Area 11: Legacy

by Mr. R H M

An old collab project that I worked on with fellow user Definitely A Sadomasochist (/u/15056021/). It sucks and is currently being rewritten. Feel free to read it if you want brain cancer

Part 1:

AREA 11, BRITAINIAN EMPIRE, 2015

"what a day" Shinji Ikari said to himself as he was heading back home after all that had transpired at NERV HQ. It was an intense battle, Rei was nearly killed in his battle with Ramiel. "you can say that again" a voice rang out in response to him, it was only then that he realized he was speaking aloud, and Misato had heard him say it

Shinji: "oh, I-I said that out loud? I'm sorry"

Misato: "don't be, it was a really bad day today"

Shinji: "yeah, I hope Ayanami's okay"

Misato: "she seemed fine coming home"

Shinji: "yeah, I guess you're right"

He had no idea if Rei was really as okay as he thought. Weary from his long day, he finished his dinner and headed to his room. Life in Britannia wasn't that bad, he was even made an honorable Britanian for his deeds. But still, he could feel something was something was missing, he didn't understand what, but it felt like he was incomplete. Frustrated at not knowing what was wrong, he plugged in his headphones and began listening to his usual music before falling asleep, he needed to get some rest.

"People! Fear is, or seek us, as you please! We are the Black Knights!"

Zero's declaration rang out across all of Area 11, making it known that this was not some scrappy rebellion, it was war. And they were ready for it, they were ready to fight for Area 11. After Zero had concluded his powerful speech rebuking Britannia and the JLF, the Britanian soldiers were ordered to stand down and let him pass to uphold their end of the bargain, and as Zero slipped away, Cornelia was furious. However, there were muchore pressing matters to attend to with the politics of Britannia and the angels in the move. So, instead, she decided to get someone else to do her work for her. and who better than the private military company, Outer Heaven?

Cornelia: "looks like I'm finally going to call in that favor"

Guilford: "your highness, is it really necessary to hire *him*? We could handle this just fine ourselves"

Cornelia: "Guilford, look at what Zero has done already, besides, I'm already busy. I have to see what's at NERV HQ to keep them in check"

Guilford: "but, I-"

Cornelia: "my word is final, it's out if our hands now, the rest is up to them"

Days passed, turning into weeks, and then eventually, Outer Heaven had finally arrived in Area 11. Cornelia had waited on the coast that day for them to arrive, and in the horizon, their naval fortress drew closer before stopping at shore. Emerging from it was none other than Big Boss himself, Punished "Venom" Snake

Snake: "Kept You Waiting, Huh?"

Cornelia: "yes, you did. I suggest you arrive quicker next time"

Snake: "you called me here to eliminate a threat, where is he?"

Cornelia: "that's the thing, we don't know. He attacks us, then disappears, it's like he vanishes"

Snake: "then I'll have to wait for him to show up. Kaz, get our ground troops ready"

Cornelia: "I'll supply you with knightmares. Don't make me regret this, Snake"

Snake: "of course"

For weeks, Snake stood watch, waiting for Zero to pop out, and Zero did take notice. But he didn't act

Tamaki: "Zero, what are we waiting for?! Let's just get rid of this "Big Boss" guy and move on!"

Zero: "no, not yet. He's too powerful to engage head on"

Ohgi: "Zero? You've never been one to back down from a fight, what's wrong?"

Zero: "you don't seem to understand who he is. Venom Snake single-handedly ended the war between Britannia and the EU. If we were to fight him, we'd be destroyed"

Kallen: "so what do you suggest we do? Sit back and let him hunt us down?"

Zero: "no, it's come to my attention that NERV has been supplying him with weaponary. So I say, if we attack them, we can knock out a major supply line"

C.C: "and you think that would be easier? You're forgetting the fact they have Evangelions, that's worse than fighting Snake"

Zero: "I am aware if that, don't worry, I have a plan to kill two birds with one stone, I'm going to attack NERV, and defeat Snake on one fell swoop"

Ohgi: "Zero, are you sure this is going to work?"

Zero: "Ohgi, have I failed once thus far?"

Ohgi: "I see, we'll prepare everything to attack NERV"

As the preparations were being made, Lelouch became more anxious about the prospect of attacking NERV, especially with the the high probability that Snake might get involved, but he pushed hsi doubts to the back of his mind and continued. The next day, there was a heavy fog, the perfect cover for The Black Knights to sneak into Tokyo-3, the place looked abandoned, but they chalked that up to the citizens being inside because of the fog. It's only when they arrived at the entrance to NERV that they realized, Commander Gendo Ikari was expecting them, they were quickly attacked by Britannian soldiers, who used their own cover of fog against them. But Zero wouldn't budge, and slowly but surely, they were driving the NERV soldiers back. However, so thing very peculiar happened

Ohgi: "Zero, we've lost contact with R-8"

Zero: "what? what's happening over there?"

Ohgi: "I don't know"

Zero: "R-8, this is Zero, do you read me? R-8?! Damnit. R-6, this is Zero, do you copy?"

?: "I'm afraid nethier R-8 nor R-7 will answer you, Zero"

Zero: "(what? Who is he? Wait... Could it be?) Snake?!"

Snake: "Zero..."

Zero: "You Kept Me Waiting"

Snake: "Huh?"

Zero: "no matter, it looks like I get to destroy NERV and you today! All units, Snake has taken over one of our Knightmares! Converge on R-7 and open fire!"

Zero's did as instructed, hunting down the location of Snake's Knightmare

Zero: "B-4, this is Zero. What's happening?"

B-4: "Sir, I don't understand, it says we're right on top of him"

Snake: "no, I'm right above you"

All Zero could hear was screaming and gunfire, he acted quickly. Ordering his men into formation so he couldn't pick them off, but that's exactly what Snake wanted, he didn't come alone, he had help from the pilot of the Lancelot, Suzaku Kururugi. The Lancelot tore through Zero's men, but before he could get away, he was confronted by Snake

Zero: "looks like I'll just have to kill you myself!"

Snake: "you seem to have forgotten your own words, those who kill..."

Zero: "should be prepared to die themselves!"

Zero and Snake charge each other and engaged in combat, exchanging between each other and chasing each other across Tokyo-3. But eventually, they were brought to a stalemate, both of their power was running low, and NERV had begun fighting back against the Black Knights

Zero: "I couldn't beat you"

Snake: "you tend to use your men to fight for you, meaning you have little skill in actual combat. Still, that was some fancy commanding, you're pretty good"

Zero: "pretty... Good..."

It was at that moment Snake's power ran out, which allowed Zero to speed away.

In the Aftermath of incident, Tokyo-3 was heavily damaged. Zero felt humiliated, he wasn't able to defeat Snake. However, he had acquired something that day, a worthy opponent. Meanwhile, Gendo Ikari had called a meeting between Princess Cornelia and Venom Snake to discuss the issue of Zero...

TO BE CONTINUED

Part 2:

After calling for a meeting with the Viceroy of Area 11 and the leader of Outer Heaven, Gendo Ikari, Supreme Commander of NERV, sat in his imposing office within the Geofront. The Sephirothic System was etched into the ceiling above, and his desk was far above the ground, making sure any visitors were intimidated in his presence. He sat in his usual position, his hands and fingers intertwined in front of his face, as if to keep a lying tongue well-hidden.

True to their words, Cornelia and Snake entered the labyrinthine space, and were immediately welcomed by its imposing aura.

"Report", the Commander said, most likely aimed at Snake, though even Cornelia was almost compelled to defer to him.

Cornelia herself was rather offended at this attempt to intimidate her, and angry with herself that it was working. Britannia had, after invading Japan, allowed NERV to remain active due to the Commander's help in the war, where he betrayed the Japanese government. He was thus given the title of Grand Duke and all of NERV were declared honorary Brittanians. Still, Cornelia mistrusted the Commander. A traitor is always a traitor.

Snake gave a report on the battle, being as terse as possible. He didn't like this office or this man and wished to deal mostly with the Brittanians from now on. Still, he had to keep decorum, at least for now. He asked to build a Metal Gear with the help of NERV, apparently hoping that the Eva's power would rub off on the new mecha.

The Commander responded with a promise to help against the rebels, and to send a certain Dr Akagi to help him with the construction of the Metal Gear, then "dismissed" Snake. Cornelia left as well, not wishing to prolong her stay.

The Commander drew back his hands, revealing a small smirk. He dialed a number and the line rang before being picked up.

"Everything is proceeding according to the Scenario. Remember to bring what we discussed when you bring over Unit-02..."

The gruff voice on the other line said, "Yeah, can't really forget something like that..."

The Commander hung up.

Zero and the Black Knights were regrouping from the last battle, which was Zero's first loss since Cornelia had arrived. Brooding over this, the man who works miracles turned to his Britannian confidante.

"Diethard, do you have any connections in the media that can help us against Outer Heaven?"

And thus began Zero's search into Snake's past. Trying to understand his opponent's tactics was key to defeating him. "After all", he thought to himself, "tactics can never defeat strategy."

After Gendo's meeting with the Viceroy and the mercenary, the Old Men of SEELE "requested" his presence. Being that mutual disdain was the dynamic in regards to his supposed superiors, he arrived fashionably late by 45 minutes.

The circle of black obelisks that formed all around him, labeled SEELE-01 through 16 were clearly in the midst of heated argument when he logged on. Silence and hushed whispers ensued. SEELE-01, speaking with authoritative and regal tones, spoke out:

"Ikari. Your tardiness is an insult to Brittania."

"It's a good thing, then, that I'm not a Brittanian, your Majesty."

The Old Men of SEELE suppressed their gasps of shock as the Emperor of Brittania ignored this comment and continued forwards. They spoke of budgets and repair costs and other mind-numbing trivialities.

"Don't they realize", he thought to himself, "that should their plans succeed, all of this talk would be useless? And should their plans not succeed, it would mean the end of the world, and thus this talk would still be useless?" He chuckled mentally at that.

Walking through her palace, the Viceroy of Area 11 was reminiscing on the Impact Wars. Brittania had mostly gained from the after effects of Second Impact where other nations floundered and fell. This gave Britannian nationalists enough cause to claim the nation was favored beyond all other nations, and that Second Impact was a good thing. In Cornelia's mind, any event that results in the death of half of mankind could never be a good thing.

A mere decade after Second Impact, Britannia invaded Japan, supposedly for it's Sakuradite reserves. The Japanese Government was stabbed in the back by their own Special Agency, GEHIRN, which defected to Brittania, and became NERV. The Director of GEHIRN, one Gendo Ikari, became Supreme Commander of NERV, and other branches of NERV were opened in several areas of the Brittanian Empire.

It was just her luck that the same year the Angels re-appeared, her brother Clovis was murdered and a large-scale rebellion threatened not only the safety of Area 11, but the whole world. The recent Angel Battle had even crippled her own forces, due to the necessity of using all of Area 11's power supply to defeat the Angel.

Finally reaching the Deputy Viceroy's office, Cornelia pushed her brooding out of her mind, put on a smile, and went to greet her little sister.

Asuka Langley, Marquess of New Berlin, the Second Child, Pilot of Evangelion Unit-02, and the pride of NERV's Second Branch, was currently in the unenviable state of being bored out of her mind. Being transported to Area 11 via the Britannian Pacific Fleet was going to take 2 weeks. It had been a week and a half and she almost wished she could simply go back to NERV-2, even if it meant never fighting the Angels, just to alleviate her boredom (and sea-sickness). Almost.

Having heard of the exploits of the First and Third Children, she was filled with a mixture of envy, spite, resentment and admiration. "Those damned Elevens wouldn't know how to pilot Eva if they had an instruction manual glued to their face, and God on their side..."

"Well, they do appear to at least have luck on their side so far." A gruff voice responded from behind her.

She turned to face the one reason she didn't hate all Elevens indiscriminately: Ryoji Kaji, Special Inspector of the Brittanian Armed Forces, and her legal guardian.

"Kaaaajiii!~" She purred out in what she meant to be a seductive tone of voice. His subtle flinch told her it came out more needy than seductive. "This is gonna be a long few weeks..." he thought to himself. When he was first assigned as the guardian to the last daughter of the Langley and Zeppelin Bloodlines, he expected to be treated harshly by a cold ice queen aristocrat, and while that was the case at first, it (unfortunately (for him)) turned into a teenage crush.

Nevertheless, she wasn't the only reason he insisted on a naval transport. He was carrying in his suitcase some very important cargo, so important that he could be killed for it. He didn't know what it was, and tampering with it would equally get him killed. So he had to hedge his bets and hope the Commander of NERV would give him his much-desired answers.

Living, for a triple-agent, is no easy feat, and what with the Black Rebellion and the Angel Attacks, this is his most active time since the Japanese-Brittanian War. And yet still across all these years, his one motivator has remained the same: to find out the truth about Second Impact, and the ones behind it...

Zero sat in his lair, along with the rest of the Black Knights. Having acquired entry into Tokyo-3, they were now aware of the new drug known as Refrain, spreading through the streets. Targeting the depressed Japanese, and being completely and throughly ignored by NERV's company-town police force. Therefore, the Black Knights took it upon themselves to tackle this issue.

"And who knows, maybe this will ingratiate me further with the Japanese people..." Zero thought to himself.

Taking the Black Knights and attacking the dealer hideout, they were quickly confronted by Zero's (other) worthy opponent: the Lancelot. It attacked blindly, taking out several of the Black Knights' Knightmares before Zero ordered a retreat.

"So it seems the bureaucrats of NERV have called in the White Knight to save them..." he thought to himself.

Ordered by the Viceroy, Suzaku Kururugi returned from his latest scrap with Zero, and went to meet with Venom Snake, leader of Outer Heaven. He has been assigned by Brittania to help Snake in combat against the Black Knights. And while he had his reservations about working with a contract killer, he kept them to himself. "I have to earn Brittania's trust if I want to change it from the inside." He thought to himself.

Captain Misato Katsuragi, Operations Director of NERV, strolled through the Byzantine halls of HQ searching for a certain pilot. After finding him in the locker rooms, simply listening to his SDAT, she knocked on the door. He was startled, then pushed the pause button and pulled the earplugs out.

"Shinji, we have to go home early tonight."

"Why, Miss Misato?"

"We have to wake up earlier tomorrow in order to meet the new pilot out at sea."

"Oh... Okay."

Misato knew what to expect. Shinji did not.

Part 3:

"do it, kill me" The Boss's words rang out to Naked Snake, operation Snake Eater had taken a heavy toll on him mentally. And now, he had to kill the only person he's ever loved. And so, he raised his gun, and fired. Venom Snake opened his eyes, snapping back to present day, the thought of what happened years ago still sent a chill up his spine, he then noticed he was being approached by someone, he turned around and came to face to face with the pilot of the Lancelot, Suzaku Kururugi

Snake: "ah, Mr. Kururugi. What brings you here?"

Suzaku: "I was stationed here by Princess Cornelia to assist you in your hunt for Zero"

Snake: "I see, any word from Commander Ikari?"

Suzaku: "no, why do you ask?"

Snake: "oh, it's nothing"

Snake then leaned on the railing of his command platform and looked down at his loyal soldiers who had assisted him from the very start. At was at that moment that Suzaku noticed Snake's prosthetic arm

Suzaku: "what's that?"

Snake: "this? It's a myoelectric bionic arm, I lost my real one 19 years ago"

Suzaku: "how?"

Snake: "it was at the downfall of the first Mother Base, I had just come back from a mission only to find out it was a distraction. When I arrived, all of Mother Base was on fire and the soldiers were panicking, and in the ensuing chaos. One of our platforms just up and exploded, and a shard o that shrapnel flew right into my forehead, and the other part sliced my arm clean off, went right through the bone and everything"

Suzaku: "I'm sorry to hear that... Tell me, why didn't you remove the shrapnel from your head?"

Snake: "I wish I could, but the doctors told me it's too close to my brain, it's embedded right in my skull. If I remove it, I'd suffer a brain hemorrhage"

Suzaku: "I see, I'm sorry"

Snake: "don't be, I've learned to live with it... Tell me something about yourself, Suzaku..."

Suzaku ignored that Snake used his first name and simply humored his question

Suzaku: "yeah? What is it?"

Snake: "why are you, of all people, helping Britannia?"

Suzaku was stunned, he wasn't expecting that. Especially not from Snake, after all, Snake turned his back on Britannia

Suzaku: "I... I believe if I work from the inside, I can change Britannia for the better"

Snake: "ah, an inside job, huh? I understand... Well, I should be off now, I've got plenty of work to do. I'll see you around, Kururugi"

Suzaku: "you too, Snake"

Meanwhile, In the Pacific Ocean

Shinji Ikari had just traveled in a VTOL with Captain Misato to meet with the second child on the Britannian ship "Over The Rainbow"...

Aida: "oh man, this is so cool! I can't believe you let us come along, Ikari!"

... He had also brought his friends along. As Aida continued gushing over everything and Suzuhara continued trying to impress Captain Katsuragi. The VTOL closed in on the naval aircraft carrier and landed, stepping out of the helicraft, Shinji and the others came face to face with Asuka Langley, the Marquess of New Berlin

Asuka: "so you're the Third Child? Hmph, you don't look like much. But what did I expect from an Eleven?"

Misato: "it's been a long time, Asuka"

Asuka: "Misato! How have you been? Surely this eleven didn't numb your mind, right?"

Misato became slightly irritated and responded with

Misato: "you forget that I'm also an Eleven, Asuka"

Before the awkward situation could continue, they continued onto the ship, with Asuka regaling Misato of tales from New Berlin, occasionally handing a snide jab to Shinji. Before long, they had gotten settled in, and began talking about what was going on in Tokyo-3, the angels, and Shinji's accomplishments, which Misato could tell annoyed Asuka. All of a sudden, Misato heard a gruff voice call out behind her "hey, Misato! Been a long time!"

She instantly knew exactly who he was, but before she could respond, Asuka nearly squealed with delight at Kaji being here. Shinji had taken the opportunity to simply bow his head and focus on his thoughts

Kaji: "hey, Shinji Ikari, right? I'm Ryoji Kaji"

That's when Shinji noticed Kaji was standing right next to him, with an incredibly cheerful Asuka hugging his arm, which he was completely ignoring

Shinji: "u-um... Yeah, t-that's my name"

Kaji: "oh come on, don't be so modest, you know how grand your accomplishments are"

Misato: "Shinji, quit entertaining that ruffian before he ruins you"

Kaji: "oh come on, you're still not over that?"

Misato: "how could I be over that?"

While they were bickering, Asuka became annoyed that Kaji had given attention to Shinji, and not her, so frustratedly she shouted at Shinji

Asuka: "you, Eleven! Come with me!"

Shinji was obviously confused, but obliged. Following Asuka out of the lower levels and onto the top of the ship, where she showed a massive red figure hidden a tarp

Asuka: "this, Eleven, is Evangelion Unit-02. Unit-01 and Unit-00 were only experimental prototypes, this is the first fully combat ready Evangelion!"

Shinji: "um, it's very... Red"

Asuka: "hmph, that's it?"

Shinji: "um... I... Guess so"

Asuka was understandably frustrated that the color of the Eva was the only thing he noticed, but before she could insult him, the ship shook violently. Quickly, Shinji and Asuka made their way to the command deck and met with Misato, who confirmed their suspiciouns. It was, indeed an angel. Not missing a beat, Asuka said she would fight it and dashed off to get in her Eva, pulling Shinji along with her to "show him how it's done". Quickly changing into her crimson plug suit, and forcing Shinji to do the same, despite his mortified protests, they hurried their way over to the scarlet giant, and quickly entered. It was at that me moment, that Gaghiel, the Sixth Angel, demonstrated his power, tearing through several ships and rushing Shinji and Asuka, who had just activated the Eva, as soon as Gaghiel arrived, he pounced on top of the ship, trying to sink it, Unit-02 was able to grab The angel and jump with him into the ocean, the power cable pulling further and further before going taut. Asuka tried combating the angel, but her fighting gear wasn't suited to work underwater

Shinji: "what do we do?! We're going to be eaten like bait!"

? : "like bait, you say? You just gave me an idea!"

The monitors on the ship flashed none other than Zero's Visage

Misato: "Zero?! Have you come to attack us as we're under fire?!"

Zero: "on the contrary, captain Katsuragi. I came to slay the angel. It poses a threat to the Black Knight. Now, as to what that pilot said, "bait" is a perfect word for my plan"

Asuka: "what are you planning on, terrorist?!"

Zero: "quite simple, really. Reel in the Evangelion, and then kill it on the surface, no difficulties whatsoever"

Of course they doubted Zero's true intentions, but what choice did they have? So, they complied

Pulling Gaghiel up to the surface and hitting him, finally killing him. When tried to go after Zero, however, he revealed he was still in Area 11, and they had no hope of catching him. Everyone was frustrated, except for one, for he had an important duty to deliver an important, he couldn't Carre about such frivolous things

MEANWHILE, IN AREA 11

Snake was still in his base, mulling over some things and planning others, when he heard a voice call out behind him

? : "Big Boss? I'm Dr. Ritsuko Akagi, I was sent here by Commander Ikari for the Metal Gear project"

Instinctively, he reached for his pistol, but relinquished hold of it when the voice identified who it was

Snake: "wait, you're the doctor?"

Akagi: "you're surprised because I'm a woman, is that it?"

Snake: "what? No, it's not that. I'm surprised you're so... Young"

Akagi: "I get that a lot. Anyway, let's get down to business, the Metal Gear Project"

Snake: "yes, of course, I've asked for NERV's help to build Metal Gear: Zahhak"

Akagi: "Zahhak... The demon king with two pythons on his shoulders, why that name?"

Snake: "the name quite literally came first, I developed an experimental type of weapon called a Python Cannon, only two exist in the entire world, then I had the idea of Zahhak"

Akagi: "makes enough sense. Now, let's being, shall we?"

Snake: "of course. Next time... Zero won't know what hit him"

TO BE CONTINUED

Part 4:

(flashback, 2005)

Otacon leaned back from the computer, heaving a sigh. This was the third time this morning he had poured over the facility's blueprints and the path he had outlined for his partner in crime. Speaking of Snake, he didn't think that the man had the patience to run through yet another test of their coms system without protest. Eyes tired and aching from hours of screen time, Otacon stood up from his chair. He shook out his numb legs, and ambled over to the window. Then tread over to the kitchenette. Then over to the window. Then over to the-

"You doing alright?" Snake asked, voice gruff. He was reclined on the sofa, his book to his chest.

Otacon rubbed his forehead. "About as well as I could the day before breaking into a top secret government office, why?"

Snake exhaled through his nose, shaking his head. "Why don't we just take a walk, if you're pacing so much?"

It was hot. In the time it took to descend the stairwell of the apartment complex and make it to the sidewalk, they were already uncomfortably sweaty. But Snake had been observant while they took their first cab ride through the foreign city. Just around the corner and a block down was a city park full of expansive emerald trees. Otacon sighed in relief as they stepped beneath the shady canopy, fanning himself with his shirt collar. Unlike the streets bustling with cars and pedestrians, the park was relatively empty; a noisy construction site next door made sure of that. The lack of prying eyes put the hacker at ease, and he released not only the tension from his shoulders but the worries caught in his throat.

"It's just-" Otacon stammered, "if this goes wrong, you could be killed."

The sudden statement tore Snake's gaze from the finches darting two and fro on the branches above. He mulled it over for a moment, then simply shrugged. "That's a risk for just about every job I've done."

"And me…" Otacon looked down, staring at his hands. "I could rot in prison for the rest of my life."

"Sounds like I have the better part of the deal, if you ask me," Snake said and clapped his partner on the back.

Otacon peered back up to him with a worried grimace plastered on his face. Snake exhaled, rubbing his friend's shoulder in reassurance. Right. Morbid humor wasn't a staple for Hal Emmerich as much as it was for Solid Snake. He stopped their pace, gripping both of Hal's arms and facing him head on.

"Listen, we both need to be cautious," Snake spoke, voice low. "We're stealth operatives. Me in the physical realm, and you in the virtual. But anxiety isn't the same as caution. It can trip you up, make you hesitate. I think you'll find once we get started, it will all fall into place. After all, you've helped me before, through Shadow Moses."

"I guess that's true…" Otacon said, a wistful smile breaking upon his lips. "And that was a lot more high stakes than this little job."

"You're scared because this Philanthropy is your venture, and you don't want it to fail. But I have faith in us." Snake shook him for extra emphasis. "And you should too."

Otacon closed his eyes, steeling himself. He nodded once, twice, then smiled to his friend with newfound confidence. "Alright. Thanks, Snake."

Satisfied, the soldier relinquished his grip with one hand but not the other, instead wrapping his arm around the back of Otacon's shoulders. He steered them towards a misty fountain, watching a butterfly dance through the streams of water.

"Hey, we're off duty. Out enjoying nature, right?" he grinned. "Dave will do just fine."

(2015)

"That glory-stealing idiot!" Asuka huffed as she hit the locker for the umpteenth time. Sure, Zero had helped them against the Angel, but they never asked for his help, and he stole her glory for having defeated that angel.

"U-um, Asuka, you should calm down."

"And do what? Bow down to your Eleven liberator?!"

Shinji flinched and stumbled backwards. Then turned around on his heels and left, mumbling something to the tune of "As if I asked to be an Eleven..."

She had just enough time to catch his shadow to stare at. That simple statement left her with something to think about.

Zero was sitting in his headquarters, planning his next move. His interference to stop the Angel wasn't only to flaunt his power, but to secure his plans. He was planning a hike through the mountains to the Japanese Liberation Front's HQ at Narita, but he knew that said Liberation Front's days were numbered. He would make sure of it...

Just outside the window of Asuka's hotel room was the impossible heat of Tokyo Three's eternal summer, but inside it was air-conditioned and comfortable, physically at least. She was flopped down on the bed like an afterthought, staring at the ceiling as her mind ceaselessly ran through recent events.

It had been only days earlier that she had been queen of the fleet, prepared to take over Tokyo Three as her own personal plaything. That was still the plan actually, but it didn't help that she had to be helped by both that idiot and that Eleven.

Shinji was a boy, male, and those couldn't be trusted. No one except Kaji could be trusted, and now she wasn't sure about him. The way he had teased Misato... and she had seen the warmth in his eyes. He might have tried to keep it well hidden, but she knew him. Never mind that Misato looked to be outraged at his mere presence, that only underscored how deep their past went, whatever it turned out to be.

She felt all alone and powerless, but she had to remind herself that she was the "Great Asuka Langley". Those words brought her no comfort, no solace. She fell into a dreamless sleep.

The top of the hill was silent, only broken by an occasional gust of wind. This suited C.C. just fine. Her eyes were closed, an unreadable expression on her face as she slowly breathed in and out. Occasional rumbling and thunder could be heard in the distance, the monstrous G-1 Mobile Bases letting their presence be known for kilometers around, as if screaming in defiance to any opposition that dared to face them.

"You know he has a plan, Marianne." she whispered, seemingly speaking to the wind itself.

It howled in response, whipping her long green hair behind her, sending fresh snowflakes scattering everywhere.

"He is his son, after all." she continued, as if nothing happened "They always do."

She opened her striking golden eyes, looking over the magnificently lit landscape before her. The Narita mountain. Last stronghold of the Japanese Liberation Front. Cleverly built into the massive mountain, nurtured by the earth itself, nothing short of a heavy bombardment would even scratch the outer layers of the fortress.

The JLF's stronghold had kept them safe and hidden from Britannian claws for as long as they existed, allowing them to strike back against the oppressors, then slink away into safety.

But now the grim reaper had come back for them, and it was not pleased.

Part 5:

Britannia's forces steadily marched, heading up the mountain, drawing closer to the JLF's Headquarters with each minute, their Outer Heaven allies following closely behind. Zero had carefully been watching them advance, waiting for the right time to strike. The JLF took notice of the Britannian forces, and quickly acted, reading their artillery weapons and firing upon the soldiers, dealing minor casualties. Instinctively, Cornelia and Snake ordered their men to take cover, before Snake quickly snuck through in-between the trees and and blasted the artillery

Snake: "you're clear, move up"

Ocelot: "understood, boss"

As Zero and his men watched, Tamaki sneered "pshh, show-off"

Zero: "quiet, we don't want to blow our cover. Kallen, how's that Guren working out so far?"

Kallen: "it's great, I'm ready to take down Britannia!"

Zero: "that'll have to wait, I must observe Snake's fighting style more, Intel is key"

As they watched, the skirmishes escalated, launching into a full scale battle. Zero then pinpointed exactly what Snake was doing. Britannia engaged their enemies head on, intent on defeating. Snake, however was more methodical, moving slowly and taking his enemies quickly using Close Quarters Combat

Zero: "it's time, let's move!"

The Black Knights scattered out, taking down Britannian troops one after another. However, the troops of Outer Heaven were stronger, putting up more of a fight and retreating when faced with defeat, obviously smarter than their Britannian counterparts. Before long, they had caught up to Cornilea, who was less than pleased at their arrival

Cornilea: "I don't have time for this! Snake!"

Snake: "copy"

Snake rushed at the Black Knights, tearing through their line

Snake: "is this all you have to offer, Zero? Pathetic"

Zero: "oh, really? And what about what happened on Shadow Moses? Was that not pathetic of you?"

Snake was stunned, how did he know?!

Snake: "I'll kill you myself!"

Snake's attack was caught by the Guren Mk2, with Kallen taunting him

Kallen: "is all you have to offer, Snake?"

Snake: "this is between me and Zero! Kururugi!"

Suddenly, the Lancelot appeared out of nowhere and attacked the Guren, leaving Snake to pursue Zero

Snake: "now, Zero. It's just me and you"

Then, they suddenly heard someone yelling

Snake: "oh, what the fuck now"

Tamaki: "don't worry, Zero. I'll save you!"

... He did not, his Knightmare was shot down instantly

Snake: "I'm getting real tired of things interrupting us, Zero!"

Snake rushed Zero, attacking him with CQC, landing 4 hits before Zero counterattacked, damaging his right arm

Zero: "look at you, the great Big Boss! Who killed his brother then left his country"

Snake: "SHUT UP!"

Snake became more furious, attacking blindly while leaving himself completely open. And so, Zero took advantage of it, and lopped his right arm clean off, before continuing to attack Snake's Knightmare. Snake, cornered, with no way to attack, ejected from his Knightmare

Zero: "Snake has been defeated! March on Cornilea!"

As soon as the Outer Heaven soldiers heard those words, they rushed to help their Boss, their duty and loyalty belonging to him, not Britannia. Cornilea was surrounded, with the Lancelot locked in battle with the Guren, she had no more forces left. And so she acknowledged reality, and retreated, ordering Kururugi to do the same. The battle was won, the Black Knight's had triumphed, and the undefeated Big Boss suffered his first loss. Back at Outer Heaven, Snake's men had recovered him safely

Ocelot: "Jesus christ, what happened to you?"

Snake: "Zero. Zero happened"

Before long, they heard the sound of Cornilea approaching in her Knightmare

Ocelot: "yikes. I'll leave this to you"

Cornilea: "what the hell was that?! Your men abandoned me! You were supposed to aid me!"

Snake: "exactly, *my* men. It's not my fault your soldiers were incompetent"

Cornilea: "that's not the issue, they abandoned me!"

Snake: "if it was the other way around, your men would gladly abandon me to help you, you know why? It's something called loyalty, and their loyalty lies with me!"

Cornilea, frustrated left the area without saying another word. Leaving Kururugi behind

Snake: "how can you put up with her?"

Suzaku: "it's my job"

Snake: "I understand"

Suzaku: "hey, Snake?"

Snake: "hm?"

Suzaku: "what happened on Shadow Moses?"

Snake: "..."

SHADOW MOSES, 2005

Snake had finally defeated Liquid Snake, and had come face to face with him for one last fight

Snake: "it's over, Liquid!"

Liquid: "I think not, brother"

Snake: "why do you call me that?!"

Liquid: "you just don't understand, do you? We're genetic clones of each other, we are identical, but that changes today. Today, I prove my superiority!"

Liquid and Snake engaged in a duel, it was fierce, they exchanged blow after blow, it was anyone's fight. But then, finally, painstakingly, Snake landed the final blow, and reported to the Colonel

Snake: "Colonel, it's over..."

Colonel: "excellent, Snake

We're sending a pick up immediately"

Snake: "Colonel, before Liquid died, he said something. He said I was his brother, that we were genetic clones, is this true?"

Colonel: "I'm afraid it is..."

Snake: "I... Killed... My own brother"

Colonel: "Snake? Answer me, what's wrong? SNAKE?! SNAAAAAAAAKKKKEE!"

When the recovery team showed up, Snake was gone. The next day, he reported he arrived back at the mainland. 2 years later, he requested a discharge, wich was granted, and in the following years, he built Outer Heaven. The strongest military on earth, no one would rival it

AREA 11, 2015

Snake: "... None of your damn business"

Suzaku: "I'm... I'm sorry"

After a long silence, Suzaku departed

Hours later, Snake was informed by Dr. Akagi that Zahhak was halfway complete, soon he would be able to bring the fight to Zero...

MEANWHILE, IN TOKYO-3

All seemed to be peaceful for Captain Katsuragi, sure Ritsuko was helping Snake and wasn't there, but at least her head was clear. Placing down her beer can and looking at the mountain of papers, she suddenly felt a rumble, like an earthquake. She knew exactly what this was, making her way to the Commander center, Hyuga confirmed her suspicion, it was the 7th Angel, and it was heading directly for them...

TO BE CONTINUED

Part 6:

"Having been given command of their Evas, the pilots of Evangelion Units 01 and 02 wasted no time in getting to the enemy.

Their current commanding officer, Kozo Fuyutsuki, ordered them to remain put. However, the pilot of Unit 02 charged the enemy without support, incapacitating it briefly. The enemy then split into two, Subject Alpha and Subject Beta, who proceeded to defeat the Evangelions."

Thus read the report on the first sortie against the 7th Angel, codenamed Israfel.

Said pilots were now being very dignified: throwing insults and blame at eachother like corrupt executives when the stocks drop. "Well, I suppose that's as dignified as those two are ever going to be", the Sub-Commander thought to himself. The old man sighed. This would be a long week...

He gave the order that the pilots be trained in synch within NERV HQ, the plan being originally proposed by one Ryoji Kaji. For all the mistrust that man cultivated around himself, his plan was sound, if... unorthodox. Using music to defeat the "Angel of Song" was certainly ironic... The PR people could use that.

When Emperor Charles first saw Lelouch, the first thing he noticed were his eyes.

They glowed with curiosity and caution, trusting with apprehension, coldly deciphering all he saw.

It was in that moment that Charles knew that the boy before him was his son through more than just blood.

It was the moment after that in which Charles decided who his favourite son was.

It most certainly had nothing to do with the boy's eyes being the same shade as his, no matter how much Marianne said that it did.

He might have been a father more than a dozen times over by now, but Lelouch was the first of Charles' children that he actually paid attention to, and therefore the first whose first steps Charles had seen.

At first he had barely been able to move 3 feet, even while holding on to other things, soon he was walking as far as halfway to the other side of the villa before being spotted.

On Lelouch's 4th birthday, Charles had seen his son for the first time in months and was wondering how far his walking had come. He saw Lelouch running around the villa, tormenting the poor staff, however that wasn't the thing that stood out most to Charles.

No, what had grabbed his attention was how Lelouch walked.

With near perfectly still arms, confident strides and a determined expression, Lelouch seemed to emulate how his father walked.

Charles found the feeling that sprang forth within him odd, it made him feel like he was out in a field, with the strong and warm sun on his entire body, it was a welcome feeling, even if Charles didn't know what emotion it was.

A black and white chequered board sat between his two sons, on said board was some two dozen pieces, each resembled an abstract rendition of a human, there were some half dozen different shapes that they took, with almost half using the same mold, some half dozen pieces had been taken off the board, each sitting beside one of the two players, some were white, and some were black, but both operated the same, differing only in who commanded them.

This was the scene that greeted Charles shortly after he entered the villa's art room.

Charles instantly understood the game they were playing, chess, and it was immediately obvious which of the two was winning, in spite of his age of only 5 years, Lelouch was dominating the centre of the board, with Clovis currently struggling to keep pace.

It didn't take long for the two to notice his entrance, the two immediately greeted him with enthusiastic shouts of "Father!", at least they weren't like their older siblings, who — with the sole exception of Cornelia — were constantly clamouring for more power, these two just wanted their father's attention, which was fair, Charles wanted the same thing before his father died.

His heart warmed at the fact, and while he tried to hide it, a small smile crept through his otherwise perfectly crafted facade as he greeted them.

They say pride is the source of all evil, Charles would say it is deceit, but too often deceit comes from pride.

However whenever he sees his son take pride in something he did, Charles could never argue that pride was a sin.

They say that pride cometh before fall.

Charles saw that his son would only rise further.

Marianne had said on the day of Lelouch's birth that "One day, my son, you'll be Emperor of Britannia."

It was that same day that Charles decided that after his and Marianne's plans had been accomplished, after 'God' had been killed, that Lelouch would rule over more than just Britannia.

The debriefing after the battle hadn't taken long. As far as Rei was concerned there was nothing to criticize even if Misato begged to differ, citing the comical position Units 01 and 02 had landed in after the Angel's cores went critical. Still, the captain had insisted, it was a reason to celebrate.

The sky showed bright and blue, and cloudless. The perfect mark to begin the dawn of a new age. Metal Gear Zahhak, after weeks of construction, had been finally completed, and now Zero would get the fight taken to him. Snake knew he had a very low chance of surviving this war, no matter which way he looked at it. But he had to try.

Part 7:

"Well, this is it" Dr. Akagi, proclaimed, looking at the massive camo patterned Zahhak

Dr. Akagi: "I don't understand why the camo if it's going to be so massive"

Snake: "you never know, maybe I can blend in with a mountain. I have NORAD tracking Zero's movements, as soon as he pops up, I attack"

Dr. Akagi: "this NORAD of yours, an advanced tracking system?

Snake: "of course, it can track Santa Claus"

Dr. Akagi: "it didn't know you were also a comedian, Snake"

Snake: "huh? No, I'm being serious, NORAD tracks Santa-"

He was interrupted as Dr. Akagi started laughing, he tried to repeat

Snake: "I'm serious, NORAD tracks his sleigh-"

Once again interrupted, he became frustrated

Snake: "LISTEN TO ME... Every December, they set up a hotline-"

Snake gave up at that point. He walked to his personal armory and readied with his best equipment, a heavily armored military combat uniform with a F56 launcher. A grenade launcher designed by Snake to take down Knightmares. And for the first time in 19 years, Snake removed his bionic arm, and equipped a prosthetic designed specifically to help him pilot Zahhak. Now he was ready, and Zero would pay...

?: "wait! Don't go in yet!"

Or so he thought, Snake looked up to the figure yelling out for him, he already recognized his voice, but he didn't believe it. It was Otacon...

Snake quickly climbed down from Zahhak and rushed to his old friend

Snake: "Otacon, you computer-obsessed fool"

Snake and Otacon then performed the handshake they made 10 years ago

Snake: "how have you been?"

Otacon: "certainly better than you. What happened to your face?!"

Snake: "I grew a beard... Maybe you should have too, you don't look like you've aged a day"

Otacon: "I take that as a compliment... So this is the Metal Gear?"

Snake: "yeah, Metal Gear: Zahhak. The same idea you proposed 10 years ago"

Otacon: "hmm, the chassis is weird, how'd you build this?"

Snake: "I didn't, I enlisted the help of NERV. They built it for me to combat Zero"

Otacon: "I don't who's the loony that deemed this complete, but it has tons of problems! For one, the balancing on the cannons is way off, if you were to stand up, you'd fall over. And the energy circulation!"

Snake: "Otacon, relax. First time we meet in 10 years and all you talk about is work?"

Otacon: "you're right, sorry... Well, what do you suggest"

Snake: "take a walk with me, Hal"

Snake and Otacon walked along the shore, admiring the birds and oceanfront. Eventually being far enough away from the base, they sat down and began catching up, reminiscing about old times, and laughing together

Snake: "... And then, when he noticed me, I juts grabbed his gun and ran! Ahahaha!"

Otacon: "Ahhahah!... You know, Snake, you've had a lot of adventures without me... After you left, and made Outer Heaven... I thought I'd never see you again... Then I heard you were in Area 11. You won't believe how fast I ordered a flight here!"

Snake: "I missed you too, Otacon... There was no one like you after Shadow Moses... Tell me, there's nothing wrong with Zahhak, is there?"

Otacon: "... No... There isn't, it's just... You made it without me..."

Snake: "I'm sorry, Hal... I didn't have time to wait for you"

Otacon: "Hey, Snake. Are you hungry?"

Snake: "what? No, no. Otacon, I will not go in public"

Otacon: "ah, come on! Don't be such a buzzkill!"

Snake: "NO"

Otacon: "I'll buy you cigars on the way!"

Snake: "... (over radio) Kaz, I'm gonna be out for a while, take care of everything while I'm gone"

Otacon: "that's the spirit! Now, I don't intend to get in public looking like that. I brought you some casual clothes, and a glove and beanie to cover up your shrapnel and bionic arm"

Snake then proceeded to tranquilizer Otacon and changed, before waking him up

Snake: "Otacon, get up"

Otacon: "huh?... What... Happened?"

Snake: "I tranquilized you, now let's go"

Otacon: "I'm coming, I'm coming"

MEANWHILE, IN TOKYO-3

Shinji Ikari and Asuka Langley had been held back from their school trip in case an angel showed up. And what perfect timing, what started out as a bunch of little tremors had just been confirmed to be an angel sleeping inside a volcano

Dr. Akagi: "it's still an embryo, so it doesn't pose a threat for now. Still, it's best to retrieve it before something else happens"

Asuka: "yeah, well, I'm not going looking like this! I look absurd"

Dr. Akagi: "but, it's necessary to ward off the heat of the volcano"

Asuka: "absolutely not! You better make the Eleven do it! Because I refuse!"

Kaji: "and here I was looking forward to seeing you in battle"

Asuka: "Kaji?! I-uh.. I mean..."

And suddenly Asuka was on board with the idea, thanks to Kaji. Unit-02 was given the type D configuration to delve into the lava and Shinji was ordered to be on standby in Unit-01. Unit-02 descended further and further, and Asuka's bravado had stopped blasting through to Shinji as the heat became almost too much to bear. At long last, Asuka had arrived at the location of the angel. At first glance, it looked like a harmless egg, but that was about to change. The embryo quickly grew and grew and began swarming Asuka, attacking Unit-02 and breaking it's heat resistant armor. Asuka tried fighting back with her prog knife, but it was an uphill battle as she dropped it further into the Volcano. Shinji was quickly ordered to toss his knife to her, he cates quickly and hurled with all his might so his knife would reach her in time. The knife flew through the lava and was caught by Asuka, who quickly fought back and stabbed the angel, inflicting heavy damage. Asuka then slashed it and stabbed it one more time before it finally died. With the angel dead, they were ready to bring her up again, but much to everyone's dismay, the cord was in no shape to pull her in thanks to the angel's attacks. Shinji, panicked, dove in despite everyone's protests and descended into the volcano,her teaching Asuka just in time, he grabbed her hand and told Dr. Akagi to reel them in. Outside of the volcano, Asuka was livid that once again her credit was stolen by someone as Shinji had saved her, and exploded at him. Misato then stopped her, and told her if he hadn't acted, she'd be dead. The tension in the air was palpable as they departed from the volcano after a job done. But meanwhile, at NERV, Commander Ikari once again was in a meeting with the Old Men Of Seele

Seele 6: "is the task fulfilled, Ikari?"

Gendo: "yes, the 8th angel was successfully slain"

Seele 1: "good, all is proceeding according to plan. The Dead Sea Scrolls are guiding the way"

Gendo just smirked, he knew in his mind that the old men were fools, and he'd prove that once he was reunited with Yui"

Seele 1: "you are dismissed for now, Ikari"

Gendo: "of course, your highness" Gendo retorted mockingly. As the obelisks vanished one by one, Ikari went over to his desk and sat down in his usual pose, always scheming

MEANWHILE, AT THE EMPEROR'S PALACE

Emperor Charles was a busy man, with Seele, and Zero and everything else in his empire, he had few time to actually walk around his palace. Waking to the music room he immediately noticed his Silver-Haired Doppelganger lounging in the corner, listening to "Ode To Joy". As the song wrapped up, Kaworu Nagisa opened his eyes and turned to the Emperor

Kaworu: "music is mankind's greatest creation, don't you think?"

Charles: "not quite. Mankind's greatest creation is-"

Kaworu: "it appears then we are very different"

Charles: "interrupting me? You are too defiant for your own good, clone"

Kaworu: "what's wrong? Don't like looking in the mirror?"

Kaworu then shot Charles a very defiant grin, before playing a different record. Charles, putting aside his frustrations, simply listened along with Kaworu

AREA 11

Snake and Otacon strolled through the city. Otacon was amazed by the technology present, Snake on the other hand was less amazed, but was still surprised as this was the first time he'd seen the city while not in battle with Zero. It really was as beautiful as he'd imagined, then he remembered what Otacon promised

Snake: "Ota... Hal, where's the place I can get my cigars?"

Otacon: "okay, fine, it's just around the corner. But you shouldn't smoke so much, it's bad for your lungs"

Snake: "like I care-"

Something was wrong, Snake's vision became distorted, he felt light-headed. All of a sudden, he had spit up blood, he tried to maintain his balance, but before long, he fainted. Snake awoke in the Outer Heaven medical bay, as it dawned on him what had happened, he panicked, he didn't think it would happen so soon

Otacon: "Snake! Over here"

Snake turned his head to see Otacon

Otacon: "are you okay? You just passed out"

Snake: "no, Otacon. I'm not okay, it's..."

Otacon: "it's what?"

Snake: "... FOXDIE..."

Otacon: "what? I thought it was dormant!"

Snake: "I did too, if FOXDIE is activated, then I don't have long, it's now or never. Hal, get out of the room a bit, I need to record something"

Otacon exited the room, and Snake pulled out his tape recorder, 3 minutes later, Snake rushed out of the room and got ready, it was now or never

Snake: "Hal. Take this, when it's all over, give it to Ocelot and Miller, they'll know what to do"

Snake made his way to Metal Gear: Zahhak and powered it up, before saying one last goodbye to Hal, marching right into Area 11, Snake called out

Snake: "Zero! I know you're listening! It's time to settle this! Face me! One shall stand, one shall fall!"

Snake didn't know what would be the outcome of the battle. But whatever it was, he was prepared...

TO BE CONTINUED

Part 8:

It is said that animals can sense approaching disaster. It was well documented that in the hours before earthquakes that dogs and horses would show signs of distress and skittishness. Scientists had a technical term for this collective activity. It was called 'Freaking the Fuck Out'. And such was among this day's activities for the soldiers of Outer Heaven after the battle between Snake and Zero...

Snake was dead. Or at least that was the word going around base. But after around 4 hours, he showed back up again, somehow miraculously surviving the utter destruction of Metal Gear Zahhak. The Mecha was blown up, apparently by the Black Knights, in the midst of battle between Snake and Zero, with collateral damage being an entire neighborhood and a few hundred casualties. Zero and the Black Knights went back underground after the Battle and Snake was presumed dead... And yet here he was, as if the battle never happened. It was very fishy to say the least.

Otacon and Miller knew something was up, but for some reason they couldn't even think of doing anything. Literally. Almost as if they were not allowed, forbidden to. They chalked it up to overzealous loyalty.

Snake then organized another battle with Zero, right after his previous one. But this time, NERV had cleared the Evas to be sent out to assist him; apparently the Brittanian Emperor himself ordered this, and no one could deny him. And so it was that he was sent out to do battle yet again...

Zero knew what was about to happen thanks to some well-placed unwilling "spies" within NERV. And so he prepared his next little theater act, just according to plan...

In the midst of battle, as Snake was about to beat Zero, with the Evas on standby, he was shown a tape on his Metal Gear. The Truth Tape, also shown to all of Outer Heaven, and Otacon and Miller suddenly pieced it together: Zero had somehow manipulated them.

Nevertheless, Snake and Zero joined forces. The Evas were sicced on them like a pack of rabid dogs, of course, but a master operative and a master strategist had their methods of escape.

Hearing of this news, the Emperor of Brittania, Charles zi Brittania, did something very uncharacteristic: he swore.

"Kaworu, I have a use for you."

"Oh? And what would you wish, your Highness?"

"I will have V. V. give you a Geass. Go and make Zero's life hell."

"... With pleasure."

Part 9:

Silence, emptiness, blackness. All of these could be used to sum up Clone Snake's existence before he was awoken. And then one day he finally opened his eyes and was met with Charles Zi Britannia and Kaworu Nagisa

Kaworu: "I still don't know why you have so much Snakes, if one failed, how would the others succeed?"

Charles: "the enemy is weakened, he will win. Besides it's good to have backups"

Before the Snake clone could process any of their words, Emperor Charles barked out his orders

Charles: "heed me, Solid Snake! From this day onward, you have no recollection of this place, nor of your death, you did not die in your duel with Zero.

You did not kill Liquid Snake, and you are Big Boss, leader of Outer Heaven! Now go! Make Zero pay!"

Snake did as ordered, with all his memories of being a clone wiped. He was deployed to Area 11. From overhead he could see the flaming wreckage of Metal Gear Zahhak. Upon reaching a safe altitude, he jumped out of the plane and parachuted to the naval fortress. At his arrival his men were ecstatic at his "survival". A man he was sure he recognized ran up to him, Otacon

Otacon: "Snake?! You're alive! It's a good thing you activated the ejector seat in time, huh?"

Snake wanted to say something, but couldn't, instead remaining silent. Miller was most confused by this, when he last saw Snake he was furious and angry, but now he was calm and collected and barely made any facial expression. But, Miller's confusion was cleared up when he was handed the tape by Otacon, he listened to it privately. And was shocked... The person that had come back... Wasn't Snake, before he could reveal the truth to everyone, he notice an Outer Heaven soldier following him and turned around

Miller: "what's the matter?"

Soldier?: "Lelouch Vi Britannia commands you, Give me the tape and forget it even existed!"

Miller: "yes, your highness"

Miller handed the tape to Zero, who escaped without any trouble. Hours later, during the battle at Tokyo-3, Zero used that very same tape. He played it on his Knight mare's speakers so everyone would hear, and everyone would know who this "Snake" was. When Snake came to, he decided the best course if action was to team up with Zero. All Britannia had done all his life was control him, he was done. Zero and Snake escaped along with Outer Heaven and The Black Knights, marching away together for the first time. Snake snapped back, he was a flashback about the events that happened three days ago, the day he was made AREA 11's most wanted, right up there with Zero. Of course, the Black Knights didn't trust him at first, but after Zero revealed all their actions against Snake, Operation Snake Eater, Shadow Moses, the clone project, theur tune changed, he had a common reason to fight Britannia. But the clone didn't care that Zero revealed this, why would he? It wasn't his memories, it was Snake's...

4 DAYS LATER

Lelouch Lamperouge had just finished another boring day of school. He didn't pay attention all that well and mostly plotted and schemed. As soon as the bell rang, he was one of the first to begin packing, itching to get back to his hideout and don his masked Alter-Ego...

MEANWHILE, IN TOKYO-3

Gendo Ikari... He was not an easy man to get a reaction out of, he didn't care for anything and always accomplished his goals... But today, was different... It had been one week since the battle at Tokyo-3, a battle in which his enemy escaped, even when he sicked the Evangelions on them... Gendo Ikari... Was absolutely... Fucking livid.

In the cafeteria, the three pilots were uncharacteristically in the same room

Asuka: "now, I'm no psychologist. But I think the Commander's pissed"

Shinji: "why do you say that, Asuka?"

Asuka: "well, for one. We haven't been given any tasks in a week, he's barely looked at us or even glared and he's always in his office"

Shinji: "... Do you think it's because of Zero?..."

Asuka: "of course it is, dummy! That masked freak always finds some way to push people's buttons... Especially the Commander, considering that stunt he pulled with Snake, but you know what they say "once a traitor, always a traitor""

Shinji: "... Did... Did you seriously just steal that from ?"

Asuka: "shut up"

Rei Ayanami was not partaking in the conversation, she was too busy in her own head

Rei(thinking to herself): "so... That Snake was a clone... But he was unaware?... He was forced to fight? He did not choose to?... I... I feel a similarity between me and him, especially since I am the second Rei Ayanami... But, does that justify fighting his country? Is he allowed to betary them, simply because they revived him? Did he want to die? Or is it because he was fighting against his will in a cause he doesn't believe in?"

Shinji: "Rei!"

Rei: "huh? What is it, pilot Ikari?"

Shinji: "I was trying to talk to you, but you didn't listen, are you okay?"

Rei: "yes, I am fine. I was merely lost in thought"

It was then that Commander Ikari himself entered the cafeteria, they could tell he was shaking, shaking with anger

Gendo: "pilots... I have a new objective for you... Find Zero... And fucking gut him..."

They were all shocked, this was nothing like the Commander that was once cold, calculated, and methodical. Now he was humiliated and furious, and wanted revenge. But no one could say anything, not even Fuyutsuki who stood there horrified unable to speak. And from that day onward, NERV began to hunt the Black Knights

MEANWHILE, IN AREA 11, EXACT LOCATION UNKNOWN

Lelouch had walked some 15 miles outside the city in order to change into his Alter Ego and get to his hideout, but he felt like he was being followed. He couldn't risk it, he intentionally took the wrong path, only to hear someone say condescendingly "I'm sorry, you took a wrong turn!". Lelouch spun around but there was no one there

?: "hey, my eyes are up here, buddy!"

He looked up, only to see a Silver-haired 14 year old boy floating there, as he descended, he called out.

Kaworu: "Lelouch Lamperouge, Kaworu Nagisa, pleased to finally make your acquaintence!".

He said joyously with a bow. Lelouch was baffled, who is this guy?!

Kaworu: "what? Would you prefer it if I called you Lelouch Vi Britannia?... Or maybe Zero?"

Lelouch was scared out of his mind. He needed to get rid of this guy ASAP

Kaworu: "interesting, within one second of telling you that, you thought of 37 different ways to get rid of me, unfortunately for all of them you forgot to account for one thing, I know what you're going to do... Hmm... Now it's jumped to 84 now that you suspect I have Geass, well you'd be right, but which one of my abilities is Geass?... Hm?... Only one plan?"

Lelouch then whipped out his pistol and shot at Kaworu. Only for it to bounce off a hexagonal energy field

Kaworu: "no this isn't my Geass Lelouch, I know you're asking that. Nethier is my ability to float. Guess what my Geass is?"

Lelouch(thinking): "wait, if he knows everything in thinking of... That must mean his Geass is!..."

Kaworu: "Bingo! Look who finally figured it out. Yes Lelouch, I can read each and every one of your thoughts, even your subconscious. And don't try and flood your mind, I can sort through your thoughts"

Lelouch(thinking): "how am I supposed to beat him?! He knows each one of my moves! I can't do anything!"

Kaworu: "I like you Lelouch, so I'll give you another shot, run now... And I won't kill you and rip out your intestines

Lelouch dashed off, desperate to get away from Kaworu

Through Kaworu's earpiece, he could hear someone yell "why did you let him get away?!"

Kaworu: "oh? Oh... I guess I had too much fun"

MEANWHILE, AT THE BLACK KNIGHTS HEADQUARTERS

Solidus Snake, as he was now caing himself (due to it being the perfect state of Solid and Liquid) sat in his quarters, holding the truth tape. It was signed "From The Man Who Sold The World". He decided to play it one more time, as always, it started with the sounds of the lab in which Solidus was created, and then...

Venom Snake began speaking

Venom Snake: "... Now do you remember... Who you are? What you were meant to do?... I'm sorry you had to find out like this... After my death, this tape will given to my most trusted, if you're listening, it means you're ready... I'm sorry... I never wanted this for you... I never wanted ANY of this for you... But even now as the virus takes control of my body, I must pass the torch onto you... I Am Big Boss, And So Are You... We are the same, it's up to you now to continue my fight... For freedom, for justice... Not obeying anyone except yourself... My fight will be completed by you... Thank You My Friend... From Here On Out... You're Big Boss."

TO BE CONTINUED...

Part 10:

"Now do you remember?... Who you are?" Solidus rewound the tape. "Now do you remember?... Who you are?" He rewound it again and again, fixated on it, like a moth to a flame. Suddenly, he felt a tap on his shoulder.

Otacon: "Snake? You okay?" No reply was forthcoming from the boss, so Hal just continued. "Um... Zero wants to talk to you." Solidus didn't seem to acknowledge this much if at all. Hal left the room, meeting with Ocelot and Miller right outside the door.

"So?" asked Ocelot. "He uh, didn't seem to really care." replied Otacon. "We really don't want to piss off Zero, if Snake doesn't come out in 5 minutes we are fucked-"

The door suddenly opened and Snake walked to the Black Knights HQ Meeting Room. His close allies noticed that his walk was a slow, disinterested shamble compared to his confident march before the Zahhak incident.

Solidus sat at the table, with his allies taking seats besides him, facing Zero and his own allies. The silence was tense, and lingered for several long moments, before:

Zero: "So, I propose an official alliance between Outer Heaven and the Black Knights. We will share resources, headquarters, and promise to aid eachother in the future against our common enemies."

Solidus: "That sounds good enough to me." He didn't want to go back to hiding on an island, and having an ally would be a change of pace.

Zero: "Well, we have to fortify the base for a while. I have it on good authority that a threat could be coming... if you have any missions outside of base you want to conclude, now's the time to say so."

Miller: "Actually, we do have something we want you to investigate, Boss..."

Solidus picked up that Miller wanted to talk about that more privately. "Very well, me and my guys will be on a mission for a while. Zero?"

The two men stood up and shook hands. Zero immediately took to fortifying the base, and Solidus immediately prepared for the mission Miller mentioned.

Neither knew what the gravity of was to come.

- ... -

Zero and the Black Knights were holed up in their hideout, with their arms and equipment, ready for a fight. As far as Lelouch knew, that silver-haired boy had no weaknesses, and could see his plans ahead of time, which was a terrible combination. He had thought of forcing him into a situation where he would be outmatched, and so figured a stake out from a fortified position would do the trick, but the boy hadn't shown up yet. Lelouch seethed; how come it was always dumb luck foiling his plans? If it were just him and Cornelia on a battlefield, he would've won by now! ... "Patience", he reminded himself; if he kept his cool through this, he'd find a weakness, a heel for that silver Achilles. Patience, forbearance, and caution, is all he would need to win.

Gendo had just returned to the command post from sending out the Evas to find Zero. All the while, he was being followed and talked at (not talked to), by Fuyutsuki, Ritsuko and eventually Misato. They said this was a reckless plan. They made remarks about his state of mind, decrying his insanity. They urged him, pleaded with him, then outright begged him to call off the attack lest the city be potentially destroyed. But Gendo didn't listen nor care. Gendo was going to find Zero and eliminate him, extinguish his peasant uprising and do away with his false notions of equality. If successful, even the Old Men and the Emperor wouldn't be able to persecute him. If successful.

Kaworu had decided to lose Zero "accidentally" and take a break, sitting by one of the artificial lakes created by N2 bombardment as a result of the ongoing Angel Wars. The Ashinoko lakes, of which there were three, would be considered unremarkable by any person, for a Japanese they could even be considered a depressing side effect of the war, but for Kaworu he considered them utterly beautiful. That man had the ability to bend and destroy nature in such a way was both inspiring and terrifying to him. He knew that his erstwhile masters were probably sending someone to apprehend or kill him, then take his place, by now, but if he had to die he'd choose here. After all, like the lake, he too is a product of man's folly.

He could even see Babel Tower, that ambitious skyscraper with the blasphemous name, from over here. Maybe dying isn't so bad. But rather than catching thoughts of murder coming near him, he caught a feeling of frantic anxiety and... looking to his left saw a giant robot patrolling the streets.

He floated upwards in front of it to say his greetings. "Hello!" He spoke to the giant behemoth, or more accurately, into the giant behemoth's pilot's mind. "My name is Kaworu Nagisa! What's yours?"

Shinji was utterly confused. "You can.. speak into my mind?"

At NERV HQ, sirens rang out. "Blood pattern blue! We've detected an angel!" Lt Ibuki cried out. "All Evas! Attack that angel!" Misato ordered. 'Fascinating... it can communicate telepathically, can it shapeshift? None of this in the Dead Sea Scrolls', Ritsuko thought to herself.

Shinji was by now panicked and still confused. "W-wait, you're an angel?!"

"Well, I suppose you can call me one." The reply in his head came back.

He didn't need a moment to decide; Unit 01's giant hand swung at the Angel, who just barely moved out of it's way.

"Oh, sorry Shinji, just remembered I have an old friend to catch. See ya!" Kaworu proceeded to fly away, with Shinji giving chase.

Zero was now growing suspicious, both due to the Evas patrolling the city and due to the silver-hair not having attacked yet. And then, the radios at his HQ rang out: the city was being quarantined due to an angel attack.

"Just terrific..."

Zero called Solidus, who had left the HQ earlier on a mission, to ask his help in the matter...

"This is not going according to the scenario", the voice of SEELE-06 rang out.

"We must assemble all of the members of the Geass order and send them to Tokyo 3 at once. Ikari has failed us. Nagisa has failed us." SEELE-05 suggested.

Emperor Charles was very wary, and very on edge. His doppelganger's betrayal was planned for, even expected, as was Commander Ikari's; but for both of them to betray at the same time and in such circumstances was unaccounted for. SEELE needed to make sure Third Impact was prevented for now, or the results could be catastrophic.

"SEELE-06, send out the Geass order, and tell the army they have the green light to attack NERV HQ. SEELE-05, assemble the said army and call Cornelia to command it; make sure Kururugi is there. If necessary, send out the MP-Evas. We must accelerate our time table significantly, if we are to keep the upper hand." the Emperor decided, and SEELE obeyed. His will would triumph.

Asuka, commanding her Unit 02, was following the Angel, with Unit 01 close behind. Unit 00 had been ordered to a completely different part of the city, for whatever reason she didn't know nor care. This Angel would be hers, then she'd prove she was better than everyone else.

Solidus was in China, being in a secret meeting with Li Xingke, a Chinese general, discussing a potential coup d'etat against the Eunuchs. With Solidus were Ishmael, Ocelot, Miller, and Otacon.

Xingke was discussing potential battle plans when Solidus' phone rang. The chatter of the room came to a sudden halt as Miller looked at the caller ID and relayed it. "It's Zero. Must be urgent."

Opening the line, Solidus put the phone to his ear. "Solidus. We're under attack from an Angel and NERV's Evas. Where are you?"

Solidus knew that he wouldn't arrive in time to do anything. The trip to China took well over a week, and in that week he saw Zero simply holing up and waiting for an enemy attack.

"I'm in the Forbidden City, Zero."

"In the.. what? ... Why are you in China?!"

"Complicated business, listen Zero, I don't think I can get to you in time..."

The other line hung up.

"Zero?..."

Xingke realized that whatever was happening was dangerous business. "Solidus. You should hide here until we get word of whatever is going on in Tokyo 3."

"What? Are you crazy?! Zero's our ally, we can't just abandon him there!" Ocelot protested.

Otacon: "Listen, Ocelot... it's... it's our only choice... r-right, boss?"

Solidus: "... It is."

Ocelot turned around. He walked away. "Maybe you aren't the Big Boss I hoped for after all..."

He would get there, or die trying.

It is said that animals can sense approaching disaster. It was well documented that in the hours before earthquakes that dogs and horses would show signs of distress and skittishness. Scientists had a technical term for this collective activity. It was called 'Freaking the Fuck Out'. And such was the mood of the entire populace of the city of Tokyo 3 on that fateful day.

The Angel, designated the 9th and codenamed Tabris, led Units 01 and 02 straight into the secret HQ of the Black Knights. What happened next was chaos and pandamonium: the Evas attacked the Knights, the Knights evacuated and blew their HQ up, damaging Unit 02; Zero himself seemed MIA, and command fell to Ohgi and Kallen, now leading the Knights through some underground tunnels.

The tunnels were old, much much older than Tokyo 3, that much they knew. 'Why did Zero build our HQ on top of them?' Kallen wondered. The Black Knights then hit a massive wall of black stone, looking like obsidian, but shimmering with otherwordly light... and they saw a small crack, with a marble arch extending it into a doorway. Reluctantly, Ohgi entered, Kallen followed, and so did the rest of the Knights...

The Brittanian Army, the Geass Order, Cornelia and Suzaku Kururugi. All now a united front against NERV. NERV HQ was breached, it's workers massacred. Commander Ikari ordered all floors below sequestered, but the Brittanians had Earl Lloyd on their side, and he managed to open them up.

Gendo played his last ace: Rei was ordered to initiate her self-destruct against the Army and obliterate it, which she did faithfully.

Suzaku, piloting his Lancelot, attempted to take most of the damage, but all he succeeded in was saving the life of Cornelia and her officers. Thousands of soldiers had just died, and Rei II's life came to an end...

Gendo went to the Rei clone tanks, Adam in one hand, a gun in the other. "Final moves before Checkmate. Looks like I win, your Majesty." With that, a clone was awakened.

"Rei. Follow me to Terminal Dogma. It's time."

"Yes, Commander Ikari."

Suddenly, while Unit 01 was helping Unit 02 to move back to NERV HQ, a pack of what looked like white Evas appeared in the skies, numbering eight in total, circling the two like hungry vultures. Shinji stopped, Asuka looked up at those abominations with contempt.

Not one second later, they rushed down and attacked the two Evas. Shinji tried to fight back; he drew the prog knife and skewered an MP-Eva, while Asuka barely held her own, thanks to the damage Unit 02 sustained. Shinji turned around to help his fellow pilot, but an MP-Eva stabbed him in the back.

Shinji screamed in pain, and suddenly, a giant red Lance burst forth from the ground into his hand. He swung at the MP-Evas, cleanly bissecting one in two. Now, he had a chance...

In Terminal Dogma, Commander Ikari arrived with Rei in tow, and ran into a few unexpected but familiar faces. Zero, Kaji, and Tabris had all arrived there. Zero had Kaji at gunpoint. When Kaji spotted the commander, he gave a wink, and playfully said "I tried, sir."

Zero and Gendo both had their guns drawn on eachother. Tabris was floating high above, looking into the seven-eyed mask atop the crucified body of... "Lilith?!... I see what your plan is now, Lilim... you seek complementation."

"Complementation will be beneficial for mankind", said Rei. "It will ensure no more pain or betrayal."

"By sacrificing individuality, and free will."

"Free will is an illusion", said Zero. "All people are puppets to one cause or another."

"My cause is the most just of all", said Gendo. "And you've picked a terrible choice of hostage."

Gendo fired, Kaji was hit. Zero had used him as a meat shield. Then, Zero's eye was exposed.

"I command you: surrender to me!"

The Geass hit Gendo's reflective glasses, and was utterly negated. Gendo shot Zero, who doubled over on the ground.

A joyous laugh erupted from above.

"Well well, it's been fun, but now I have to go. See you, little ones!"

Tabris then merged with Lilith.

Gendo panicked; he shoved Adam inside of Rei, who also merged with Lilith.

Third Impact was now beginning...

Shinji was losing, and badly. The Lance was a boon for a while, but the MP-Evas continued to regenerate over and over, and Asuka was on her last legs.

Suddenly, Shinji felt a piercing pain in his back, and Asuka watched in horror as Unit 01 sprouted two wings of orange light, and began to ascend to the heavens...

- ... -

Shinji awoke on a red beach, seeing no-one around. The white sands were cold rather than warm, the red ring in the sky seeming like an ethereal call to the heavens...

He knew something had gone terribly, terribly wrong.

Part 11:

AREA 11

AFTER THIRD IMPACT

A man walked across the infinite alabaster shores, he couldn't remember how long it had been since Third Impact. All he could remember was walking miles and miles, looking for any signs of life on the neverending beaches. He had lost all hope a long time ago, but he had to know, he needed to know. There had to be someone, anyone. As he continued walking hopelessely, he saw something red and something white in the horizon. He began rushing, he finally found someone, when he drew close however, he stopped dead in his tracks. They were the two Evangelion pilots, suddenly he felt overwhelmed to snuff them out, he kept telling himself it was all their fault, but he hesitated once they noticed him standing behind them. The first one was obvious, Shinji Ikari, he looked devastated and turned back around quickly after acknowledging the man's presence. The second one was Asuka Soryu, she was laying down on the sand, her arm in a sling, staring at the sky. Both of them looked apathetic, like they didn't care about the man's presence. Suddenly, he broke the silence

Man: "this is it? You're all that's left of NERV?"

They didn't respond

Man: "what the hell happened to you two?"

The silence persisted, it was almost choking. Without a choice, and not willing to forsake with might be the last life on earth, the Man sat down next to the two teenagers

Man: "... Your father... He was the Commander, wasn't he?"

Shinji still refused to talk

Man: "... My mother... I was separated from her when I was born... I was held in captivity... And threatened with death multiple times... My only choice was to fight against Britannia... Till the day I faked my death..."

Something in Shinji finally clicked, and he turned to look at the man, he was wearing goggles and a scarf that covered his mouth, he had a revolver strapped to his hip, but most strikingly of all, was his messy silver hair on his head. Shinji finally recognized him..

Shinji: "... You're from Outer Heaven, aren't you...?"

Man: "... Yes... They called me Revolver Ocelot..."

Ocelot expected Shinji to be full of rage, but instead he kept the same far off look on his face

Shinji: "... It doesn't matter anymore..."

Ocelot: "can you walk?"

Shinji merely nodded

Ocelot: "good... What about her?"

He shook his head

Ocelot: "broken leg... Look, we need to move, standing around waiting to die is not a viable option... Besides if there are still people... We have, no. We *need* to find them"

Shinji: "what's the point?..."

Ocelot: ""what's the point?". So you've just given up?... The mighty Shinji Ikari, lying down and accepting death?... No. Stand up, there's still hope."

As Ocelot stood, he saw Shinji continued to stare at the red sea

Ocelot: "I said ON YOUR FEET, SOLDIER!"

the sudden yell startled Shinji, and he could have swore he briefly heard his father's voice in Ocelot's demand. Hesitantly, he got to his feet, still staring at the ocean. Ocelot sighed "it's a start, at least... Help her up, we need to move before nightfall, I don't wanna stick around till then"

Asuka: "don't dare touch me" she suddenly said, full of venom

Ocelot: "fine... You don't wanna move, that's on you... I'll just have to bring them to us, then"

As Ocelot said that, he drew a flare gun, he prayed to any God out there that someone would see it, and fired. As it reached 300 meters in the air, it exploded in a brilliant green flash

Shinji: "... You couldn't have used that in the first place?..."

Ocelot: "don't sass me"

He stood in silence for a long time, Shinji had already sat back down, Ocelot began shaking his head "no... It can't be...". When all hope seemed lost, another green flare shot up in response

Ocelot: "YES!"

Ocelot couldn't contain himself, for the first since Third Impact, he felt hope, he wasn't the last member of Outer Heaven.

Hours passed, Ocelot was pacing, waiting for the arrival of whoever sent the flare. Suddenly, he heard the sand crunching behind him and spun around, coming face to face with the barrel of an MRS-AM4. He examined the shooter, he was wearing a mask with a singular, piercing blue eye in the middle, the rest of his head was wrapped in bandages, he was wearing an Outer Heaven uniform with heavy body armor. Without thinking, Ocelot fired a bullet from his revolver, sending the rifle flying, the attacker quickly retailted with a roundhouse kick which Ocelot caught, throwing him off balance and into the ground. Ocelot punched down the man's masked face, his other fist was caught as the attacker jumped back to his feet "he knows CQC?" Ocelot thought to himself. He was surprised when the masked man stood down, raising his hands, a familiar voice spoke

?: "sorry, sir. Had to make sure it was you."

Ocelot: "... Ishmael?"

Ishmael immediately threw his arm up in a salute

Ocelot: "at ease..."

Ishmael examined Ocelot and the two children behind him

Ishmael: "that's it?..."

Ocelot: "I was surprised as well... Is the Boss with you?"

Ishmael shook his head "but..." he added "take a look at this..."

Ishmael took out his IDroid and lit it up, he scrolled to a category which contained all the staff "the staff..." Ishmael explained "all have a heart rate monitor on them. I was lucky to find a spare IDroid back on base when I emerged"

Ocelot looked at the screen, he couldn't believe it "no..."

Ishmael: "the only ones alive... Were me... You... And the Boss..."

Ocelot fell to his knees in disbelief, furious, he punched the sand and screamed towards the sky, as if it was going to answer his rage.

Ishmael: "it's nine years ago all over again..." he said as he put the IDroid away. He knelt down next to his superior, and began speaking "look... I know it's bad... But there's a chance they'll come back... Look" he said lifting up his arm "I found this, a myoelectric gauntlet. It's different from a prosthetic, it goes right over the arm...". "cut to the chase" Ocelot ordered

Ishmael: "this one has the ability to use a bio-sonar. We can find the Boss, my mask lets me see what it picks up"

Ishmael then slammed his gauntlet into the sand and looked in front of him

Ishmael: "3 human beings. 300 meters northwest..."

Ocelot: "I'll go investigate. You look after these two... And you're a medic, right?"

Ishmael: "yes sir"

Ocelot: "Soryu's badly injured, see what you can do..."

Ocelot headed southwest, gripping his revolver tightly, he didn't know what awaited him up ahead, it could be hostiles

As he traveled, the sand faded and ruined buildings came into sight. When he was 30 meters away, he took out his Int-Scope and zoomed in, he recognized them. It was Zero, Kallen and Ohgi. He jogged closer, shouting out to them

Ocelot: "Zero! Well I'll be damned. You just can't die, can you, you stubborn bastard?"

Zero: "Ocelot, what are you doing here?"

Ocelot: "I was on my way to aid you... When all... This... Happened"

Zero: "how many of Outer Heaven survived?"

Ocelot: "just three... Me... The Boss... And One Of Our Best..."

Zero: "where are their current whereabouts?"

Ocelot: "they're situated on a beach 300 meters that way... And I found something I think you'll like..."

MEANWHILE, ON BRITAINNIA

Charles sat on his throne in his empty halls. Kaworu's plan escaped right from his clutches. Not all his court had returned, and the only soldier he'd been in contact with so far was Suzaku Kururugi, who had unceremoniously promoted to be a knight of the round and sent on his way to hunt down Lelouch. Indeed, the secret was out, Suzaku knew who Zero was, and Charles would scorch everything to find him and put him down, he couldn't afford another mistake like this...

BACK ON AREA 11

Ishmael: "don't try and move around too much, just get some rest and wait till the medecine kicks in" Ishmael said as he finished putting a cast around Asuka's leg, who seemed to not pay attention to him. He looked back and saw Ocelot approach with Zero and his men

Zero: "you're right Ocelot, I do like this. You found the Evangelion pilots."

"Sir.." Ishmael said, addressing Ocelot "both of them seem to have some form of physical injury, be it minor in Shinji's case or major in Asuka's case, and they're both mentally and emotionally unstable, I suggest we don't put too much pressure on them until they seem stable enough for questioning"

Zero brushed off Ishmael and walked over to the pilots, but was stopped by Ocelot

Ocelot: "you heard the man. Leave em' be"

Zero: "we don't have time for this, let me pass-"

"No" Ocelot firmly replied "you were a powerful military leader, but that's just it. You *were*. From now on, we're all the same, no more, no less. Got that?"

Zero gave no reply, instead turning to Ishmael

Zero: "how long until they recover?"

Ishmael: "a long time, the trauma they went through was recent. They'll probably therapy and Asuka will need physical Therapy to treat her leg, it's broken in four places and her knee his dislocated, I treated best I could but patience is key"

Zero didn't say anything, merely scoffing and sitting on a nearby rock. "well" Ohgi spoke up "it'll be night soon. Any of you guys know how to make a campfire?" he joked. "you *kidding* me?" Ishmael threw back "it's basic rookie training. I'll have one set up in a couple minutes".

Ohgi: "wow..."

"yep..." Ocelot replied "I did say he's One Of Our Best...". "Probably our only best" he said grimly

Hours later, Ocelot, Ishmael and Zero and his soldiers sat by the fire, Ishmael had convinced the Eva pilots to sit by as well, the nights were deadly cold. They were all silent, but Ocelot noticed the troubles look on Kallen's face

Ocelot: "what's wrong?"

Kallen: "... It's something we saw... Before Third Impact... We were going through the sewers and reached what looked like an obsidian wall, it had a doorway... And we went through. And then I heard something... It was coming from below us... I looked down and... I saw you" she said looking at Zero "... Were you really going to cause Third Impact if Commander Ikari didn't do it?"

Zero: "Commander Ikari?... I wish... It was some silver-haired nuisance named Kaworu Nagisa. He was an angel, and merged with a giant beast which caused all this."

Shinji's eyes lit up. So did Asuka's

Shinj: "Kaworu? I met him... I tried to eliminate him... I failed... It's all my fault... If I hadn't hesitated..."

Ishmael: "stop. Don't beat yourself up about it... It sounds like you have survivor's guilt. Trust me...

.. I know what it is, I lived through it..." Ishmael began his tale "it was nine years ago. Back when were still MSF. You know this story by now, it was everywhere. There was a night attack and the naval base was sunk. But you don't know everything... They made out to be a terrorist attack... But it was britannian soldiers that landed, they slaughtered everyone, I was a medic at the time. I tried to save them, but I couldn't, they all perished, and I was lucky they thought *I* did too. When I awoke I was in a survival raft with my comatose boss, I owe my life to him. I've stuck with him for 7 years until he woke up, and when he did he rebuilt and made Outer Heaven. And well, you know the rest... " Ocelot looked down, remembering what happened that night seemed to pain him "what I'm trying to say is..." Ishmael continued "... Don't beat yourself up for something out of your control, pain is a choice, you can either lie down and let it consume you or stand up and fight it. It's up to you"

As Ishmael finished his tale, silence fell across everyone, before they suddenly they of water splashing, and looked behind them... It was Commander Ikari, standing right there in front of them, he said nothing, simply staring. Ocelot took out his weapon and pointed it at him

Commander Ikari: "kill me if you want, it won't change anything"

Ocelot: "you're right... It won't change anything for me... But..."

He looked at Shinji. "all yours..." he said, handing his revolver to him.

The Commander looked at his son, and simply spoke to him. "Put the gun down, son. It won't change anything."

The boy was shaking, not daring to look at anything and anyone. He stared at it for a long while.

"I said. Put. It. Down."

The boy threw it on the ground, and for good measure kicked it to his father. The Commander picked it up. Zero, Ohgi and Kallen drew their guns too, but the Commander simply put his in his pocket.

"We're all in the same boat now, gentlemen. And besides, I know the way to NERV from here, even with its state, buried under rubble. You'll never find it... Or the food, water, and shelter it offers, without me... So what do you say?"

The group had varying reactions. Ocelot called for a private meeting, and they decided to allow him in for now, but agreed he was a major threat and needed to be eliminated as soon as possible. And so, an uneasy truce had been ushered in.

Hours passed, and the night was still, the simmering mistrust along the group slowly worming its way into everyone's minds. Until someone emerged from the darkness, he pulled down his hood, to reveal Solidus.

Solidus: "Kept You Waiting, Huh?"

Part 12:

The choir of the angels stretched far and wide, reigning over all that which the sun encircled. Adam and Lilith, progenitors of the Angels and Mankind, reunited at last after an eternity of war. The entire world, this entire plane of existence, had ceased exist; the world was now abstract, in a world of ideals, a world of forms and shapes without weight, without matter.

The souls of all mankind, commanded by this melody, by this harmony, were now disarmed of their barriers and forced into contact. The world had been pacified. There was now a desert, and it's name was peace, and the oasis in it's center was called the fountain of eternal life, and this eternal life was not of the body, but of the soul, of the spirit. The material world had been left behind, the spiritual world had begun. The aeons had been built into the very foundations of the heavens. And wherever the choir's music reached, so did the aeons, and wherever the aeons reached, so did the collective souls of mankind.

But, the choir now grew too large, too great in number and quality for a true order to be maintained. Discordant voices emerged. Voices giving themselves names, voices regaining their souls, their autonomy, their barriers. Souls with the names Ikari, Langley, Ayanami, Nagisa, Zi and Vi Britannia, Emmerich, Solidus, ...

And then there was light. And the light was just, and the light was beautiful.

Shinji suddenly saw. He didn't open his eyes, since he didn't have any, but he simply saw. The tree of life in front of him, which he had only seen once before, in his father's office, now stretched into the clear red sky, touching all horizons, formed by the White Evas, the Heralds of Doom and Messengers of the Promised Day. And the one he had known as Ayanami Rei, vessel of Lilith, Heraldess of the Promised Day, was in his field of vision.

Shinji: "W-what... Is this place?"

Rei: "This is Instrumentality. The perfect and final state of humankind."

Shinji: "All... of humankind? Even people like mother and Asuka?"

Rei: "Only those who were alive at the time of Third Impact are present in this assembly. Everyone before is gone forever. Their souls have been annihilated, according to your father's scenario."

Shinji: "This... is my father's work?"

Rei: "Yes. A world free of pain and suffering."

Kaworu: "But a world also devoid of choice and change."

Shinji: "So this world stays the same forever?"

Rei: "Yes. This world is unchanging, because it is perfect. Any change from this will render it imperfect."

Kaworu: "Man himself is imperfect. That is his natural state of being."

Zero: "Without choice, neither good nor evil can exist. Neither can justice be enacted. This is nothing more than a rejection of reality."

Rei: "It is not a rejection of reality. It is a rearrangement of reality."

Shinji: "But, I don't feel closer to anyone like this. I don't feel better at all. Why this?"

Rei: "This world is shaped by the desires and passions of all mankind. It is the Palace of the Id. Mankind's Ego and Super-Ego were superfluous; they only enabled deceit and treachery, masks men wear to gain favor with eachother, to supersede eachother."

Zero: "But that isn't the only reason people lie. People lie to accomplish a goal. People lie to protect themselves and others. Lies are necessary to the real world."

Kaworu: "Without the choice to do wrong things, such as lying, murdering, stealing, there would be no right or wrong. Just existence."

Zero: "A fate worse than death."

Shinji: "If this world is fake, then why would anyone want it? Nothing ever changes!"

Rei: "An unchanging world is the only world that can have true order, true stability."

Shinji: "Then I don't want order! I'd rather live in chaos!"

The fabric of the world shook, and the choir of the angels distorted.

Rei: "Is that really what you wish for?"

Shinji: "I don't care! Just give me a real world! Give me something real!"

And then there was darkness. And the darkness was an ocean, drowning all within it.

Gendo Ikari and Charles Zi Britannia stood face to face in an eternal world.

Charles: "It appears you've reached your goals."

Gendo: "You knew I was going to betray you."

Charles: "I had sworn to destroy man's ability for treachery. To be undone by that same ability is poetic irony."

Gendo: "My son is in control of this world. Rei handed it to him."

Charles: "Then... this world shall not last long. What of the souls who lack the will to escape? What has your scenario proscribed for them?"

Gendo: "They will be lost to the sands of time. Like tears in rain. Only those who are willing to live will be able to return."

Charles: "All men are not created equal, least of all in will."

Gendo: "The throne you sit upon, and the office I sit within share the same function. Overdecorated pieces of furniture. It is what is behind them that counts. My ambition, my strength, my desire, and above all, my will."

Charles: "Do not think you will win this war, Ikari. Today, victory is yours. But tomorrow, it will be mine."

Gendo: "May the greater will triumph, then."

Ruling from the lofty aeons of Kether, Adam and Lilith sat upon their dual thrones, sharing consular power in the haute cour of the heavens. They had heard the wish of the chosen, and would obey his command, even that it meant their destruction. They gathered their Angels, and their Fallen Angels, the Evangelions, creations of Man; and with the power of the White and Black Moons, and the Keys of the Silver City Paradise, did destroy them all. Adam and Lilith, Rei and Kaworu, Alpha and Omega, ceased to exist. Sachiel, Shamshel, Ramiel, Gaghiel, Israfel, Sandalphon, and Tabris ceased to exist. Yui Ikari, Kyoko Soryu, and Naoko Akagi ceased to exist. They came from dust, and to dust had they returned.

Shinji awoke on a beach. The sounds of the choir were gone. The sounds that took their place were those of blood-red waves crashing onto marble-white sands.

Part 13:

2004, AWAKENING

Venom Snake opened his eyes, his mind reeling, his head was swimming. He could barely remember anything, and his vision was blurry, to his right he saw someone, he tried speaking but all he could let out was a pained groan. The person's vision shot up "Boss?!" they shouted out "Boss! I knew you were alive!". He recognized who this person was, it was Ishmael... Had he saved him?

Ishmael: "Boss..." Ishmael continued "you've been in a coma for a year..."

His heartbeat accelerated, and that was when he noticed two people standing at the end of his bed. He was in a Britannian hospital, and the people standing over him, were the emperor... And V.V

Charles: "we have an assignment for you, "Big Boss"..." Charles said mockingly

V.V: "and when the time comes... You *will* fall in line..."

PRESENT DAY

The Group, guided by Commander Ikari, traveled through the ruins of Tokyo-3. Solidus had joined their group not long ago, reuniting all of Outer Heaven... Or what was left of it. Ishmael, much to his irration, was ordered by the Commander to carry Asuka because she was in no shape to walk. As they closed in on the ruined city, they looked around, buildings looked like they could topple at any minute, all greenery had shriveled up and left a blank slate of gray everywhere

Ocelot: "Where exactly are we going? The entrances we passed by were caved in..."

Commander Ikari: "Patience. There's an entrance that only I used, to avoid compromising myself"

Zero: "And why couldn't you have used the *normal* entrances?"

The Commander stopped dead in his tracks, and turned to Zero:

Commander Ikari: "Let's say I did. Let's say I walked around NERV using the hallways and interacted with my workers normally. Then what? I've shown *weakness*. If they see that I'm like them, that I'm *human*. They'll think I'm just someone they can approach, that they can talk to like a friend..." He said that last part with obvious resentment "... Then they won't respect me, they won't *fear* me. Fear is the greatest way to take control. By presenting myself as spectral and otherworldly, they fear me, and they do my bidding without question... Does that sate your curiosity, almighty liberator?" he mocked

Solidus: "That's a philosophy I can respect... Well played, Commander"

Commander Ikari: "I would say we're equal... But then again, you lost to Zero, Snake."

The Commander continued walking, leading them seemingly outside the city before he stepped on something that sounded like metal

Commander Ikari: "This is it."

Ohgi: "I don't see anything?"

Commander Ikari: "You aren't supposed to"

The Commander pressed his hand against the ground, a concealed biometric scanner recognized his hand print, and the ground opened to reveal a set of stairs going down into the dark

Commander Ikari: "Come on along, gentlemen" he said, descending the steps. As they reached the bottom, the wall slid upon to reveal Commander Ikari's office, still immaculate, despite the circumstances. As they fanned out around NERV HQ, Solidus managed to collect enough food and water from various places around the base to last them quite a long time. Shinji just stood in his father's office, looking out the massive floor to ceiling windows. It appeared that most of the Geo-Front had survived, excluding the large craters left by the Lance when it shot up to his hand. Like a shadow, his father slunk beside him, unnoticed until he placed his hand on his shoulder. Shinji felt uncomfortable, and his father spoke:

Commander Ikari: "Shinji, do you trust *them*?"

Shinji: "...?"

Commander Ikari: "I'm talking about the traitors: Zero and Outer Heaven... Are they trustworthy?"

Shinji: "I... I don't know..."

Commander Ikari: "They aren't. They betrayed Britannia, and they betrayed each other... What makes you think they won't betray us?"

Shinji said nothing. His father continued.

"The moment they find a Knightmare... or a Metal Gear... or even an Evangelion... They'll turn on us... They only care about themselves... We need to stay together... Don't fall for their lies and deception... They might pretend to care for you... But at the first opportunity to get rid of you... They'll pull the trigger... Believe me, son. I've dealt with them longer than I would wish... "

The Elder Ikari walked away, leaving the Younger to stir in confusion and distrust.

Meanwhile, in one of the many cafeterias, the surviving Black Knights and Outer Heaven had turned it into a makeshift meeting room

Zero: "Do we trust him?"

Ocelot: "Absolutely not"

Ohgi: "We need to get rid of him as soon as possible"

Solidus: "So we all agree. Good, now we're getting somewhere"

Kallen: "But what do we do? He took one of our guns and he's trying to trick us. I mean, let's be honest, what does he get from helping us?"

Ishmael: ""We're all in the same boat"? I know a lie when I hear it. He got what he wanted, if anything he came back to tie up loose ends. Not because he wanted to live"

Zero: "No, he didn't get what he wanted. Kaworu... The Silver-Hair, caused Third Impact in his image, not the Commander's"

Solidus: "Who's side are you on? It seems like you're trying to defend the Commander"

Zero: "No, I'm not. I'm saying it didn't go the Commander's way. If at first he doesn't succeed, everyone pays for it..."

As their debating continued, a sudden ping erupted from Ishmael's IDroid. They could his face go pale

Ishmael: "What? How is that possible?"

Ocelot: "What's wrong?"

Ishmael: "It says "Hostiles, ETA: 300 meters". But... This place is kilometers underground!"

Everyone stood up, reaching for their weapons, until they realized something. They were split up. Asuka was in the medbay, and the Commander and his son were in the office.

Ocelot: "I'm heading to the medbay. Snake, get to the Commander and warn him. If it's Britannia, he'll need a heads up"

They both nodded and dashed off, leaving the rest in the cafeteria, Ishmael kept tabs on the hostile's locations.

At the Commander's office, he and his son stood far apart, meandering about until they saw Solidus barge while frantically aiming his rifle outside the doorway. The Commander immediately knew they were under attack

Commander Ikari: "Who is it?"

Solidus: "We don't know yet." he said as he a nearby bookcase in front of the door to barricade it

Commander Ikari: "How close are they?"

Solidus: "300 meters and approaching rapidly."

Solidus gestured for Shinji to hide under his father's desk, which he obeyed. The Elder looked out the window, and what he saw, he didn't anticipate "Impossible."

Solidus: "What?"

Solidus followed Ikari's gaze and saw what he was glaring at. It looked like NERV employees, but their skin was gray, and their eyes were a bright green. Ikari knew exactly what this was

Commander Ikari: "Run."

Solidus: "Wha?-"

Commander Ikari: "RUN!"

He leaped into action, shoving the bookcase away, and yelling at Shinji and Solidus to leave immediately, the three ran down the halls, towards the meeting room where Solidus was guiding them. Meanwhile, Ocelot had run down to the medbay, and began opening door after door trying to find where Ishmael had left Asuka, he heard footsteps running down behind him, but something was wrong, they were too fast, they weren't *human*. He whipped around, discharging a bullet into the running corpse's face, and it fell to the ground

Ocelot: "What the fuck?"

He heard more footsteps coming his way, he kept throwing open doors, until he found her. He threw over his shoulder, and ran down the opposite hallway, he'll find another way back to the others.

Solidus led the Commander and Shinji into the meeting room, the Commander ordered Ohgi and Kallen to push the tables in front of the door, which they did immediately

Zero: "What the hell is going on, Ikari?!"

Commander Ikari: "These things that are attacking us, they aren't human. I thought it was just SEELE rambling like usual... They're the human body, without a soul. They died when Instrumentality happened, but their body is still here. Their goal... is to kill those that tormented them in life."

Zero: "They're after us..."

Just then, pounding began on the door, with Ocelot's voice shouting through

Ocelot: "LET ME IN!"

Ohgi: "how do we know it's the real Ocelot? They could be impersonating him!"

Zero: "Don't be idiotic!"

He moved the tables and let Ocelot in, he put down Asuka and spun around to the others

Ocelot: "GET READY, THEY'RE COMING OUR WAY!"

TO BE CONTINUED

Part 14:

1985, SEELE BASE

Deep within the prison facility, a guard carries a tray of food towards a highly guarded cage. Inside it is what appears to be a 12 year old boy, absent-mindedly sitting around, not doing anything. As the guard hands the tray to the child, he points under it and whispers to him "I attached a key to the bottom, wait until midnight and then try to escape. Good luck" the boy merely nodded. At midnight, the child unlocked his cell and made his way through the facility, everything was strangely empty, not a guard in sight, he merely brushed it off as luck and ran outside. As soon as he exited the doors, a bright spotlight shone on his face, he had been caught, he raised his hands in anticipation, expecting to be shot, but nothing... He raised his gaze and looked in front of him, he saw a tall man with gray hair and a cape, he was wearing extravagant clothing and looking right at him "it's about time you crawled out of your hole..." the boy noticed the guard who gave him the key being held by two others, his face was battered and he was coughing blood "the only reason I've let you live is because your mother and father were loyal to me. So I'll give you a chance to do the same, take this, it belongs to your father" the gray-haired man handed him the gun "prove your your loyalty to your country". The child examined the gun, on the barrel was an inscription that read "Ocelot". The child was unaware of the concepts of loyalty that the old man had told him about, the one thing he cared about was his parents, so he raised the revolver and fired without hesitation. When the traitor fell dead, the old man spoke "that man was an insurgent. If you're anything like your parents, you'll obey my orders and wipe them out... Now, what is your name?"

The child thought, he didn't have one. But he knew what he wanted to be called "... Revolver Ocelot".

"excellent.." the old man replied, his eyes glowing with a reddish-purple hue.

10 Years Later...

Ocelot had been an operative for the COBRA Task Force ever since he had met Emperor Charles. He had earned his place among the seasoned veterans with extreme professionalism and skill with his revolver, and one day he received an assignment from the Emperor himself to infiltrate Europe under the codename "Cain" to acquire "The Philosopher's Legacy". A microfilm with information about an ancient organization known as the Philosophers. He infiltrated the facility where it was being held, disguising himself as a transfer from another Base. Months after infiltration, and gaining the trust of the enemy, he snuck through the facility in the early hours of the morning when no one was awake and reached where the microfilm was supposed to be. Only to find someone else there, he grabbed the camo wearing intruder and pinned him against the wall, he immediately recognized the COBRA Emblem on his shoulder "you're with COBRA, too?" Ocelot asked "Are you Cain?" Ocelot responded with the password that Charles told him about "who are The Patriots?" the man responded "La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo" Ocelot let go of him and demanded the microfilm, the man obliged. "What's your name?" Ocelot asked

"Snake, Naked Snake"

"What kinda?... Nevermind. For now we need to leave..."

The two of them exited the room, Snake guided Ocelot down one of the hallways before they crawled through a vent towards the outside. When they finally exited, they both hurried to the extraction point specified before the mission. As dawn arrived, and they reached the clearing full of white flowers, they stopped, shocked by what they saw. It was The Boss, and Charles standing, almost expecting them

"It looks like I was right to choose you two" The Boss told them "and now, it's time for your final mission"

"What are you talking about?" asked Snake. Charles answered

"you weren't sent here to retrieve some insignificant microfilm. You were sent here to see who will replace The Boss. She chose you two as her two candidates, so now you must fight. Whoever defeats her will gain the mantle of Boss".

"No way in hell!" Ocelot shouted "I'm not killing the Boss!"

But his cries fell on deaf ears as Charles walked away, escorted out by helicopter

Snake: "Boss... We're not going to kill you... Not me... Not Ocelot..."

Ocelot: "you're crazy if you think we're going-"

The Boss: "John. Stop"

Ocelot: "John?... My name's not-"

The Boss: "Yes. It is. You were taken away from me when you were born, I'm your mother, no matter what you may remember.."

Ocelot: "That's not true! I have no parents! Charles found me!"

The Boss: "that's what you've been made to believe. But *that's* not true. I'm your Mother, and The Sorrow is your father"

Ocelot was shocked, all this time. Everything he'd known was a lie?

The Boss: "that's enough standing around. One of you is going to win. Or both of you are going to die. It's time to end this!"

The Boss fires at both of them, they ducked, narrowely dodging several bullets. Snake reached for his rifle without thinking, only to be stopped by Ocelot

"Snake, are you out of your mind!?"

"We have no choice!"

Ocelot's heart dropped, right as Snake pointed his rifle, Ocelot took out his revolver and fired right at him, hitting him in his right eye. Snake fell on the ground as he accidentally discharged several bullets into Ocelot's arm, making him drop his revolver and fall over as well. As he was losing blood, he felt faint, and passed out. When he awoke, his right arm was burning as he staggered to his feet, he limped over to his mother and nearly collapsed. She lay on the ground, dead, with a bullet in her heart. Weeping, Ocelot limped off into the night...

SEYCHELLES WATERS, 2007

Over a decade had passed since Operation: Snake Eater. Ocelot had long since defected and been on the run. But he had recently heard about a "Big Boss" hiding on an island in the Seychelles, he knew he had to go there, he had already stolen a Britannian boat and set sail. When he saw an island come into view, he knew he'd found it, he docked his boat and snuck through the thick jungle. When he had reached the other side of the island, he found the base, and found *him*. Ocelot ran towards Snake, aiming a gun at his head, and was met with several rifles pointing at him from other guards. Intially, Snake didn't recognize him, but then he took a close look at his face and ordered his men to stand down

Snake: "Ocelot?"

Ocelot: "You piece of shit. Do you realize the suffering you put me through? I found out I had a mother only for you to take her from me... You took her from me!"

Snake: "Ocelot... There's only one thing I've wanted to say to you all these years"

Ocelot was surprised when Snake threw his arms around him in an embrace

"... I'm sorry..."

Ocelot tried pushing him away but he didn't relinquish his grip

Snake: "She was my mother as well... When I had nothing she was there... I feel the same loss as you, Ocelot... But it's that pain that unites us, the pain... And hatred... I promise you... We will get revenge on the ones who did this..."

As Snake finished, all of Ocelot's anger melted away into sadness and grief. Snake only hugged him tighter...

Venom Snake: "Welcome To Outer Heaven..."

AREA 11, 2014

Gendo sat across from Fuyutsuki in one of the tram cars of the railway that encircled the city of Tokyo 3. After hours of calls in his office with various United States government officials, United Nations staff, personnel from the Second Branch, the Third Branch in Germany, meetings with the Imperial Court and SEELE... it was all so tiresome, and so he'd elected to take a break from it. Cruising around the city under the evening sun and discussing things with Fuyutuski was certainly better than sitting in the office and doing it. After sitting in there for hours it was a needed change of scenery...

"The city... a paradise made by mankind," Fuyutuski mused softly. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

It was indeed beautiful, but also a testament to mankind's solemn lot in the universe. In cities people are always in close proximity, kept warm by their hearths, and yet so distant from their neighbors, an atomized existence... just like his own in all honesty. "Driven from paradise, mankind escapes to this existence, between god and beast on the razor's edge of life and death," he replied. "Created by the weakest of beings, created by the sapience born of that weakness... this paradise is our creation."

"To protect ourselves from the fear that death instills in us," Fuyutsuki returned, seemingly in agreement. "To satiate our beings with pleasure to distract from this, we created a paradise by and for ourselves. This city surely is a paradise, a fortress designed and built to protect us..."

Gendo frowned. "A city designed for people who run in fear from the outside world... From the world of our enemies..."

The train entered a tunnel, cutting the two of them off from the warmth of the evening sun. "Of course, cowards do tend to live longer," Fuyutsuki posited. "That is one benefit, is it not?"

Gendo grunted in begrudging agreement to this sad and pathetic truth. "Indeed..." he muttered.

"The third new Tokyo... NERV's hidden intercept base..." Fuyutsuki continued. "And now... the long delayed seventh construction phase is set to be finished at last. It's almost complete."

"Yes..." Gendo replied. "Just in time for SEELE's time-line of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Angels will return soon. We'll have to start preparing the First Child for her purpose. An activation test with Unit 00 needs to be held in the next few months also."

"You seem to have become accustomed to ordering the lives of children be put on the line, since you've taken a greater interest in the Second Child's sync tests lately as well. And what of the Third?"

"Fuyutsuki, never underestimate the human capacity for adaptation, or cowardice. The Carthaginians sacrificed children to their gods. We are doing the same."

"I recall that city was sacked and salted."

"Yes. As is the fate of this one. It is merely a means to an end."

The tram exited the tunnel and stopped at it's destination.

"Spoken like a true politician."

Gendo didn't dignify that with a response.

AREA 11, NERV HQ, 2016

The doors were beginning to break down in the face of the hordes. The Commander rushed to the fire emergency switch and took the fire axe there. Smashing through a vent, he gestured for his son:

"Shinji, you need to go in there. At the very end of those vents is a room filled with electrical switches, turn all of them off."

"W-what? But!"

"Just do it, son!"

The boy reluctantly crawled through the vents...

Ishmael and Asuka were by now stranded in an interrogation room they had run into. The door of said room managed to withstand the hordes, and some time ago they seemed to have left. Ishmael elected to stay inside, though; he didn't want to risk exiting and being ambushed, if it was a trap.

Shinji reached the room with the switches, and began turning them off one by one before he found a master switch and slammed it off. Suddenly, the room was drenched in darkness. He collapsed, partly from exhaustion and partly from the adrenaline leaving his veins. Back at the meeting room, the hordes had the carpet torn from under them, almost literally as the floor beneath them collapsed and they were crushed by the roof above them which also fell. The paths of the entire Geofront began to collapse and fall, save the ones supported by the ground, be it the ground above or the ground below.

The Commander gave the axe to Solidus. "I have to go retrieve the pilots, gentlemen." he said.

"Of course all they are to you is pilots still", said Zero.

Gendo didn't dignify that with a response. He left to find the former Eva pilots.

Solidus: "So how are we even going to get around this place now? This room is surrounded by ditches on all fronts."

Zero: "Do you think this was part of his plan? To leave us stranded here? It would be beneficial to him."

Solidus: "There's always that vent Shinji crawled through, so maybe we aren't stranded after all."

Gendo had taken an alternate path away from the collapsing structures. After all, he built this place and knew it like the back of his hand, he also knew judging by the direction Ishmael had run off, he'd be in one of three rooms, the interrogation room, the surveillance room, or the armory. He was lucky to find him on his second try, knocking on the door and speaking to identify himself. "It's me, Ishmael. Open the door"

He could the sounds of a table being dragged as the door handle clicked open

"Where's the pilot?"

Ishmael gestured behind him, Gendo saw sat in the corner, looking down on the floor

"Get her, we're heading to the armory. We need to defend ourselves"

Meanwhile, Solidus and Zero had taken the same vent as Shinji, and Ocelot and Zero's soldiers stayed behind to stand guard. Eventually Solidus and Zero found themselves in the room with the switches. It was extremely dark, but they could see that the door had been opened, leading further into the darkness

"You go after the kid, I'll try to make sense of these switches", Solidus ordered.

Zero traveled through the dark, vacant halls, hugging the walls and listening for any sounds that might give away one of those creatures. As he continued walking, he reached an open door and could make out Shinji sitting down, he looked at the door and squinted. It read:

"Director Of Operations

Misato Katsuragi"

Ah, so that's why he was here. He turned to Shinji, and spoke.

"Can you see me clearly enough?"

"Y-yes?"

"Excellent..." he said as a part of his mask moved to reveal his eye "Lelouch Vi Britannia commands you..."

Gendo guided Ishmael to the armory as they grabbed all the weapons and armor they could carry. But they were cut short when they heard more undead running towards their location.

"They're after me. Defend the pilot!"

Ishmael obeyed, and helped Asuka wear an armored vest as the Skulls reached right outside the armory. Gendo grabbed an assault rifle as the doors gave way and fired an entire magazine into their attackers, taking down 2 of them as a third arrived afterwards. Ishmael moved out of the way and fired his pistol right in the monster's head, before taking out his knife and throwing it into it's head, killing it.

"Let's move." The Commander ordered, taking both of them back to the rest of the group.

Solidus had already traveled back to the cafeteria through the vent, meeting with Kallen, Ohgi and Ocelot again, pacing around impatiently, till he heard a noise coming from the shaft, he readied himself only to see Zero emerge with Shinji right behind.

"Took you long enough." Solidus said

"Kept you waiti-"

"No. That's *my* line."

As he finished his remark, more creatures found their way inside, Zero noticed they were charging at Shinji.

"(So they're targeting Ikari and his family. This will be simpler than expected)".

Zero grabbed one of them by the arm as it tried to grab Shinji and swung it towards Solidus, who grabbed it by the neck and snapped it. Zero snatched a pistol from Solidus's belt and fired several bullets into the incoming attackers, slowing them down. Ocelot and Solidus aimed their firearms and took them down with a storm of bullets. They heard more footsteps around them and spun around, aiming their guns at the Commander and the others. With all of the group reunited, they followed the Elder Ikari as they reached an emergency exit and ran up the stairs to the outside. When they reached 500 meters away from the base, Gendo stopped, surprising everyone as they looked at him.

"What are you doing?!" Zero shouted

"Just watching the fireworks." he said as he turned back to the direction of the base and pulled a detonator from his jacket, clicking it, as a plume of smoke and fire rose into the sky from all the open paths

"You closed off all the entrances." Ohgi realized

"And I trapped them inside." The Commander finished "We will proceed."

"Where?" Zero asked. "We just closed off the only place we could have survived!"

"Not exactly," Solidus replied. "I gathered enough food and water for all of us", he said, gesturing to his backpack. "Besides, we always have Outer Heaven"

"Let's hope it lives up to it's name unlike this time..." Zero said.

Unbeknownst to them, Solidus had suggested this for a reason known only to him, Ocelot and Ishmael. Metal Gear: Sahelanthropus was still there. And this time, he would make sure it wasn't destroyed.

Across the gray plains, the Lancelot flew across, searching for his targets. Although the Emperor had only assigned him to kill Lelouch, he wanted *all* of them dead, The Commander, Solidus, and Zero most of all. They would know his wrath, and they would feel the suffering he went through...

Part 15:

Outer Heaven HQ, 2:28 A.M

Ocelot walked through the empty, yet familiar halls of the base. He couldn't remember how he began walking, but he had done so for a long time. As he continued walking, more hallways appeared that he didn't remember, doors and pathways that he had never taken, but for some reason he kept walking. He felt like someone, *something* was following him. He heard whispering start to from around him, he picked up his pace, walking further down the dark hallway until he reached a dead end. No, this wasn't right, there was supossed to be a door here, he froze in place when a hand grabbed his shoulder and he was spun around forcefully. His pursuer was unrecognizable, with a bullet hole in his head and blood all over his face, Ocelot knew exactly who he was

"You... Killed... Me..."

The voices stopped whispering, and instead began speaking to him, all chanting the same thing "Murderer..."

The voices started getting louder, the insurgent gripped Ocelot's throat, he was frozen in fear. When his vision started to dim, he could feel the grip around his throat getting softer

"NO! I WON'T BE DENIED MY REVENGE!"

The spirit said as he was pulled away by someone. Ocelot fell to the ground, clutching his throat, who had saved him? He looked up, he had never seen this person before, but he knew exactly who he was

"... Father?... "

The Sorrow stood over him, a smile on his face as he helped his son to his feet. The voices stopped chanting, resceding in The Sorrow's presence. Without a word, he guided his son through the unfamiliar structure as he reached a glowing white door. Pointing at the door, The Sorrow finally spoke

"Go back now, child. It's not your time yet"

"F-Father...?" Ocelot asked "Is that really you? But how? You're dead! I know you're dead!"

"Son, I was called The Spirit Medium for a reason, I could communicate with and channel the dead. You've also had latent medium abilities, but you cannot control them, it seems."

"Lantent Spirit Meduim powers? I'm losing my mind..."

"No, you are not. This is real, I had the same experience as you, I was attacked by malicious spirits, and I managed to ward them off."

The Sorrow put his hand on Ocelot's shoulder

"A word of advice, close the front gate before 4 PM"

Before he could question why, The Sorrow threw him out the door, waking him up, gasping for air.

"About time you woke up"

He turned to the source of the sound and saw Solidus around a table playing chess with Zero. Zero seemed to be winning

"You rely too much on confusion and surprise moves, Snake, these are mere tactics. And Tactics Never Beat Strategy"

"It seems that way..." Solidus said, letting out a sigh

"What time is it?" Ocelot suddenly demanded, shooting up to his feet

Both of them were confused, but answered

"2 hours past midday, why?" Asked Zero

"Close the front gate"

"Ocelot" Snake began "what's wron-"

"Just do it" he demanded

"Fine." Solidus said, standing up "Our game isn't over yet, Zero."

Ocelot grabbed a chair and sat down as Solidus exited the room, leaving Zero and Ocelot alone, and that was when Zero tried to get some answers. The information that Diethard brought him about Outer Heaven before Third Impact had allowed him to discover the fact that Ocelot and Snake were covert operatives, but he noticed that Ocelot defected shortly after Operation: Snake Eater. He wanted to know why, and who knows, maybe he'll find something useful

"Ocelot" he said, grabbing the gunslinger's attention "Before Third Impact, I did some... "Research" into your past, and I discovered you defected shortly after Operation: Snake Eater. Why is that?"

"I had hoped to avoid talking about this... It's about my mother... She was The Boss... And Snake killed her... After that, I defected, and you know the rest"

"*You* were the child?... I heard The Sorrow and The Boss had a child before he was killed by her. But it was *you*?"

"Funny thing is, I didn't even know about it until the boss told me, but it was wierd, it was like I wasn't allowed to remember, like I was forbidden"

Zero then realized what Charles did

"... Must have been some strong mind control"

"I heard one of the king's consorts died not long before I joined Outer Heaven. I don't know if she was involved in Charles' plan or not. Guess it doesn't really matter anymore since all the royal family except him are dead"

Zero the registered what Ocelot said

"... What did you just say?"

"All the royal family except him are dead. They could've have survived. Instrumentality, did you forget?"

Lelouch finally realized, Nunally was gone, his reason for fighting was dead, swept in the crossfire of war

"I'm going to see why Snake's taking so long you stay in here." Ocelot said, departing the room

Lelouch was left alone in the room, he shakily took off his mask, he couldn't believe it. Taking the identity of Zero, fighting Britannia, it was all for nothing, and for the first time since he was a child, Lelouch wept.

Outside the room, Ocelot headed towards the gate controls, walking at a brisk pace until he passed Kallen and Ohgi, who questioned him about Zero

"We needed to ask" Kallen began "Zero told us not to interrupt his game, but you both left the room, is he free to talk?"

"Yeah, he's over there, I'm gonna check on Snake. He should have been back by now... "

Kallen walked to the room Ocelot gestured to, and what she saw shocked her, it was Zero without his mask... Lelouch Lamperouge, slouching in his chair looking dejected

"Lelouch?! You were Zero?!"

"... It doesn't matter anymore..."

As Ocelot reached where Snake should have been, there was no one. And then, he noticed an open door not too far away, stepping through, he gasped in astonishment. It was Metal Gear: Sahelanthropus, being surveyed by Solidus and Commander Ikari

"So this is why you brought us here" the Commander mused "You had a completely intact Metal Gear"

"It's our best chance in case Britannia tries to find us, or we run into more of those zombies"

"Skulls" the Commander corrected

"Huh?"

"They were called Grey-Skulls by SEELE. So, Skulls"

"Interesting"

The sound of screaming attracted everyone's attention, they ran to where it came from and came upon Lelouch, Kallen, Ohgi and Ishmael. Kallen and Ohgi looked furious, but Lelouch just stared at the floor, seemingly not caring about their anger. The Commander merely laughed

"Oh this is just too good! Lelouch Vi Britannia, leading a rebellion against his own father!" his face suddenly hardened, all traces of laughter gone "So, what was it for? Power? Control? Vengeance?"

Lelouch seemed offended by his accusations, he looked him right in the eye and spoke

"No. It was all for Nunally."

Ohgi and Kallen kept yelling at, they felt betrayed, they were just some pawns in his game with his father

"Enough!" Solidus intervened "Turning on each other won't get us anywhere. And killing each other certainly won't, we're all in this together, it doesn't matter who Zero is, or what his motives are"

Lelouch couldn't help but grin

"How ironic, I fought and *killed* you, Snake. Yet here you are, defending me from my former subordinates"

"Believe me, "Zero". If I had the opportunity, I would put a bullet right in your head. But that's not an option, losing you would hinder us all, so count your blessings."

It was then that Ocelot got a chill up his spine

"We need to hide, now."

The Commander seemed annoyed "What are you babbling on abou-"

"Just trust me" Ocelot insisted

Ishmael decided to see what Ocelot was talking about and opened his IDroid

"He's right!" Ishmael yelled "Knightmare incoming!"

Solidus guided them to a panic room where they sealed themselves inside. But even through the thick steel-played walls, they could hear their attacker's yells. Lelouch realized who he was

"LELOUCH!" Suzaku yelled "COME OUT HERE AND FACE ME!"

Lelouch stood up, ready to leave the room and challenge his old friend. But he was stopped by Solidus, who gave him the activation key to Sahelanthropus

"Give him hell" Solidus said

Lelouch merely nodded and left the room

Outside, Suzaku was getting fed up. If Lelouch wasn't coming out, he would drag him. He grabbed the steel gate, wrenching it open, he only had a split second to process a giant metal object flying at him. The Lancelot flew backwards before regaining it's footing, Suzaku looked at what hit him and saw a giant metallic behemoth twice the Lancelot's size staring at him

"Finally decided to show yourself?"

"It ends here, Suzaku."

The two drew their weapons. Both of men, driven by grief and the desire to protect their loved ones. And now, whoever emerged victorious would see his justice through...

TO BE CONTINUED...

Part 16:

Area 11

The two metal giants crashed into eachother, steel clashing against steel, the sheer weight of the behemoths causing the former roads to buckle and crack. Suzaku picked up several chunks of the asphalt and used it to block Lelouch's attacks. Lelouch, having the size advantage, was constantly on the offensive, with Suzaku on the defensive.

Lancelot stood like it's namesake, a proud knight of old, and a guardian of the innocent and the defenseless.

Sahelanthropus crashed into its foe, delivering another series of crushing blows, the sounds of the cracking and bending of steel reverberating throughout the empty battlefield, but the titan did not cede an inch. Lancelot reacted with a series of quick and sharp attacks, knocking its bigger foe off-balance. Lelouch tried to rebalance his mecha to no avail, and it flailed in reaction to the force of the injuries it received. Lelouch may be the strategist, but it was Suzaku who had the experience and the combat advantage.

Lelouch switched tactics and used the overwhelming weight of his mecha against his enemy, falling down upon it like a tsunami, and Lancelot wavered, then it's resistance broke and the two mechas came crashing into the earth. A struggle began, but Lelouch held the weight and size advantage and was atop his enemy. Suzaku knew he was trapped; he activated the emergency eject for the Lancelot, but as his pilot's cockpit flew out, it hit a brick wall and tore in half.

Lelouch watched the incident in horror, and quickly ejected himself from the cockpit as well. He ran to where his friend had fallen, to find him bleeding out on the pilot seat and down a leg.

Dread, regret and self-loathing filled his heart. He had caused this. Suzaku, his childhood friend, was going to die, and it was all his fault. He could've stopped this if he just surrendered, if he just didn't take up that damn mask. This all could've been avoided...

"Suzaku... I never meant for it to end this way..."

Suzaku turned his hateful stare to his enemy.

"Lelouch, are these the ends that your means justify? Did you really hate me this much all along? What do you think Nunnally would think of you now, huh? Huh?!"

He looked up at his former friend, hatred and fire and steel in his eyes and spat upon him. Lelouch did nothing but accept the condemnation.

He watched Suzaku bleed to death right then and there, and did nothing to stop it. He could do nothing; it was like watching his mother die all over again, a weak child unable to protect his friends and family. A liability to those around him. To the world, even.

Slowly, Suzaku's heart ceased. Slowly, and painfully. Slowly, Lelouch walked back to his allies. Yes, allies, not friends. A man like Zero could never have friends. That truth finally set in, like cold clear water washing away the remaining droplets from an acid rain. Slowly, and painfully, it set in.

Gendo watched the fight from afar, watched Lelouch and Suzaku struggle, watched Suzaku's early advantage and Lelouch's eventual triumph.

Watched Lelouch's dejected walk back, and knew what it meant.

A distant part of his mind noted that the Emperor wouldn't be pleased, and he caught it and chuckled at heart at it. For all the change, both good and ill, that he has wrought upon the world in recent days, he noted that he still thinks like the schemer he fashioned himself to be. Old habits do die hard, and especially old habits that get you far. Perhaps it was destiny that Third Impact happen that day, and that he win through it. His new plan was to seize this opportunity and attempt an additional impact, this time truly reuniting with Yui; but this plan didn't have much going for it yet. Not a single Eva or Dead Sea Scroll artifact had he found in the ruins of NERV.

Or perhaps that train of thought, ascribing the Impact to destiny or fate, is merely a way to avoid blame and regret. A coping mechanism for a narcissistic manipulative bastard who has lived too long.

He turned back and saw his son standing a few feet behind him.

Shinji: "Father... I don't think we can trust any of them..."

The boy shook, and Gendo pieced it together: the boy cared more for the bonds between pilots than any other thing at the moment. A smirk threatened to appear on his face, but he couldn't show it in front of his son. The creation of Rei truly was a great strategic move.

"Shinji. We need to work together if we are to survive the coming days."

".. Y-Yes, Father."

Then, the boy did something unexpected. He advanced rather slowly, but steadily, his resolve unfaltering, until the son's arms were engulfing the father, and the scared little boy began to sob softly on that old man's chest. The old man, perplexed, responded in kind, encircling the shaking boy and holding him tight, with purpose and knowledge, and perhaps a little intimacy.

The father, for the first time in a decade, held his son tight, comforting him. For Shinji, this was the highlight of his life, a moment of acceptance he will always revisit.

For Gendo, it was an opening move for the second round of his match.

Part 17:

Terror and shock raced through everyone's minds at what they just witnessed, the man who was once their greatest threat was reduced to a depressed mess after killing his childhold friend

"That's it, then." Solidus said, speaking to Lelouch "There's only one last thing to take care of."

"Get rid of the object of our suffering." The Commander said, approaching with his son "Charles has been backed into a corner. His last knight is dead and he's hiding in his palace. However, we mustn't underestimate him, gentlemen. Even with his back to the wall, he must have something planned."

"What are we waiting for? Ice cream?" Lelouch barked "Let's go kill that son of a bitch..."

Gendo merely nodded "Solidus, prepare us for departure. You know your way around here."

Solidus shot off, already preparing for departure to Britannia, the rest following after him, leaving only the Commander and his son

"How does it feel, Lelouch?"

"How does what feel?" he said, not in the mood for the Commander's cryptic bullshit

"How does it feel now that you've sunk to our level?"

Lelouch narrowed his eyes at the old man, briefly glancing at his son, hiding by his side

"Not until I gut Charles. Then, maybe I'll answer you..."

"Very classy, Lelouch. Very classy."

The Commander took off, his son hurrying after him. Lelouch stood there, everyone he knew was gone, Suzaku, Nunally, Shirley. But now, he had a clear goal set before him. He would enact his vengeance against Charles, for his mother, and for his dearest sister.

Solidus packed the last of their essentials onto the boat, it was spacious enough to house all of them, and was fitted with measures to transport Sahelanthropus, it would make it to Britannia, he put everything they needed on board before telling Ocelot to gather everyone over radio. Left alone, he sat down on one of the seats, reflecting. All his life, all he had done was fight, and that lead him down this path, he had died, and he had come back, he was tired, and he wanted to get it over with, and he couldn't be happier that Charles was finally going to be put down. But, there was still something tugging at his mind, what would he do afterwards? The world was ruined, they could very well be the last people on earth. No matter how he looked at it, after they had killed Charles, there was nothing else to do, only a desolate wasteland. If they were lucky, they could find some people but it was unlikely they'd accept them as leaders. Then his attention turned to the children, the pilots, they were scarred, their innocence was marred, all because of a megalomaniacal asshole. Once again someone's life was ruined by Charles, he looked as he noticed the Commander and Shinji approaching. The Commander stood mere feet apart from him as his son sat a distance away, not listening

"Tell me, Ikari. Did you ever anticipate this happening when the fight against Zero began?" Asked Solidus

"It was my endgame, Snake. I would cause Third Impact and be reunited with my wife. But we all know what happened."

"Not really, I was in China when all this happened, I have no idea."

"It doesn't matter, anyway."

"Guess not. So this is it, huh? Our final mission?"

"Not likely. If there is humanity except us that lives, we must guide them."

"You think they'll be willing to accept on dictator over another?"

"My dear Solidus, after we're done. There will be only one."

16 Hours Later...

They arrived upon the shores of Britannia, completely indistinguishable from the ones back in Area 11. As they stepped off the ship and began the journey to The Royal Palace, Lelouch stopped

"Where's Ikari?" he asked

Solidus quickly patted himself down, the activation key for Sahelanthropus was gone, it was taken while he was asleep. Looking back at the ship, they saw Sahelanthropus activated, the Commander was standing in the opne cockpit, Asuka and Shinji were in the seat behind his. His usual impassive mask was still glued on, but they could see he was furious

"Let me say... Let me say *thanks*. Thanks to your stunts and disruptions

in decades old plans everything I have worked for has toppled, and now what I need to achieve my goal is gone along with The Angels. You have no idea what you cost me, and in turn that has cost *you* your lives... But, credit where credit's due, I really must thank you Solidus, for bringing me to Sahelanthopus. How fitting that it shall be your downfall..."

He sat back down in his seat, the hatch closing as it fully powered up, chainguns pointed at them, instantly bullets began tearing through the air. They took shelter behind a large Boulder, but that didn't last long as Gendo simply tore through the makeshift barrier. They started running once again, Gendo reached for the waist of Sahelanthopus and pulled out a flaming whip, cracking it through the air and lashing out at the nearest person with it, tearing Ohgi clean in half, bringing up a massive plume of dust. Taking advantage of Gendo's limited vision, they ran to the nearest shelter they could see, a ruined two story building 200 meters away, the dust cleared and Gendo put Sahelanthopus in a crouching position, the Railgun on it's shoulder getting ready to fire. Solidus tackled Zero and the others to the left as it fired, narrowly missing them. The Railgun took all of Sahelanthopus's energy, causing it to become stationery, allowing them to enter the building and hide.

"That monster killed Ohgi..." Kallen said shaking

"Boss, how do we beat that thing?! It took down the Lancelot!"

"The Railgun temporarily deactivated Sahelanthopus's systems, it'll back online in less than ten minutes" Solidus hurriedly explained

"And then what? He'll just fire it again and kill us all!" Ocelot shouted

"Enough." Zero said, taking control of the situation "I destroyed Zahhak. Sahelanthopus doesn't stand a chance. It's Ikari's Ace in the hole, a tactic he's using to corner us, but we can think, we can find a solution. Because Tactics. Never. Beat. Strategy" His speech seemed to rouse them, Zero *had* destroyed Zahhak, and that was a bigger threat than Sahelanthopus

"Solidus. Are there any weaknesses we can exploit?"

"There's the energy source at the back, it's built in a way where it doesn't need to be charged, but there's a panel on it. If we act quickly I can get that panel open before he comes back online. But I'll need help, it can't exactly be opened by one person."

"I'm going with you." Zero said "It's about time my score with the Commander was settled."

Zero and Solidus dashed out of the building, running towards the still immobile Sahelanthropus, 6 minutes. 6 minutes was all they needed. They crossed the 200 meters within 3 minutes, they had to work quick, climbing up the mechanical beast. Solidus and Zero grabbed the panel, straining with all their might, it took them 30 seconds to open. Just then teh cockpit began opening, Solidus hastily planted the C4 just as the Commander ran emerged before them

"I'm sorry, Gentlemen. But I'm not taking passengers."

The Commander, despite his age was an excellent fighter, punching and kicking with expertise. They seemed like they were equally matched, but it was a two on one fight, so it wasn't long before the fight turned in Zero and Solidus's favor. Out of the opened cockpit, Shinji shot out, holding the gun the Commander took from Ocelot, pointing it at them, they stopped fighting almost immediately when they saw him. They stood perfectly still as the Commander turned to his son, ordering him to fire at them

"Careful." Solidus said "It would be a shame if this detanator was pushed, he said grabbing the detonator from his belt

"So, what? You're going to blow us all up? That's your plan?" The Commander asked, clearly not buying it

"Not all of us, you leave the kid out of this."

"Or what? What are you going to do if I tell him to fire, will you blow us all up then?"

Silence fe upon them, The Commander had called his bluff twice. But the Commander himself made a miscalculation, the detonator Solidus held was a fake, the real one being with Ocelot, who was observing the situation through his binoculars, ready to pull the trigger at the signal. Solidus had to act, it was now or never, he ran at the Commander taking him by surprise and grabbing him in a chokehold as Shinji pulled the trigger, only to hear a click where a gunshot should have been. Solidus himself was confused, as he excepted to eat a bullet.

"You may have taken the activation key, but I took the bullets and gave them back to their rightful owner. A child shouldn't have them, after all. Your stealing of Sahelanthropus wasn't anticipated, I'll admit. But I did know you would betray us, so it's a good thing I took the bullets when I did."

He slowly walked over to a terrified Shinji and whispered something inaudible, which is when his Geass kicked, Shinji clambered down as Zero grabbed Asuka.

"Don't wait up. I'll probably Keep You Waiting."

Zero nodded and descended, Sahelanthropus powered on just as they reached a safe distance, he gave the signal to Ocelot to press the detonator. The Commander wrmeched away from Solidus, not knowing about his impending doom, he jumped back in the cockpit, with Solidus following him right as the C4 went off, and the behemoth toppled. Fire ingulfed all of it as Solidus and The Commander crawled out. With the pilots out of his grasp, Sahelanthropus destroyed, and all his schemes crashing on him. Gendo Ikari... Finally lost. He was now completely at their mercy

In his Palace, Charles stirred. When Kururugi did not return, he knew immediately of his fate. He had to face reality, he was an old man, with no weapons and no Metal Gears or Knightmares, but he still had one last trick up his sleeve. He journeyed out to the courtyard at the back of his estate, it was oddly shaped, with marble arches and unique inscriptions on the grass and dirt, this... Was for a very special reason. Standing before the symbol, his eyes glowed with the Geass Sigil, this was a last ditch effort, it would take away his Geass, but it would be worth it. He called out to the Heavens, arms outstretched

"Zeruel! Awaken!"

The power faded from his body as the clouds parted. And from them, descended The Tenth Angel, The Angel Of Might, Zeruel...

TO BE CONTINUED