DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. Metal Gear is created by Hideo Kojima and owned by Konami. Genshin Impact is owned by miHoYo.
METAL GEAR SHOGUN
Episode 10
STILL STANDING
Ei was sitting inside an airborne helicopter, next to George. She was being deployed to the battlefield, alongside some other members of the Small Boys' Unit. The Army of the Devil was currently attacking an occupied city, and needed reinforcements to take the city. Ei could only wonder how many innocents were being caught in the crossfire, in this fight they wanted no part of.
[Is anyone there!?] George's radio barked. [We're completely surrounded! We need backup right goddamn now!]
"I read you, soldier." George spoke into the radio. "We're touching down less than a mike away from your position. ETA three minutes, over."
[Well, you better fuckin' hurry!] The radio crackled once more. [We're getting our asses handed to us down here!]
"Copy that. Over and out." George said, turning the radio off. He then turned to the others in the helicopter with him. "Alright, here's our plan. I'll travel down to the side, taking out any resistance to the left of our friendlies. Jacqueline." Ei turned to George. "You and the children will be parallel to my route, taking care of the right flank. Your target will be that two-story building on the corner of that intersection ahead."
Ei looked out of the helicopter's window, down at the raging battlefield. She saw the building George was talking about, sitting in the bottom-left of an intersection ahead, from her perspective. There were barricades made of sandbags in the streets, with enemy soldiers stationed behind them for cover. Ei looked back to George and silently nodded.
"Good." George acknowledged. He turned to the helicopter pilot and commanded him to, "Set us down at the planned drop-off point."
"Affirmative, Agent Sears." The pilot responded.
The helicopter began to descend, eventually touching down in the middle of a broken street. The side door opened, and George leaped out with an AK, ready to fire. The other four adult soldiers got out after him, followed by Ei and three other child soldiers. Ei held her own AK close to her as she ran down the street after George.
"Contact!" One of the adults shouted, aiming at a group of enemy soldiers. The rest of the group aimed and fired at the enemies, taking out all but one, who was left heavily wounded.
"Left side!" George yelled, shooting over to the other side of the enemy's failed pincer ambush. He shot the two soldiers directly in their heads, killing them both. "Keep moving forward!"
George's group kept moving ahead, as per his orders. Gunshots and explosions could be heard nearby. Eventually, the group made their way to a small intersection and stopped.
"We'll split up here." George spoke. "Bradley, you take Jacqueline and the other child soldiers and go right here. I'll take the rest of the group ahead for our route. Understood?"
"Yes, sir." The soldier, Bradley, said.
"See you on the other side." George said one last time, right before he and the others left for their part of the plan.
"Alright, kids." Bradley spoke. "Follow me."
Bradley turned right at the intersection, surveying the road ahead. The barricades would make it easy to take cover from incoming fire, but it went without saying that the enemy would benefit from this advantage as well. He aimed at a group of enemy soldiers ahead.
"Fire at will!" Bradley commanded. He opened fire at the opposing force, nailing two soldiers. Ei and the child soldiers began shooting as well. It wasn't long before the enemy soldiers began shooting back. One of the child soldiers, who was standing far ahead, got shot and killed. Ei tried to run over to him and bring him back behind cover, but quickly backtracked, knowing the risk wasn't worth the reward.
"Jacqueline, what do we do?" The child soldier Jeremy asked. "Andrew's just been shot!"
Ei tried to think of a way to get out of this mess, eventually formulating a plan. "Does anyone have grenades?" She spoke.
"I have three, Jacqueline." The other child soldier, Benjamin, answered.
"Pull the pin on one and toss it over to the enemy!" She instructed.
Benjamin followed her orders, first pulling the pin on one of his grenades, then throwing it over behind one of the barricades. An explosion decimated the barricade's surrounding area, including any nearby soldiers. Ei took advantage of this newfound opportunity, standing up from behind her cover and shooting any surviving soldiers dead. They were now able to proceed forward a little further.
"Clear?" Bradley called out.
"Clear…!" Ei responded.
The survivors in Ei's group picked themselves up and kept walking forward. Ei reloaded her AK, making sure it had a full magazine for the next fight.
"We should avoid fighting if we don't have to…" Ei suggested.
"Listen here, girl." Bradley informed Ei. "Agent Sears left me in charge of you lot, so I don't have to do a damned thing you say. If anything, you kids should be listening to me."
"It's because of you that Andrew got shot…!" Ei responded. That only got her a slap across the face by the older soldier.
"Big whoop!" Bradley shouted. "This war's been going on for over five and a half years! People die all the time! Do you honestly think everyone in your little kid's unit is gonna survive? There's only six of 'em left, you included!"
Ei was silent. Of course everyone wouldn't survive. All she wanted was for as many people to survive as possible. The only other member of the Small Boys' Unit that was still alive from the moment Ei was inducted into the Army of the Devil was Jeremy. Everyone else… Charlie, Francis, Hugo, Tom, Carlos, Toby, Andrew… Ryan and Max… They had all been killed, one way or another. Only she, Jeremy, Benjamin, and three others were still alive.
"I don't want to lose any more friends…" Ei pleaded.
"Oh yeah…?" Bradley questioned. "Then do as I say."
Ei stopped talking and followed Bradley down the war-torn street. They were getting closer to the building their allies were trapped inside. She saw more enemy soldiers approaching from down the street.
"Prepare to fire." Bradley commanded.
"No, wait…!" Ei tried to speak. "We should hide…!"
"Who died and made you captain?" Bradley taunted her.
"We should ambush them, take them by surprise." Ei suggested. "We could wipe them out right there."
Bradley pondered Ei's suggestion for a moment. "Fine." He conceded. "But if we die, it's your fault."
The group dispersed, hiding themselves against the walls of the buildings on each side of the street. Ei then hid behind a makeshift barricade and pulled out her combat knife. She waited for the enemies to come closer and expose themselves. Eventually, a soldier walked to her left, oblivious to her presence. She leapt out, stabbing him right in his jugular, killing him.
"Now!" She shouted, prompting Bradley and the child soldiers to open fire on the remaining enemies, wiping them out. They went back over to Ei, making sure the coast was clear.
Bradley chuckled, pulling Ei up. "Good on you, kid." He said.
With that, the group came across the building they were to meet at. It was surrounded by enemy soldiers, some of which occasionally shot inside. They had it surrounded, at least from the street.
"Any bright ideas, kid?" Bradley mused.
Ei thought for a moment. "There should be a back door somewhere." She answered. "We should get inside and drive the enemies away from within."
"Good idea, Jacqueline." Benjamin spoke. Jeremy nodded his head in agreement.
"It's worth a shot." Bradley answered, sighing a little. "But we should make sure we aren't followed. Else, we're gonna be sitting ducks."
The group hid in the shadows to their left, sneaking into the alleyway next to the building. They found the back door and entered the building.
It was much cooler inside the building than it was outside. A friendly soldier trained his gun at the group, but relaxed once he made sure they were on the same side.
"Where's George?" The soldier asked.
"He isn't here yet?" Bradley wondered.
"We thought he was coming with reinforcements." The soldier replied.
"He's probably a little held up." Bradley responded. "In the meantime, we're all you guys have."
"Just great…" The soldier sighed. Just then, the window of the first floor was shot open, and gunfire poured through the open window.
BGM:
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain – A Factory of Death
By Ludvig Forssell
"Incoming!" The soldier shouted. "Defensive positions!" The soldier began to shoot out the window, taking out a few enemies. Bradley and the child soldiers began shooting too, trying to drive away the opposition.
"Benjamin, your grenades!" Ei said to Benjamin. He readied another grenade, throwing it out the broken window. An explosion was heard soon after. The gunfire from outside didn't let up. A stray bullet nailed Bradley right between his eyes, and he fell dead.
"Shit!" The soldier cursed. "Get upstairs! Now!" He ordered the child soldiers. The front door of the building was kicked down, and enemy combatants began storming the building. Ei and Jeremy managed to get upstairs safely, but Benjamin was shot and killed right there.
"NO!" Ei shouted. The friendly soldier wrestled her upstairs, and more enemies followed them. It seemed as if this was where it would end. Jeremy was pinned down beneath an enemy soldier's boot. Ei was hit to the ground, against a wall. An AK was aimed right at her head.
Just when it seemed as if she would be killed, an explosion broke the wall down, and gunfire from outside killed all the enemy soldiers within the building. Dust floated in the air, and Ei was disoriented. She couldn't comprehend what had just happened. Then, George walked inside through the dust, AK at the ready.
"Kept you waiting, huh?" George quipped. Ei was surprisingly happy to hear him say that.
BGM end
The gunfire outside of the immediate vicinity died down, as it seemed George had wiped out all the soldiers attacking the building. The other friendly soldiers inside the building walked over to George, as if he was some sort of savior to them. "Agent Sears!" One of the soldiers said.
"Report." George commanded, getting down to business.
"The opposition isn't letting up at all, sir." The soldier informed. "Their leader's giving orders from the apartment complex further into the city, right across the plaza. It's a long shot from here to the plaza, with lots of enemies in the way."
"Then we'll have to thin their ranks somehow." George instructed. He walked over to a nearby table with a map on it. "There's a small tower that overlooks the plaza. If we can make it there, we'll be able to pick off their forces safely. The issue is actually getting there."
"Orders, sir?" Another soldier asked.
"You and the reinforcements will make your way down the street, towards the tower." George began. "Make sure to hold your positions no matter what. Jacqueline will attack from the right flank, weakening their forces from the side and eventually rendezvousing with our team. Once we succeed, we enter the tower and make our move."
"But sir!" A different soldier shouted. "That's suicide! There's too many of them!"
"Leave that to me." George spoke, making his way out of the building. Ei followed him out, along with the rest of the soldiers in the building. She noticed Jeremy behind her, quietly telling him to stay with the main group of soldiers. He silently nodded and went along with the crowd.
Minutes had passed since George had come to the rescue. Ei was now sneaking behind enemy lines, as per George's command. She had already killed three men. She snuck behind a fourth and slit his throat. To her left was a collapsed building, toppled over by an explosion. Ei saw a hole in its side and climbed inside. She saw two soldiers patrolling inside the broken building, who saw her as well. Ei stabbed one in the chest, hiding behind his body. The other soldier fired his weapon, only hitting his former ally. Ei waited for him to reload, then taking out her own AK and shooting the man dead.
She made her way to the top of the building, finding two more soldiers stationed atop the wreck. She shot one man right in the back of the head, before tackling the other one off the building. She landed on top of him, breaking her fall as well as injuring the man. She took a grenade from his person before arming it and throwing it over to a group of soldiers approaching in the street. It exploded, killing all of them.
"You're late, Jacqueline." Ei heard George's voice behind her. He was holding his AK in his right hand with a combat knife in his left.
"Aren't you always keeping people waiting?" Ei spoke, taunting his previous quip.
"It doesn't matter." George answered. "We're at the tower. You and some of the others will come inside with me. The rest of you, stay outside and guard the perimeter."
With that, Ei, George, and three other soldiers entered the tower. Ei and George made their way to the top alongside an additional soldier. Ei began taking small shots at the enemies in the plaza below, hitting a few. George, who was next to her, continued firing and reloaded his AK. This continued for a short while before Ei spotted an enemy with a rocket launcher in the plaza below.
BGM:
Black Mesa – We've Got Hostiles
By Joel Nielsen
The rocket launcher fired, destroying the base of the tower, causing it to slowly topple over.
"Quick!" George warned. "Hold on to something!" Ei did as he said, bracing herself for the impact of the crash. George, however, leaped out of the tower just as it hit the ground.
He rolled as he landed, simultaneously breaking his fall, and dodging a few shots from an enemy soldier, who he quickly shot back at and killed. Another soldier rushed him, but was stabbed with his knife and kicked away. Two more soldiers ran at him from opposite ends. One was quickly shot dead while the other was grabbed, shot in the chest, and flipped over George when he performed some kind of throwing move on him. George rolled forwards and shot another enemy, maneuvering behind him to put him in a headlock, then shooting a different enemy and throwing the one in his arms to the ground.
George noticed a dog chasing him down, attempting to shoot it dead before it could reach him. The dog reacted and dodged his shot, leaping at George to maul him. George was knocked to the ground, the ravenous canine snapping its jaws at the man below it. George quickly stabbed his knife into the dog and killed it, pushing it off his body. Getting back up, he was now without his gun and surrounded by enemies.
"We have him surrounded!" One of the enemy soldiers shouted. "Move in for the kill!"
"All I am surrounded by is fear…" George shouted. "And dead men…! I'll take you all on!"
George brandished his combat knife in his left hand, quickly pulling a machete from a sheath on his belt and holding it in his right. He expertly fought off all nine men who surrounded him, first stabbing an enemy in his side, then his back. Moving to the next man, he did a series of repeated cuts into his side, finishing by amputating his arm. George quickly killed an additional two men who tried to rush him, grabbing a third in his hold and slicing his throat before tossing his body aside.
Another enemy soldier ran at George and shot in his direction, only to be stabbed in the shoulder and headbutted away. A much larger man tried to swing a kick at George, but was stabbed in his knee. George then moved behind the large man and removed his knife, then sticking it in his side and then his back, then punching him across the face and ending with an upward two-handed hammer punch.
George used his machete to deliver a series of powerful slashes to another soldier who was unfortunate enough to survive the onslaught he was giving out. One final man tried to take George down, but was grabbed in his arms and had his throat slit open by the seemingly unstoppable man who had just wiped out all soldiers in the plaza.
BGM end
Ei had just witnessed everything George had done, hiding in the wreckage of the tower. She saw one last soldier sneaking up behind George, and decided to act. Jacqueline ran over to the final soldier and jumped on his back, slitting his throat before he could attack. George looked over to Ei and saw what she had done.
"Good work… Jacqueline…" George said, somewhat exhausted. "But it's not over yet. The enemy commander is still alive, and we still have a job to do."
With that, George and Ei looked over to the large apartment complex overshadowing the plaza. Their mission was still not over.
And that's part one of the last mission in the Liberian Civil war. I'm gonna be honest, writing this part was a little more difficult than I expected, but I think it turned out fine, for what it is. For everyone confused about how Solidus was able to pull all that off, remember how he was supposedly the "perfect" clone of Big Boss. Thanks for reading again, and I'll see you next chapter.
-Azzy Asbourne
Music:
A Factory of Death: watch?v=x_ifX3gLZy8
We've Got Hostiles: watch?v=ooFhz4bs_yE
