METAL GEAR SOLID: RESURRECTION
by Rookie's Eyes (based off of Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake)
Disclaimer: the Metal Gear series and their characters are property of Kojima Productions and Konami
Chapter 13 Shadows of Snake's Past
Snake was stacked with what sounded like another dozen boxes, and then the load was finished. The guards left, and Snake pushed up. No luck, there was something stacked on top of him. He tried again, this time pushing as hard as possible, whatever was onto of him fell over, followed by smashing and cracking.
Snake got out, and briefly took a look at the contents of the box. It was a computer, now with a shattered screen, and half of the parts for the CPU had fallen out. Just a dent. It'll buff out. Snake dismissed, closing and placing the box back among the others.
Snake followed the only way out of the room, a hallway with an elevator at the other end. He stopped only when he noticed a guard, but the guard was walking the other way, turning left at the end. From the radar, Snake could see the layout of the whole floor. From where he stood, the hallway began a boxed spiral, with one door on the north end nearest Snake, one to the west, another at the south end leading back outside, and two doors at the very center of the spiral in the middle of the room.
Unfortunately, Snake could see that the only door available to him was one of the two in the center of the spiral. The doors in the center must've been important, because six dots, each representing another adversary, stood in the hallway around it.
Snake had no choice, he was about to head to the guard infested hallway to figure something out when a beeping in his ear interrupted him. *Call*
Snake turned the dial to 'RECEIVE' and Holly's distraught voice was on the other line, "Snake! I'm so glad I got to you, I need help! Please!"
"Holly! Holly, slow down. What happened!?"
"I'm in trouble. They knew Snake! They've known about me for weeks, now I'm a prisoner, and I'm going to be interrogated! Snake, I won't tell them anything, but I don't want to die!"
"Where are you?! I need your location!"
"I don't know! I was blindfolded, but I think it's somewhere in the tower building. Snake, Um,.. I hear noises like.. like a pump, it's to the right of my cell. There's an elevator nearby, we didn't walk far to the cell. And… and there's water behind and farther out front."
Snake did his best to memorize every word, "Water in front and behind,.. a pump to the right,.. an elevator nearby? I've got a pretty good picture now."
"Snake,.. I don't think they know about my contact with you yet. But come quickly, please! I… I'll be waiting."
"You won't have to wait long, I promise you, Holly." And with that, Snake broke contact.
Snake dialed 140.23 into his codec, turning the knob to send.
"What is it, Snake?" Bennet answered on the other end.
"Where does Zanzibar Land keep their prisoners?!" Snake asked urgently.
"There are two possibilities, where I was supposed to guard, and the basement in building two, I think."
"You think!?"
"Okay! Okay, I know!"
"How can I get there?"
"I'm sorry Snake, but you'll only be able to get to the elevator leading down there if you have Level four door access."
"Damn!" Snake slammed his fist against the wall. He had no choice, he would have to come back for Holly later.
Snake kept walking toward the central door, trying to figure out a way to get past them all, when warning klaxons blared. Snake looked for what had given him away, and a small nearly imperceptible red dot glowed on his foot. Damn lasers! Snake cursed, but no guards came.
He went to the hall that his radar indicated had half a dozen guards within, and Snake felt nothing but shock and awe. Dents in the walls and ceilings, blood spatter everywhere, pools of them lay where the guards had fallen, in some terrifying sneak attack. Massive cuts were sliced in various directions across each corpse's body, some even missing limbs. Two men were left at the end of the hallway. One wore sleek, black armor and held a sword in his right hand, the other was a guard, firing at the armored man. Snake recognized the armored one as Black Shadow, and he watched as Shadow deflected every bullet with the blade of his sword, getting closer and closer to the now shrieking soldier. "No! No! This isn't happening!"
With a slash of his sword, the guard fell, dead. Shadow entered the elevator, and the door closed. Snake watched as the elevator's floor meter rose, all the way to the thirtieth floor, Where they're keeping Marv prisoner.
Snake entered the same elevator, pressing the button for the thirtieth floor.
The doors opened, and with no guards in sight, Snake exited. Snake saw a red dot on his radar, Dr. Marv's signal!, Snake deduced. There were three doors, one behind, another to Snake's left, and one more in front. Seeing as the front entrance was the only clear route to Marv, Snake chose to slip inside, entering into a room filled with tables, probably a conference hall, with one guard standing barely awake, protecting the only other exit from the room. He yawned, stretched, and began to circle leisurely around the room.
Snake crawled under the tables, waiting for the sentry to pass. Slowly but steadily, the Zanzibar soldier made his way around to Snake's position under the table. Luckily the guard decided to yawn once more close by, and Snake kicked the man's legs out from under him. He yelled in surprise as he fell face first into the table Snake was hiding under, knocked out cold near instantaneously. After searching the guard with minimal results, Snake came over to the exit the guard had been patrolling near.
He opened the door, and gas began to enter the room. "Tear Gas!" Snake exclaimed. Holding his breath, Snake shut the door. Seeing no way to get past the gas, Snake exited the room the way he had come, back to the elevators. He took the door opposite of the first one, entering another conference room, similar to the first. Another entrance was on the opposite side of the room, which Snake passed, entering another room, this time with obstacles much more treacherous than under-motivated personnel.
Two small electronic devices were placed in the middle of the path. A red light on the tip of an antennae flashed periodically while emitting a pinging sound about every five seconds. Snake's only reaction was, What the hell? Snake decided if anyone knew what the thing could be, it'd be Jeffrey Mendel.
Snake dialed 140.48 into his codec, turning the knob to 'SEND'.
"Jeff, can you tell me anything about what this thing is I'm dealing with?"
"Well sure, but what is it you're looking at?" Jeff asked.
"It's a small gadget with a blinking red antennae. They've placed it on the floor and it makes a small noise, almost like radar."
"That is exactly what it is, Snake. It's an advanced sonic surveillance system which uses sound to check the surroundings for any changes in the environment. If any change is detected, it automatically sets off an alarm." You should be able to disable it with a well placed round in the center of the device, however if there are any others nearby, you've got to destroy those within five seconds of the first or the alarm goes off any way."
"Thanks Jeff."
"No problem." And Jeff signed off.
Snake took aim with his Berretta, he practiced shifting the gun from one target to the other. Pulling the trigger twice in succession, he managed to disable both of the alarms.
Snake passed the sparking electronics, making a right into another hallway. At the end of which was a pair of doors, one was locked, and the other was labeled 'EQUIPMENT' with a level three security setting.
Snake entered the room. Inside there was all sorts of gear for the modern soldier, though none of it was lethal. Snake found riot shields, batons, body armor, stun guns, gas canisters, and… a gas mask. Just what Snake needed. He took the gas mask, some canisters, and the body armor for good measure. He made his way back to the gas filled room, putting on the equipment as he went.
Snake walked down a short path, his breath slightly fogging the mask as he went on. Ahead of Snake the walkway turned left, leading to three doors, all underneath a camera. Carefully, Snake crept under the camera when it no longer faced his direction. He walked into the closest door, entering a security room with at least a dozen monitors all lined along a table. Before Snake, at the very end of the table, sat Dr. Marv.
"Dr. Marv!" Snake exclaimed. He hurried over, pulling out a knife to cut the doctor's ropes. Once finished, Marv stood up, rubbing his hands.
Then Marv spoke, only it was an almost metallic voice, "Heh heh heh! Foolish FOXHOUND! Dr. Marv isn't here right now. I'm afraid you'll have to deal with me instead. Figures that FOXHOUND would use such a cheap transmitter… You guys are really behind the times."
Dr. Marv pressed a button on his watch, and his body flickered and disappeared. Standing in Marv's stead was Black Shadow, Wearing the same armor, black and sleek with a sheathed sword on his back.
"Hey… Your that ninja!"
Close up, Snake could see that Black Shadow's armor was made up of small durable plates, conforming to his body in a tight yet flexible suit. His helmet was the most inhuman with a single glowing bar of light where his eyes should have been. the electronic eye slit glowed a dark and malevolent blue, which pulsed as Shadow spoke, "Hello, Snake. Surprised?.. I've been waiting for you. I was beginning to think you wouldn't show."
"Who are you? How do you know my name?"
"They call me Black Shadow. Shadows are indifferent. They have no enemies, no friends… I've come back from a world where such distinctions are meaningless. As Ghost I've removed all obstacles, now you and I will battle to the death!"
"You're Ghost?.. What do you want with me?"
"Oh.. I've waited four long years for this day… Now I want to savor this moment. Since my rebirth, I've longed only to do battle with you."
"What is it? Revenge?"
Black Shadow slowly shook his head, "Nothing so trivial as revenge. My mission is pure. Only in a fight to the death with you can my soul be cleansed… I shall kill you, or you will kill me! I do not desire death, but neither do I care for life," Black Shadow's sword rung as he unsheathed it, readying for a fight. "Now let us see how a member of the world's leading black ops unit really is! Show me what you've got, FOXHOUND!"
Snake made the first move, jabbing twice at Shadow's abs, and twice he was parried. Shadow followed with a swipe at Snake's head with his sword. Snake dodged, barely, a piece of his bandana ripped off in the process. Shadow jumped, kicking three times in the air. Snake blocked the first two, grabbing Shadow's foot on the third, pulling to disorient his adversary. Shadow cart-wheeled, recovering quickly, and came after Snake once more.
Shadow sliced at Snake's abdomen, forcing him to suck in his gut to avoid the blade. Twisting, Shadow made a downward vertical slice, but Snake brought his hands to a close as the blade came down, catching it in his palms. A single drop of blood trickled down the blade from Snake's hand, who was forced to grip the sword with all his strength to halt its advance. Snake twisted his arms, halving the blade and rendering it useless.
"Well done Snake!" Shadow said, retreating to opposite side of the room, "But can you handle these?" He asked, pulling out throwing stars. He threw three in succession, Snake managed to dodge the first two with a back-flip, but the third lodged itself into Snake's leg, a dull pain shot throughout. Snake grit his teeth, pulling the star out and returning the favor straight into Shadow's helmet. He didn't even flinch.
"Bravo," Shadow let loose with a half a dozen more, but this time Snake was prepared. Pulling out his Berretta, he shot the whirling projectiles out of the air, and pointed the gun straight at Shadow's head. Snake intended it to be a mortal wound this time. Shadow bolted at Snake as Snake pulled the trigger, dodging the bullet, and getting in too close for the gun to be of any use. Shadow grabbed at the handgun. In the struggle, the gun went off, a flurry of bullets flew into the ceiling, until it could only click. Empty,.. damn!
Snake tossed the gun aside, and Shadow backed off, pulling out yet another set of throwing stars, "These don't run out of ammo!" ducking and weaving, Snake avoided Shadow's every star, until he got close enough to resume hand to hand combat. Shadow anticipated Snake's strategy, and when Snake came in close enough to kick, Shadow grabbed his leg. Twisting while maintaining his grip, he punched Snake in the stomach, hurling him ten feet backward.
Snake got to his feet and prepared himself for a retaliatory strike. Getting in close to Shadow, He kneeled, trying a swiping kick to unbalance his enemy. Shadow jumped, avoiding the kick, but unable to avoid Snake's next move. Snake followed the swipe with a punch hard enough to crack ribs, straight into Shadow's abdomen. "Hurrgh!" Shadow fell, crumpled on the floor. Heaving, he rose to his feet, readying himself into fighting position once more.
He advanced, faking a punch to offset Snake, then hitting Snake in his side twice with his foot. As Shadow's hand came in for a third punch, Snake ducked, taking the opportunity to knee Shadow in the stomach, followed by an upper-cut to the jaw.
Shadow staggered back, dropping to his knees, "*Cough* Uh… I felt that Snake."
"Who are you?" Snake persisted.
Black Shadow placed both his hands underneath his mask, pressing a button inside. The mask split into two, revealing a black man, bloodied with a deeply cut lip. "Do you remember me now, Snake?"
"Kyle Shneider! You were in the resistance in Outer Heaven! But… I thought they killed you!"
"Heh, *cough* you still… have a lot to learn, Snake. I WAS almost killed, but… not by them. By you, and your damned country!"
"Hell no!"
"Heh heh heh. Still defiant as ever… After you destroyed Metal Gear, NATO launched a bombing campaign to destroy the remainder of Big Boss' forces in Outer Heaven. All of us Resistance Fighters… Diane,.. Jennifer,.. and the citizens of Outer Heaven, they *cough* didn't give a shit about a single one of us. There was no escape from the flames… My people died like animals in a cage!.. I am told that I was dead for four minutes before Big Boss' doctors could resuscitate me… "
"I… I can't believe…"
"You'll learn soon enough, Snake. Think about it. The children of Outer Heaven were originally war orphans from conflicts across the globe. They- *cough* *cough* They were nothing but a liability to those wealthy bureaucrats at NATO! They didn't want to deal with them…"
"…No…"
"Your no different, Snake. They'll leave you behind too,.. *cough* but he wasn't like that…"
"Who?"
"Snake, you'll understand eventually… What a wonderful man he is… Snake… I owe you a debt.*cough* there is no hate between us. I'll tell you how to reach your informant… It's what he would want me to do…She's in the first basement level. You need a level four security card to use the elevator, but there is another way." He pointed to a door to his left, "That door*cough**cough* leads to a trash chute that will take you to B-One, you can use that to reach her." Shneider shuddered, his breathing quickened, his eyes fluttered.
"Shneider! Shneider! What's happening!" Snake grabbed him, shaking him in a vain attempt to rouse him from the pain.
"I- I am… losing myself…"
"I'm getting you outta here, Shneider!"
"Don't … bother… they are the… the same injuries I… got in Outer Heaven. *Hurgh*… good luck... Solid... Snake…" He slumped over, dead.
Snake stood for a few moments, taking in what he had learned in the last minute of Shneider's life. He had been betrayed by the very nations who had promised him a home. His people had been bombed in order to rid the world of the few mercenaries who hid among them… Holly...Holly is in level B-One!
Snake wanted to say something for his fallen comrade, but there were no words to describe the pain he felt at that moment.
After a long pause, it passed, and Snake walked through the door to go find Holly.
Author's note: With every boss battle I write, it seems to become my new favorite chapter. I guess that's a good thing, 'cause if you feel the same then that means I'm constantly outdoing myself. Again please review my chapter, especially because I need second opinions on my hand to hand combat scenes. Are they difficult to imagine? Anyway, enjoy!!