Metal Gear Solid Fanfiction

Final Act

The Great Escape; Hope For The Future Springs Anew

“Hurry!” Otacon said rushing up the small stairs that led into the parking lot.

   Snake was standing in the threshold of the parking garage, from the looks of things it didn’t appear that there were any guards lurking around.  Before anything else happened he figured that he’d better grab the rations that were near the small staircase, and he should also Codec Mei Ling, to see if the situation with the colonel had improved.

“Snake, they’ve placed the colonel under arrest.”  Mei Ling said shaking her head in disbelief. “I don’t know what I should do?  This will probably be the last time you store data.”

“I’m going to miss those proverbs of yours.” Snake said kindly.

“Snake...”

“Mei Ling I a favor to ask you.”

Mei Ling didn’t answer.

“Make a hard-drive of all the Codec conversation data up to this point.” Snake said sternly. “I want some insurance.”

“Okay Snake.” She said. “Leave it to me.”

    Snake stored the last of the data into the special data storage device.  And was about to hang up the Codec’s receiver, when Mei Ling gave Snake some last minuet bit of encouragement.

    Snake hung up the receiver and ran to catch up to where Otacon was.  He was standing outside the parking lot door threshold waiting for Snake.

“I’ll drive!” Otacon said running out into the parking lot.

   Suddenly there was an alarm.  A surveillance camera that had been place into the parking lot had spotted Otacon.  No sooner then the alarm went off, several Genome Soldiers appeared and began to fire at Snake.  Meanwhile, Otacon looked into one of the jeeps that were on standby to see if any of them had keys.

“Damn!” Otacon exclaimed as he looked into one of the jeeps. “No keys.”

Otacon ran to the other vehicle, amiss all the gunfire and bedlam, but thankfully this vehicle had keys and a full tank of gas.  He jumped into the jeep and turned on the engine.

“I got it!” Otacon said happily as the engine turned over. “Snake, jump in!”

   Snake jumped onto the back of the jeep, which had a submachine gun, fully equipped with bullets on the back.  Snake began to fire back at the soldiers.  The bullets whizzed past both Snake and Otacon, narrowly missing both of them.  Snake continued to fire at the soldiers.  The heat from the bullets had caused the two barrels of gasoline to explode, killing one of the soldiers that stood near there.

“Snake!” Otacon shouted as he put his foot hard onto the gas petal. “Hold on!”

Snake clutched the gun tightly as Otacon speed off into the distance. 

   Otacon was doing at least 75 mile an hour as he raced down the hallowed halls of the parking garage.  Thankfully no one had tried to follow them as they speed off into the distance.  But then it happened.  They came upon the first of two check points, and as expected, there were guards waiting for them.

“Uh-oh Snake.” Otacon said swerving to avoid running over any of the soldiers. “Damn, we can’t get though.”

   Snake began to fire at one of the two gasoline cans that sat on the left hand side.  When it exploded, one of the soldiers died instantly, but their path still wasn’t clear.  Snake fired at the other gas canister on the right hand side, the gas can exploded in a blast of heat and fire, and the guard was killed.

“Good job Snake!” Otacon said putting his foot on the gas petal. “Let’s go!”

Otacon crashed through the wooden barrier and continued to speed down the driveway.

They proceeded on for a few yards when they came upon the second checkpoint.

“Snake!” Otacon shouted as he swerved out of the way.

“Here they come!” A soldier's voice shouted in the distance.

   The guard fired their FA-MAS rifles at Otacon and Snake, and several of the shot hit Snake on the arms and shoulders.  But Snake was not going to let a couple of asshole stand in his way.  So Snake fired to submachine gun at all three of the soldiers until they all fell to the ground dead.

“You did it Snake!” Otacon said speeding off into the distance again.

    That was the last check point, from here on it should be a clear path.  Otacon continued to drive down the driveway, at last it would appear that all of the obstacles were past. 

    Suddenly, another jeep was speeding towards them.  Could it be more Genome Soldiers?  No, it was Liquid!?  But how?!  That fall should have killed him.

“Not yet Snake!” Liquid said speeding towards them in the jeep. “It’s not over yet!”

“Liquid?!”

Liquid placed his foot on the gas peddle and speed up in front of Snake and Otacon’s jeep.

“Holy shit!” Snake exclaimed as the two jeeps collided into one another.

   The sound of the two massive cars colliding into each other seemed to echo throughout the entire base.  Snake and Otacon’s jeep ended up flipped completely upside down, it appeared that both Snake and Otacon were unharmed during the crash.  A few yards away Liquid’s jeep sat on it’s side smoldering from the crash.  Liquid had to be dead, there is no way he could have survived a side impact collision like that.

“Otacon?” Snake called. “Are you okay?”

“I guess so.” He replied feebly, since he was still a little shaken up from the crash.

“Otacon, can you move?” Snake asked with concern for his friend.

Otacon tried to wiggle from underneath the jeep, but it was no good, his legs were trapped under the car door.

“It’s no use.” He answered still trying to wiggle free. “I can’t move.”

    Snake looked at the smoldering jeep that lay a few yards from where he and Otacon lay.  The jeep lay on it’s side, but where was Liquid.  Snake didn’t see him anywhere.

“What happened to Liquid?” Snake questioned out loud.

“I don’t know?” Otacon replied. “But I hope he’s dead.”

Snake looked at the jeep once more and said, “Liquid’s dead?”

Suddenly there was a sound coming from the other side of the jeep that Liquid was in.  Oh no, not again.  It was Liquid emerging from the wreck, still carrying his rifle, still seething with anger. 

“Uh-oh.” Snake said as he watched Liquid emerge from the smoldering jeep.

“Snake!!!” Liquid yelled as he slowly began to walk toward Snake and Otacon.

“Snake!!” Liquid called again as he prepared to shoot Snake at point blank range with his rifle. 

   Liquid was a complete mess.  The explosion, the fist fight, the fall from the top of Metal Gear Rex, then a car chase and crash, all those battles left him in no condition to stand up, let alone fire the FA-MAS that he was brandishing.  But Liquid would not be swayed.  Thirty long years he waited to kill his rival, the man that destroyed his dreams to rule the world, the man that ruined his life.  It was all going to end right here right now.  If he couldn’t kill Solid Snake in a hand to hand fight, with Metal Gear Rex, or with a Hind helicopter, he would take him out while he was unable to defend himself.  With adrenaline coursing through his veins, Liquid struggled to focus his eyes on his target, but his vision was blurry and his hands were shaking horribly, however it did not matter, he would finally be rid of Solid Snake forever.

“Fo....” Liquid muttered something just as he was about to pull the trigger.

Suddenly a terrible pain gripped Liquid, which had stopped him from squeezing off a round of hot lead into Solid Snake.  It was a heart-attack.  No, it was FoxDie.

“Fox…” Liquid screamed as he fell to the cold snowy ground.

“Die...” Snake said as he watched Liquid fall on his face.

   Liquid keeled over and fell face first into the cold snow.  It was finally over, Snake’s life was spared in the nick of time, but at what price?  For a moment Liquid lay on the cold white ground motionless and silent, but then he stirred for a moment.  Liquid stretched out his arm and tried to grab Snake, but he was beyond help.  All Snake could do was watch helplessly as FoxDie continued on its unrelenting course of destruction.  Both Liquid and Solid’s gaze met each other for a brief moment, and a cold chill went up Snake’s back.  Seeing Liquid die was like staring at a mirror image of himself dying.  It was too surreal.  Liquid clenched his outstretched hand and finally it fell lifelessly into the snow.  There was no returning from this, Liquid was really dead!

Snake laid there for a few moments motionless, speechless.  Then he blurted out, “If he’s dead that means...”

“Don’t think about it Snake.” Otacon said softly.

   Snake looked into the sky, his mind raced wildly.  While he looked into the clear morning sky he noticed that there were no planes in the sky. 

“What happened to the air raid?” He questioned. “No stealth bombers in sight.”

What was going on?  Suddenly his Codec began to beep, so he answered the incoming call.

“Snake!” Campbell said appearing on the monitor. “Can you hear me?”

“Colonel?” Snake said sounding surprised to see him.

“Are you okay?” Campbell asked.

“Colonel what happened?” Snake asked.

“The Secretary of Defense has been arrested.” Campbell said happily. “Early retirement.”

“Arrested?”

“I was able to get into contact with the president.” Campbell continued. “Metal Gear, the training exercise, all of it!  It was all the Secretary of Defense acting alone.”

“Acting alone?” Snake questioned. “What happened to the air raid and the nuclear strike?”

“The orders were resended.” Campbell said. “The F1-17’s and the B2 Spirits have returned to the base.  Once again, I have complete authority over this operation.”

“I see.” Snake said softly.

“Washington isn’t stupid enough to use nukes to cover up a few secrets!”

“I wonder about that.”

“In any case, the danger’s over.  Thanks Snake.”

“Colonel about Meryl...” Snake said softly reluctant to tell Campbell that Meryl was dead.

“I already know.” He replied softly.

“Colonel?”

“Meryl...  Was my....  Daughter.” Campbell said softly.

“What?” Snake said.

“I didn’t find out until recently.” The Colonel said. “I got a letter from her mother, my dead brothers’ wife.  I was going to tell her after this operation was over.”

“Colonel...  I...” He stuttered unable to think of words to comfort his friend.

“It’s okay Snake.” Campbell said softly. “Thanks anyway.  Snake, I’m sorry.  I kept a lot of things from you.”

“It’s okay Colonel.” Snake responded softly.

“Snake.” Campbell said cheering up a little. “I’m not a Colonel.”

“Oh that’s right.” Snake said chuckling to himself.

“Snake, I’ve got a present for you.” Campbell said. “There a snowmobile close to you.  Mei Ling saw it on the satellite photos.  This time of year the glaciers are pretty clam, you should be able to ride right outta there.  I bet the boys at the DIA and the NSA never expected you to come home alive.”

“Me neither.” Snake said. “I better not show my face around here.”

“No danger of that.” Campbell said. “You two officially died after your jeep sank into the ocean.”

“That’s not too far from the truth.”

“Also there’s a helicopter waiting for you on Fox Island.”

“Okay Roy.” Snake replied. “Are you going to be okay?”

“Don’t worry.” He answered. “I’ve got an insurance policy, a hard copy of all Mei Ling’s data.  As long as I’ve got that, you, me, and Mei Ling will be fine.”

“The battery on these Nanomachines will run out soon, they won’t be able to follow us.”

“I guess we won’t meet again.” Campbell said sadly.

“Don’t worry.” Snake said cheerfully. “I’ll pay you a visit sometime.”

“Really?” Roy Campbell said happily. “I’ll look forward to that.”

“Roy?” Snake asked sounding worried. “Just tell me one thing.”

“What?”

“About FoxDie?” Snake answered. “What about me it killed Liquid.”

“Naomi says she wants to talk to you face to face about that.” Campbell answered.

“How is she?” Snake asked.

“Don’t worry, Mei Ling is with her right now.  I’m switching over to Naomi.”

Naomi appeared on the monitor.

“Snake it’s me.” She said softly.

“Naomi?”

“I heard about my brother.”

“I’m sorry.” He said sorrowfully. “But he had one last message he wanted to say to you.”

Naomi didn’t answer.

“He told me to tell you to forget about him and go on with your own life.”

“Frankie said that?” She asked.

“Yeah.” Snake said. “He also said he’ll always love you.  Naomi, your brother just saved you, me, and the whole world.  He fought with every ounce of strength in his body.”

“Maybe...” She broke off. “Maybe now he’s finally found some peace.  He wasn’t really my brother anymore.  Ever since he fought with you in Zanzibar he’s been like a ghost....  A ghost looking for a place to die...”

    The grief was too much for her.  She loved he brother dearly but she knew he was in a better place now.  The tears gushed out of her eyes.

“Naomi?” Snake questioned. “Liquid died from FoxDie too.  What about me?  When am I gonna go?”

“That’s up to you.” She answered cryptically.

“What do you mean?” Snake asked.

“Everybody dies when their time’s up.”

“Yeah, so when’s mine up?” He asked.

“It’s up to you how you use the time left to you.” She said softly. “Live Snake.  That’s all I can say to you.”

   Finally Snake pulled himself from underneath the jeep, then he lifted up the jeep so Otacon could pull himself from the wrecked vehicle.  Both the men dusted the cold snow from off of their clothes, and began to slowly amble down the long road.  The sun was just coming up over the horizon, a new day was beginning, and for Snake and Otacon it wasn’t just the beginning of a new day, but the beginning of a new life.  Deep in the recesses of Snake’s mind he could hear the words of wisdom that Naomi said to him before he pulled himself from underneath the jeep.

“Each person is born their fate written into their own genetic code, it’s unchangeable, immutable.” Naomi voice echoed through his mind. “But that’s not all there is to life.  I finally realized that.  I told you before, the reason I was interested in genes and DNA, because I wanted to know who I was, where I came from.  I thought that if I analyzed my DNA I could find out who I was, who my parents were, and I thought if I knew that then I’d know what path I should take in life.  But I was wrong.  I didn’t find anything.  I didn’t learn anything.  Just like with the Genome Soldiers, you can input all the genetic information, but that doesn’t make them into the strongest solider.  The most you can say about DNA is that it governs a persons potential strength, potential destiny.

    You mustn’t allow yourself to be chained to fate, to be ruled by your genes.  Humans can choose the type of life they want to live.  Snake, whether or not you’re in the FoxDie program isn’t important.  The important thing is that you choose life and then live!  Don’t you think Snake?  Don’t worry, I’m going to choose life too.  Till today, I’ve always looked for a reason to live, from here on, I’m going to just live.”

   Snake and Otacon came to the end of the roadway, and found a small path that lead down a foothill.  The pair walked down the foothill not speaking a word to each other.  Once they came down the hill they walked a few yards to a cave and inside the cave was the snowmobile that Campbell had told Snake about.  Snake walked inside the cave and began to push the snowmobile out into the open air.  Otacon ran over to where Snake was and he gave him a hand with pushing the heavy equipment out.  Snake could still hear Naomi’s words of wisdom going through his head.

“Genes exist to pass down our hopes and dreams for the future through our children.” Her words continued to echo through Snake’s mind. “Living is a link to the future.  That’s how all life works.  Loving each other, teaching each other, that’s how we can change the world.  I finally realized it...  The true meaning of life...  Thank you Snake!”

   Snake straddled the snowmobile and he looked at Otacon and smiled.  He knew that Naomi was right.  It didn’t matter whether or not he was in FoxDie’s program, there was always time to change everything.  He couldn’t end up like Liquid and the others.  As long as there was breath in his body he was determined to change for the better.

Otacon straddled the snowmobile.

“Until today.” Snake said to Otacon. “I’ve lived only for myself, survival been the only thing I’ve cared about in my life.”

“That’s not just you.” Otacon replied. “That’s how everyone is.”

“I only felt truly alive when I was staring death in the face.” Snake continued. “I don’t know.  Maybe it’s written into my genes.”

“So what about now?” Otacon asked.

“I wanna enjoy life.” Snake replied happily. “I really do.  How about you Otacon?”

“Me?” He questioned, scratching the back of his head. “I feel like a new man!”

“So what are you gonna do?” Snake asked. “Continue your research?”

“No, I’m finished with science.” He replied happily. “I’m interested in human psychology now.”

“Sounds good!” Snake said softly.

“The whole reason I got interested in science in the first place was because I was no good with people.” He continued. “I was scared of them.  I was scared of life.  I thought I could never understand them because their so illogical.  But I finally learned how to like people.  I’m not afraid anymore.”

“Hmm, you and I are more alike that I thought.” Snake thought out loud.

“I’m just tired of always being a spectator in life.” Otacon said sternly. “I’m ready to live.  I’m gonna stand on my own two feet!  I’m not gonna to hide anymore!”

“You givin’ up your stealth camo?” Snake asked abruptly.

“Huh?  Oh yeah.” He said removing the small device from his lab coat. “You can have it.”

The two men chuckled as Snake took the stealth camouflage device and placed it onto his sneaking suit.

“So.” Otacon said softly. “This is where we say good-bye to our loves as well.”

    Snake didn’t say anything to that remark.  Losing Meryl still hurt, but he knew she would want him to continue on with out her.

“Want me to drive?” Otacon asked sensing Snake’s sudden mood change.

“No thanks.” Snake replied. “I’d rather do it myself.”

“No problem.” He said backing down. “Where to Snake?”

“Uh, my real name’s David, Otacon.” He replied.

“Mine’s Hal, Dave.” Hal replied.

“Oh that’s right, Hal.” David replied softly. “Hal and Dave, that a good one.”

The two men laughed out loud.

“Maybe we should take a trip to Jupiter.” David said catching his breath.

“So where ya going Dave?” Hal asked.

“Hmm.” Snake thought for a moment then he answered. “I think it’s time for me to look for a new path in life.”

“A new path?” Hal questioned.

“A new purpose.” David answered.

“Will you find it?” He asked David.

“I’ll find it....” David broke off and said to himself with complete confidence. “I know I’ll find it!”

   David revved up the snowmobile engine and speed off into the distance.  The sun shown brightly in the sky; what a perfect way to start over, with the promise of a new day.  It would be a long and arduous road to change, but as long as he had the will and confidence the road wouldn’t be so tough.