CHAPTER 10
XxXxXxXx
FIRST EARTH
XxXxXxXx
Ok, I miscounted and lied. There are really ten chapters in this story.
So this is the last one of this! Whoo!
Enjoy!
XxXxXxXx
Snake ordered me under penalty of death not to say a word to anyone when we met up with the others. He had retrieved EVA's body, leaving The Boss' in the middle of the field. He told me not to mention where The Boss' final resting place was either. I respected those wishes.
We made our way back to the main fray we had left. It was a slow trek, as Snake seemed intent not to move very fast. That was ok with me. I was still trembling terribly from fright and shock. What the heck did The Boss mean about the Peacewalker's Mammal Pod…?
We found most of the Mother Base soldiers picking up the pieces as we returned. Looking around the battlegrounds, The Fury, the fat man, and Vulgin were dead. A small swarm of wasps hovered over a crumpled pile of orange and black clothes. The Pain was gone too.
"Bobby!"
Uncle Press ran up to me, a relieved expression on his face. "You're alive!" His expression changed to one of shock and sadness as he spotted EVA in Snake's arms.
"What happened here?" Snake asked, directly changing the subject.
"We lost some, they lost some." Press responded. "We lost a few, actually. Amanda damaged her leg pretty badly, but she's alive. She was our only injured. We lost two…Gadget and Lobster."
I felt my heart sink. It seemed as though everyone lost someone today.
"What about the others?" Snake continued.
"Ocelot and his men? They ran once it seemed hopeless." Press jerked a thumb to a group of three people. "But we did get a hostage. Hot Coldman. We need him to deactivate the Peacewalker and rescue the hostage inside."
I suddenly realized who the hostage was. It was The Boss. She had said the Peacewalker was almost a replication of her thoughts and actions…her memory was trapped inside the sphere with the glowing red stripe.
Snake seemed to realize this too. He stared down at EVA again, as though thinking it over. "Did he tell you anything yet?" He asked gruffly.
"Nothing so far." Press said.
The Peacewalker was still in its couching position, unmoving; the red light unwavering. Coldman had a grin on his face, as though enjoying capture. He definitely knew something we didn't.
Snake set EVA down against a tree and forced himself away from her side. He marched up to Coldman, just staring daggers into his eyes. Without warning, Snake clenched a hand around the old man's throat and pulled him roughly forward, so they were nearly nose-to-nose.
"Tell me the codes to stop the Peacewalker," Snake spat. "Or I'll end you."
Coldman opened his mouth to speak, but it turned into choked laughter. His face was turning a fierce shade of red and slightly purple. Snake released his neck and instead grabbed a handful of his shirt collar. "Tell me, dammit! Do you want thousands…millions… of people to die?!"
"Think of this as…my last request." Coldman coughed. He raised his voice and stared at the Peacewalker. "Nuclear launch sequence commence!"
"Starting countdown," The Peacewalker turned itself so it was facing the remains of the Groznyj Grad lab in the distance. A compartment on its back opened. "Three minutes until launch."
"YOU BASTARD!" Snake roared.
Coldman continued laughing. I saw him reach for the M1911A1 at Snake's belt.
"No! Snake! Watch out!" I screamed, drawing my EZ. I was too late.
Coldman drew the gun and turned it on himself. Snake tried to throw off his aim, making him miss his head and instead strike the side of his neck. Coldman dropped like a stone, clutching at the bloodied hole he had inflicted upon himself. Snake retrieved his weapon and motioned to Press. "Get a medic! Anyone!"
Press ran off into the woods, hand pressed to his earpiece as he shouted for help. I assumed he knew where the helicopter had landed.
"Two minutes until launch."
I turned back to the Peacewalker. "What do we do?"
"Everyone! Evacuate the area!" Snake shouted. He roughly lifted Coldman from the ground. "And make sure this man stays alive! Get the codes from him!"
One of the Mother Base soldiers retrieved our prisoner from Snake and walked quickly in the general direction Press had headed off into.
"What do we do?" I repeated. Raiden had joined my side, a ridiculously large and heavy looking boxy gun over one shoulder. He had some sort of sling/bag over his other.
"I have a LAW! This should get its attention!" He aimed at the sphere—the Mammal Pod—and hesitated. "Do…do you think that this will kill the prisoner…?"
"There is no one trapped in there!" Snake roared. "Just shoot!"
Raiden fired and stumbled back as the rocket flew from the end of the gun, striking the Peacewalker's head. It didn't notice us.
"Dammit!" Raiden reached into the sling and drew out what I guessed to be more of the LAW's ammo. He discarded a long beam-ish pole from the weapon and slid the other on. He took aim again and fired.
The Peacewalker stumbled and turned to face us. "Self-defense mode activated."
I began to recognize the voice programmed into it. It was The Boss'. I could only imagine what was running through Snake's mind. Instead, I drew my M1911A1 and watched as the Peacewalker took a few steps toward us. I didn't know what to do. My pitiful gun would do nothing against a Metal Gear.
"Launching S Mines."
"Shoot at it!" Snake ordered.
I followed his gaze as the mine detached from the Peacewalker and lazily helicoptered into the sky. I took brief aim and shot until I ran out of ammo. I hadn't hit it.
Snake shot once and an explosion similar to a firework ignited the sky. The Peacewalker stumbled from the blast. I began to get an idea…this thing was invincible to other Metal Gear…but not to itself. We could destroy it with whatever it provided us.
I hurriedly pulled more ammo from my pack and struggled to reload my M1911A1. The Peacewalker began to run at us.
I screamed, ducked and rolled. I felt the giant metal contraption leap over me, heat from its motors searing. I uncurled and fired uselessly at its back.
"Launching Drill Missiles," it said.
"Drill Missiles?" I sputtered. "What are those?"
The Peacewalker shot torpedo-looking things into the ground. It missed Raiden by at least five feet. They began to vanish into the ground.
"Move!" Snake shouted at me. "Don't stand in one place!"
I could feel the ground rumbling underneath me. I jumped to the side as the sharp tip of the missile poked through the earth. I began running. The second popped up directly behind me. They both exploded, sending a wave of heat in my direction. The back of my neck felt scorched.
The Peacewalker turned and faced Groznyj Grad again. The compartment opened on its back. "Three minutes until launch."
Raiden hurriedly locked onto the Metal Gear and let loose another missile at the Mammal Pod. It didn't react. He reloaded and shot again. Still no reaction.
"One minute until launch."
Raiden was struggling with the last of the ammunition. He fired again. I prayed the last shot would find its mark.
The Peacewalker recoiled violently with the impact. I thought for a few seconds that it would fall over, but it recovered and stared at Raiden. A compartment opened on its sides and large machine guns popped out.
"No! Leave him alone!" I screamed, shooting twice with my own gun at its back.
The Peacewalker jumped into the air, twisting around to face me. "Flamethrower engaged."
"We have bad news…" Otacon said over the Codec. "Hot Coldman didn't survive. You're going to have to manually destroy the Peacewalker."
I stared at the oncoming wave of fire. I ran, feeling the heat on my back. Something was burning. I dropped to the ground and struggled out of my FOXHOUND uniform's jacket, wearing nothing but a plain white shirt underneath it.
Otacon didn't speak for a few more seconds. I struggled to escape the flames behind me, running back toward Snake and Raiden.
"Hang on, backup is on the way! We've equipped the helicopter with explosives…Tell us when to strike!"
"Strike?!" I stared at the giant Metal Gear as it prepared to launch more S Mines. "Maybe…when its compartments are open!" I spotted at least ten more unused S Mines inside it. "It'll detonate on the inside…hopefully destroying something major!"
I hoped Otacon heard me. I had reached Snake and Raiden, who had tossed the LAW rocket launcher and instead had his AK at the ready. He fired on the Peacewalker's Mammal Pod, letting out a war cry. I joined in the shout, shooting off the rest of my ammo in the M1911A1.
"The helicopter is ready when you are." Otacon said.
"Get it over here and wait for my signal!" Snake shouted.
"I can do that. Sit tight."
Along with the sounds of the Peacewalker, the AK and the handguns, the thwhip-thwhip-thwhip of helicopter blades joined in the fray of noise. I glanced behind us to see the helicopter hovering in place. Someone was standing on one of the skis, a large weapon supported over their shoulder.
"Ready," came Otacon's voice.
Raiden had run out of ammo. I handed him all I had left, as I had lost my own AK earlier. He quickly reloaded.
The Peacewalker crouched. "Jump engaged."
"RUN!" Snake shouted. The Metal Gear leapt into the air and crashed down where we had been standing moments before. I felt its back left leg graze my shoulder.
"Launching S Mines."
"Fire on it! Fire!" Snake shouted into the Codec.
The man standing on the helicopter's ski fired the weapon. A blazing red chunk of metal screamed from the muzzle of the gun and streaked into the S Mine's container.
I covered my head as the very ground beneath me cracked. The Peacewalker let out a terrible screech as bits of twisted, red-hot metal crashed down around me. I saw a leg detach and collapse.
"Target confirmed." I barely heard Otacon say. "As you can see."
I had fallen, my forehead pressed into the ground beneath me. I felt things falling around me. I refused to move long after it had all stopped.
I eventually felt a hand on my shoulder. "Bobby!"
I slowly sat up, shaking violently. Uncle Press helped me up, but my legs wouldn't support me. I clutched to his sleeve, my knees knocking together.
The Peacewalker was a mess. Its back left leg was missing and the compartments where the S Mines were located were nothing but smoking craters. I think even the Drill Missiles were hit. The Mammal Pod was half-crushed into the asphalt.
"Did…did…" I stuttered.
"I don't know." Press said bluntly. "I was in the helicopter as the explosive was shot off. It should have torn the entire thing to pieces." He began leading me toward it.
Snake was standing by the Mammal Pod. As we drew closer and closer, I began to make out a voice coming from the Pod. It was The Boss'.
"Jack…"
"Boss," Snake muttered. "Can you hear me?"
"Jack…"
"I'm sorry for what I'm about to do."
"Jack…!"
"They were right about a prisoner inside the Peacewalker. I just didn't know who it really was. Now I know. It is not you," he sighed. "It is me. You'd be holding me prisoner once I had killed you. But they didn't count on this…"
"Jack…listen to me…"
"I'm sorry, Boss." Snake drew his M1911A1 and shot the side of the Pod, popping open a hatch. He wrenched it open, smoke curling from the entrance. He took a deep breath and climbed in. I assumed he was destroying it from the inside; making sure it would never move again.
Press kept leading me onward. We reached the helicopter and I was put in a seat by the left side. A purple curtain of some sort separated us from the back of the 'copter. I assumed Amanda was behind it.
Snake eventually climbed out of the Peacewalker's Mammal Pod. He looked defeated and exhausted, but he still made his way to the beginning of the treeline at the edge of the cement. He picked up EVA's body and retreated further into the woods.
I stared at the Peacewalker for a long time, watching smoke curl from the Mammal Pod. I saw a leg twitch.
"Uncle Press…?" I pointed nervously.
The Peacewalker began struggling to stand, balancing itself on three legs. Sparks flew from every joint and opening. The smoke poured heavily from its head.
"Get it away from us, Otacon!" Raiden shouted.
Otacon hurriedly started the helicopter up, lifting us into the air. The Peacewalker stood, almost motionless.
"How is it still doing this? Snake destroyed its main control system!" I gasped.
"Sometimes the body continues to live after the brain has died." Otacon said softly.
"It's…not doing anything." I stuttered stupidly.
"Yes, it is." Press said solemnly.
The Peacewalker turned slowly, looking as though it were in pain. It limped to the guardrails separating the land from the water rushing down below.
"It's…" I started.
"Destroying itself…?" Press finished for me.
"Jack," the Peacewalker said in a garbled, dying tone. "I'm sorry. Jack. Jack…"
It threw itself over the rail, plunging down to its death.
We set the helicopter down again as though nothing had happened.
XxXxXxXx
Snake wasn't back by nightfall. Raiden and Otacon went off after him, leaving Press and I along with a few other Mother Base soldiers and Amanda. I waited until they were all asleep before I snuck out and headed to the woods.
I didn't have to go far before I found them.
They were standing around four patches of turned earth, all marked with a different plant near the top. I saw white flowers stained red on the first patch of earth.
Snake, Otacon, and Raiden were standing solemnly around the graves, heads bowed. I knew who was buried there…The Boss, EVA, Gadget and Lobster. They had given their lives for the Mother Base, protecting us all. I stood a little ways away from the group.
Otacon and Raiden eventually left Snake alone and made their way back to the helicopter. I followed them.
"I know who three of them were…but the fourth…?" Otacon asked me.
I just shook my head.
Snake didn't return for another half hour.
XxXxXxXx
We lifted into the air sometime around one in the morning, everyone safely aboard our transport. Snake barely spoke the entire trip back.
Getting back to Mother Base was a blur. I can barely remember what happened the next few days, but I can recall the images of closed caskets, formally dressed men and women and 21 gun salutes. Paz barely left my side, trying to cheer me up.
What I really remember is Snake silently saluting the ocean as the caskets were cast into the water, where they were dragged to the bottom of the ocean by weights in the bottom. (It was tradition at the Mother Base) He stood there, long after everyone else, staring at the horizon. He had lost the two people closest to him. I could not imagine how that must have felt. True, I missed Lobster and Gadget...but my sorrow was nothing compared to his. I also recall Amanda, on crutches, hobbling around the Mother Base with her brother, Chico, on her heels. She refused to rest. She was always on the move.
It was that same day that Paz and I shared our first kiss. We were standing on the landing pad on another of our mini 'dates'. She knew I was going somewhere soon, as Snake had interrupted us not ten minutes ago to call me into his quarters with Press to brief us on what we were going to do next. She was going to miss me… And I would miss her. I didn't want to leave First Earth, no matter how terrifying it was.
We were to head to Alth next. The second Territory Saint Dane was after.
I end my journal here. I miss you guys a lot…maybe I'll stop home for a few hours first. I need some time to relax…to just get away from it all…
XxXxXxXx
SECOND EARTH
XxXxXxXx
"Change of plans…We're heading to the abandoned subway tunnel." Courtney said.
"Why…?" Mark stuttered.
"Because Bobby's coming back! We should be the ones to welcome him!" Courtney made a duh face. "Come on! What kind of friend are you?"
Mark nodded. "Right…we should go there. But…I didn't bring any clothes for the Flume…I'm new at being an Acolyte…I just don't carry stuff with me all the time…"
"It'll be fine." Courtney said. "And before you start worrying, I know the way. I've been to that part of town before."
XxXxXxXx
One bus ride later, they were standing at the entrance to the subway tunnel. Courtney went first and found the boarded up entrance to the Flume. Mark pulled her back just as she was about to enter.
"What about quigs?!" he hissed.
Courtney hesitated. "I don't hear them. Maybe they've left."
"Don't go in there!" Mark pleaded.
The voice in the tunnel made them both jump. "Why not?"
Courtney squinted into the darkness to make out forms of two people. One of them raised a hand. "Hey, Courtney! Hi, Mark!"
"BOBBY!" The two of them threw themselves at him, nearly knocking him over had Press not been behind him.
"Relax, you two." He laughed. He looked completely different from when they had last seen him. His hair was longer and shaggier and his eyes seemed darker. His face was lined with worry and fear.
"I didn't know Courtney was in this too…" Bobby blinked. "I thought it was just you, Mark."
"Well…she sort of found out by accident." Mark admitted. "But it's ok…she's going to be an Acolyte too."
"Speaking of which, did you bring us clothes to change into?" Bobby picked at his FOXHOUND uniform.
"Er…no…not yet." Mark stuttered. "I suppose we should, though."
"It's ok. We'll worry about it later." Press said.
"Bobby…I know you're going to hate me for this…" Courtney sighed. "But you can't stay here and rest. Not even for a couple hours. I know you…because if you decide to stay here, you'll never want to go back."
Bobby opened his mouth to say something, but she cut him off. "You need to go with your Uncle Press and head to Alth, or whatever this Territory is."
Press nodded. "Unfortunately, she's right. I believe she's better prepared than any of us."
Courtney hung her head. "I'm sorry, Bobby. I really am."
He put a hand on her shoulder. "It's all right. I understand. You're right…if I stay here, I'll end up fused to the couch watching Wheel of Fortune. Just do me a favor, ok?"
"Yeah. What is it…?" Mark asked.
"Supply the Flume with clothes." Bobby grinned.
"Don't worry about the quigs, either." Press said. "I have a feeling they've left for the time being."
Courtney smiled. "Right. Have fun saving all of Halla, you two."
Bobby returned the smile with another hug for both his friends. "I miss you guys."
"Same." Mark said.
"Don't forget to write." Courtney punched his arm playfully. "And don't get too lovey-dovey with Paz."
Bobby blushed. "Hey…"
"All right, you. We've got another Territory to save." Press pulled Bobby away from his friends. "Take care, you two."
"We w-will." Mark stuttered. "Bye…"
"Bye!" Bobby said.
They vanished into the darkness of the tunnel.
XxXxXxXx
Well, 80 pages later on a WORD document, this is finally over. I'm actually kind of sad…I loved writing this.
XxXxXxXx
Next up in the Pendragon Chronicles:
' "What are these gravestones here for, anyway? Is this some sort of…children's cemetery?" I motioned to a group of nearby headstones. "Look at these! They're so small. What's buried here?"
"Those who have given their lives in the War."
I jumped at the cold, feminine voice behind me. I spun around, shocked to see the girl with the long black hair standing directly behind me. She was pale, and my first thought was, 'Vampire'.
"Many have died." She continued, keeping her eyes on the ground. Something was strange about her voice…sometimes it would echo, sometimes sound sharp and harsh, as though angry. "Died in this pointless, preventable war." She began walking toward us, eyes still glued to the ground.
I glanced at Press, surprised to see him backing up quickly toward another staircase heading down. I hurried to his side, not taking my eyes off the girl.
"What war? What's happened here?" I asked.'
Join in the excitement in two weeks! Alth is waiting!
Gotta catch 'em all, and remember to review!
Hasta la Vista, Readers!
Lordoftheghostking28