Ocelot went over the lesson plan with a sigh. Why had he even agreed to this? Sure, he had nothing better to do, but the task he had been given seemed idiotic. He'd go through with it though, no matter how much he hated it. His lesson plan was to introduce himself as their sub, take them to field Beta, and have them fight a zero-pointer. Now, he had no general clue what a zero pointer was. However, he could already tell this was a terrible idea.
Why? He didn't know, but something about it irked him. Especially when he looked up from his plan and found he had arrived at the class. With a calm sigh, he stood by the door, waiting a few seconds before it opened. And out stepped Midnight, with a sly smile on her face. She looked him up and down for a few seconds before stepping out to the side.
"They're all yours cowboy," she told him with a sultry tone, her hips swaying as she walked. Ocelot didn't react, remaining stone-faced as he peered into the class behind her. Midnight groaned in response, annoyed her tease had failed.
"I swear, it's like trying to seduce a statue." Midnight muttered, to which Ocelot laughed in response.
"I've met women who've tried all the things you've done, and then some," Ocelot replied, some of his more extravagant escapades while he was still with Cipher coming to mind, "Believe me, you can't win."
"Hmm, maybe I'll bring a pair of chaps next time," Midnight teased, hoping to get a response. It didn't.
"Anyways, you know the lesson plan?" she asked, Ocelot nodding.
"Most of it. Still can't tell what a zero-pointer is," he replied to which Midnight's face soured.
"Of course, that's what's happening," she stated angrily, "A zero-pointer is the name for UA's giant exam robots."
She grabbed her phone then, quickly pulled up a couple of pictures. It left Ocelot stunned as he looked at the thing. It had to be bigger than ZEKE, at least twice its height. Massive didn't even begin to describe it though, as its arms had to be wider than some semi-trucks. It brought two questions to Ocelot's mind. The first was why did UA have this. It seemed massively expensive and looked like it would take a lot to destroy. That said, it brought forth his second question. What dumbass thought building this thing was a good idea?
He had little engineering knowledge, so he couldn't comment on how the damn thing even works, but military experience told him this thing would be a maintenance nightmare. It had hundreds of moving parts for the arms alone, where if even one broke the entire thing would be inoperable. Hell, it's the reason ZEKE was now relegated to launching nukes only. It took twenty-four hours' worth of work, to ensure ZEKE's legs would be active for an hour. But ZEKE at least had a purpose. It was a nuclear platform that could go anywhere in the world, be it the bottom of the ocean or dry land. The zero-pointer?
Ocelot couldn't even begin to see what role this thing would serve on any battlefield. Be it the military, heroics, or basic rescue work it's impractical due to its size. It couldn't fit through any urban street without destroying a skyscraper and was visible from every angle when out in the open. Logically, no one, not even a hero, would ever encounter a threat like this in the field. If they did, then everyone is going to see it and scramble everything to destroy it. And yet, he knew that trying to fight this thing would be suicidal. For all its flaws, it was still a giant robot capable of killing you, especially if you lacked the firepower to take it down.
"...So, this lesson… was it the teachers that created it?" Ocelot asked, hoping he was wrong.
"It's the HPSC's new guidelines. Somethings got them spooked, so they're trying to train some heavy hitters." Midnight replied, the dissatisfaction clear in her voice. It made Ocelot sigh in relief though; glad his suspicions were wrong.
"I don't think they're ready yet," Midnight continued, "Half of them are still catching up with the rest of the class."
"Well, then it's a shame UA's only zero pointer isn't working," Ocelot stated, already deciding to drop the lesson plan. It took only seconds for Midnight to see what Ocelot was saying before a sly smile covered her face.
"Truly a shame," she said, her eyes wordlessly communicating with Ocelot. He simply nodded and looked back into the classroom, as Midnight went to "inspect" a zero pointer. Now here Ocelot laid his eyes on the students. If he were to describe the first student he saw, the word toothpick came to mind. That didn't describe this kid well enough. It was as if a calm breeze could push him over. As if a small cough could burst his lungs. As if even the slightest amount of sunlight touching his skin would instantly incinerate him. His hair was a mix of red, blue, and green, the only semblance of color on the boy.
He looked around the room nervously, as if anything could jump at him. Ocelot noted it odd when the kid's eyes turned to him. He looked at him for two seconds, before wordlessly turning away. Most odd, Ocelot decided, but he said nothing of it. Instead, he pulled out one of his revolvers and started spinning it as always. He also spotted a small group of students chatting loudly amongst themselves.
"Please! I'll buy you lunch for a week!" a student begged. He had long brown hair and a pair of circular blades on his forearms.
"I told you; I didn't do the homework either!" a different student replied with a loud shush. She was relatively tall with short black hair, with nothing else standing out like the others.
"Why am I not surprised? To think you numbskulls, want to be heroes." a third student stated smugly. His hair was a dark brown, and his skin had a slimy green hue.
"At least I earned my spot, you wouldn't be here if it weren't for Daddy's money." the student with sawblades mocked, a smirk arriving on his face when the other boy turned to look at him. It didn't escalate further luckily, as Ocelot decided to enter the classroom. As soon as he did the entire class quieted down, with all looking at him curiously. Their eyes fell onto his revolvers, with the student with the red, blue, and green hair seeming to recognize him. To Ocelot's surprise, he somehow turned paler.
"My name is Ocelot," he began, ignoring the pale kid for now, "Today I'm going to be your substitute. Now, I'm going to make one thing, and one thing only clear. I am going to make your life hell."
A few students scoffed at the notion, and he noted it quietly.
"If by the end of this lesson, you despise me with every fiber of your being, then I've done my job. If you can't handle that, then leave."
None of the students did so, and Ocelot wasn't sure if it was due to arrogance, confidence, or sheer fear. He simply smirked in response; this was going to be fun after all.
"Now grab your gear and meet me at Ground Beta in half an hour," Ocelot ordered, and the students moved to grab their costumes. As they did so, Ocelot walked out and started heading over to the support department. He had half an hour to get ready and could only wonder if he had given himself too much time.
Snake ran through the halls as fast as possible, ignoring any guard that came his way. This damn base was nothing more than a massive maze at the moment. Every twist and turn led to a blocked-off dead end or a four-way intersection without a clue as to where he was. He was making progress though and managed to find the group of kids several times. But every time he found them, the guards would lay down suppressing fire and force him to take cover.
It was infuriating every time it happened, as he tried desperately to push forward. The farther he went the more the bodies added up, with entire sections of the hallways becoming bleached red. Especially now as he ducked back behind the shattered remains of a break room's coffee table. The walls of the would-be room had been torn down decades ago, creating a large open hallway. Yet the furniture had been left behind, providing a small amount of cover as the 5.45 rounds ripped through the wooden table.
Across the hall, three guards ducked back behind the base's concrete walls. Both Snake and the guards took turns firing potshots at each other, but both sides knew Snake was on borrowed time. His rifle clicked umpty for a fourth time, causing Snake to silently swear. The last of his ammo was running out quickly, and what remained of his equipment was a couple of flashbangs and his knife.
Quickly loading the last of his magazines, he peeked out at the hall ahead of him. Any second now enemy reinforcements would arrive and cut him off from the kids. With little time he tossed out a flashbang and ran out seconds after it went off. Charging towards the guards, he body slammed into the closest one. He and the guard both fell to the ground, allowing Snake to quickly grab the guard's AK-74. Snake aimed it down and fired, shooting the guard point-blank in the chest.
With the first guard dead he turned back and shot the remaining two guards as they stumbled about stunned. There was little time, so little time. With barely any time he grabbed what he could from the guards and took off running again. Room B had to be nearby, it had to be. Every turn in this maze made him think otherwise, but he found it. He stopped slowly as the large door with Room B in Russian scribbled onto it. There was no epic fanfare as he arrived, no swarm of guards standing at the ready.
It was there vacant and in the open. It was suspicious, horribly so. Slowly he walked over to the door, his eye scanning every inch of the surrounding area for any hint of a trap. There was nothing. He was right next to the door now and could visibly find no handle anywhere. There was a slit going through the middle showing where the door would slide apart to open. Snake was about to try and force it open when a voice rang out over the radio he had stolen.
"First off, ow." the Showmaster began, and Snake froze, not believing what he had just heard. He had shot him; no, he had killed him. He saw the bullet go through the psychopath's head and saw his body hit the ground. This couldn't have been happening, but the Showmaster kept talking.
"You just had to go for the head, didn't you? I swear the face is the money maker and now I've got a gaping hole in my forehead. Ugh, and second, I'm glad you could finally join us Big Boss. A bit late, but hey, you're here now!"
Snake looked out around the room, trying to find any hint of a camera or a drone. He found it popping out of a small hole at the top of the doorway. It looked down at him and Snake shot it with the AK-74 he took. It fell to the ground broken but was swiftly replaced with a new camera.
"These things are expensive you know. Now are you going to keep hiding away in the dark corners of my studio, or are you going to play along?"
"Play along? This isn't a damn game!"
"Please, everything is a game! It's just a matter of perspective. But the question is are you going to play along? Because let me tell you,"
The doors in front of Snake began to open up slowly, with Snake turning pale as he got a glimpse inside. A large obstacle course raised only a foot or three above a pit full of molten steel at the bottom. And all along it, children clung desperately to the obstacles. The game had already started, and Snake could already see a few kids boiling away in the steel. The Showmaster's words could only infuriate Snake more.
"It's pretty boring at the moment. But now that you're here things can get interesting! So, the rules are simple, the first ten people to make it to the other side win! Those that don't, get to feel some warmth in their final moments." the Showmaster explained, with Snake becoming angrier by the second.
"You sick bastard!" he yelled out, wishing he could crush the man's windpipe.
"Geez, I haven't even finished yet." the Showmaster admonished, "Didn't your mother ever teach you it's rude to interrupt someone? Anyway, I gave the little scamps a head start to make it a little fairer. Now, go!"
Snake looked back out at the obstacle course in front of him, watching as the kids ran out amongst the obstacles. He could see the fear in all of them, especially the few who turned to look toward him. Those who saw him tried to move faster, afraid of what would happen if he reached them. Snake took one step forward, the radio still in hand.
"I am going to find you, and when I do, I'm drowning you in this metal," he promised. Wordlessly he put the radio away and jumped out to the first obstacle. Most of them were what you'd expect on a game show. Several large rickety bridges, a couple of fake platforms, rope swings, and a few random platforms barely above the metal. Landing on one of the platforms he continued jumping across, quickly making it to a rope bridge. Looking out he quickly counted the kids, finding at least three hundred.
He silently swore as he recounted. Three hundred kids and the only people here were him and Nagant. He would deal with that problem later, at the moment he needed to make sure they made it out alive. So, running out he kept moving forward, looking out to ensure some of the kids were making it. A few feet away Snake spotted one boy standing on a platform. The boy looked over at Snake and quickly panicked. Snake paled, realizing what was going to happen.
The kid jumped, aiming to land on a nearby platform, but tripped on the edge. Wasting no time Snake ran over, grimacing at the child's pained shrieks. Leaping over the platforms he reached down and yanked the boy out of the burning metal. Bits of liquid steel stuck to his skin, covering it in third-degree burns and tearing off bits of flesh. Snake tried his best to get it off the child, with his gloves protecting his hands, but there wasn't much he could do. The child's cries died down to small whimpers, the majority of the pain wearing off. Trying his best not to hurt the boy even more, Snake picked him up and carried him over his shoulders.
The other children kept running, with several others having close calls. Yet they kept running forward, towards… something? Snake couldn't tell. He looked out at the vast hall full of obstacles and molten steel and saw it go on endlessly. Confused he pulled out his binoculars and looked through them. The hallway went on for miles, literal miles. What was this even built for? This entire base was nothing but pure chaos incarnate, with no shred of rhyme or reason. But that's when it hit him, it was a trick.
He turned around and found the door he walked through still open. The exit was behind them all along.
"All of you! Stop! The exit is here!" Snake shouted, hoping the kids would stop to listen. They did luckily, the word exit quickly drawing their attention. They looked on terrified, but quickly saw the door was still open. Turning back around the kids tried to book it back to the entrance, as the Showmaster's voice echoed over the intercom.
"And we're back after that short break ladies and gentlemen! Let's see how- fucking damn it already!? Ahem, I mean, it appears our contestants are nearing the exit! But who will make it out alive?" the Showmaster commented, before quietly muttering, "Thats the last time I let Pyotr design a set. It's like all his puzzles are for children... oh wait."
Snake for his part, jumped back out to the exit, managing to arrive quite quickly. Landing on solid ground he turned around the hall and gently set down the boy. Then he looked out around the hall as he reflected on the Showmaster's rules. Only ten people were allowed out. He wasn't going to allow that, so he scoured the walls, looking for the wires hooked up to the door. There had to be a hollow spot in the wall, and he soon found it.
Cutting it open with his knife, he yanked out the wires inside, cutting off power to the doors. Satisfied he turned back and ran into the obstacle course. A couple of kids had reached the exit, but all the others remained. Searching the area, he found a small group clustered on a platform. Finding they were stuck; Snake went over to them. As the group saw him approach, they backed up slightly, only to stop when they found they reached the end.
Snake slowed down then, holding his hands up to try and calm them down.
"Can any of you jump across?" he asked loudly, receiving a few confused looks and a few shaking their heads no. Looking out, Snake found a smaller platform resting behind the group.
"I'm going to get all of you out of here, ok? I need some of you to jump to the platform behind you!" he told them, with a few of the kids looking back. Most seemed distrustful, but a few had a desperate pleading look in their eyes. A couple did as he said and jumped to the platform behind them. It gave Snake enough room to jump over to the group. He almost missed his footing and felt the sole of his boot heat up a little. But he made it.
"Alright, I'm going to carry you over one at a time, no pushing or shoving. Believe me, everything is going to be ok," he stated, before looking over at the smallest child, a small six-year-old boy. Carefully he picked him up and jumped back over to the platform. Then he set him down and turned back to the rest of the group. He'd do this over and over, bringing over the small group. Silently Snake realized he hadn't heard the Showmaster talking anymore. It was a blessing, but it left him worried.
Eventually, the last kid was taken to the other platform. By now the majority of the kids had reached the end, but not all of them. Snake could see dozens of bodies sinking into the molten metal, with him unable to do anything. Counting again he found the number of kids had dwindled to two hundred. A hundred were gone in such a short time. He couldn't focus on that now, only on getting the rest out alive. So, Snake looked out at the obstacle course and found the last kid jumping over to the exit.
"Come on! You've almost made it!" Snake shouted, trying to bring the kid's hopes up. At the same time, he went over to him. The kid, a young girl, had just jumped to the next platform. To Snake's horror, she missed and landed awkwardly. Her right leg fell into the metal submerged, while her left landed on the platform. A loud crack was heard as some bone was broken, with Snake unsure what it was. Rushing over he pulled the girl out of the metal, painful tears covering her eyes.
She shrieked out as Snake carefully looked over her. It was worse than the first boy, with the metal clinging to the entirety of the girl's leg. Snake tried his best to remove it like before but found the metal had burned through, almost reaching muscle. It was bad. With little time Snake removed what was left of the metal and picked the girl up. She whimpered in pain quietly, as Snake quickly jumped back over to the exit. It was only then that the Showmaster was heard.
"-about now? Is it working now? I swear, why is everyone here so incompetent!? I pay you to fix up this place, to guard it, to keep it tidy, and not one of you fuckers can do that!? If I find one more problem, I'm killing you. What? Oh!? We're back!? We're back! Yes, thank you for your patience ladies and gentlemen! We appeared to be having some technical issues, something about the wiring going out or something." the Showmaster boasted loudly as small camera drones began to fly in from somewhere.
"Now if we check in on our contestants, we'll find… You dirty little cheater." the Showmaster muttered as the camera drones focused in on Snake.
"Cut the broadcast," the Showmaster ordered to someone on his end, "Now I distinctly remember saying, that only ten people are allowed to win. Either I could be going senile, or someone didn't listen to the rules."
"Damn your rules. This isn't a game." Snake replied, not noticing the kids slowly crowd around him.
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO, NO, NO! This is my game you play by my rules! I don't think you realize who is in charge here Big Boss! I didn't spend all this money to bring you here, just so you could ruin my show!"
The loud scuffle of boots sounded off behind Snake, as he quickly turned around. The kids cried out in fear as hundreds of guards surrounded the area behind them. Rifles all pointed at Snake as the two sides stared each other down. The soulless eyes of the walking corpses, the sadistic looks of psychopaths, the bored glares of mercenaries. All against the furious stare of Snake.
"The Legendary Soldier is what they call you! A man of myths! A man I thought would be the perfect addition to my show! Yet you keep fucking up everything! So, I'm giving you a choice. You can't win this Big Boss! So, either you play along, or I end this here and now! What's it going to be?"
Looking out, Snake was sure he couldn't win. They had him out in the open and surrounding. If even a single shot was fired, any number of kids could get hurt. Could he make it out? Maybe. But at such a cost, it would be unacceptable. He was tempted to put down his weapons. Yet something stopped him. He noticed a small object slide along the ground toward him. It took Snake a second, but he realized what it was. Carefully, Snake held up his hands.
"You win," he said, calmly, the kids around him looking over afraid.
"Good, set your weapons on the floor. Slowly." the Showmaster ordered, and Snake complied. He grabbed his M4 and AK-74 by the barrels and held them out for the guards to see. Then slowly, he crouched to the ground. In a split second, a gunshot echoed around the room. The children cried out, dropping to the ground in fear as the single bullet ricocheted above them. It flew through the skulls of the guards, tearing them apart effortlessly.
"W-WHAT!?" the Showmaster yelled out, confused as his camera drones were shot out soon after. The chaos stopped as swiftly as it had started, with Snake picking up the Idroid from the floor.
"Everybody good?" Nagant asked, walking over to the group of kids.
"Got a couple wounded, but they're alive." Snake replied, quickly standing back up, "You find anything?"
Nagant simply motioned toward her Idroid.
"More than you can imagine. That hallway led to a treasure trove of info, and I barely scratched the surface of it."
"Good, I'll go over it later. Right now, our priority is getting them out of here." Snake stated, with Nagant looking over at the kids worriedly.
"You have a plan for that? Cause I don't think the SUV is big enough for that." Nagant stated. Snake could see she was counting the kids, and he understood why. Kowalczyk's tampering had left them unprepared for the mission, and now they had no way of getting all the kids out of there.
"We'll deal with that issue, once we make it outside. The blizzard should have hopefully cleared enough by now that Miller can get us extracted." Snake replied, calmly. Nagant only nodded.
"Kids," Nagant started, "We're going to get you out of here, but we need your help, ok? If you see someone is to hurt to move, we need you to help carry them, ok?"
The kids nodded along quietly, as they moved around each other. A few picked up some other kids. The wounds were gruesome. The majority of the kids hadn't gotten caught in the molten steel, but they had at some point accidentally touched it. Bits of the metal clung to parts of their skin, be it their arms or their legs. And then, a loud boom shook the facility around them. The kids looked around terrified as Snake and Nagant brought their weapons ready. At the same time, the Showmaster's voice came over the intercom.
"GET YOUR ASSES OVER THERE NOW DAMN IT! AND DON'T CALL BACK UNTIL YOU HAVE BIG BOSS'S CORPSE! AND THE WHERE THE FUCK IS THE REST OF THE SURFACE GUARDS!?" Showmaster yelled out furiously, with several kids covering their ears in response. A second loud boom shook the facility then, leaving both Snake and Nagant further confused.
"The hell is going on up there?" Nagant wondered aloud.
"Doesn't matter. The Showmaster is distracted, and his guards' attention is divided. We need to move, now." Snake ordered. Quickly, the two began moving the children forward.
The C-17 shook violently as Osprey clung to his parachute. Below them, dozens of outdated anti-aircraft guns fired into the cold night sky. Every few seconds a round would crash into the plane denting its outer fuselage. It made Osprey wonder how the gunners were so damn accurate. Around the plane, the paratroopers did a final check of their equipment. With everything ready to go, Osprey made his way to the back of the plane. There he found a couple of technicians carefully going over the equipment.
Looking up he found the jump light still red, yet he knew at any moment it was going to turn green. Right as he thought so, the C-17's ramp began to open up.
"Troopers!" he called out, "In formation!"
"Sir yes sir!" the paratroopers replied, quickly getting into place. Osprey did so as well, moving over to the side of the plane. Once the ramp had fully opened the LATVs were dropped out, and the vehicles' parachutes quickly opened once they were gone. The light remained red for only a few seconds longer before it switched over to green.
"Go! Go! Go!" Jump troopers! Let's move it!"
Swiftly, the paratroopers ran out, leaving the plane empty in mere seconds. With a calm breath, Osprey then joined them, jumping out of the plane swiftly. The sensation of freefall took hold of him for a few moments before he felt his parachute begin to slow his descent. His feet dangled in the air, as Osprey looked out at the ground below. The anti-aircraft guns kept firing, only they were focused on the parachutes now. This wasn't an issue for long luckily, as an F-35 flew in to provide ground support. It was hard for Osprey to see it from this distance, but the explosions he heard confirmed its presence.
Looking back down, Osprey found the ground rapidly approaching him. Bracing himself, he landed into a roll and got up quickly. With his rifle in hand, he booked it over to a small squad of soldiers that were beginning to form up.
"There's no time for lollygagging!" he yelled out, "Enemy base is a thousand feet that way, let's move it!"
With a silent nod, the soldiers began to move out. Sticking to the trees for cover they made it over to where the base was supposed to be. Instead, they found a vacant open area, with a sign resting in the middle. Osprey was confused for a second, before remembering the report he had been given. He was about to walk over to the sign when the shooting started. He ducked down quickly as a bullet flew by his head. He looked out at the surrounding forest as the enemy appeared from out of nowhere.
He fired back in response, while slowly crawling back into cover. Making it back, he turned over to the rest of the squad.
"Roach, Squid, Dolphin, provide covering fire! Tucan, where are those LATVs?" Osprey called out. The soldiers did as ordered, with the three quickly firing into the dark forest. It forced several guards to duck back. Seeing an opportunity, Dolphin readied an under barreled M320 grenade launcher. He fired it quickly and watched as it tore through a couple of exposed guards.
"They finished unpacking! ETA three minutes!" Tucan replied, the soldier ducking back behind cover. Looking out into the forest Osprey could see lights in the distance, most likely the LATVs. With a small breath, Osprey turned back and fired into the dark forest.