Acknowledged. Keep a sharp eye out, Out."
Suffolk took a deep breath right as another crackle came from the radio. Before she spoke again, she looked over at Norfolk, who seemed to be shivering. She had to be strong... if not for herself, then for her sister.
"Hmm... Intelligence reports that the Ironblood's newest battleships are set to sail through this area. If we surprise them here, Queen Elizibeth will surely..." She grimaced. "...not be too disappointed in us today, upon our return..."
Norfolk looks back over at Suffolk, with some tears in her eyes. "Uh... Are we really going to be a match for them?" She says to Suffolk as her teeth chatter.
"The water is so c-cold... My entire body feels like it's turning to ice... Why couldn't they give us coats before we'd de-departed from the port?" she said. Norfolk wasn't lying, either - Suffolk was also starting to feel quite cold as well.
Suffolk gave her a cheerful look. "It's going to be fine! We're just here to scout. If a fight kicks off, our big sisters will handle it. They are within close proximity of our location and are ready to provide support when we need it~!"
She squinted her eyes off north towards the fog in the distance, looking for any ships nearby. Of course, there being fog in the way, there was little that her eyes could do on their own. They would need binoculars, which they didn't have.
"All I see is fog and ice... I don't think anyone else is around. And no matter if battleships appear, they'll turn around and retreat once they find out that our big sisters are here, haha!"
She put on a brave front for Norfolk, hiding the fact that she was actually a bit nervous at the silence that surrounded them. Norfolk also seemed equally unnerved, but didn't hide it.
"Something doesn't feel right sis..." Norfolk said. "..Don't you think? I'd be relieved if Queen Elizibeth decommissioned us of our scouting duties... so we could go back to base and eat dinner."
Suffolk then heard an electronic *ping* coming from her rig.
"Huh?... I'm getting something on my radar, seems to be picking up a strange signal up ahead..."
"What? Let me see." Suffolk said as she leaned over onto Norfolk's back to get a better look at it. She gasped
"Ironblood destroyer squadron detected ahead!" Suffolk shouted loudly "Maybe it's just a few scouts? We must report to Hood Immediately!"
"My... my antenna is... f-f-frozen into... a p-p-popsicle..." Norfolk stammered, shaking even more out of fear now.
This was not good at all. Surprised, isolated and outnumbered with only her skittish sister Norfolk as support... there was no way they would be getting out of this without some serious damage. That is, if they did. But then she realized that her antenne wasn't frozen - she quickly informed Norfolk of this.
"I can still radio for support!"
Without waiting for a reply, she pressed a button on her rig's radio. "Command Central, this is Suffolk from Alpha Team. We have a fleet of Ironblood destroyers! Over!"
"Copy, what is your Locat-" Z23's voice was abruptly obscured as her voice was slowly fading into the sound of static dominating the sound on her radio.
"Oh no... My radio's signal is too weak..." Norfolk said with pure fear in her voice. She hugged Suffolk's arm tightly, now completely scared. Suffolk put a hand on her sisters back for emotional support. As the fleet approached, she pried Norfolk off her arms and put her strong front back on.
"We've got to hold off their squadron. It's just a few production-type destroyers... we can handle this!" Suffolk said bravely.
"Are... are we actually going to fight?" Norfolk says as more tears slowly run down her cheek, "I knew this would happen..."
🎵Azur Lane OST - Standard Boss Theme ( アズールレーン)🎵
The fleet of destroyers moved in closer on their position, Suffolk held out her paddle in anticipation of the fight while Norfolk shivered in the cold, directing her cannons at the oncoming fleet of destroyers ahead of them. Norfolk slowly shifted her face to look serious despite still being afraid on the inside. The fleet opened fire on the two girls, and they took evasive action by skidding sideways, narrowly dodging the slow-moving bullets. They retaliated by firing their cannons directly at the enemy vessels. A storm of bullets followed, from both sides.
"My torpedos are ready to fire, stand back!" Suffolk said as she skated forward in front of Norfolk, making an arc trajectory to get a point-blank shot at the targeted enemy. This strategy worked, as the target was sunk with those torpedoes one by one, the ships exploded with a loud bang as they slowly submerged into the depths of the ocean.
"Yes!" Suffolk said, raising her arm and clenching her fist. "That's what you get for ambushing us!"
Her celebration was short lived though, as she was hit by direct cannon fire from a ship that was closing in on them. Suffolk stumbled backwards on the water, not punctured but definitely damaged.
"Move back!" Norfolk yelled loudly, surprising Suffolk "Let me... Let me take a shot!"
Norfolk stood in front of Suffolk, outstretching her arms. An energy barrier appeared out of the air, stopping a volley of bullets that were intentionally aimed at Suffolk. The pink-haired shipgirl took a moment to catch her breath, her rig also reloading it's rounds.
"Thanks, Norfolk! You did good!"
Norfolk looked back to smile at her sister. But right at that moment, the barrier shattered - torpedoes from the enemy ships had barraged it while she was distracted. Norfolk recoiled backwards, and Suffolk caught her from falling onto the water. Angered by this, Suffolk glared at the vessels, readying herself to retaliate.
She moved forwards again. "Now it's my turn!"
A storm of bullets shot out from Suffolk's rig at incredible speed, causing significant damage to the enemy ships. All but one were sunk from Suffolk's counterattack, and the surviving one was lit on fire. She once again celebrated (though internally this time).
Norfolk followed up her sister's volley of bullets with a volley of torpedoes of her own at the last destroyer ship. A few impacted the ship as it exploded and slowly began sinking beneath the water while on fire.
"Wow, Suffolk! We're so strong! We defeated this entire fleet on our own!" Norfolk enthusiastically said. Her sister's excitement was exactly what her morale needed, and she felt herself re-motivated to continue the scouting mission. However, she had to correct one thing.
"Don't celebrate just yet." Suffolk warned. "Those ships were clearly there to test us. We haven't even seen Ironblood's newest battleship yet." Suffolk felt a deep pit in her chest as a humanoid figure slowly emerged from the fog "...I got a bad feeling about this..."
"Hehehe..." The figure said hidden within the mist of the fog, unnerving the County Twins. "So there was an ambush after all! Looking for us?" She moved into clear view of the two. There, floating on top of the water was one of Ironblood's most feared heavy cruisers, Prinz Eugen.
She sat on top of her rig, floating on top of the water, staring at them with her amber eyes. She had her index finger on her lips, and although she sounded teasing, she had a disinterested expression on her face. She was wearing a gray and dark red military uniform with the iron cross on top of her chest and on the sleeves of her arms. It was rather revealing as her thighs exposed as well as the sides of her chest.
"Eugen... I-I wasn't e-expecting to find you here..." Suffolk said in a nervous tone.
Prinz Eugen stood up off her rig and standed up floating above the water while still keeping a disinterested expression on her face.
"My... I haven't seen such cute little cruisers around these waters~" She said in a very teasing manner. She was toying with them, intimidating the County Twins with her presence.
"Huh..." Norfolk hid behind Suffolk, shaking in fear over Prinz Eugen standing before them. Without hesitating, Suffolk radioed for help.
"Danger! Enemies at Starboard! Two large warships detected at 220 degrees... New Ironblood battleship spotted! All personal, get ready to fight!" She said frantically.
"Haha~ Two puny cruisers? Getting ready to attack? Hah! I suppose I'll try to enjoy this as much as I can~!" Prinz Eugen said with a mischievous grin on her face.
Suffolk was scared, but didn't want to back down without a fight. She gave Eugen her bravest warface.
"I'm not scared of you!" she said, as her rigs guns pointed straight at Eugen. The Ironblood ship only smirked cruelly as she charged forward. Eugen manifested a barrier in front of herself before Suffolk's guns could fire at her. But that's when another ship suddenly appeared within the fog.
"Not just two cruisers!"
The figure surprised the County Twins and Eugen, stopping the battle right before it began. They watched as a woman wearing a hat and a navy blue overcoat emerged from the fog. Suffolk and Norfolk's eyes widened when they saw her approaching.
""Big Sis!""
The older girl looked at them and smiled. "Hood and Prince of Wales from the Royal Navy are here to help!"
Another figure appeared from the fog. She had blonde hair and was wearing a red-and-white navy uniform. She didn't say anything, and simply moved to float right next to Hood. The latter looked at Eugen.
"Let's have a showdown, shall we?" Hood said. She turned back to the County Twins. "You did well. It's time we give the Ironblood a taste of their own gunpowder."
She looked back towards Eugen, as another figure appeared from the fog. The figure had yellow hair as well, and was wearing a black hat with a black uniform.
"Target Bismarck, their lead ship!" Hood said, looking at the person in question.
Eugen smirked a slight bit. "'The Glory of the Royal Navy'? This might be fun... I wonder if you're enough to satisfy me."
Suffolk and Norfolk quickly skated forwards towards Bismarck, ignoring Eugen entirely. A volley of bullets collectively shot from the county twin's mounted guns. However, this didn't even seem to phase the mysterious ship.
Bismarck was about to move forward, but Eugen held out her arm, stopping her.
"Wait." Eugen said. She then smiled unnervingly. "I want to play with these toys~" Eugen skated forwards in front of the County Twins. She then quickly fired a barrage of bullets from her cannons. Suffolk and Norfolk evaded the storm of bullets, but still got hit by a few.
"Come on Sis, we can take her!" Suffolk said as she moves forward to fire her cannons at Eugen. Norfolk panting from narrowing dodging the array of bullets, catched her breath and moved forward to direct her firepower towards. Their shots impacted Prinz Eugen with great force, she started to stumble back a bit from the twin's combined firepower.
"Hmm... You've got quite the firepower, but it's useless against me!" She stretched her hand out and materialized three energy barriers in front of her before moving both her arms out to her sides. The energy barriers then began to revolve around her, blocking the majority of the County twin's bullets.
"What?... our shots aren't hitting her..." Norfolk said
"Hahahah~ my turn~!" Prinz Eugen laughed sinisterly as she fired her cannons and a volley of torpedoes. they quickly evaded the torpedoes, but were mowed down by the cannon fire as they took heavy fire from Eugen.
"Ahh!... I don't think m-my hull can take much more of this!" Norfolk said while sobbing. Suffolk covered her face with her paddle as she continued to take heavy fire from Eugen's merciless cannon fire. She was grunting in pain from how much damage she was taking from her while trying to hold her position.
"Not to worry sisters, let us handle this!" Hood yelled as she and Prince aimed their guns at Prinz. Both of them fired a barrage of large bullets. They flew through up into the air at a high velocity and came crashing down onto Prinz Eugen. They exploded upon hitting her, shattering her shields and causing her to nearly collapse from the impacts. Suffolk and Norfolk, no longer under heavy fire, fired storms of bullets and torpedos at Prinz.
"Yeah! We got her now!" Suffolk said cheerfully.
"Finish her off!" Prince of Wales said as she raised her sword in the air.
Prinz's tactic has now backfired. She desperately tried to evade their gunfire, but her evasion was near useless and couldn't do anything but take the hits. She tried to aim her cannons at the twins, but the impact of their bullets were causing her to flinch too much, making her miss her shots.
Eugen continued to grunt heavily as she continued to receive the many blows from Suffolk and Norfolk. looking like she was about to give out, Bismarck knew she had to step in, in order to save her friend. She took a deep breath and yelled on the top of her lungs amongst the long banging of bullets.
"EUGEN, MOVE!"
Eugen was startled by Bismarck suddenly raising her voice. She then raised her hand to materialize three shields as she slowly moved behind Bismarck. Eugen was breathing heavily while laying on top of her rig exhausted with the look of humiliation on her face. She frowned at the thought that she was overpowered.
Suffolk and Norfolk stopped firing their guns as they noticed Bismarck slowly moving forward towards them. They looked shocked and didn't know what to do.
"Come on you two, let's finish the job, target Bismarck!" Hood yelled as she readied her guns.
"Of course!" Suffolk said, preparing to provide supporting fire.
Norfolk was right next to her. "So will I!" she said with determination in her eyes.
They fired their guns at Bismarck, sending barrage after barrage of cannon fire and torpedos at her. Hood and Prince of Wales aimed and fired their cannons upon their target.
Bismarck stood there, taking every hit the county twins threw at her. She then looked up into the sky as she caught a glimpse of the large bullets flying through the air, heading straight towards her. They exploded on impact on Bismarck, but she didn't flinch from such massive blows. She then briefly looked behind herself towards Prinz Eugen who was still breathing heavily from the injuries before fixing her gaze on Hood. amongst the gunfire, Bismarck aimed her guns and yelled as loud as she could in a booming voice.
"The pride of the Royal Navy... Ends Here!"
Before Suffolk and Norfolk could realize that they weren't doing anything to this ship, a loud and ear-shattering boom erupted from one of Bismarck's guns. It was too fast to be seen, and it exploded when it made contact with Hood. The elegant shipgirl collapsed backwards instantly.
"Hood!" Prince of Wales shouted, catching Hood from sinking. The sound of Prince of Wales yelling made Suffolk and Norfolk stop firing and turned their attention towards Hood.
Hood clutched her chest, breathing heavily. "Ah... This power..." she coughed loudly. "...Extraordinary... Incredible that you've found this strength..."
Hood then lost consciousness. Prince of Wales tried to shake her awake, but failed. She then activated the radio on her rig.
"HQ, this is Prince of Wales!" she shouted desperately.
The voice of Z23 came on the other end of the radio. "This is Command. We've been attempting to-"
Prince of Wales interrupted her. "There's no time for that!" she shouted desperately. "Hood is down! I say again, Hood is down, over!"
A few seconds of silence followed. "Acknowledged. What about the new Ironblood battleship?"
"She was the one who took down Hood!" Wales shouted into her microphone. Silence followed again.
"...I see." Zed replied stoically. "The Commander has been standing by and is currently listening - he has given you the order to retreat back to base, over."
"Very well. Prince of Wales, Suffolk and Norfolk performing tactical retreat, out!"
After the infamous radio crackle signified the end of the transmission, Prince of Wales called out to Suffolk and Norfolk.
"You two! Give me a hand in carrying her!" she shouted with pure desperation in her voice.
Needless to say, the two quickly skated over. Suffolk grabbed a hold on Hood's legs, while Norfolk helped Wales by grabbing the other free arm. Together, the three began their journey back to base... hopefully, with enough time to spare to get Hood medical assistance.
-Bismarck's PoV-
🎵Metal Gear Rising: Revenge with a Vengeance🎵
Bismarck stood there with a serious expression. She was breathing somewhat heavily from her injuries, but held them back in an effort to show her dominance over the situation. She watched as her foes carried away their injured ally before looking over to Prinz Eugen.
"Eugen, we've been found out. It's time to retreat." Bismarck said, looking back as their enemies tended to Hood. She felt guilty that she had to do it... but she had no choice.
"Yes, let's... go now... *cough*... we need repairs..." Prinz Eugen says as she continues to breathe heavily. Bismarck lended Eugen a shoulder, feeling her friend's body breathing heavily.
"*Cough*... see you again... *Cough*... Little sheep..." Eugen said in an aggressive tone as the two slowly skate away and into the fog.
At one point, Ironblood were once great allies to the Azur Lane alliance but they chose a different path. Eventually, their differences in beliefs tore them apart and sparked the second great war. With the shared ideology of another once former ally of the alliance, the Sakura Empire and Ironblood forged a new alliance known as the Crimson Axis. Together, they would conquer the world and become the dominant power. Through power and strength, they would bring peace to humanity.
Bismarck would walk away from this fight knowing that one day when those who looked back on this day would be able to understand who is right and who is wrong. She never knew of Ironblood's former alliance, but Bismarck knows that today, she fought for her friend and that's all that mattered to her.
Maybe one day, she would reunite with Azur Lane as allies, But for now...
...they were enemies.
.
..
...
-No PoV-
An unknown person was currently watching as the two Ironblood ships were escaping the area. On a nearby island, was where two men were. Once they had left the area, the man then noticed another unidentified ship was also there, but it quickly left before he could get a detailed look at it. Turning around, he walked back over to another person, who was currently eating some fruit.
"Hey, mate."
The first unknown man addressed the other guy with a British accent. The second person got up, finishing off the last of his fruit.
"Yeah?" the second person responded, also in a much heavier British accent.
The first person pointed behind him. "Did you watch those fireworks go down?"
The second person shrugged. "How could I not, mate? Area was lit so bright that I coulda' sworn we were being bombarded by mortars."
"You said it best." the first person responded. "Hey... you reckon there's others besides us?"
The second person took a 180-degree look at their surroundings. He then replied. "Probably. Maybe we should go look for 'em, instead of rottin' away on this island."
The first person smirked.
"My thoughts exactly."
And thus ends Chapter 2. Tell us what you think about this chapter - I personally would love to hear your reviews.
