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 2
ARMY OF THE DEVIL

Ei was terrified. She had left her family behind and ran off on her own. For all she knew, they were already dead. And here she was, hiding under a half-broken table in a ruined house. No powers, no strength left, no way out whatsoever. She hadn't been this terrified since the Cataclysm.

All of a sudden, footsteps. A group of people was approaching. She couldn't quite tell how many, but it was definitely more than she could handle. The footsteps were coming from outside, so perhaps they were searching the buildings.

"I know there are survivors somewhere around here." A deep voice outside said. "Sweep the area and bring anyone you find to me."

"Yes, sir." Multiple voices responded. The footsteps began to get further away from Ei's hiding spot, and she breathed a sigh of relief. However, one set of steps came closer, bringing her back to a tense state.

The door of the building she was hiding in was pushed open, and a man walked inside. From where she was hiding, Ei couldn't see the man's face, but noticed he was wearing a short-sleeved uniform colored in all black. He also had fingerless gloves and heavy boots of the same color on his hands and feet. It seemed as if he was unaware of Ei's presence here.

The man reached to his face and pulled something from out of his teeth. He exhaled, blowing smoke from his mouth before extinguishing the spark on the object he pulled from his mouth. Ei smelled tobacco smoke – the kind that would come from a pipe – but found it hard to bear, holding in a cough due to the smoke irritating her undeveloped lungs.

That was when Ei noticed something on the man's belt – a sheath, containing a knife no longer than her forearm. With a weapon, her odds of survival would significantly improve. But the risk involved with taking it possibly outweighed any advantage she might gain. Still, what choice did she have? It was either pray to whatever God that watched over this world that she remained hidden or take the risk and see what happened next.

After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, Ei decided to take advantage of the element of surprise and sneak out of her hiding place. Eventually, she reached over to the knife's handle, moving carefully as to not alert the man in front of her. Then, she grabbed the knife and pulled it from the sheath, earning her a weapon, but drawing the attention of the man.

He had dark brown hair that was cut very short. A small tuft of gray hair sat just above the middle of his forehead, skewed slightly to his right. His light-skinned face was adorned with a short beard and mustache that finely framed his features. And his calm blue eyes stared back at Ei, burning with a silent intensity that shook her to her core.

"A girl…?" He muttered.

Ei brandished the knife in her hands like a short sword. Putting a few feet of distance between her and the stranger, she tried to think of a way to get out of the situation she was now stuck in.

"What are you doing here, girl?" He asked strictly. "It's a dangerous place out here."

"S-stay back…!" Ei shouted back at him. "I… I'm warning you!"

The man ignored her empty warning and stepped closer, slightly. Ei shuffled backwards while the man took small steps closer, eventually putting out his hand in an attempt to calm her.

"Easy. Give the knife back to me and I'll let you off the hook."

Ei looked at the man and something in her brain told her not to trust anything he said. This man was clearly dangerous, and she would not take any chances.

Suddenly footsteps came closer before a group of four people – most likely soldiers – entered the house. Three of the four men were wearing masks that covered their faces. "Agent Sears." The unmasked man spoke. "We found no survivors in any of the houses. They are all dead, sir." The group then looked over to Ei. "But it seems you've found somebody… You know what to do." He said to the other three soldiers. They lined up and raised their weapons, ends pointed at their target: Ei. Her eyes widened in fear.

The man – Sears, as he was called – turned to the other soldiers in disbelief. "What the hell are you doing?" He demanded.

"Following orders, sir." The unmasked soldier answered.

"Orders?" Sears responded. "Your orders are to stand down, this instant!"

"You listen to me, George. I don't care that your benefactors sent you here to help us, I am officially in command of this operation!" He turned back to the other troops. "Fire on my command!" They readied their weapons.

Ei then shifted her focus to the armed soldiers aiming their weapons at her. She began to panic, backing away while aiming the stolen knife at the masked men. The first man looked at Ei, then back to the other soldiers… and jumped in front of her. He wrestled the knife from her hands, then rushing down the soldiers with a blade in hand, swiftly and efficiently killing each of the soldiers.

Ei looked on in horror, completely surprised by the turn of events. The first man, his blade now drenched in blood, turned back to her, and sheathed the bloody knife.

"Come with me." He spoke. "I will teach you how to survive." He offered Ei his hand, and she reluctantly accepted the gesture. "My name is George Sears." Leading her by the hand, George walked out in the open with Ei. There, she saw a large group of soldiers occupying the now destroyed village. A soldier walked up to the two.

"Agent Sears." The soldier said. "What happened to Adams?"

"Commander Adams thought it would be a good idea to shoot first and ask questions later." George responded. "He's no longer an issue."

The soldier looked frightened from this turn of events, but quickly turned his attention to Ei. "And who might this be?"

"She's a survivor." George answered. "She'll be staying with me from now on."

Ei then noticed something. The soldiers were lining up dead bodies, presumably killed during the battle. Among the corpses, she saw the faces of her mother and father. She ran over to them.

"What are you doing?" George spoke. Ei fell to her knees and looked at the lifeless faces of her parents. Their throats had been sliced open with a blade of some kind. They hadn't survived after all. George stood behind Ei and asked. "Do you know them?"

Ei was silent for a few moments. "My parents…" She managed to whisper. George gave a hum of understanding, resting his hand on her shoulder.

"I see." He said. "That's a shame. In that case, I will take care of you. From this moment on, your name will be…" George said, pausing. "Jacqueline."

"Jacqueline?" Ei asked.

"Yes. That's your name. And soon, you will come to know me as your new father. You shall be proof of my existence, my legacy. Now come. There is more waiting for you."

With that, George led Ei to a new vehicle, one with four spinning blades on the top. He picked her up and placed her in one of the seats inside before sitting down next to her. Multiple other soldiers sat down in the empty seats. Eventually, the blades on top began to rotate at very high speeds, and the vehicle began to lift off the ground and fly.

The vehicle, which Ei learned was called a helicopter, landed in a kind of fortified camp. Dull green tents and various small buildings were scattered across the bare dirt. Sentry towers and barricades lined the perimeter of the camp, with soldiers keeping watch for outsiders.

George stepped out of the helicopter and lifted Ei out of her seat, setting her on the ground. "Follow me." He ordered. Ei walked behind George, looking at the many soldiers present at the base who returned her gaze with their own. Many of them were dark-skinned, but every now and then, the occasional light-skinned soldier made their presence known.

The sound of barking caught her attention, and she looked to what appeared to be a caged area containing dogs on leashes. They were pulling against the leashes that held them, not yet familiar with her presence. Walking further, Ei saw something chilling – a few children, holding the same kind of weapons the soldiers were. Were… were they forcing children to fight…? What would happen to her?

"We're here, Jacqueline." George spoke. They arrived at a tent the size of a small house. He lifted a part of the tent, beckoning her inside. "Go on." Ei reluctantly stepped inside, seeing two more people. The first was an old light-skinned man, with scars and strong eyes. The other was a dark-skinned man with extremely short hair and a thin mustache.

"Agent Sears." The dark-skinned soldier acknowledged. "You're back already?"

"The operation is complete." George answered. "Unfortunately, Commander Adams was… killed in combat." He most likely said that as a way to excuse the fact that he was the one who killed him.

"So, George." The older man spoke up. "You've brought in another one?"

George grunted. "Am I really so wrong for wanting to be remembered?" He answered with a question.

"I don't care." The older man replied. "What's her name?"

"Jacqueline." George said.

"So she is Jacqueline?" The dark-skinned man chimed in. "Like Jackie Chan?"

"Not quite. I was thinking of naming the next one 'Jack,' but that isn't quite a proper name for a girl. However, for all intents and purposes, I'm alright with something similar."

"My name is—" Ei tried to object.

"Don't speak out of line, girl!" George scolded her. Ei immediately stopped talking. The silence passed after a few seconds. "Your name is Jacqueline."

The old man was the one who broke the silence. "So, George. Same procedure as the others?"

"That's right." George answered. "You may begin."

"Procedure…?" Ei asked with worry. "What procedure?"

"Be quiet." The old man shushed her, then grabbing her by the arms. "Help me get her strapped in." He said to the other soldier. Ei tried to struggle but couldn't muster any strength to resist. She was then placed into a chair, where her arms and legs restrained by straps attached to the chair. Even still, she tried to slip out of the restraints that held her. The old man took notice of this. "She's a fighter." He said scarily. "I like fighters."

"If you hurt her…" George threatened. "I'll kill you."

"She'll survive." The man clarified. The barking of dogs and gunshots were heard outside the tent.

"Go about your business." George said, holding his knife in his hands.

With that, the man picked up a metallic needle and approached Ei.

"What is that…?" She managed to whimper. The man then grabbed Ei's left arm tightly, holding it in place. He carefully pointed the tip of the needle at her arm, aiming for her circulatory system. "No… Don't do it!" Ei tried to shout. "Stop!" But her cries did nothing to stop the needle from puncturing her skin. She screamed as the needle injected something into her bloodstream. The man removed the needle from her arm, and a small stream of blood trickled from the place she was injected.

"After this," George claimed. "You'll never be the same, Jacqueline."

Ei began to feel weak. A massive headache hit her all at once. It felt as if her brain was on fire. It was hard to breathe, stay upright, or even blink. Her resistance began to wear down as time passed, and her vision blurred.

"Set up the image training." George ordered the dark-skinned soldier. With that, the soldier went over to a device set up parallel to the chair Ei was restrained in and pressed a button on its face. A screen on the device lit up, showing what appeared to be a moving picture of a battle in a war. "Jacqueline!" George called out. "Keep your eyes on the screen!"

The footage depicted was horribly violent. Soldiers shooting at each other and cutting each other open with knives. Explosions blew men apart into bloody pieces. Civilians were massacred without a second thought. The sight of death was being engraved into Ei's weakened mind. She tried to struggle more, but the dark-skinned soldier held her down.

"You will follow orders, little soldier." He spoke to her.

"See your new world, Jacqueline…" George said to her.

The soldier kept speaking to Ei, trying to make her obey. "You will watch." He said. "You are strong, little girl. Watch."

"Get away from me…!" Ei shouted. She was reaching her breaking point. She was breathing heavily, trying to bear the strain of the injection and subliminal messaging. She heard George laughing to himself, like some kind of villain. Eventually, she could not endure anymore. Ei screamed and slowly blacked out.

The world had become a blur. The ringing in her ears was too loud to discern most of her surroundings. Her heavy eyelids could not stay open anymore. Her body was exhausted from the futile struggle. Her mind was completely mixed up, unable to process the events around her, or even how much time had passed. Ei's head hung low, no longer trying to keep itself upright. However, voices to her left broke her out of her exhaustion.

"You gave them our position!" She heard. It was the dark-skinned soldier's voice. She looked over to see the soldier standing next to another chair, with a light-skinned man strapped in, similar to her. His green clothes were drenched in sweat, and blood poured from his nose and mouth, drying up on his face. "You told them our military strength." The dark-skinned soldier spoke to the bound man, circling him.

"No!" The man said in a panicked voice.

"You told them where we are!" The dark-skinned man yelled, interrogating his captive further. "You told them we were right here!"

"No…! No!"

The soldier pulled out a weapon like the other soldiers used, only small enough to be held in one's hand. He pulled a slide on the weapon back and held it against the back of the prisoner's neck.

"You will tell us or we'll kill your family." He threatened.

"Please!" The prisoner cried. "Please, no! No, no, no!"

"Your wife…" The soldier continued. "Your wife, I will take my time with her…!"

"Tell him to stop! Tell him to stop!"

"You do not make your own decisions…! You are mine!"

"JACQUELINE!" George shouted. The tent went silent. "Don't look away, girl!" George took the cigar he was smoking out of his mouth and set it down on a table. Ei looked back to the solder and captive. The dark-skinned man slammed the flat end of his weapon against the prisoner's arm, causing him to groan in pain.

Looking back to George, Ei saw him turn on a small box sitting on the table. Turning a knob on its front, soft, soothing music began to emanate from the box. The music did very little to calm the atmosphere, only making it more suspenseful.

"This…" George said, drawing a small knife on the table from its sheath. "Is your future." He walked over to the bound prisoner, standing behind him. He lowered his head to his ear, whispering something Ei couldn't make out. When George finished whispering, the prisoner began to panic and hyperventilate. Walking back over to Ei, George showed the knife in his hands to his daughter. "It's a beauty, isn't it?" He asked.

Ei could hardly agree with what George had said. The knife appeared blank and lifeless, no sign of color or personality. It was only a weapon, designed only for killing, doomed to be tossed aside when it served no more purpose. But indeed, the knife's blade itself was somewhat beautiful. It had been polished to nearly a mirror sheen, and its edge seemed razor-sharp. Ei could see her own magenta eyes in its reflection.

"There is honor in a blade, Jacqueline." George lectured. He walked back to his place behind the prisoner. "You see, anyone can pull a trigger. Point… Shoot…" He pressed the tip of the blade into a wound on the prisoner's shoulder, causing him to cry in pain. "He's dead." George deadpanned, removing the knife from the wound.

"But a blade…" He continued. "Pressing that cold metal against another man's throat…" George held the dull side of the knife to the prisoner's jugular. "Feeling his pulse… It's personal." He whispered. "It's intimate." He rotated the blade, the sharp edge now pointed towards the captive's throat, poised to take his life with but a simple swipe. "There's honor in killing…" The prisoner let out his last futile pleas for mercy, which fell on deaf ears. "With a blade!" George slit the man's throat, spilling his blood all over his body as the life left his eyes.

George walked back to Ei, holding the bloodstained knife. He undid the restraints holding her to the chair, presenting the knife to his daughter. "This is your destiny…" George said, placing the blade in Ei's hands. "Jack the Ripper…!" The prisoner's blood dripped from the blade to her hand, tainting her future. She had come to this world in her quest to achieve Eternity, but now found her life in the hands of another, someone almost like a demon. Ei began to regret even deciding to take the chance that was offered to her, and silently wept.

Happy 4th of July, everybody! Now we have the man himself properly introduced, George Sears – AKA Solidus Snake! I took inspiration from the "Make it Right" videos from the Metal Gear Rising ARG for this chapter. The next chapters will officially mark the beginning of Raiden's time as a child soldier, so stay tuned! Now for the reviews.

Maniacalharp747: I feel like "emotional damage" doesn't do her experiences justice. But yes, it is quite emotionally damaging.

Also, in case anyone's interested about what Solidus whispered to the POW, he said "In five minutes, I'm going to slice your throat from ear to ear." Just a little tidbit. See you next chapter!

-Azzy Asbourne