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 12
STOLEN FUTURE

The Liberian Civil War had ended. A little under two years after the ceasefire, elections were held, placing Charles Taylor as the head of power in Liberia. The whole conflict had taken the lives of over 200 thousand people, while displacing around a million others. Most of Liberia's economy and infrastructure had been destroyed as well, making the act of rebuilding very difficult.

Ei was lying in a bed inside a relief center. It had been almost a whole year since she heard of any major fighting, and two years since she herself had been in combat. By all means, she should have been glad to know she would not have to kill anymore, but this all just felt… wrong.

Ei had been fighting for so long that she became desensitized to it. She no longer had any thoughts about how she killed other people. People who had lives – possibly even families – that she took away. Even through all of that, she was hoping that the fighting and bloodshed would eventually come to an end. However, now that it had ended, Ei didn't know what to do. Could she return to a life of peace after so much death? What path could she even take that would help her recover? Would she be able to find the answers for Eternity? She didn't know.

A knock on the door drew her attention. She tilted her head up to look at it. The door opened, and George walked inside. He looked much different from before. Instead of his regular combat uniform, he was wearing a formal two-piece suit and tie. His hair, which was normally dark brown with small streaks of gray in some places had turned fully gray. He looked much older than he was before, and almost appeared to be a completely different person. However, Ei could never forget the face of the man who turned her into a killer.

"Is now a good time?" George asked.

Ei rolled over to the side, now facing away from her adoptive father. She didn't want to see him at all.

BGM:

ULTRAKILL – Disgrace. Humiliation.
By Heaven Pierce Her

"What's wrong, Jacqueline?" George pondered. "Is it about the war?" Ei didn't speak. "It is, isn't it? Now, I know that you've fought for me for a long time, but the war is over now. You can finally choose your own path."

"Why now…?" Ei responded. "Why are you giving me this choice only now…? You never gave me a choice before…"

George sighed. "This was war, Jacqueline." He answered. "Most people who were caught in it didn't have a choice either. Everyone who was killed and displaced, many of the soldiers, even your parents. But now the war is over…! You are no longer bound to anyone, you are your own person…! The time has come for you to be free with your own life, Jacqueline."

Ei paused for a moment, eventually sitting straight up on the flimsy bed. She thought about what George was telling her, wondering why he was telling her she could make her own decisions when he so strictly controlled her before. She couldn't understand why he was saying these things to her, or even what he meant. Ei didn't even understand what she wanted now. "You're telling me to be free…" She began. "But I don't know what to do… I can't decide for myself what path I should take…"

"Well…" George spoke. "The other members of your unit said they're going to America. It is a land of freedom, you know. Perhaps you could join them, Jacqueline."

Ei heard George say "freedom," and thought back to Teyvat. She had heard that Mondstadt, the region that worshipped the Anemo Archon Barbatos, featured freedom as one of its founding ideals. However, she also noticed something about the way George said "freedom." It almost sounded forced, as if he were hiding something he didn't want to reveal.

"What about you…?" Ei asked George. "What will you be doing…?"

"I'm still waiting to find out." He answered. "I suppose I will be leaving as well, but you must not forget that you now have an opportunity – a chance – to decide your own path in life. The choice is yours, Jacqueline."

All of a sudden, a man walked into the room. He was also wearing a suit and tie, as well as sunglasses that completely covered his eyes.

"Solidus, you've been instructed to return stateside immediately." The man in the suit spoke in an oddly calm voice. George groaned, almost as if he was the one being spoken to. But what did "Solidus" mean?

"Can it wait?" George responded to the man. "I'm having a conversation with my daughter."

"I'm afraid it's urgent." The man spoke again. "The order came from the La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo." What did that mean?

All of a sudden, George's expression changed from one of annoyance to one of anger. He quickly suppressed the feeling and turned to Ei one last time. "Remember what we talked about, Jacqueline." He said to her. George then stood up and began to walk out. Ei could hear him whisper something to himself, albeit only slightly. "One of these days, Zero… you and your Patriots will fall… And then, I will claim what is rightfully ours."

BGM end

George had now fully left the room. The man in the suit, however, stayed. He looked at Ei and placed two of his fingers right next to his ear.

"Solidus has left." The man said, presumably through a radio. "I have a visual on the target."

The man then lowered his hand, then taking a sack out of his pocket and placing it over Ei's head. She tried to struggle, but her wrists were restrained by the man's arms. The next thing she knew, she was being walked out of the room.

With her sense of sight robbed of her, Ei could not tell where she was being taken. She could slightly hear through the sack, but there was too much background noise to discern any useful information. Eventually, she felt a slight breeze on her skin, and deducted she had been taken outside. The man lifted her up and placed her on a seat, presumably in a vehicle. She could tell from the slight sound of an engine. Shortly after, Ei heard the man speak again.

"I have the target." The man's calm voice said. "Proceed to the location." Ei felt the vehicle start driving, taking her to a place she did not know. In the meantime, she heard another voice.

"Where are you taking us…?" A young African voice spoke. Ei recognized that voice. It was Jeremy.

"Do not speak." The man instructed.

If Jeremy was here, then were the other child soldiers of the Small Boys' Unit here as well? George said they were going to America, but was it a lie? Were they being abducted? She couldn't learn anything at the moment, so she stayed silent and waited for the vehicle to arrive at its destination.

Two hours later, the vehicle stopped. Ei heard the doors open, and a variety of sounds came through.

"Exit the vehicle now." The man spoke. Ei carefully walked forward, unable to see. She was guided out of the vehicle and escorted to what sounded like a turbine.

Eventually, the sack on her head was removed, and she saw a large aircraft with a lady standing nearby. Looking around more, she saw the other members of the Small Boys' Unit, each of them having sacks on their heads taken off as well.

"Jacqueline…?" One of the child soldiers asked, noticing her. "What's going on…?"

"I told you not to speak." The man interrupted him. He guided the child soldiers over to the lady standing by the aircraft. When he reached her, he spoke. "We have the children."

"I see." The lady responded. "We'll be taking care of them from now on. You can leave now."

"Not yet." The man in the suit said. "The La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo have specific instructions for the girl. She is to serve as the link-up for No. 4." That name again, "La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo." Who or what were they?

"I understand." The lady responded. She gathered the child soldiers and led them into the aircraft, which had now opened. She had each of them strapped into seats on the side of the aircraft's inside. She then went into another section of the aircraft.

After a few minutes, the aircraft began to move. The turbine sound got even louder, and Ei felt gravity increase. At least, that's what it felt like. It was like she was being held aloft in the air, slightly moving around. Her ears had a strange sensation in them, but she managed to hear Jeremy ask her something.

"Jacqueline…" He asked. "What's happening? Where are they taking us? Are we going to be okay…?"

"Don't think…" Ei whispered. "Just don't think…" She was terrified on the inside. Had she been rescued from one horrible fate just to fall into a worse fate? Was this salvation or damnation? Would she even be able to find the answers for Eternity anymore? She didn't know.

It had been weeks since Ei arrived in America. Or at least, wherever she had been taken. She and the surviving child soldiers from the Small Boys' Unit were housed in a large building that appeared to be much nicer than the relief center in Liberia. There, they had been put through extensive counseling to improve their mental health and stability. The others were a little comfortable being open about their time in Liberia, acknowledging the things they had been forced to do as child soldiers. Ei did not want to remember what she did. All the atrocities, the threats at gunpoint, the drugs and abuse, the people she killed… she refused to accept it. She just wanted to forget everything.

The lady who had taken them in walked over to Ei, who was sitting on a bed. Ei looked up at her, expecting another counseling session. What she said, however, was very different to what she had been expecting.

"Jacqueline?" She asked for her attention. "The doctors want to see you."

Ei stood up and followed the lady out of the room. They walked through the hallways of the building, passing by other members of the NGO that had taken her and the other child soldiers in. The two of them got into an elevator. Ei expected the lady to press a single button, but instead, she first looked around to see if anyone was watching. She then pressed several of the buttons in a sequence, and a panel flipped open on the wall, revealing one final button. She pressed it and the elevator began descending.

When the elevator stopped, the doors opened to reveal a long, dimly lit steel corridor. The lady guided Ei out of the elevator and down the corridor. Upon reaching the end, the lady entered a code on a nearby keypad, opening a door ahead. Ei reluctantly stepped inside and saw a spotlight focused on an operating table.

"Please lie down on the operating table, Jacqueline." The lady instructed. Ei nervously climbed onto the table and lied down, complying with her instructions. "Doctor." The lady called to the shadows.

A man in medical scrubs emerged from the darkness, carrying a needle. "Hold still. This'll only hurt for a moment." He spoke.

The doctor injected the needle into Ei's arm, carefully removing it afterwards. Ei began to feel dizzy all of a sudden. Over the course of a few minutes, her eyelids got more and more heavy. Eventually, Ei fell asleep, properly anesthetized.

Ei woke up an unknown amount of time later. She felt bandages wrapped around her head, which felt like it had just been hit by a truck. A nearby doctor approached her and spoke.

"The operation was a success." He informed Ei. "You will be able to remove the bandages in a week's time. The stitches in your head will remain until a month has passed and all has gone accordingly. Please remain here for the time being."

Ei groaned a little bit. "What…" She struggled to say. "What happened to me…?"

The doctor was silent for a moment. "We have… corrected an abnormality in your brain." The doctor spoke. "Do not ask any more questions."

Ei wanted to ask what he meant, but the doctor stepped away from her. She couldn't see him anymore, but didn't hear him exit the room. Ei did hear him talking to… someone. She couldn't see or hear the other person.

"Yes, sir." The doctor began. "The prototype nanomachines were successfully implanted. Yes, they are online. We shall see if they are functioning properly. Of course, sir. They should also manipulate the subject's subconscious. Her trauma will fade with time. Sir…? I'm not sure what you mean… What kind of data? Interesting… Continue with the observations. Her role will come soon enough."

This chapter is now complete. We have the first mention of Solidus' real name, as well as the Patriots, but we won't be seeing them again for a while. This chapter is supposed to bridge the gap between the Liberian Civil War and Ei starting her journey towards being trained at FOXHOUND. It is a little choppy, but writing this kind of change isn't always easy. Now, here are the reviews.

KenjiApex: That will probably not happen, as I have a planned course for Ei to take, and none of her enemies will have names based on Ars Goetia demons. Also, I'm fine with the react fic being made later, preferably after I adapt MGS2.

Thank you for reading this chapter, and I will see you in the next arc of Ei's journey on Earth!

-Azzy Asbourne

Music: watch?v=ZDStF3H4L-o