"Did that do it!?" Solid Snake exclaimed, his Stinger missile launcher lowered. His hopes dwindled as the answer became apparent.
"Damn!" he grunted in frustration.
"Nice try, Snake! Die!" Liquid Snake's voice echoed from the cockpit of Metal Gear REX. Liquid lunged forward, intending to crush Snake, but in a sudden twist, Grey Fox leapt into action. With tremendous strength, he held up REX's massive foot, allowing Snake to escape.
"Hurry! Get away!" Fox urged urgently.
"Grey Fox!" Snake exclaimed, astonishment evident in his voice.
"A name from long ago. It sounds better than Deepthroat," Fox replied wearily.
"So it is you!?" Snake sought confirmation.
"You look terrible, Snake. You haven't aged well."
"I'll send you back to hell!" Liquid roared.
Fox swiftly disengaged, unsheathing his sword in a single fluid motion. In mid-air, he deflected a barrage of bullets from REX's weapons, landing gracefully on the ground. He then threw his sword, burying it deep within REX's Radome. Remaining calm, he deftly avoided another wave of gunfire, taking cover beside Snake, who sought refuge behind a storage crate.
"Fox, why!? What do you want from me!?" Snake demanded, a mix of confusion and determination in his voice.
"I'm a prisoner of Death. Only you can free me," Fox stated, his voice carrying a burden of pain and fatigue.
"Fox, stay out of this... What about Naomi? She's hell-bent on taking revenge for you."
"Naomi..." Fox reminisced with a tinge of anguish.
"You're the only one who can stop her," Snake implored Fox.
"No... I can't."
"Why?" Snake inquired.
"Because I'm the one who killed her parents," Fox confessed, the weight of his words hanging in the air.
"I was young then and couldn't bring myself to kill her too. I felt so bad that I decided to take her with me. I raised her like she was my own blood to soothe my guilty conscience. Even now she thinks of me as her brother..."
"Fox..."
"From the outside, we might have appeared as a happy brother and sister. But every time I looked at her, I trembled with fear. Please, tell her. Tell her that I was the one who did it."
Liquid's attention shifted to the two figures behind the box, and he unleashed a barrage of gunfire, causing explosions to echo through the area.
"There you are!" Liquid's voice bellowed.
"We're running out of time. Here's a final present from Deepthroat. I'll stop it from moving!"
"Fox!" Snake frantically yelled.
Fox leaped into the air, determination etched on his face. As he landed before REX, bullets rained down upon him, but with extraordinary agility, he executed a series of backflips, skillfully evading the onslaught. He swiftly manoeuvred between walls, his body a symphony of evasion, escaping the hail of gunfire. Returning to the wall, he planted himself, spinning around to gain momentum. Fox charged towards REX, undeterred by the machine's relentless attack. REX's weapons tracked him, firing a continuous burst of bullets. Though bullets grazed Fox's helmet, he pressed on, undeterred.
Finally, sliding on his back, he positioned himself beneath REX's head, taking aim at the vulnerable underside. REX's massive head descended, attempting to crush him, but in a last burst of energy, Fox propelled himself into the air, narrowly escaping the lethal strike. Meanwhile, REX powered up its laser, swinging it upward as Fox soared through the air. Tragically, his left arm was severed at the shoulder.
Fox let out a blood-curdling cry as he landed on a ledge. Barely recovering from the devastating blow, he witnessed REX charging towards him once again. With sheer determination, he staggered to his feet, letting out a defiant scream. However, before he could retaliate, REX mercilessly slammed him against the wall, his exoskeleton teetering on the edge of destruction.
"In the Middle East, we don't hunt foxes; we hunt jackals. Instead of foxhounds, we use royal harriers!"
"Fox!" Snake desperately called out.
"How strong is that exoskeleton of yours? Snake, are you just going to sit by and watch him die?"
With his gun still emitting sparks, Fox's weapon began to glow as he solemnly raised it towards the radome. He unleashed all of his remaining shots.
"A cornered fox is more dangerous than a jackal!" he roared through the pain.
"He destroyed the radome..." Snake whispered to himself, realisation dawning upon him.
Liquid then opened up the cockpit of REX, revealing his presence.
"Impressive. You are indeed worthy of the codename Fox. But now you're finished!" Liquid's voice reverberated with triumph.
"Uuunnggh! ...Now! Fire the Stinger!" Fox cried out in agony.
"Fox!"
"Can you really shoot? You'll kill him too!" Liquid taunted.
"Now, in front of you, I can finally die. After Zanzibar, I was taken from the battle, neither truly alive nor truly dead... an undying shadow in the world of lights. But soon... soon, it will finally... end."
Liquid forcefully dragged Fox off his perch, allowing him to plummet to the ground. He moved in, preparing to crush him once more.
"Die!"
Fox clung to life, his exoskeleton on the brink of collapse.
"Snake, we're not tools of the government or anyone else! Fighting was the only thing... the only thing I was good at, but... At least I always fought for what I believed in... Snake... farewell."
Liquid exerted all his weight, crushing Fox under the foot of the colossal Metal Gear.
"Fooooooox!" Snake cried out.
"Foolish man. When death is entreated..." Liquid taunted as he dragged REX's foot across the floor, smearing the lifeless cyborg ninja into the ground.
"...the battle is decided. You see? You can't protect anyone! Not even yourself! Die!"
As Snake and Liquid continued their fight, with the aid of Grey Fox, Snake now stood a chance at defeating Metal Gear REX and Liquid.
Unbeknownst to them, this would not be the end of Grey Fox's tormented soul.
Though his physical body had perished, his spirit would endure.
In a different world, in a different time.