Forewords

Okay, to tell you the truth, this story won't end with the defeat of the RAP Joint Forces...

There will be over a dozen more factions that the Regulars are going to deal with much later.

What are those factions? Well, you'll have to read on to find out...


Chapter 5: It Deepens...

Time: 1500 Hour; 30th of December, 2040.

Location: Mission Control, Regular Army Command.

"So it seems that the madman, Morden, and his new friends have everything planned in advance..." The AI CO said.

"Well, sir, if that's the case, I do believe there is something even more sinister going on with Morden and his buddies." Marco gave his opinion on the matter.

"The whole 'take over Alcatraz' plan of his turned out to be just a ruse to test and see if the Regular Army would 'play dirty'..." Tarma added in.

The camera that served as the AI CO's eye turned toward the big screen at the opposite end of the Mission Control room for a few seconds, then back at the Regular Commandos. "And we did cheat... by sending in the Red Eagles Squad as backup when Morden specifically asked for just you bunch..."

"So what might that guy be planning, anyway?" Eri raises a question.

"To have his revenge against the Government?" Fio suggested.

The AI CO 'stared' at the Regular Commandos for a short while. "No, Ms Germi. The RAP Joint Forces still want to kill off you bunch specifically. They just took their personal revenge to the next level..."

"So, where have they gone to now?" Trevor wonders about what is coming next.

"Knowing what he has planned before, Morden could be anywhere in the world right now!" Nadia adds.

The AI CO turned toward the big screen, which is now displaying a map of the region between northern India and western China.

"Are they hiding out in the Himalayas?" Clark wonders as he watched the satellite feed.

"More precisely, inside Everest." The AI CO corrected. The big screen spawned a green crosshair that focused on a particular peak in the Himalayas. "The RAP Joint Forces have somehow managed to hollow out Mount Everest in the past year without causing any geological anomaly to it, and even we have no idea what is going on until a civilian hiker who had the weird idea of bringing a Geiger Counter with him detected a large amount of unidentified Radioactive particles, which according to him weren't there when he last hiked Everest a year ago with the same Geiger Counter."

"Hollowed out Everest? Really?!" Ralf was totally befuddled by what he just heard. "Even Rugal Bernstein isn't that crazy!"

Leona gave no comment. The blue-haired Ikari Mercenary chose to stay silent for the moment.

"You may not like this..." The AI CO said apologetically. "But President Drippiek has just informed Command about his plans for the mission. He said that he wants the Red Eagles for this mission, and that you bunch are to stay in Command..."

The sudden announcement ignited argument amongst the Regular Commandos.

"Those so-called Red Eagles are stealing our spotlight again!"

...

Mission Briefing

Good day, Red Eagles. Regular Command and The Government sends their thanks to you for assisting in the liberation of San Francisco and Alcatraz Prison from the clutches of the RAP Joint Forces.

However, the ordeal is not over yet. We will brief you on your next objectives in a moment...

According to intel, the RAPs have somehow hollowed out Mount Everest in the past year, and built a base inside of it without anyone in the world noticing until now.

We don't know how that is possible, for nothing in the world should be able to do that, not even the aliens and Future Rebels. But regardless, we are not taking any chances, and it is your job to infiltrate the base and destroy everything belonging to the enemy you see in there. At this point, Morden and his friends are such great threat that not collapsing Mount Everest in the process of your mission has became irrelevant to President Balthazar Drippiek's interest.

Scans have also indicated the presence of Slug vehicles inside the base, we still don't know what they are planning with them and why, but see if you can recapture or, failing that, destroy the Slugs so that the RAPs cannot build a countermeasure...

That is all. Godspeed...

...

Time: 1730 Hour.

Location: Somewhere over the Himalayas.

A Regular Army B-52 plane flew over the Himalayas, at such a height that its fuselage might as well be grazing the vacuum of outer space.

"Who has the crazy idea of hollowing out Everest?!" Inside the plane, Jason Wayne hung a lamp on how impossible the main point of the current mission should be.

"According to geological science, hollowing out an entire mountain should not be possible..." Jenny Wakeman points out. "Digging out part of a mountain, possible but difficult. But hollowing an entire mountain? No way..."

"Ah, who cares if they hollow out an entire landmark? The RAPs are a bunch of lunatics and they need to be stopped, anyway." Ash Kingslayer interrupted nonchalantly.

"But the next question is: how will we get to Everest?" Mina Kabuto raises a question.

The purple-clad Japanese girl's question is answered in an announcement of the B-52 pilot.

"This is your pilot - Flynn Taggart speaking. We're not gonna land in Kathmandu Airport. Regular Command thinks that the RAPs may have taken over Nepal, and have troops stationed down there. You're going to have to HALO Jump onto the peak of Everest."

That announcement produced a drop of cold sweat over each of the Red Eagles mercenaries' foreheads.

"Wait, HALO Jump, as in High-Altitude Low-Opening?" Jason stuttered as he asked the pilot.

The pilot did not respond, as the cargo bay door of the B-52 opens in midair.

"We're right above Mount Everest right now. Its now or never, Red Eagles!" The pilot, Flynn Taggart said.

Jason stood up from his seat, with a parachute pack worn on his back. "Ah, well. We've seen worse deployment methods, such as Libya back in the day..."

...

MISSION FOUR START!

Location: Peak of Mount Everest.

The Red Eagles' HALO Jumping onto Mount Everest went smoothly, if one counts the scene where a lone Rebel Soldier standing guard on a suspended metal walkway took a bullet at the top of his head which then exits through his groin.

The mercenaries carefully maneuvered themselves onto the walkway, and landed silently. Well, as silently as landing on metal walkways would allow. Upon landing, their parachutes packed themselves back into the backpacks.

"Keep those chutes with us, guys..." Jason told his friends. "Given where we are right now, its probably a good idea to keep them with us at all time."

Jenny and Mina peered over the railings that separated anyone walking on the walkways. They find themselves so high above solid ground that they felt like their legs were going soft.

"That was a very long drop..." Jenny shudders at thinking about the height. "Best that we all stay on the walkways..."

And with that, the Red Eagles proceeded with their trek downhill. The metal walkways appear to be a recent addition, as indicated by the lack of snow piling on it. There were also portions where the walkways just ended abruptly, forcing the mercenaries to make long distance jumps using their chutes to slow their descend onto walkways that are at lower elevations.

The Red Eagles soon found a weapon crate just sitting on top of an unfinished walkway they jumped onto. Breaking it open revealed a Sniper Rifle.

"A Sniper Rifle? Ain't got much chance to shoot enemies at long distance if you can't see them until they show up next to you." Jason said, as he picks up the Sniper Rifle.

As soon as he picks up the weapon, the Red Eagles are met with several Rebel Riflemen and Rebel Bazookas standing on a walkway across a manageable gap.

"Oh, come on!" Ash complains. "The Regular Commandos fought fewer enemies back then!"

The Rebels only got to fire a few shots before Ash blew them all up with a single Grenade, somehow not causing the walkway to collapse.

"Well, let's go before things get any worse."

...

The Red Eagles soon came across a portion of the walkways that required them to descend several dozen meters downwards. Good thing they have their parachutes with them. They descended slowly toward that walkway using their parachutes with no problem...

...Until they are attacked by two Ptolemaic Masknells the instant they landed.

"Ah, well. Life's life..." Ash deadpans about the situation, as he opens fire on the helicopters.

Jason took aim with the Sniper Rifle, and fired at one of the Ptolemaic Masknells. The shot happened to score a headshot on one of the pilots, which translated as that Ptolemaic Masknell crashing down without even firing a shot.

"Wow, this gun is amazing..."

The second Ptolemaic Masknell maneuvers around and fires a small volley upon the Red Eagles. While the shots are certainly harder to avoid than the Rebels' Masknells, they are still easy to avoid.

Jason took this chance to shoot at the helicopter. This shot also scored a headshot on the pilot, which might as well destroy the Ptolemaic Masknell out right.

"I love this gun!" Jason announces to his friends.

Four more Ptolemaic Masknells arrived at the scene.

"At this point, they're going to end up deploying so much troops that they won't have enough room to even look around." Jenny comments on the situation.

Four Sniper Rifle shots later, those four Ptolemaic Masknells ceased to exist. One of them dropped an Enemy Chaser.

...

As they proceeded through the incomplete walkways, the Red Eagles soon find themselves looking through one that is guarded by a row of Bull Chan tanks on the walkways above, and a Bradley right across the gauntlet of Bull Chan tanks.

"Now that is going to be a difficult one..." Jason comments on the situation. He tries to get right next to the Bradley where its blind spot is, but that very blind spot makes him an easy target for the Bull Chan tanks, and he decided against it.

"Ash, use that Enemy Chaser of yours!" Jason called out.

"Got it!" Ash then fires the Enemy Chaser without bothering to aim. The mini missiles automatically homed in on to the closest thing to the Red Eagles. In that case, the Bull Chan tanks.

Ash went through a large amount of Enemy Chaser ammo before the Bull Chan tanks are blown up. He then spends the rest of them on the Bradley while standing outside its firing range, blowing it up as well.

"Sometimes you get a power-up that you expect to spend over the course of a stage, only to use it up completely just one scene later..." The grey-clad mercenary hangs a lamp.

...

As the Red Eagles proceeded forward, they are unaware of the presence of an odd-looking Rebel Soldier equipped with an abnormally advanced loadout watching them from behind. Said Rebel wasn't there when the mercenaries walked by that spot.

The odd Rebel watched the Red Eagles making their way down a slope before he... teleported out of that spot.

...

Unfortunately for the Red Eagles, they soon find themselves running down a slope while chased by Rebel Soldiers that are pushing huge snowballs. The slope is too steep for them to jump over the huge snowballs, which for some reason are resistant to even Grenades.

"Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!" Ash called out to the others to run down the slope as fast as they can.

"Up there!" Mina pointed at a metal platform suspended above the slope that is within jumping distance.

All four Red Eagles jumped onto that platform just as the huge snowball is grazing Jason's back.

"Whew. A second slower and I'll be joining one of those missing Everest hikers down below..." The red-clad mercenary lamented.

The Red Eagles watched more huge snowballs rolling down the slope with Rebel Soldiers pushing them. Somehow the Rebels have an endless amount of huge snowballs to roll down the slope.

"Well, maybe we can use this Metal Slug Type-R which the RAP Joint Forces left here conveniently." Jenny told the others while putting a hand on the Slug vehicle that is on the same platform the mercenaries are standing on.

Ash jumped right into the Metal Slug Type-R without waiting for the others. "I'm taking the wheels this time, guys!"

Without warning, a single Cannon shell was fired from the Slug, and lands right on top of a Rebel Soldier that's pushing a huge snowball.

"Sorry, guys. That was a misfire..." Ash apologized from within the Metal Slug Type-R.

"Just be careful, Ash." Mina told him.

Ash then backs the Slug vehicle off the platform, landing right on top of another huge snowball, crushing it and the Rebel Soldier pushing it underneath.

"Okay, buddy. You take the lead while we cover your back." Jason said, as he and the girls jumped off the platform behind the Metal Slug Type-R.

The Red Eagles proceeded down the slope, with Ash using the superior jumping capability of the Slug vehicle to jump on top of and crush any snowballs that gets too close to the group.

It didn't take too long before they passed by another platform suspended above the slope. This one is occupied by a Ptolemaic Officer, who proceeds to call in a squadron of Hover Units.

"They're pretty advanced, alright..." Jenny points out about the Ptolemaic Hover Units. "But they can only fire once, and can't take much hit either."

The Red Eagles' combined firepower manages to bring down every Hover Units that comes their way, with Jason's Sniper Rifle also instant-killing them via their riders being shot in the head. A few Hover Units does get to release their missiles, only to have those shot out in the first half of a second, and then the Hover units themselves in the second half.

That Officer had a moment of freak out when the last Hover Unit got blown up, and tries to escape. Ash making the Metal Slug Type-R jump high in the air and firing a Cannon shell made short work of the Officer who didn't even get to take a second step. He then lands the Slug vehicle on yet another huge snowball and the Rebel Soldier pushing it.

...

Several shot-in-the-head Hover Units and Masknells of both variants, along with multitudes of crushed snowballs and Rebel Soldiers later, the Red Eagles have finally managed to reach the bottom of the slope, with the Metal Slug Type-R completely unscathed.

"Whew, after all those Hover Units and helicopters, I ended up with an empty Sniper Rifle with me..." Jason said as he throws the now-useless weapon away. "Started with 50 bullets, scored exactly that many kills..."

The mercenaries noticed what appears to be a facility entrance just ahead of them. It was of course sealed shut, but doesn't seem that sturdy for what was supposed to separate the RAP Joint Forces' impossible facility from the outside world.

"I could easily blow open that bulkhead with some big bombs." Mina commented about it.

"For a super-secret facility like tis one..." Ash popped out of the Metal Slug Type-R and comments on the situation. "This place got some security, or lack of it thereof..."

It doesn't take the other Red Eagles giving him the look for the chainsaw-totting mercenary to realize that he just tempted fate.

"Oh, shit..." Ash cursed, and berates himself for saying it.

Boss Battle: Tani-Oh

The massive Tani-Oh tank rolled into action on the stone trail under the metal walkway the Red Eagles are standing on. The massive tank sported the same weapons as it did in the First Morden War - two independently-firing turrets that are each equipped with anti-tank mine launchers and Gatling guns, and a large double-barreled Andro Cannon, with some upgrades added to it, no doubt.

"Shoulda' kept my mouth shut..." Ash berates himself once more.

The Tani-Oh begins its attack by firing its double-barreled Andro Cannons at the Red Eagles. The mercenaries barely manages to avoid getting hit, because that shot was charged up in just a split second, way faster than it was back then.

"Oh, man, that was a close one!" Jason exclaimed.

The independent turrets of the massive tank then begins firing anti-tank mines which lays themselves around the walkway. Back then, these mines would be deflected by shots if they haven't landed on solid floor yet, but in this case, the anti-tank mines not only explodes when shot by the Red Eagles' handguns, but scatter harmful shrapnel around as well.

"Whoa!" Mina exclaims when a piece of shrapnel ricochet off her handgun.

Made even worse by the Gatling guns. The original Tani-Oh's Gatling guns fired tiny explosive rounds that detonates upon touching the higher ground Marco and Tarma are standing on. This version's fired anti-material rounds that went right through the walkway the Red Eagles are standing on, punching several holes in it.

"That is some serious upgrade..." Jenny remarks on how powerful the Tani-Oh has become.

The Red Eagles then peppers the Tani-Oh with all the firepower they have, with Ash occasionally firing a Cannon shell from the Metal Slug Type-R.

The independent turrets appear to have been reinforced too, as one took a lot of bullets, Grenades and Cannon shells before it gets blown off its socket.

Destroying one turret caused the other one to become even more aggressive, as it starts firing anti-tank mines and anti-material rounds non-stop at the direction of the Red Eagles.

"Yikes!" Jason shouted, as he avoids steering himself straight into an anti-tank mine that has been laid right in front of him, and at the same time a sudden Andro Cannon shot almost shearing his face off. "That was a close one! If I was just a millimeter closer to that bulkhead, I might as well rename myself William Birkins!"

"Is it even the right time to mention Resident Evil?" Ash hung a lamp on Jason's statement, as he fires the last Cannon shell from the Metal Slug Type-R at Tani-Oh.

That Cannon shell lands right on top of the Andro Cannon, tearing a piece of hull right off the massive tank that it rests on. Although that doesn't weaken Tani-Oh by much.

The massive tank charges up its Andro Cannon once again. Jason, Jenny and Mina jumps out of the way in time (keeping in mind to avoid the aggressively-attacking independent turret at the same time), but Ash in the Metal Slug Type-R wasn't able to evade in time, and took a direct hit. Luckily, one hit from the Andro Cannon is not enough to damage the Slug vehicle to the point of it self-destructing.

"Ow!" The chainsaw-totting mercenary called out, even though he didn't take the hit himself. "Eat lead, you massive hunk of steel!" Ash then unloads the Vulcan on Tani-Oh, while jumping the Slug vehicle around to avoid hitting one of the anti-tank mines.

Eventually, the Tani-Oh took enough damage from Ash's Vulcan spamming (and the other three Red Eagles lobbing Grenades at it) that its next attempt to fire the double-barreled Andro Cannon was interrupted by it blowing up from critical damage. The undestroyed independent turret was launched right out of its socket, and lands on the walkway just a meter in front of the bulkhead door.

Tani-Oh defeated.

"Yeah, that's right! Big guns don't always spell victory!" Ash pops out of the Metal Slug Type-R and quipped.

...

Location: Everest facility command center.

"Damn that President Drippiek again!" Donald Morden cursed out loud when he sees the live footage of the Tani-Oh's defeat at the Red Eagles' hands. "I knew he would cheat again! This time, he left the Regular Commandos at home, and sent these mercenaries to do their dirty jobs for him instead!" He turned around, and sees Amadeus just sitting on top of a metal crate, chilling out as he smokes a cigarette. "And where is that masked occultist called the Ptolemaic Boss, anyway?!"

"Satellites have confirmed that the Ptolemaic Boss appears to be somewhere in Peru..." Amadeus said as he throws the lit cigarette on the floor and extinguishes the flame by stepping on it. "Exactly what he and his followers are doing there are unknown as of yet..."

"In Peru...?" Morden said with surprise in his tone. "Not the first time his cronies have pulled off something out of the world, but what is he planning this time?"

The aforementioned live footage shows Mina Kabuto blowing open the bulkhead door with a satchel of Semtex explosives. The resulting fireball was spectacular (but silent from this room due to the lack of speakers connected to the camera) as the Red Eagles appear to make offhand comments about it while hiding behind one of the independent turrets that detached from Tani-Oh.

"Oh, never mind that!" Morden changed his mind. "Time to play our trump card!"

...

Location: top floor, Everest facility.

The Red Eagles proceeded into the facility that was built right inside the hollowed-out Mount Everest, and finds themselves in a hellishly different world. The corridor right in front of them are populated by Supervisory Cameras that currently aren't able to look straight at them.

"Man, this feels just like one of those places that monsters love to hide in..." Jason comments about the nature of the facility's structure.

Ash popped out of the Metal Slug Type-R again. He wiped sweat off his forehead as he looks around. "Even inside the AC-equipped Slug, I'm still feeling the heat of this place."

Jenny pulled out a Digital Geiger Counter, and scanned the corridor ahead. "There's a small amount of radiation coming from down this corridor. The Counter can't tell what type of radiation it was supposed to be, but at least there's not enough to cause any harm if it were any other kind of radiation..."

"Doesn't matter. Regular Command hired us to demolish this place, and that's exactly what we're gonna do!" Jason proudly boast while posing with his handgun in his hand.

...

Getting through the corridor involved shooting at every Supervisory Cameras and the occasional Patrol Robots that popped out of nowhere, as well as a couple of LV Armors and Ptolemaic mechs (those proved to be quite challenging with just the standard handguns and the Vulcan on the Metal Slug Type-R). It took a while, but the Red Eagles eventually fought their way through it...

...To find themselves standing by a guard rail that separated them from a chasm walled by metal walkways, girders and industrial pipelines that plunges too far down for anyone to see the bottom.

"Now that's one heck of an engineering feat the RAPs have managed to pull off..." Jenny hangs a lamp at the sight.

The sound of a powerful engine passing by drew the attention of the Red Eagles. They looked across the chasm, and sees the Kaladgolg war train passing by on pre-set train tracks that seems to run down the chasm in a spiral pattern around it.

"I have a feeling we'll be fighting that bastard when we reach the bottom..." Ash points out, knowing that there's no point in not tempting anything anymore.

With little warning, a Gatling-equipped Ptolemaic R-Shobu appeared from and hovered over the chasm, obviously pointing its big Gatling gun at the Red Eagles.

The helicopter fires its Gatling gun at the Metal Slug Type-R. Thankfully, the Slug vehicle withstood the volley despite the damage it has taken during the Tani-Oh battle.

Ash proceeds to return the favor by firing the Vulcan at the Ptolemaic Gatling R-Shobu, which turns out to be more fragile than the standard Rebels' variant, as it goes down without being able to fire a second volley.

Something was launched out of the cockpit as the attack helicopter exploded into several pieces, and landed with a thud by the Red Eagles' feet. It was an Iron Lizard launcher.

"Funny how we often get weapons that are just perfect for the situations we'll be encountering later..." Jenny hangs yet another lamp as she picks up the Iron Lizard.

The Red Eagles leaned over the guard rails and took another peak at the chasm.

"Right, guess we'll be taking the long way down..." Jason comments. "We should complete our mission as soon as possible, it has been dragging on for too long already..."

...

And so the Red Eagles descended down the chasm slowly by taking a nearby staircase down (the Metal Slug Type-R has no problem driving over stairs). Whenever there are enemies at the next floor - be it Rebel Soldiers, LV Armors, Patrol Robots, Amadeus Syndicalists, Morden Robots, Ptolemaic Special Force Troopers, Guerillas, Officers, mechs... Jenny would clear the crowd by sending an Iron Lizard or two down the stairs, blowing them all up with what can best be described as a rocket-propelled toy car that smiles.

There were also the occasional bazooka-wielding Paratroopers parachuting down over the chasm and taking potshots at the Red Eagles, as well as the also-occasional R-Shobu (of both Rebel and Ptolemaic, basic and red Elite variants). Those are taken care by Ash firing the Vulcan of the Metal Slug Type-R at them. There was one point where an Elite Ptolemaic R-Shobu flew so close to the stairs that Ash decided to just pop out of the Slug for a second and stab the pilot in the face with his chainsaw.

At the middle portion of the staircase, the Kaladgolg war train passed by from the opposite side of the chasm, and without warning unloaded its Gatling guns all over the staircase. The war train then continues its descend toward the bottom of the chasm.

The Red Eagles, having taken several glancing blows from the unloading just stood there in shock for five seconds.

"If only grazing bullets actually gave us power ups like that one game series..." Mina said.

...

It took a very ling time before the Red Eagles had finally reached the bottom of the staircase. The mercenaries finds themselves on yet another metal walkway no different than the one from the Tani-Oh battle.

"I have no comments on the past thirty minutes for now..." Jason said.

Of course, the Kaladgolg war train got to the bottom of the chasm sooner. It was already parked on the railway under the walkway, waiting for the Red Eagles to arrive.

Boss battle: Kaladgolg

"I knew it..." Ash quips as he prepares himself for a battle.

Kaladgolg has similar armaments as Tani-Oh: independently-firing Gatling Guns and anti-tank mine launchers, as well as a massive cannon of proportionate scale. Unlike the massive tank, however, the war train's independent turrets are four separate guns (two Gatling guns and two anti-tank mine launchers) which also happens to be completely indestructible. Its massive cannon also mounted a Wave Motion Gun instead of a double-barreled Andro Cannon.

The war train begins its attack by firing both of its Gatling guns at the Metal Slug Type-R. This time, the Slug vehicle finally took enough critical damage that it is going to explode, and Ash ejected just before it did.

"Jeez, this is going to be a tough one." Jenny remarks, as she lobs a Grenade at the Wave Motion Gun which is Kaladgolg's only weak spot.

The Kaladgolg then fires several anti-tank mines all over the walkway. Unlike the ones used by Tani-Oh, these mines do not land on top of the walkway, but instead hovers just a meter off the surface before propelling themselves toward the Red Eagles.

Thankfully, those mines are rather easy to avoid. The mercenaries does so by simply jumping.

"After all those years of fighting them, nobody dared to question how the Rebels are able to build so many of these gargantuan war machines?!" Ash angrily points out about it, while firing at the Kaladgolg.

A weird noise coming from the massive cannon signals that it is about to fire the Wave Motion Gun.

"Oh, sh... Quick, stay back!" Jason called out to the other, and everyone quickly backs themselves against the staircase they came from.

The Kaladgolg fires its Wave Motion Gun, but since the massive cannon can only aim directly upwards, the war train had to move itself to be able to hit anything with it. Luckily for the Red Eagles, they have backed themselves enough that the Kaladgolg can't follow them all the way, resulting in the Wave Motion Gun missing them by a huge margin.

"Let's blow shit up, guys!" Jason shouted hammily, as he and the other Red Eagles lobbed every single Grenades they have at the Kaladgolg.

The volley of Grenades does enough damage that the massive cannon of the war train started flaming all over. But apparently, not enough to completely destroy it.

"Oh, come on..." Ash said disappointingly.

Having taken critical damage, the Kaladgolg's independent guns became even more aggressive, as all four of them starts firing non-stop at the direction of the Red Eagles.

"Just die already!" Mina furiously shouted as she grabs and throw one of her own anti-tank mines at the Kaladgolg, which created a large fireball on contact.

This time, the massive cannon got damaged enough that it simply can't function anymore. A series of chain reaction emerging from the Wave Motion Gun causes the rest of the war train including the indestructible independent guns to break down and fall apart.

Kaladgolg defeated.

The Red Eagles lied down on the walkway, tired.

"About time!" Jenny complains. "This has been dragging on for too long already..."

MISSION COMPLETE!

...

Location: Everest facility command center.

"It seems that the president's mercenaries has destroyed your trump card in the place of your intended target..." Amadeus told Morden nonchalantly, as both men watched live footage of the Kaladgolg in shambles.

Morden's response wasn't that he's furious. In fact, he appears to be smiling about it. This surprised Amadeus for real.

"I take it that the Kaladgolg is not your trump card?" The syndicate leader asked.

"No, of course not..." The Devil Rebirth replies. "My trump card is something else, and they too have a bone to personally pick with the Regular Commandos since their defeat at Garbage Island years ago from our perspective..."

Amadeus instantly understood what Morden was talking about. "Do tell me, did they emerge from a circle of light?"

Morden switched off the screen that is playing the live footage, and turned toward Amadeus. "Of course, old man. They are my future..."

The Devil Rebirth suddenly lets out an evil laugh so creepy it sent chills down Amadeus' whole body, despite the environment of the Everest facility being so hot that your sense to heat might as well be permanently numb.

"...Quite literally!"


Afterwords

Welp, a chapter that's longer than the last five I've submitted for this story. Blame my mind for that...

I took parts of this chapter's first half from certain parts of the games. The parachute-platforming scene came from Metal Slug 7 in that ruins portion where your character navigate around that ruin with a parachute to help with the descend down it (Advance also have a scene where if your Slug Flyer in the final mission gets shot down, Walter or Tyra will have to parachute down a mid-construction vertical tunnel as an alternate path). The Rebels rolling the huge snowball came from 1, just before you fight Allen in that game.

Also, the Sniper Rifle is a weapon that's only available in the Japan-only Metal Slug 3D, and it can't actually headshot anything in that game. That's just an addition on my part.

Oh, and Flynn Taggart is, like Leon Chan, also an OC created by Soldier Of The Future. Thanks, man!

Shout-out index:

"Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!" - You'll be saying that whenever you're being chased by a T-Rex (Jurassic Park), or had to hide yourselves from an alien flight controller who had just noticed your hijacking one of their shuttles (Independence Day, which is itself a shout-out to Jurassic Park).

"If only grazing bullets actually gave us power-ups like that one game series..." - No, Mina, the only game in the world that rewards you for purposefully allowing bullets to graze you is Touhou, so don't even think about grazing.

Ironically, the above reference is going to *spoiler alert* become a plot point later...

That is all. "Dismissed!"