Special Thanks to CowTits the Udderly Glorious for his story suggestion. Turned out there was a good way for me to integrate it with the plot.
Snake continued traveling the next morning. He didn't know where he was heading, and frankly didn't really care. It'd been like that the past few days. He wouldn't find answers, the answers seemed to come to him instead, albeit through violent means. Looking around his current position he noticed something. This place looked familiar. The area was very urban, but practically destroyed. This had to be close to where Master Hand's explosion took place. He hadn't been anywhere near this area in seven years, he didn't know what to expect now. He walked down an old street and suddenly heard gunfire in the distance.
Great! Didn't take long for conflict to find me.
Snake ran to the direction where the noise came from. He hid to the side of a building, and peeked around to see what was happening. The gunfire came to a stop, being replaced with agonizing screams.
What the fuck?!
Snake witnessed a larger than average Koopa with four arms ripping a man's arms off before eating his head. The Koopa turned towards Snake, seeming like he saw him. Snake quickly went back into cover, trying his best to breathe slowly. He heard footsteps getting louder. It had to be that "thing" coming towards him.
Just keep still, keep still…
The grotesque looking Koopa passed by Snake, unaware of his presence. Snake got a closer look at the creature. Its eyes were glowing yellow. Its face was missing skin, and had blood dripping from its mouth. Having enough of the sight-seeing, Snake drew his knife from its sheath and jumped on the Koopa's back. He wrapped his arm around the neck of beast, and it began putting up resistance, shaking around trying to throw Snake off his back. Snake stabbed the knife into its throat, and it slowly fell to the ground dead. Confirming that he neutralized the beast, he stepped off of its back.
"Jesus Christ! What is this thing?"
"Snake! Come in. Is there something wrong!?" Link asked over the codec.
"I'm fine Link."
"What happened?"
"I just killed some abomination that I think might have been a Koopa at some point."
"What are you talking about?"
"It's a large Koopa with four arms, super strength, and a craving for blood…it must be some type of mutant."
"Mutant? Do you think it might be caused by radiation that Master Hand's explosion might've spread?"
"No. Master Hand may have exploded like a nuke, but he wasn't made of nuclear material. If that was the case then I would have died from radiation poisoning. Whatever's causing this, must be specific to this area, because I've never seen anything like this in the southern area of the wastes."
"You're probably right. In any case, figuring it out isn't the objective. Your priority should be staying alive and finding information about that Committee. Though if you stumble across any information along the way that wouldn't be a problem. Proceed with caution Snake."
"No arguments here. Snake out."
Snake traversed through the ruined city as if it were a sneaking mission, moving quietly and going from cover to cover. He saw mutated Waddle-Doos, and instead of having one eye like usual they had three, making them a tri-clops of sorts. What they could do with those three eyes, Snake chose not to find out. He continued sneaking his way through the city. He got a good sight of the "flora and fauna" along the way. So many strange looking creatures made stranger from an unknown mutation. There was a large green Goomba with a horrendous face. Snake didn't think he had a good enough vertical to jump on its head, so that option was out the window. Then there were ReDeads. They looked as hideous as the always did, but their behavior and abilities were not what Link would be familiar with. Instead of their zombie-like movement and behavior, Snake saw them run at extreme speeds and jump on to the rough of buildings. They could even climb up buildings if they needed to. These creatures had Snake's attention, and he was caught off guard as he felt a gun tap him in the back.
"Freeze!" A British-sounding female ordered. Snake felt no choice but to comply with the woman's orders. He had been caught with no plan, no tricks up his sleeves.
"All right." Snake answered calmly and put his hands up awaiting further instructions.
"Now turn around!" She commanded. Snake turned to see that this mystery woman wasn't a human, but rather an anthromorphic blue female vixen holding a blaster.
Must be one of those Space Animals.
The vixen looked at the blood soaked appearance of the man in front of her, causing her to shiver from the unnerving sight. She held up a communicator on her wrist and radioed an ally.
"I've got someone here. Don't know if he's a hostile. Come and meet up with me." She requested.
"Got it! I'm on my way!" A male said over the communicator. Snake had a strong feeling that he could've disarmed her at this point now that he had a clear view of her. However he wasn't sensing any hostile vibe from her, so he didn't want to do anything that might hurt his chances of a possible alliance.
"Wanna tell me what you're doing out here?" She questioned him.
"I was just passing through." Snake answered. He knew how much a lie that answer sounded like, but it unfortunately was the truth. "Look, I'm not your enemy. Let's ju-"
"I'll be the one to decide that. Keep still if you want your head where it is." She brushed him off. Snake grunted in frustration, but then his eyes got fixated on something he saw behind the vixen. Something dangerous.
"What the hell are you looking-"
Without warning her, Snake leaped and tackled her to the ground, saving them both from a massive laser. Snake drew out his pistol and shot three rounds at their attempted assailant. It was a mutant Waddle Doo, and he successfully killed it. The two of them got back to their feet, with the vixen surprised at what occurred. She suddenly shoved Snake to the side and fired her blaster, killing a monster Koopa that was about to get the drop on Snake.
"That was too close. Thanks." Snake said with genuine gratitude.
"I should be thanking you…and apologizing for my earlier behavior." She said feeling guilty.
"No need, I understand. You can never be too safe nowadays, especially with people you just met."
"Well it's been awhile since I've met someone who gets it. You got a name?"
"A lot of people call me "the Nomad" among many other aliases. But I prefer to go by Solid Snake. You can just call me Snake, it's less formal." Snake joked.
"Is that so? Well Snake, my name is Krystal."
"Krystal? Good to meet you." He said. "By the way, you called someone on your communicator. What about him?"
"Him? Oh he should be here right about…"
"I'm here." A male voice interrupted, making his presence known. Snake turned to see a familiar face.
"It's been too long Snake."
"Fox!"
Fox McCloud, the leader of the Star Fox team, and an old friend Snake fought with during Subspace was standing in front of him in the flesh. The two went to shake hands.
"You know him Fox?" Krystal asked.
"That's right. Snake was in the third tournament when we met. Needless to say, he's a good friend."
"How come you didn't tell me about him?"
"Honestly, I thought he was dead." Fox then took note of Snake's blood spattered appearance. "You look like you've been through some shit man!" Fox said with serious concern.
"Let's just say that I've just been through an experience that's really hardened me." Snake vaguely answered.
"Another one huh? Sorry to hear that." He apologized, regretting his question. "Anyway! It's good to see that the legendary "Nomad" has come to the Northern wasteland."
"People have heard about me here too? But this is the first time I've ever been in this area."
"News travels far and fast Snake. Tales of your escapades have spread even here." Fox said.
"And the Committee sure isn't happy about that." Krystal laughed.
"Committee!? Are you talking about the Bladesmen's Committee?" Snake suddenly asked eagerly.
"That's right." She answered.
"What do you know about them?"
"For one we know about their current situation involving you." Fox started. "We know why they want you dead, and we know who they are."
"I need this information. You're going to tell me willingly right?" Snake nervously asked.
"Woah! Calm down! No need to feel threatened, I'll tell you. But first we have to get out of the city. It's too dangerous to explain it all here. You got a weapon?"
"Of course."
"All right. We'll take point. Just follow me and Krystal." He commanded as he readied his blaster. Krystal and Snake readied their weapons and gave Fox the go-ahead. "Alright! Let's move!"
The trio entered an apartment building and made sure to check their corners for any surprise attackers. They walked up the stairs until they reached the roof. On the roof were three of those monster Koopas.
"Hostiles! Open fire!" Fox ordered as the three shot to kill. All three of their shots went through the target's heads, killing the three beasts in unison.
"Enemy down!" Krystal confirmed. The leaped onto the roof of the next building.
"Monkey soldiers! Take cover!" Fox ordered as the three hid behind whatever structure they could find. The Monkey soldiers were mutated members of what had remained of Andross' army. Their mutation wasn't didn't change much. Physically they looked hideous, but their mental mutation removed any ability to think for themselves. They were able to use guns, and their only purpose given to them by the mutation is to kill.
"How many are there?" Fox asked.
"Five." Krystal answered.
"I'll draw their fire! You two take them down." Snake shouted and ran out of cover. Revealing himself, the monkeys began to concentrate fire on Snake. Snake fired shots back as he ran. One of his bullets managed to hit one in the chest, but the monkey showed no signs of pain. Snake deduced that the mutation must have given them a very high tolerance for pain. Fox and Krystal got three of them by surprise, killing them with headshots. Snake rushed up close to the remaining two. He stripped one of its weapon and killed both of them with it.
"Targets neutralized." Snake muttered.
"Impressive Snake." Krystal complimented. "Let's keep moving!"
"On me!" Fox ordered.
The rest of the way went smoothly. The team got into a couple minor skirmishes and walked out without a scratch. They were approaching the exit of the city.
"I'm not getting any readings on the motion tracker. Looks like we're almost in the clear." Fox said as he looked at the gadget on his wrist. Suddenly, something massive landed behind them, causing a thunderous boom.
Of course it can never be that easy…
They turned around to see a new type of mutant.
"A Darknut?!" Fox and Krystal exclaimed in unison. The Darknut swung the back of his hand and hit Snake, sending him flying several feet before landing on his back in pain. Fox and Krystal created distance between themselves and their massive adversary.
"Snake! Are you okay!?" Krystal cried out. Snake saw the Darknut draw out its massive sword from its sheath.
"Don't worry about me! Focus on that freak!"
Fox and Krystal opened fire on the large knight, which had no visible effect on the being. It slashed at the two space animals with its large blade, but they used their agility to evade the attacks. They couldn't keep it up forever though, they were bound to slip up at some point. Snake eventually got to his feet, and called Link on his codec.
"Snake? What's going on?"
"Link…A Darknut…there's even a Darknut here!" Snake explained between heavy breaths.
"What?! A mutant Darknut?! What does it look like?"
"It's just…a LOT bigger than I remember them being. How do I stop it?! Fox and Krystal are with me!"
"I know. I heard it over your monitor. What're they doing right now?"
"Their fighting it directly. It's focusing on them. I guess it assumed that I'm dead."
"Attacking from the front is useless…wait. Snake! Can you see the back of the Darknut!?"
"Yeah!"
"Perfect! Stab the back! That's the weak point!"
"Got it!" Snake drew out his knife. The Darknut had got the upper hand in the battle, smashing Fox and Krystal with his shield and stunning them. As it rose its sword for a killing blow, Snake jumped from higher ground and plunged his knife into a seam in the back of the knight's armor. The knight stopped moving, with Snake clinging onto his back ready to stab the weakpoint once more. To Snake's surprise, that one hit was all it took. The Darknut fell to its knees before lying dead on the ground. Fox and Krystal sighed with relief.
"Damn that was close! Thanks Snake." Fox said.
"Don't thank me, you two gave me a shot at the weak point."
"How'd you know about the weak point?" Krystal questioned.
"Link told me."
"Link's alive!?" Fox's jaw dropped.
"Yeah, I've been in communication with him through radio."
"I've got a radio too! The three of us can be on the same channel!"
"That sounds great, but I think it can wait for later. Why don't we get the hell out of here before something else shows up?"
"My thoughts exactly." Krystal chimed in.
"You're right. Let's get out of the city and find a place to camp."
The three traveled a good distance from the city before setting up camp for the night. Before getting down to business, they decided to catch up with each other. Krystal was sitting near their fire while Snake and Fox spoke.
"So, where's the rest of Star Fox?"
"You're looking at it unfortunately. It's just me and her."
"I'm sorry."
"I know Slippy and Peppy are dead, but I never found Falco's body. He could still be out there."
"True. What about Wolf?"
"I don't think he's dead either. Why you ask?" Fox questioned.
"Wolf and I actually had somewhat of a secret friendship during the tournament days. He and I weren't very social with the others at first, and then we found out we were both mercenaries. We were both "Dogs of War". Kind of funny considering he is a wolf. But yeah, we traded war stories and such. People seemed to think he's a bad guy, but when the time came he would do the right thing."
"Yeah. I remember when he helped me and my team out during a fight against the aparoids. I always had some respect for Wolf."
"He respected you too. He told me himself."
"Is that right? I'm glad to know that." Fox smiled.
There was a long silence between the two of them, with Snake seemingly waiting for Fox to say something.
"So were you planning on telling me you and her got married?" He chuckled. Fox's face went red in shock and embarrassment.
"What makes you assume we're married?" He spouted.
"There's a ring on your finger idiot. And it looks just like hers." Snake pointed out. Fox could only sigh in defeat.
"Why are you always so embarrassed when we tell people that Fox?" Krystal asked humoursly as she entered the conversation.
"No Krystal! It-It's not…embarrassment. It's…" Fox nervously stuttered before Krystal kissed him on the cheek and sat next to him.
"Always the professional huh?" Snake laughed.
"More than you'd think. But he's a real sweetheart deep down." She giggled with Fox laughing as well. A brief silence occurred before they began speaking again.
"So about the Committee…" Snake began.
"Don't worry, I didn't forget." Fox assured.
"Who are they?"
"They're people that you and I are familiar with. It's currently made up of Robin, Roy, Shulk and Marth."
"I know Marth, but I've only heard of the other three."
"Roy was in the second tournament, and made a return in the fourth. Robin and Shulk debuted in the fourth tournament."
"I see…so what is this group about? What was the purpose of its creation?"
"After the catastrophe, the four of them were pretty shaken up. Especially Marth. The civilians were devastated, and Marth felt that the people needed heroes, and they needed someone to build a new society. And of course, they need someone to govern that society."
"Well that's reasonable. Society needs some sort of governing body, or else it'd just be anarchy."
"I agree. So Marth presented the idea to the other three…and to me."
"To you?"
"Yeah. I was one of the original members. I believed it was our duty to rebuild the world that the other fighters destroyed."
"So what went wrong?"
"The other four had the idea of what "heroes" the people needed. Them. They wanted people to look at them as heroes once again. Then, news of your actions started spreading. You became a legend, a hero, the People's Champion. You became what they wanted to be without intending to. Needless to say, they didn't like it. You weren't the "Paragon of Virtue" they believe people should look up to. That's when things started going south."
"What exactly were they doing to earn a heroic reputation?"
"They built a city near the ruins of the Smash arena, not too far from here. It's called New Smashville. They run it, and there are people living there. They established a private police force to "make the people feel safe", but really it just served to extend their governmental control. They're trying to make other settlements join with them, but several refused because agreeing to the offer means that they have to be under their power. Reports are that they're actually hiring raiders to attack those settlements to make them feel that they'll only be safe under the Committee's rule."
"Sounds like they're on a power trip. What made you leave?"
"Those freak shows that you saw back in that city. They're not a result of some sort of mutagen created from the catastrophe. Those are man-made…and the Committee made them."
Snake sighed with disappointment "It's incredible how far down people's morals can fall…so what's their purpose? Are they bio-weapons?"
"You got it. They felt that bandits aren't capable of striking a strong sense of fear into people. They needed a menace that's powerful, and physically intimidating. So they created a toxin and deployed it into different areas. You can guess what it does."
"A "create your own villain" kit. How did they try to explain the reason behind it and attempt to convince you that it was not morally wrong?"
"They said "We won't let them kill any civilians. We'll destroy them so the people can see what true heroes look like". It was the last straw for me. I tried destroying the weapon development and they tried to have me killed. They have me branded as a traitor, but I'm not just going to hide. I will stop them!" Fox clutched his fist in anger.
"No Fox. We'll stop them! Us, Snake, Link and Zelda. We'll do this together." Krystal corrected him.
"She's right Fox. We'll need to work as a team if we're going to stop the Committee. It's not a one man job, not even for me."
"You're right. I'm glad we'll be on the same team." Fox smiled.
"So what about me? They want me dead, but they rely on bounty hunters. Why don't they just try to kill me personally?" Snake asked.
"Believe me, if they hadn't established themselves as a government body, they would be tailing your ass non-stop. But since they are, they fear that if the people learn that the legendary "Nomad" was killed by the Committee, it'll spark an outrage. You'll become a martyr, and they'll forever be seen as tyrants. A rebellion will rise. So yeah…not likely that they'll directly attack you. But as you may know, you've been a major pain on the bounty hunting business, what with you killing all the targeted criminals for the sake of good rather than profit. Bounty hunters have a personal hatred for you, and the Committee knows it. So they put that bounty on you, and the hunters jumped at the chance to get a chance at killing you. It's a mutual gain for both groups."
"Makes sense. Guess I should count myself lucky. So I've got four targets to kill. Are they all located in New Smashville?"
"I don't think so. Last I checked Marth is the only one there. The other three are going around running tests on the toxin."
"So they haven't finished it. Is that why I haven't seen any of those in the south?"
"That's right. But that will change if we don't stop them soon. We've got to take action."
"Got it!"
The next morning, Snake got Fox on him and Link's communications channel. He also was given a water canteen so that he could wash all the blood off of his face. It had started to an annoyance. Snake was then ready to be on his way.
"So what are you two going to be doing from here?" Snake asked.
"We'll be keeping people safe from those abominations, eradicating them one by one. But we'll also be digging for any information regarding the Committee's activities." Krystal answered.
"We'll update you if anything comes up." Fox said.
"Alright. Krystal…" Snake turned to the vixen "It was good to meet you. And Fox…" He switched his focus to Fox. "It was good to see you again. But for now, we must go our separate ways. I hope to see you again sometime."
Snake turned to leave, but Fox grabbed his arm. "Snake! Wait!"
"What is it?"
"I'm sure you know it's dangerous out here. You'll be running into more of those freaks in your travels. So I wanted to give you this." Fox reached in his pocket and pulled out a familiar looking weapon.
"That's Wolf's Blaster…"
"I found it in the ruins of some city. No body though, so I don't know if he's still alive. Either way, I'm sure he would want you to have it if anything happened to him." Fox explained.
Snake held the weapon in his hands, thinking about his old friend. "Thank you Fox. Who knows, maybe I'll run into him and I can give it back to him."
Saying their goodbyes, Snake turned his back and took his first step towards destroying the Committee.