Was Fluttershy taught the Konami Code?
Raiden looked for Fluttershy, he had some questions about her bold move earlier on, he didn't really mind that much since he believed Fluttershy acted on an innocent crush, he probably should have seen it coming since she's been really affectionate lately, especially after the mission where she helped him get on the plane.
He approached Otacton, "Hey Otacon, have you seen Fluttershy?"
"I last saw her with Snake, I think they're training some more"
"Thanks"
Raiden should have figured she was training, though he wasn't too sure since she seemed pretty upset at Snake before.
He had went out and found Fluttershy, who was busy training with Snake to practice her CQC, Meryl once again offering her services.
"You're doing better kid, keep practicing", Snake said.
"Yes sir Snake", Fluttershy said, and continued her practice rounds.
Raiden approached the group, "How are things going?"
Fluttershy stopped a moment and had a nervous blush.
"Things are going good", Snake said, then noticed Fluttershy's reaction, "You ok kid?"
Fluttershy nodded, "I'm fine"
Raiden approached Fluttershy, "We need to talk later, come to our room when you're finished with Snake", Raiden turned away and waved good-bye as he left.
Snake turned to Fluttershy, "What was that about?"
Fluttershy blushed a bit, "I think I made a bad mistake"
Snake looked curious, "Do you wanna explain or would you rather drop it?"
"Um...I'd rather not go into now, if that's ok with you"
"Hey it's your emotions, I won't pry them out of you"
They continued to train for a few more hours before Fluttershy went to the room she shared with Raiden.
He was waiting inside, watching her as she came in, "Sit next to me"
Fluttershy floated to him and sat down, feeling shameful of what happened.
Raiden turned to her, "Now first thing's first, I am not mad at what you did, so you don't need to feel guilty"
Fluttershy looked to him confused, "Then what do you need to speak about?"
"I just need to know, is there any reason you kissed me?"
Fluttershy blushed, "Um, the thing is...I have a small crush on you"
Raiden sighed, "I figured that, how long though?"
"It started when you were so nice to me after we met, once you dropped your anger and put on your sweet nature, and then how you were sweet to me when I made the introductions, then once I got a good look of you without the cyber stuff, I admit I felt attracted to you, hence why I started kissing you a bit after that"
"Like those sit up kisses?" Raiden asked.
Fluttershy nodded, "Yeah, then around the time we began the training, I remember how nice you were to me, even though you didn't want me to train because you thought I might get hurt, then the next day after I humiliated myself, you came to me and comforted me, that's when I felt more of a connection"
"Yeah, you said you loved me"
Fluttershy looked aside, "Yeah, not sure if I was in love with you or just happy you cared so much for me, but the next few days, you were always there for me, that's when I knew I had a crush on you, and when you came to me again to check up on me, and you spoke so much on how you were worried about me, everything you said made me like you more, because I knew how sweet you were to say that, eventually I decided to just go for it"
Raiden nodded, "So you just developed a physical attraction to me, then it led to more emotional attraction"
"Yeah, maybe it's weird since we're different species, but I did feel an attraction, maybe I can look past that because we're both sentimental creatures, I mean my friend Spike, who's a dragon, has a small crush on my friend Rarity, who's a pony, so I figured me having a crush on you is no different"
Raiden took a moment to take that in, "Never heard of a dragon liking a pony, not even in fairy tales"
"To be fair, Spike's the only dragon that lives with us, the others are big, mean and scary"
"Makes sense, but still Fluttershy, I'm ok with you having a crush on me, and like I said, I'm not mad at you for acting on your emotions, but I can't really return your feelings, and it's not you, it's me, sorry if that's cliché but sometimes the cliché is the truth"
"If it's because you don't think you're good enough for me, then I don't think that at all, I think you'd be a great coltfriend, er maybe boyfriend is a better term, but I think you'd make a great romantic partner for me"
Raiden shook his head, "It's too complicated to explain now Fluttershy, I'll tell you later"
Fluttershy nodded, "Ok then...but the offer's still there, I do like you Raiden"
"If you still like me in a few days then maybe, but this just seems like a crush, and those pass, Meryl had a crush on Snake and that didn't go anywhere"
Fluttershy's ears dropped, "If you say so"
Raiden sighed, "No matter, you just gotta finish your training"
Fluttershy nodded, "Right, there's a mission coming soon, if I do well enough, maybe I can join the mission"
Raiden nodded, "Perhaps"
Fluttershy laid back, "Let me rest my muscles first, they're a little achy"
"I'm gonna go work out a bit myself, take it easy 'Shy, even if I don't like you how you like me, I still care about you regardless"
Fluttershy blushed, "You're so sweet"
Raiden nodded and left.
The next two days passed by, Fluttershy's training really started to pay off, she had gotten better at CQC, the only thing she wasn't trained on was using the weapons, mainly due to her not feeling ready to actually kill something, but they said it probably isn't needed.
The plane had arrived at the location of the mission, all they had to do was raid a base for Intel and take out any Metal Gear in development, they all got their nano shots, except Akiba, who chickened out, Raiden had to comfort Fluttershy as she got hers, she took it well though.
Everyone grabbed their gear, Raiden was able to revert back to his cyber ninja look and they went off.
Snake, Raiden, Meryl, her team & Fluttershy left the train and were being taken to the spot by Drebin.
"Good luck on your mission, especially you Fluttershy"
Fluttershy nodded, "Thanks Drebin", she had been given a bulletproof vest and had some gloves to protect her hooves should she get into a fight, due to her lack of weapon training and still a newbie status, she was assigned to stick with Raiden and let him do the fighting, and she'll basically cover him and an extra set of eyes and ears, plus her ability to fly could probably come in handy.
They arrived at a base and everyone exited the van, Drebin left afterwards to get a distance.
"Ok, you all know the drill, Meryl, your team will head toward the enemy bases on the left, Raiden you and Fluttershy can cover the right, I'll cover the middle using Stealth, radio if you find Liquid or a Metal Gear", Snake said.
Everyone saluted and went off.
Raiden and Fluttershy walked through a base and approached a few enemies.
"Ok Fluttershy, stay close to me, try not to engage these enemies too much, just watch my back, and remember, you have Nanos so hopefully we can sync well together"
Fluttershy nodded, "That needle hurt a bit, but I know everyone else had to take it, so I did too"
"That's brave of you, cause Akiba sure didn't take his, again"
Fluttershy looked annoyed at hearing that, "He's a bit incompetent"
"Yeah, he is, anyway you have my Frequency and the Frequency of everyone else?"
"Yeah, I hope I can remember them"
"If anything ask me, or have it saved somewhere for an auto-dial, now let's head in there, stay high and watch my back", Raiden said.
Fluttershy nodded and the two went in.
Raiden snuck around and motioned for Fluttershy to follow, despite his ninja skills, Raiden knew it wasn't best to just go in and cause a ruckus.
One soldier passed by too close, Raiden quickly popped out and cut his gun and knocked him out with a kick, then put his somewhere where he wouldn't draw attention.
"Nice work Raiden", Fluttershy said.
"Thanks, let's keep moving"
They proceeded until they went into a building, they passed the hallways until they reached a bunker of weapons.
"This must be where they're keeping their weapon supply", Raiden said.
"What should we do with them?" Fluttershy asked.
"Maybe grab some, I'm sure Drebin and override the weapon ID on some of these-" Raiden heard some footsteps coming, "Hide!"
Both hid under the table as two soldiers passed by.
"I almost pity those scientists, between programming Gekko, and those RAYs, now they have to redesign REX? Why does the boss want REX? Isn't it an older model?"
"He says something about 'Old Memories', who knows, but let him do what he needs to do, he's a military genius after all"
Once the solders left, Raiden and Fluttershy left their hiding spot.
"They're rebuilding REX!? This isn't good", Raiden said.
"REX? I think Snake mentioned it once, it's an old Metal Gear model right?" Fluttershy asked.
"Yeah, Otacon made the design, but Snake took it down initially around a decade ago, Snake used it again not too long ago but I can't believe Liquid wants to rebuild it, though I don't see the purpose of doing do"
"Well I guess it doesn't matter, we need to stop them"
Raiden nodded, "You're right, we gotta alert the others, I'll call Snake, you call Meryl"
Fluttershy saluted, "On it"
Raiden had contacted Snake.
"Snake, it's Raiden, I overheard some soldiers talking, Liquid's rebuilding Metal Gear REX"
"What!? Why REX? He's got RAY & The Gekko!"
"They didn't say much, only that it's for Old Memories"
Snake groaned, "Damn...more shit to deal with"
"Me and Fluttershy are gonna process through, we'll keep in touch if we discover anything else"
"Right, out", Snake disconnected.
Fluttershy called Meryl.
"Meryl, it's Fluttershy, I heard some soldiers talk about Liquid rebuilding Metal Gear REX"
"REX? Why rebuild an outdated model? Isn't RAY enough?"
"The soldiers said Liquid wants Old Memories or something like that"
"What a freaken ego, ok keep an eye out and let me know if you find anything else"
"Yes ma'am"
Fluttershy had disconnected and turned to Raiden, "Should we call The Colonel & Otacon?"
They heard some more soldiers coming, "In a moment, let's keep moving"
They went through a separate hallway and roamed the Bunkers, keeping an eye out for anything useful.
As they went through they passed by a hallway that had some windows giving them a peek at some Gekko being programed in a huge hanger.
"Holy shit! The Gekko!" Raiden said.
"Oh my, that's a lot", Fluttershy said.
Raiden contacted Campbell, "Colonel, me and Fluttershy encountered a hanger of Gekko"
"How many are there?"
"Looks like there's about a dozen"
"I see, you must take them out before they get loose"
"Right, by the way, did Snake mention anything about REX to you?"
"I just contacted him and Meryl, they're gonna keep their eyes out, but you keep going with your mission"
"Will do, we'll be done once-"
"Hey!" a soldier said and shot at Raiden but he quickly used his sword to deflect the bullets and then sliced the gun in half.
The Soldier whipped out a handgun but Raiden kicked it and kicked the soldier in the face.
Another soldier came in from behind and hit Raiden with the helm of his gun.
"Hey!" Fluttershy said and shoulder tackled the solider, "Don't hurt my friend!"
The solider turned around and whacked Fluttershy in the face with his gun, knocking her down.
Raiden got furious and that and stabbed the solider through the back and turned the sword to cause a deeper slash, with blood squirting out.
The initial soldier got up and tried to attack Raiden with a punch, only for Raiden to dodge and cut his hand off before using a dagger to stab the guy in the neck.
Fluttershy came to and saw the dead bodies, the dismembered hand and the splattered blood, causing her to freak out a bit.
"I think I'm gonna-", she felt the urge to puke but she held it back.
Raiden went to her, "Probably went overboard, I guess I got angry when that solider hurt you"
Fluttershy nodded, "It's fine, I know you have to kill sometimes, just try not to make it so...gruesome"
Raiden nodded and walked off with Fluttershy, they found a staircase and went down, though there was a soldier waiting on each corner, the first one Raiden took out by whacking him with his sword's reverse blade, they went down some more and Raiden took out the next solder by grabbing him into a sleeper hold, causing the solider to lose consciousness, by the 3rd part, Raiden turned the solider around and took him down with some CQC.
"Can I get the last one?" Fluttershy asked.
"Sure", Raiden said.
They approached the final guard on the staircase, Fluttershy cautiously approached him and held her hand out, and when the time was right, she hit the soldier on the neck, knocking him out.
"Wow, you took him out in one blow"
"I simply hit his pressure points, something I learned with Snake"
Raiden ruffled her hair, "Good work soldier"
She giggled a bit as they continued on.
They snuck around and observed as the scientists attempted to program the Gekko, they looked almost impressed by the place.
"This reminds me of Arsenal Gear", Raiden said.
"I can't believe this stuff is being made for the purpose of destruction", Fluttershy said.
Raiden readied his sword to attack when he noticed a surprise, "I see Liquid!"
They observed as Liquid spoke with the scientists, "Get these things in tip-top shape, the last base got destroyed because the soldiers and Gekko there were incompetent"
"Yes sir!"
Liquid walked off and approached some soldiers, "No doubt they are probably here too, if they are spotted make sure to kill each of them!"
The soldiers saluted as Liquid left the area.
Raiden turned to Fluttershy, "There's gonna be a big fight in a moment, make sure you stay out of danger"
Fluttershy looked concerned, "Will you be alright?"
"I can handle them, I'm more concerned about you, just stay safe, I'm gonna take out the Gekko"
Raiden grabbed a few stun grenades and tossed them, blinding a few of the soldiers and scientists, then Raiden rushed in and started slashing the Gekko first and foremost.
While cutting them, a scientist regained his composure and went to activate them, but he had a gun tossed at his head.
"Who threw that!?" he looked around, then turned back only to have another object thrown at him.
The scientist then grabbed a handgun and went the direction on where the object was tossed, upon arriving there, he felt his hand get grabbed and then he was on the receiving end of two gut punches, a head kick and a flip.
"Sorry about that", Fluttershy said genuinely.
Some other scientists noticed, "What!?"
They rushed at Fluttershy to attack, though thanks to Fluttershy's training and the scientists' lack of fighting skills, she was able to take them down.
She punched out one, "Sorry!", she punched and kicked another, "Really sorry!" another tried to cut her with a knife but she grabbed his wrist and applied pressure before kicking him down, "Please don't be mad!" then another tried to attack her but she hit him with an uppercut, "So sorry!"
Meanwhile Raiden is slashing the Gekko and cutting up all the soldiers that get in his way.
One solider spotted Fluttershy taking out all the scientists and apologizing each time, though confused he approached her and started shooting at her, causing her to evade, some bullets accidentally hitting the scientists.
"I'm sorry!" she screamed as she went for cover.
The solider ran to her location with his knife out, with the intent of stabbing her, though as he got closer Fluttershy popped out and kicked him in the face, she went for another kick but the solider grabbed her leg and slammed her to the ground and stabbed the knife down, but Fluttershy grabbed his arm and attempted to keep the knife away, but the soldier's strength was beginning to show.
Raiden grabbed some grenades from dead soldiers and tossed them at the other Gekko, damaging them a bit, then noticed Fluttershy's predicament, "No!"
He ran at the soldier and kicked him off and helped Fluttershy, "Are you hurt!?"
She shook her head, "No he didn't hurt me, no one did"
"Good, now let's just-" Raiden was the grabbed by an active Gekko, Fluttershy noticed that a scientist had managed to activate one, she flew in and punched the scientist out before he activated any more.
Raiden threw his sword at the Gekko and started fighting it, during the fight Fluttershy went to see if she can help but the one solider had grabbed her and tossed her down and started strangling her.
Fluttershy gasped for air as the solider applied pressure, Fluttershy noticed she was next to the knife and reached for it.
Raiden had finished off the Gekko and noticed Fluttershy's situation and rushed to help her but Fluttershy had grabbed the knife and stabbed the man in the arm, causing him to let go.
Fluttershy scurried away as Raiden rushed in and swung the sword at the man's neck, Fluttershy turning away to avoid the gory details.
Raiden approached her and stroked her mane, "Don't worry, it's over"
Fluttershy turned to Raiden, he had blood on him from the other guy but she was relieved he was alright, though she still felt a bit sick and squeamish from the sight of the blood.
"Let's just keep moving forward, I can't stand being around this much blood"
As they started leaving, Liquid Snake had returned, "Why if it isn't young Raiden, the one raised by my other brother Solidus"
Raiden glared at Liquid, "So you've come back, I'll be saving us a lot of trouble by finishing you right now!" Raiden rushed at Liquid and attacked but Liquid managed to disarm Raiden and take him down with CQC.
"Hey you big meanie! Don't hurt him!" Fluttershy rushed at Liquid but he grabbed her and tossed her to a wall.
"I don't know what you are, but if you stand in my way then you too shall die by my hand!" Liquid said and whipped out a gun and aimed at Fluttershy, but Raiden kicked Liquid down.
"Don't you dare!"
Liquid kipped up, as Raiden went in for another attack, Liquid countered with a Knife to the abs and activated the electricity, shocking Raiden and rendering him out cold.
Fluttershy got up and looked in horror as Liquid stood above a downed Raiden.
"No! Please don't kill him!"
Liquid turned to Fluttershy, "I won't, it would be too easy, no I want to use him as a message to my brother, maybe he will stop delaying the inevitable and we can both make our father's dreams come true, a world where war prevails"
"War is a terrible thing! This world should be filled with Kindness and Harmony, not Death and Despair!"
Liquid only offered a sick smile at Fluttershy's words, "I should expect something that looks like it came from a children's toy line to speak such pitiful words such as that, now then, I shall leave you to your knight, I have plans to make and a Metal Gear to rebuild"
Before he left, Fluttershy asked him, "Why are you rebuilding REX? Isn't it an old model from what I've been told?"
Liquid turned to her, "What better way to finish my feud with my brother, than to use the same Metal Gear that started our little rivalry, the same Metal Gear that killed his dear friend Frank Jaeger"
Fluttershy gasped, "How could you treat something like this like if it's nothing? You're a horrible person!"
Liquid rolled his eyes, "Like I've never been told that before", Liquid walked away as Fluttershy tended to Raiden.
Fluttershy contacted Snake, "Snake, me and Raiden just encountered Liquid"
"What!? What happened over there!?"
"I'll fill you in, but Raiden's hurt...your brother's really scary"
"I know, I'll be there in a moment, just stay there, Otacon's gonna track your coordinates, he'll lead me to you"
Fluttershy nodded and stayed near Raiden, "I'm here for you, don't you worry"
Raiden coughed a bit, still feeling the effects of the stabbing and electricity.
Fluttershy seemed to handle things well for someone who's normally a pacifist.