Chapters:
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It’s a funny thing when you look back at the entire Metal Gear series, and see where it is now. I often think how the plot twists and story additions from recent games in the franchise couldn’t have possibly been in the mind of Kojima from the beginning. It’s the same problem I find dampens my viewing of the final season of Lost, as epic as it is. Similarly, It’s asked of me on a number of occasions if I know where this story is going before we reach the end. My answer? Yes. So if something seems out of the blue, it’s totally deliberate.
Coincidentally on my mentioning of Lost, I was inspired by John Locke’s crying and screaming when he couldn’t open the hatch at the end of Season One as inspiration for a part of this chapter. See if you can find where I had the Lost music playing in the background. In fact, if you have ‘Locked Out Again’ from the Lost soundtrack, play that at the cue I’ve written in.
Disclaimer: This story contains violent scenes that some younger readers may find disturbing. Many chapters contain detailed scenes of gore and peril. If you haven’t played the Metal Gear series, there will be spoilers in this story. If you haven’t read the previous chapters, just select the chapter number you want to read below.
Another Perspective
Eyelids slowly flickered open. A blank stare at the ground, the surroundings becoming focussed. The upside-down world moved around him. “Urgh”.
Hal woke up, lifted over the shoulder of Snake in a fireman’s lift.
“Are you back with us?”
“Us?”
Snake removed the scientist from his shoulder. REX’s creator readjusted himself and straightened the glasses on his face, squinting, allowing Snake to come into view.
“Me.”
Otacon looked disheartened. He looked at the ground.
“I’m sorry, Snake” he sighed.
“What is it?”
“I let you down. I… I couldn’t stop the guard. I’m such an… idiot.”
“Hey.”
Snake moved towards his future friend.
“Don’t be sorry. You’ve been through a lot lately. I’m sorry for leaving you in that sniper fight. Don’t beat yourself up about it. Besides, if you hadn’t been there to make a big entrance at the cell, I’d have had little warning.”
Snake smirked at his own joke. Hal looked up and attempted a smile.
“The sniper…” Hal continued his worries.
“Wolf.”
“Wolf. Did…”
Hal paused, and looked back down at his feet, then to David’s eyes.
“Did you have to hurt her? Did you have to… murder her?”
“Otacon, get a grip. I didn’t kill Sniper Wolf.”
“Meryl… Meryl killed her…”
Snake thought about what he had just said. Meryl… rookie Meryl had just managed to defeat one of the most experienced Snipers he knew without any help. My God. This woman would become the leader of Rat Patrol Team 01. Maybe finally he would understand where her ambition to lead would come from. He had never seen it before, but clearly these actions were there, just waiting to happen. Had the events prior to their second meeting been different somewhat, would his entire view of her be different? Was this chaos theory?
“Wolf would have shot you without a second thought. That woman is a cold-blooded murderer. I. I don’t have… any sympathy for her.” Snake told the lie strongly. He remembered Otacon’s previous love for the woman. Wolf had had a human side. She loved dogs. She died with dignity, her corpse damp with the tears of scientist Hal Emmerich. Hal. His sister would die also in his arms. Naomi…
Snake’s life came crushing down in his mind. The deaths, the consequences, the double-crossing, triple-crossing… why was he here? What could he possibly do to change all of these events for the better? Was that the real reason he was here? Was this it? Was this all there was to do? Overlook every single event that led to his death? Surely not. There had to be something more.
Snake shivered. While he was so determined for the repetition to end, the pain and suffering of those around him, he couldn’t help but fear the implications of the term ‘more’.
But right now, his friend was only slipping back into consciousness. Snake let Hal reach his arm over his shoulder for support. They moved on, Otacon oblivious of their next destination.
…
“Where’s the hind?” Liquid’s voice panicked through the radio. Thirty people could hear him, each with his question emanating from their belts.
“I can get him, I swear. I’ll intimidate him to hell.”
A woman’s scream, distorted through the crackling static from Liquid’s end.
“No matter.”
…
Solid wasn’t sure whether to tell Otacon about the future or not. Weighing up the benefits of letting Hal know was difficult. Nevertheless, Snake had very literally changed history already, yet events had still remained in a similar order. Meryl had still been taken from Sniper Wolf’s hallway, Snake had been in a cell, escaped… What was to say that telling Otacon about the troubles ahead would have any effect at all? The worries remained inside his head. Just a little longer. Just to be sure.
No guards. No Hind. The CCTV surveillance camera watched Snake and Otacon move up steps. The door wasn’t frozen. No guards. Something was wrong here. David helped Hal through the icy walkway, slipping every few steps. Hal’s lab coat blew in the wind, and he zipped it up. No stinger missile launcher. What was going on here?
A humming began. The Hind was here, late. Snake couldn’t go to the roof. There was nothing to fight it with. The psychotic brother hovered above the dark tower, waiting for his prey.
“Otacon, get the elevator working.”
“Is it broken?”
“Just do it.”
“Don’t fight him, Snake. You can’t beat a Hind D alone.”
“I won’t. I’m staying right here.”
Snake collapsed to the ground in front of the dizzy scientist. Hal knelt next to Snake, having no idea what to do. Snake’s bandana had taken all the sweat from his his head, and now began to drip onto the metal floor his face rested against.
“Snake, what’s your status?” Campbell hammered at Snake’s deteriorating eardrum. Otacon placed his hand on Snake’s back to support him as he spoke into the dusty surroundings, his words digitally translated to code and sent at burst to a nearby submarine, translated back to analogue information for his comrades to hear.
“I’m on my way to REX. Where do you want me to be? I’m in one of the two communications towers. Don’t expect me to know which one.”
“So why so shy?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Get your sorry face up to the roof, brother. I have something to show you.”
“Miller, I didn’t realise you were listening to this conversation.” Campbell replied.
Otacon noticed Snake’s pupils dilate. Something was happening over his codec that was vital to his mission. Hopefully new intel that would get them out quicker. Perhaps the location of Meryl Silverburgh. Snake squinted. Something was wrong. Something was always wrong.
“Campell, that is Liquid Snake. You figured out that Miller was dead hours ago.”
Liquid clicked off.
[Play “Locked Out Again” if you read the intro above.]
Snake kept his finger on his ear as Campbell, Mei Ling, Nastasha and Naomi argued at the reliability of their security.
“Snake, that is not Decoy Octopus. I repeat, that is not Decoy Octopus. My previous assumption must have been wrong.”
“Campbell, did you jeopardise this mission, knowing Miller was a fake?” Naomi questioned the higher authority.
“Look, I don’t give a damn about what you think. Colonel, did you have any idea about FoxDie?”
“Excuse me?” Campell sounded astonished.
“How did you know about that?”
“I think we should all just relax” Mei Ling tried to settle the unrest.
“I think you should all just shut the hell up”. Snake spoke.
“Snake, how do you intend to take on a Hind D by yourself with no useful weapons?” Nastasha butted in. “I mean, I would be partially behind you if you had some sort of arial support, but Campbell, we can’t risk everything at this stage. This is suicide.”
“No, I’m not going up there. Colonel, is this line secure against Liquid?”
“Yes.”
“Then get us out of here. The mission is over. Both the DARPA Chief and President Baker are dead. The terrorists do not have the ability to launch a nuclear attack. I repeat, the terrorists do not have the ability to launch a nuclear attack.”
There was a long silence. What would happen? Up until this point, every event had self-corrected itself. Everything was still the same as the last time he had lived these events. But how could the Colonel ignore this? These were his mission objectives, which were now complete. The only thing Cambpell could do would be to extract Snake out.
The silence continued. A desk chair creaked in the background. Otacon stood in the distance, staring at Snake nervously. He had no idea what was going on. Silence.
“Snake.”
“I want you to continue to Metal Gear REX.”
David stumbled backwards in shock. No. No, this can’t happen. He fumbled at his ear, hoping to remove an earpiece, but it was no use.
“Snake what is it?” Otacon stepped in.
“No!” he shouted into the codec. It switched off. A further lingering pause.
“What the hell?” David whispered into the heavy metallic air. The stress grew inside of him. This was becoming too hard to take. He had already killed himself. The gunshot, the bullet passing through the back of his neck. He still remembered it. He breathed in deeply.
“What am I supposed to do?!” Snake screamed hard into the mouthpiece of his codec. His back clicked in three places, and his cheek cramped again under the burn marks of his first encounter with Ocelot and Frank. His words rang out vertically up the inner communications tower, losing their own echo to the distant sounds of churning helicopter blades.
“Snake. What’s wrong? You can tell me.” Hal continued.
