A/N: As promised, this one is action packed.
Chapter Five: What is Arsenal?
Snake, Lady Une, and Otacon called a meeting in the control room at 7:30 the next morning. Relena was absent. Since she wouldn't be doing any fighting, or even help to do any fighting, she was technically not a member of the organization and did not need to attend.
"Now that Relena is safe, we will begin our anti-Metal Gear purpose." Lady Une informed the crew. "Otacon has found an important thing within Solidus' files and we must act on it."
Otacon stepped up and spoke. "I've found the location of a secret Unified Army naval base where the new Metal Gear may be being developed. I've been going over the files on this place and I keep hearing this word 'Arsenal.' It's obvious that we need to check this place out and find out what this 'Arsenal' is."
"Do you think it's the new Metal Gear?" Duo blurted out.
"It's possible." Otacon replied. "Unfortunately his files don't have anything further, no blueprints or the like. But I'm sure something's gotta be lying around that base."
"The base is near Havana." Lady Une stated.
"We'll be moving out shortly." Snake addressed them. "Everyone get ready. The seven of us will be on field ops." He pointed to the former Gundam pilots and Milliardo, who would go by Zechs shortly. "Sally and Noin will come with us to provide off-field backup. Otacon will be our main coordinator and Lady Une will issue any new orders from here." He explained. "Everyone go to your rooms and gear up. We move out in one hour." Snake ordered as he walked out, lighting a cigarette.
"Snake, before you go." Otacon stopped him. "We need to tell about them..." He looked down at the floor. "There are too many references within Solidus' files to not tell about them."
Snake closed his eyes and nodded.
"Tell us about what?" Noin asked.
"The Patriots..." Otacon said trailing.
"Milliardo, you look somewhat shocked." Relena said to her brother as he geared up. "Was it something Snake told you?"
Milliardo slowly nodded his head.
"What was it?"
"It's nothing...nothing you should be concerned with." He turned around. "I am sorry Relena, I told you after the Mariemaia Incident that I'd never go to war again. Forgive me."
Relena followed her brother outside. "Milliardo, I understand. No one could have foreseen Solidus' determination to start another war. You have to do this."
Snake walked into Heero's room, geared up.
"Ready to go?"
"Hn." He nodded, getting up and walking out with him.
"How are you holding up?" Snake asked with some concern.
Heero just looked down at the floor, unable to respond.
"Heero, if you don't feel right, you can skip out on this, help us from here."
"No, Snake. I'm a soldier, I will do what soldiers do." He said as calmly as he could.
Milliardo kissed his sister's forehead. Just as he was about to leave, he saw them coming. Relena began to push herself deeper into her brother's chest, eyes tearing up. She trembled.
"Ready to go, Zechs?" Snake asked, using his mission name since they were officially on a mission.
He nodded.
"Heero..." Relena whispered.
"Yuy! Get away from here!" He screamed.
"Sorry to interject, but is this gonna be a problem?" Snake demanded.
"No, Snake." Zechs said sadly.
"Good, let's go, now." He ordered.
"Relena I..." Heero almost begged.
She ran back to her room in tears.
"Don't talk to her!" Zechs yelled, going toward the living room to meet up with the rest of the crew.
Snake sighed. "C'mon kid, we've gotta go."
The crew headed out in the plane that Wufei had gotten for his use. They arrived outside of Havana in two hours and 30 minutes.
Heero could only think of Relena on the way over there, and what Snake had said to him on the plane.
Flashback
"I figured out why you haven't talked to Relena in two years." Snake said matter-of-factly.
"What? When?" He asked in disbelief.
"Around the time you were putting your fingers through her hair."
"Don't tell her. Please don't. I want to be the one to tell her."
Snake nodded in response, lighting a cigarette.
End Flashback
"Otacon, where's this base?" Snake asked via the Codec.
"I'm sending you all the coordinates now."
He did so, and the crew drove toward the location. Sally and Noin would stay back, while the former Gundam pilots, Zechs, and Snake infiltrated the base, looking for clues about this 'Arsenal.' Noin kissed her boyfriend good-bye and they walked just outside the grounds of the base. Wufei and Trowa took two PSG-1s and tranquilized the guards on the towers, the crew agreed that they did not want anyone to die...at least not yet. Once the guards were taken care of, Quatre and Duo cut holes within the chain-link fence, Otacon had shut the electric voltage system for it down.
Snake was the first one in, followed by Heero and Zechs. The others came in immediately after. They quickly hid themselves behind an outer building.
"I think we should split up." Trowa suggested. "This base is big and we'll have a much better chance to keep our presence here secret for a longer time."
"That's true, and if some get captured the rest can still work, and hopefully pull off a rescue." Duo agreed.
The entire team agreed. Trowa went with Quatre, Duo went with Wufei, and Snake, Heero, and Zechs went together as a three-man team.
"Remember, as soon as any of you find a computer that has files on Metal Gear or blueprints or something, let me know." Otacon told them as they moved out.
Duo and Wufei snuck toward the southern entrance to the base's main building, trying to remain unseen, which was hard to do in the Havana sunlight. A guard spotted Duo. As he was about to radio for assistance Wufei snuck around behind him and knocked him out with a rear-naked choke. Moving behind a large stack of metal boxes, they observed the entrance that they needed to cover. There were several guards on patrol, and two standing on either side of the door.
"We can take them." Duo whispered eagerly.
"Don't be so excited. If we just charge in there we're dead or captured for sure." Wufei growled.
"Yeah, you're right." Duo replied, shaking the gung-ho thoughts off. "Let's wait for the patrols to lighten. We'll take the two guards."
They both nodded. Waiting for a few minutes, they made their way to either end of the stack of boxes and jumped out, charging the two stationary guards. Before they could get out their weapons, Duo took his guard down with a tackle and knocked him out with a series of strikes to the temple. Wufei knocked his target out with a single, powerful kick to the face. They took a look at the door. It required a code to be punched in. Duo used his Codec to call Otacon.
"Otacon, it's Duo. Wufei and I have reached the southern entrance to the main building but the door requires a code to open it. Do you have any ideas?"
"I'll break into the base's mainframe. I should get the access code from there. This could take a minute or two though so be on your guard."
"Wait, what if you're traced?" Duo asked with concern.
Otacon laughed. "That won't happen. I'll run circles around these guys."
"Ok, I hope you're right."
After a couple of minutes of waiting filled with tension, and a few knocked out guards, the door pinged open and they went inside.
Trowa and Quatre had gotten inside the main building through a somewhat concealed side door. Trowa had taken his pistol, the .45 SOCOM that was issued to the entire team, and used it to knock the door's guard out by pistol butting the back of his head. The door required only a keycard, which Quatre had retrieved from the fallen guard and used it to get inside, Trowa close behind.
Zechs kneed a guard in his stomach, then delivered a strong punch to the temple, knocking him out. Snake did his trademark two punches and jumping spinning kick to knock another guard out while Heero maneuvered behind another and used a rear naked choke.
"Zechs! Watch it!" Heero screamed.
Zechs turned around to realize that a pistol was pointed at his head. Almost without thinking, Heero ran, knocked the pistol out of the guard's hand with a kick, and then impaled his boot into the assailant's stomach. Snake finished him off with a rear naked choke of his own.
"You all right?" Heero asked.
"I wasn't expecting that from you..." Zechs answered.
"C'mon, we're wasting time." Snake stated. "Otacon, get us inside."
Trowa and Quatre walked down a long, narrow hallway as quickly as they could. This was a spot that beckoned death. If they were surrounded on both sides they'd be dead for sure. Although they were trying not to kill anyone, they had their M4 assault rifles drawn, Quatre walking in front and Trowa walking backwards behind him, covering the rear. Fortunately, they made it through without incident.
"I'm glad that's over!" Quatre whispered.
Trowa just nodded and looked ahead. They were in some sort of gloomy office room. It was heavily guarded.
"I wonder what's so important in here?" Quatre wondered.
Snake led the way, M4 out, followed by Zechs, and then Heero in the back, their M4s also ready. They had wandered around for quite some time, and a lot of unconscious bodies lay in their wake. The base was obviously on a heightened state of alert, as the radar showed movement everywhere.
"Snake, Heero, Zechs, you guys are coming close to the base's main control room." Otacon said to them via the Codec.
"How do we get in there without going in with blazing guns?" Zechs asked.
"I have an idea." Snake said. "Heero, open the door. Zechs, get out a flashbang and get on the other side of the threshold."
Zechs nodded and did as instructed. Heero opened the door. Snake threw a flashbang into the room, followed by Zechs. The three of them rushed into the room, knocking as many guards out as they could with their rifle butts during the time they were stunned. They had managed to get them all.
"Otacon, we're in the base's control center, all of the guards are out." Snake said with a grunt.
Quatre and Trowa had just finished off knocking out the last guard. They looked around on desks and through files to figure out what was so important that needed to be guarded. Trowa found something hidden behind other files, opening the folder up, he saw a set of blueprints.
"Quatre, I think I've hit the jackpot." Trowa held up the blueprints as Quatre smiled and nodded.
"Otacon, it's Trowa. I've found a set of blueprints."
"Good. Snake, Heero, and Zechs are in the base's main control room. They're setting a connection up to our system so I can see what's going on in there. You guys get out of that base with those blueprints on the double! Go to where Sally and Noin are waiting."
"We're on our way." Trowa responded.
As Trowa and Quatre prepared to exit the control room a man seemingly from nowhere landed in front of the door. He had a green jacket on but no shirt under it; he was carrying a set of knives and had long black hair.
Back in Maine, Relena had made her way down to the control room. It was obvious to both Otacon and Lady Une that she had been crying.
"Miss Relena, what brings you down here?" Otacon asked in as kind a tone as possible.
"I just wanted to check how things are going. Is that ok or will I just distract you?"
Lady Une gave a light smile. "Why don't you sit over there, Relena?" She suggested, pointing to a seat on the opposite side of the room.
Getting up from her seat, she guided Relena over to where she had wanted her to sit. The seat was close enough to see what was going on clearly, but not too close that she'd be a distraction.
"How are you feeling?" Lady Une whispered, putting a hand on Relena's back.
"Better." She smiled. "Thank you."
"Lady Une! Quick!" Otacon called.
"What is it?"
"Trowa and Quatre have a major problem on their hands! It's Vamp!"
Lady Une rushed over to where she had been sitting while Relena took a curious look. This was the man she had been told would have assassinated her.
Vamp looked at the former 03 and 04 pilots in curiosity.
"Your smell...it's new." He said in a low, raspy voice. Vamp took out one of his knives and slid its tip across his chest, twice. "You two will be the first today." He stated in his eerie voice.
"And this is the man Solidus assigned to kill me..." Relena said in a voice of wonder.
Otacon and Lady Une had noticed that she was now standing directly behind them. Neither of them replied.
"Who...are you?" Quatre asked in disbelief.
Vamp just snarled and ran toward Quatre, knife drawn. Trowa started to open fire with his M4 but Vamp easily dodged the bullets. With a duck and a twirl, Vamp slashed Quatre's calf, bringing him down.
"Snake!" Otacon called. "I've got what I need from the control center. Trowa and Quatre are under attack by Vamp! They need help!" Otacon screamed.
"Roger that. Heero! Zechs! We need to move!"
Just as the two of them nodded, the base's alarm went off. Guards came swarming on an upper balcony that overlooked the control room on all sides. The three men fired their M4s in different directions, trying to get the guards to cover as they did their best to get out. Two guards jumped down, Heero immediately reacted and shot them both, they lay on the ground in a bloody heap.
"Great...the alarm." Duo muttered.
"It looks like we're in some sort of hangar..." Wufei observed.
"Why would they need a hangar like this in a naval base...?" Duo wondered "Anyway, it looks empty...except for the guards of course."
"Duo, Wufei." Otacon said over the Codec. "There's nothing in there...get out now. Get out of that base!"
"Wait!" Wufei stated suddenly. "Duo look over there. "Otacon, I think there's a large blueprint lying on the metal table in the center of this room."
"Hmmm..." Otacon thought. "We need those prints. Good eyes, Wufei."
"Get them! I don't care how, just do it!" Lady Une ordered.
Wufei and Duo decided to do it the old fashioned way. They threw a few grenades, blasting the guards full of shrapnel. After finishing off the survivors with their M4's, they approached the table, always on their guard. A woman dressed in a blue shirt approached them. She had blonde hair and had a very very big gun. She activated it, the gun's electricity surged.
"I'm offering either of you two a challenge." She stated matter-of-factly. "Kill me!"
"Fine by me!" Wufei screamed with a war cry. He opened fire, but his entire clip of M4 rounds missed, even though his aim was dead on. He looked on in shocking disbelief.
"What the hell?!" Duo screamed in equal disbelief. Duo loaded a grenade into his M204 launcher that was attached to his rifle and fired. It was a dud. He just stared, eyes wide.
"It seems you've both failed." She said somewhat sadly.
"...Who are you?" Wufei asked in shock.
"My name is Helena Dolph Jackson. I also go by Fortune, but I am not fortunate in anything other than war."
She raised her huge railgun, and fired in Duo's direction, he just managed to dodge the incoming charge. Wufei made an attempt to get the blueprints, but Fortune fired at him, he was so close to the charge that he had gotten a slight cut on his face.
"I see. So you want these do you?" She took a look. "Well, if you can kill me, you can have them."
Wufei rolled, reloaded and fired another clip. Every round missed again.
Trowa slowly backed up, trying to protect Quatre, who was losing a lot of blood and writhing in pain.
"Your movements are so easy to predict. You announce them a long time before you even flex a muscle."
Trowa looked on in astonishment, and fired again. Vamp spun and dodged all of his shots, then gave a low roar. The door leading to the room then opened. Zechs busted in and fired. Vamp jumped up and did a back flip, carrying him up to the ceiling and taking cover in the catwalks, where Zechs lost sight of him.
Snake was the second one in the room, and Heero was covering the rear.
"What the hell is that thing...?" Zechs asked, trailing.
"Vamp." Snake answered him. "Trowa, you all right?" Snake asked, making his way toward him and Quatre.
"Yes, but unfortunately Quatre is in real bad shape."
"Quatre, can you hear me?" Snake asked.
"Yes...Snake!"
"Take it easy, we're gettin you out of here." Snake said, motioning for Trowa to come over. "Got the blueprints?"
Trowa nodded, taking out the folded papers.
Snake nodded back, taking them. "He's lost a lot of blood. Trowa, carry him out of here. Keep a pistol handy just in case. We'll cover you."
Trowa took Quatre over his shoulder, pulling his .45 into his free hand.
"Where's Vamp?" Zechs asked.
"He could be anywhere." Snake turned to answer him. "Keep an eye open and your trigger ready."
Heero heard a slight sound of metal coming out of a sheath. As if out of nowhere, Heero opened fire, shooting a knife out of the air that was heading straight toward Zechs. Continuing his fire, the bullets hit the metal of the catwalk, and then finally hit Vamp in the chest several times. Vamp screamed and fell to the floor some twenty feet below with a thud.
"Nice shooting kid!" Snake said, giving a thumbs up.
"Wow..." Otacon said in amazement. "He got him..."
Relena eyed the large screen in the control room. "Heero..."
Zechs looked at the knife that would have certainly killed him with wide eyes. Yuy had saved his life...for the second time today.
"Is he dead?" Heero asked Snake.
"I doubt it. That bastard's survival capability is eerie. But it does give us a chance to get out of here. C'mon! Now!"
The group ran out of the room and into the corridor Trowa and Quatre had gone through earlier. They were met with a patrol of soldiers at the other end. Snake, Heero and Zechs greeted them with a wall of lead.
"Wufei, what the hell are we gonna do?" Duo asked, breathing heavily in their cover spot.
"I don't know." He whispered back. "Nothing can hit her! And we need those blueprints!"
"...I've got it. Cover your eyes!"
Wufei knew immediately what Duo had in mind and did so. Duo threw a flashbang, causing Fortune to lose sight and hearing for a few seconds, just enough time for Wufei to grab the blueprints and make a run for it. He was immediately followed out by Duo.
"Otacon!" Duo frantically called. "We ran into this chick who we couldn't do anything against, all our shots missed and even our grenades were all duds! Wufei got the blueprints and we're running for our lives!"
"Fortune..." Otacon trailed. "Get out of there as soon as possible. On your current course you should meet up with Snake and the others soon. We have what we need."
"Roger that!" Duo hung up.
In a few excitement-filled minutes, the group did indeed meet up as they all ran out. The group had their guns covering all possible venues of attack as they made their way outside. As they got out into the sunlight and could see the blue of the ocean, a man standing on the base's dock clapped. He was wearing a black cape.
"Very impressive. I must admit I didn't expect this to happen. You showed skill, and not only that-innovation! I suppose I should reward you all with what you've taken from this base. But I am not a generous person. Give me those blueprints and I promise you all your deaths will be quick."
Otacon and Lady Une looked with determination while Relena watched in sadness. How could she not have seen this man for who he really was-the man who stood on that dock?
"You can forget it. We're stopping you." Heero said in his monotone.
Solidus laughed. "Heero Yuy. The former pilot of the Wing Zero!"
Heero looked surprised.
"Yes, don't think I haven't figured out who all of you are. I still find it hard to believe you're teaming up with Milliardo Peacecraft, or is it Zechs Merquise? What name do you go by now?" He asked in a mocking tone. Your fights during the Eve Wars are legendary! "But I must admit. There was one thing that surprised me...you! Snake! Welcome back to the land of the living-brother."
"You're no brother of mine." Snake said coldly. He then opened fire. Solidus threw his cape off, revealing his power armor and with furious velocity, dodged some shots while the others glinted off of his armor. Undeterred, Snake put a grenade into his M204 and shot the ground where Solidus stood, sending him into the sea. Snake looked on in wonder. Had he killed him?
A few seconds later, Solidus emerged...but on top of a high-pitched roaring mobile suit that popped out of the water.
"Holy shit!" Duo said in disbelief. "That must be Metal Gear!"
"Oh my God..." Relena said in sadness. "It's already operational..."
"Something's not right here..." Otacon said.
"What?" Lady Une asked in wonder. "What's wrong?"
"That's Metal Gear RAY. We've seen it before..." Otacon went on. "We can talk about this when they get back. Right now we need to get them out of there."
"Right." Lady Une nodded.
"This game's over Snake!" He said, getting in the cockpit.
"Everyone! Run!" Snake ordered.
The crew ran as fast as they could out of the base. Trowa trailed behind as he was carrying Quatre. Duo voluntarily went back to help carry Quatre, thus allowing Trowa to run a little faster.
"Sally! Noin! We need to get out of here!" Snake called.
The car they had used drove up. Trowa and Duo carefully put Quatre in the back, Sally checking the wound.
"He's not looking good. We need to get him on the plane quickly!" Sally said.
The crew got in, but Metal Gear RAY was following them. Almost without thinking, Heero went toward the trunk, grabbed a Stinger, and aimed at RAY's leg. The missile hit, causing the Metal Gear to fall to one knee. Heero then launched another Stinger at the cockpit-direct hit.
"ARGHHH!" Solidus screamed, quickly getting out, holding a hand over his eye.
"That ought to hold him for a while." Heero said in his monotone as the car drove off at top speed.
In a few minutes, they got to the plane and took off. Looking down, they could see more Metal Gear RAYs come out of the water by the base.
"Great. There's more than one!" Wufei said in shock.
"Something isn't right here..." Snake muttered.
"What?" Zechs asked.
"We'll talk about it in debriefing." He grunted.
Heero gathered his thoughts. What could Snake be talking about?