Chapter 17

The door of the elevator slid open and Otacon saw the terrible truth. Snake was holding Emma's head with both hands as she closed and opened her eyes.

"Did you get the bandages?" Snake asked.

Otacon nodded and gave the bandages to Snake who immediately wrapped a few around Emma's wound.

Otacon was frozen looking at Emma. EE. "Will she be alright?" Otacon asked.

"I don't know that bastard hit vital organs." Snake wrapped the last piece of the bandages. "Help me carry her over to the computer." He said.

Otacon complied immediately as his eyes started fogging up a little. "I've got everything ready, she just needs to put her password input the command and then insert the virus disc."

"I've checked her, but she doesn't have it." Snake said. "Raiden must have it."

They reached the computer room and Otacon helped her sister to reach the keyboard on the computer. "EE can you hear me? We need your help. EE!!?" Otacon tried to reach her.

Emma's eyes opened up a little bit as she heard the sound of her brother's voice. "Hal…is that you…" She seemed to be regaining her conscious.

"Yes EE, it's me Hal." Otacon spoke while looking directly at her eyes. "We need a favor from you. You have to input the commands so we can stop GW and Arsenal."

Emma nodded and gave a small grunt of agreement. "I've missed you…" She spoke while turning slowly to the computer and saw that it needed a password. "Venus…" She spoke out loud as she typed. "…in…Cancer." She pushed the return button and began typing a few more commands as Otacon held her tight.

Snake was watching while his radio crackled. "Snake, what's your situation over there?" Raiden inquired.

"Emma seems to be uh... doing something to GW's defensive capabilities. All we need now is your disc." Snake got a few feet away from both Otacon and Emma. "You'd better hurry…I don't think she's going to make it."

"How's the bleeding?" Raiden asked.

"She's...Just get over here. You'll find the coast is clear with everybody aboard Arsenal right now." Snake knew that Olga had probably dealt with the few men that were left.

"Understood." Raiden signed off.

"I think she's done it Snake." Otacon said.

Snake got close to the computer and saw a progress bar indicating '0'.

"All we need now is the disc." Otacon said as he took Emma and lied her down in the carpet floor of the computer room. "You have to save your strengths Emma!!" Otacon took Emma's glasses from her face and placed them on her right hand. He was watching her sister fade away.

Small droplets of blood fell from Olga's shimmering blade. She had just committed a fowl crime, she had killed men that she knew intimately, the irony that these men would have given up their lives for her and she was the one that killed them. "What…have I done…?" Olga sobbed beneath her mask. The pain was almost too unbearable as she laid eyes upon a corpse that was about to fall into the ocean through the missing panels of the connecting bridge, which was in terrible state after the fight. Every single man had fallen into the Ocean, and the blood would be washed away by currents, leaving no trace behind of the awful reality. Olga was about to burst into tears when she noticed several cyphers heading her way. I need to go… unfortunately my comrades I have no time for grieving. Olga gathered herself and headed inside the core section.

Inside of the computer room Snake was watching Emma and Otacon closely together when suddenly he noticed outside near the left entrance a shadow. "I'll be right back Otacon. I have to deal with someone." He rushed outside of the computer room.

Otacon nodded without diverting his attention from Emma.

Olga was by the left stairs standing still probably watching Emma and Otacon when Snake came close to her. "I've left the path clear for the boy. He should be here in a few moments." Olga spoke out through her white mask.

"Okay, after we've inserted the virus I'll follow you and him inside Arsenal."

"How are you going to make him go with me?" Olga asked.

"He won't go easily. You'll have to knock him out." Snake said.

"Very well I can use my blade and his nanomachines to knock him out. I'll stay hidden until you say so." Olga said and turned away. "By the way you left this in the first floor." Olga stretched out her hand and revealed Snake's M4 and a few extra magazines. "It may still come in handy." Olga said and walked away.

Snake picked up the M4 and the extra magazines and placed them near the entrance to the computer room, when he went back.

"Hal?" Emma asked with a slight tremble in her voice.

"Yes EE?"

"When you find the time…free my parrot…" Emma said.

"You're going to do that yourself." Otacon said as water began to come over his eyes.

Emma's blood stain was transpiring over the bandages. "Snake!!" Otacon called out as he saw Snake entering the computer room. "It's her bandage."

Snake noticed the blood stain on Emma's bandage. "Damn. I'll try to wrap them some more."

After a few seconds Snake got up and Otacon got closer to Emma, Raiden had just entered the computer room and eyed both siblings at their most desperate hour.

Snake had his arms crossed while watching Otacon's sister bleed to death.

"How's Emma? " Raiden asked turning to Snake.

"I think he got some internal organs...We can't stop the bleeding."

Emma lifted her right hand and tried to find Otacon. "Hh... Hal?" Her sight was failing.

Otacon quickly reached for Emma's hand. "I'm here..."

"Got the disc?" Snake asked Raiden quietly.

Raiden took out the disc from his equipment and showed it to Snake. In turn he nodded and took it from Raiden's hands. "Emma's set everything up. Apparently, all you have to do is pop in the disc. "

Both Snake and Raiden faced the computer screen as Snake inserted the disc. "Um... that should insert the virus into the AI…"

"Is it working?" Raiden asked.

The progress bar was filling up quite fast it was close to '70'. "Just leave it to Emma." Snake replied not knowing if after all the trouble the virus would work.

Suddenly at '80' a warning sound ringed and the screen went from the progress bar to a blue scheme.

Snake placed both his hands near the computer's keyboard. "What the…!?" He quickly turned to Otacon who was watching the screen.

"An antibody agent!?" Otacon said surprised.

The computer screen turned off and on again to show that the progress bar stopped at '90' and a message appeared saying that the connection had been severed.

"Damn! The connections have been cut!" Snake pointed out as he again placed his hands on the computer workbench.

"Is the virus upload complete?" Raiden asked.

"I don't think so. The count's stopped at 90." Snake looked over at Otacon. "Otacon...?"

"I don't think Emma's made any mistakes..." He replied.

"But..." Raiden grunted.

"A portion of the worm cluster might've been altered after the disc left Emma's hands." Otacon said while still holding Emma's right hand.

"By the Patriots?" Raiden toss a plausible guess into the discussion.

"Will the virus work?" Snake asked, almost sure that Raiden was right in is assumption.

"I have no idea..." Otacon replied feeling that her sister was more important than stopping GW and Arsenal.

"Hal… is…" Emma was speaking and Otacon lifted her head up with his other hand. "…is everything alright…?" She asked while blinking her eyes, her sight and hearing were deteriorating.

Otacon turned his head to Snake and saw him holding the disc and shaking his head, a clear sign that Emma didn't need to know the truth. "Uh... it's alright. Everything's alright." Otacon replied to her.

"Good... At least I... I won't be adding... another page to our family's dark... history..." Emma seemed to be smilingly faintly.

"Yeah... that's right..." Otacon replied.

Snake, who had been hearing Otacon and Emma talking, turned to Raiden.

"What if the virus doesn't work?" Raiden asked.

"Either destroy that thing or take out Solidus and his men." Snake considered the options and both carried great risk.

"How do we get on board?" Raiden inquired.

Snake turned and looked at the door which led to Arsenal. "I don't think we can, unless somebody inside gives us a hand." Snake wouldn't have to hide the fact that Olga and he had a plan for much longer.

Snake kept silent for a few seconds hearing Otacon and Emma speaking before realizing the disc that he had in his right hand. The computer virus…Then a sensation ran through him, a realization. …Foxdie, the Ninja, Dead Cell, Metal Gear… His theory couldn't be true, but it sounded and felt so familiar. …Shadow Moses! After what had happened with the disc Snake had to keep his bases covered. He looked around and saw a few empty discs similar to the one he was holding. He noticed that Raiden was looking at Emma and picked one of the empty discs.

"Hal…" Emma said while holding Otacon's hand with both her hands. "I… I always..."

"What is it?" Otacon asked.

Emma raised her left arm until her hand touched Otacon's right cheek and stroke down until she rested it on Otacon's chest. "...wanted to see you again." Emma said.

"You don't hate me?" Otacon asked.

"Never... I never wanted to get in your way... I never wanted to hurt you... I thought that with Arsenal... if I followed in your footsteps... I could be... closer. I just wanted you to look at me... look at me as a woman." Emma eyed Otacon through her fading eyes.

"EE... I could never do that..." Otacon replied.

"Don't be so honest. It ...hurts..." Emma said.

"Sorry..."

"Can I... can I ask you one last favor...?" Emma talked more slowly and less emphatically.

"Sure." Otacon replied.

"Call me... call me 'Emma'."

"What...?"

"Please call me... Emma." Emma pleaded. The use of her own name would make her feel that Otacon treated her like an equal, like a woman. Emma raised her left arm again and touched Otacon's face with her hand. Hal… Emma raised her other arm and did the same thing. She touched his glasses.

Otacon held her up so she could do it more easily. And Emma began removing Otacon's glasses form his face.

"What's wrong with EE?" Otacon asked. Seeing more blurry as his glasses were going down his nose.

Emma held the glasses for a split second before she took her last breath. Life had given up on her. Otacon's glasses fell to the floor right beside her body.

Otacon looked into Emma's vacant eyes and realized that she was no longer her baby sister. She had grown into a beautiful woman. A woman that had loved him more than he even thought he knew. "Emma…" Otacon said.

She had faded with a smile on her face.

"Emma?" Otacon asked hoping that what had just happened wasn't real. "Emma!? Emma!?" Otacon spoke out louder as the reality began to sink in and his eyes became watery. "Answer me!" Otacon broke out in tears as Emma's body stood still and devoid of life. His cry grew louder while Snake and Raiden turned their heads on the scene.

Damn! Snake thought to himself. He hadn't come here for this and now here he was on a precarious situation and with Otacon's sister lying dead on the floor.

Otacon held onto Emma a bit closer as he cried. He looked at her and remembered the defining moment that had led to event. He stopped crying and spoke out.

"I didn't... I didn't leave you because of the accident...I had... I had a relationship with your mother. She seduced me... and it went on..." He was putting his feelings out into the world and relieving himself of the pain he had caused. "My father's death... was no accident. He took his own life... it was my fault. All my fault." Emma was right in blaming me. "Forgive me, Emma..." He spoke out and cried no more.