Chapter 7: A Snake in the grass
Snake came closer to the Cove Valley Village, a rural settlement on hilly terrain within the jungle. It acted as a hideout for various resistance members after the government's regime change.
He scanned the area with his Solid Eye as he got a call from Otacon.
“Snake, here’s what we know about the current battle. Rebel guerilla troops are advancing on the base of the government PMC troops.
That base appears to be Liquid’s safe house. According to Naomi’s data, she’s being held prisoner inside the compound.” He showed Snake a map on his Solid Eye.
“That’s where she is?”
“Assuming the data is correct. And one more thing…”
“What now?”
“The government PMC troops have been operating at high-altitudes. We have reports that it’s starting to upset the balance of the nanomachine control system.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning the low blood oxygen content seems to have an effect on their nanomachines, giving them a slight edge in battle. Be careful.”
“Steer clear of altitude sickness. Got it.”
The PMC was rounding up rebels to execute them.
Four rebels were brought in, as suddenly, one got thrown away by a tentacle. The PMC soldiers backed up in fear.
It was Laughing Octopus deactivating her camo. Snake saw a man coming out of a destroyed Building. “Vamp!” Snake exclaimed.
“Snake…isn’t here.” Octopus realized. One rebel fled in fear but tripped over something.
“Ow! Can’t you see I’m sleeping here?” Broken pony asked as she deactivated her camo. “Anyway, let’s play!” She bucked the rebel into the air, Octopus impaled him and threw another to the ground.
Another tried to flee but got impaled by broken pony’s tail. “Play with us!”
Octopus grabbed the last rebel. “Laugh…Laugh! Go ahead and laugh!”
“Yes, play with me!” Pony jumped excitedly up and down.
“Beasts! Vamp shouted but to no avail. He threw one of his knifes into one of the tentacles, getting Octopus and Pony’s attention. “Leave one.”
Octopus got the rebel to her face as she used Snake's face with her FaceCamo.
“Don’t forget this face.” She let him go.
“This is the face of the man who killed your comrades.” Pony added and the rebel fled in panic.
Octopus threw the knife back to Vamp. Before he went into a Stryker he warned the PMC soldiers. “More guerillas will be coming to storm the safe house. He must be among their numbers. Sooner or later he will come. Don’t let down your guard.”
Broken Pony yawned. “Did he have to wake me up? I had such a nice sleep.”
Octopus picked her gently with one of her tentacles up and rocked her until she was asleep, then Octopus held herself on the Stryker before the APC drove away, Broken Pony asleep held safely in her tentacle.
“This…can’t be…” Snake couldn’t believe his eyes as he contacted Otacon.
“Otacon, what the hell?”
“That was…Vamp! I’m sure of it. I’ll never forget this face.”
“Those were PMC soldiers with him. Is he involved in Liquid’s plan?”
“We watched him die in Manehattan! Damn it, he won’t leave us alone. Snake, could Vamp be immortal?”
“Not a chance. This is the real world, not some fantasy game.”
“I swear, the next time he shows up…”
“Not now, Otacon!”
Otacon caught himself and told him where the facility was. They had a short talk about Mei Ling, an old friend, and how aiding the rebels could help Snake to safe Naomi. Snake decided to ask his friend something.
“That two freaks I just saw, were they using the same OctoCamo system as my suit?”
“Yeah.”
“I thought that technology was of your own design.”
“Actually, I kind based it on some designs Sunny snagged off the net. It came from DARPA. And could it be…that this was…Noi? You know how Sunny prayed that she is safe and is eager to meet her.”
“I’m afraid so.”
“In that case, please, for Sunny’s and Noi’s sake, don’t kill her.”
“I will do my best.” He turned his radio off. “Liquid, whatever you did to her, you will pay!”
He freed the rebels in the village by taking the PMCs with his tranquilizer gun. The rebel soldiers returned the favor by unlocking a resource shed which contained ammo, food and a uniform of them.
As they saw Snake as friend, he didn’t need it but took it in case he should need it.
Then he moved towards the power station. The sun slowly rose. He had a conversation with the colonel about meeting someone new on the team.
Edward was guarding the power station. He still couldn’t process that Noi had become a member of the Beauty and the Beast Unit.
That is all my fault! Had Noi and I got earlier to the Camp, I had got her to safety and Liquid had never hurt her! Or whatever happened to her…This never should’ve happened!
“The rebels are here!” a soldier shouted, tearing out of his thoughts.
As Edward wasn’t connected to the system, he secured the left flank near the hill.
Suddenly, someone “Freeze!” from behind. Edward turned around.
“Snake?” he asked surprised.
“Edward, long time not see. What are you doing here?” He was also surprised.
“Long story short, after the shutdown medics arrived, patched me up and I served here but I’m still disconnected. You?”
“Safe a friend in need. You in?”
“Sure!” While Edward didn’t know how it was, he was ready to do whatever it takes to get Noi back.
Snake putted two PMCs to sleep, then moved down the hill and took a PMC out that tried to man a MG. Two rebels advanced.
“Move!”
“Go! Go! Go!”
“Nice work!” one rebel commented after Snake had taken the PMC out.
“That’s how you do it.” The other added. They both didn’t notice Edward at all.
Two soldiers guarded the entrance to the power station's circuit grid. “You hit?” one asked after Snake putted the other to sleep. A rebel killed the other.
“Time to blow this thing up!” Edward pulled the pin of a grenade and threw it in.
The station went offline, the rebels managed to take all other PMCs out. “We did it!” they cheered, even Edward cheered.
It sounds and feels like victory!
“Hey! One of them is still alive!” a rebel shouted but Snake stepped forward.
“He belongs to me, my buddy in disguise.”
“If you say so.”
Snake and Edward moved towards a rusted up Stryker as Edward asked, “Snake, have you seen…what happened to Noi?”
Snake let out a sigh, “Yes and I regret it to say it to you, but she’s an enemy now. But I will try not to kill her, you have my word.”
“It’s all my fault…” Edward muttered.
“It’s Liquid’s fault, not yours. If we take him out we should find a way to make your little friend to the child she once was. And my friend I have to safe should also know a way. Here, I got this from Drebin.” He handled Edward a Mosin-Nagant.
“It fires tranquilizer rounds. Ideal for taking your little friend out the non-lethal way.”
“That’s more I like it! I always wanted to use this!”
Snake leaned against the APC to take a smoke as someone took it out of his hand.
It was Drebin monkey. The APC changed his appearance to Eye have you. “Yo! Over here.” It was Drebin.
“Come on, hop in. It’s getting rough out there.” He said to them. “I don’t think so.” He said to his monkey who wanted to smoke in the APC.
Inside, Drebin told them that he could track them with the nanomachines he injected them back in the Middle East.
Suddenly the Monkey jumped excited up and down and the sound of a jet engine was heard. They looked out and Raging Raven was flying by.
“Figures…The B&Bs are here. Things are about to get hairy.”
“B&Bs?” Snake asked confused.
“You never heard of ‘em? They’re Beauty and the Beast. Together they’re called the B&B Corps. They’re a squad of enhanced female soldiers, belong to the PMCs. Any time there’s a mess that needs cleaning up, they’re on the scene leading the elites. Probably freelancers hired by the PMCs. They’re run out of a separate parent organization. Guess it’s time for good ol’ Drebin to let you in on a few things…”
They sat down. “Ever since you showed up in the Middle East, the B&B Corps got order to kill. Their number one priority is to eliminate some guy on sight.
A guy named…Solid Snake. But from where I’m sitting. ‘Old Snake’ seems a little more appropriate.”
Snake sighed. “Old, huh?”
“Cheer up. That’s the bad news.” Drebin played with a coin in his hand.
“Word on the street says that beneath those ugly-ass suits, the B&Bs are real babes…Drop-dead gorgeous. They also say each one of them’s been traumatized by war. Badly. They weren’t even soldiers to begin with, you know. More like victims of war.” He gave the coin to his monkey.
“They suffered shell-shock on the battlefield…Post-traumatic. It damaged their minds pretty much behind repair…So the only way they could cope with the reality of battle was to become war machines themselves. The remnants of their human side are buried deep within. The beast…That’s what you see on the outside. War transforms us…into beasts.
But deep within that shell, something human survives. A fragile scarred heart. Without a shell to protect it, it’s like the yolk of an egg. Word going around is…Their natural, flesh-and blood bodies can’t survive in the open for more than a few minutes.
And they’ve been convinced that by killing Snake, their minds will be cleansed. They think it’s gonna free them all from the pain…And all the fury…And all the sorrow…Which makes these babes pretty much obsessed…With killing you.” Drebin pointed to a screen.
“Four B&Bs have been identified so far. The one you just saw was Raging Raven. There’s also Laughing Octopus, a master of mimicry…And Crying Wolf…She runs on four legs. And finally, the mistress of mind control…Screaming Mantis.”
Edward didn’t listen anymore at this point. His mind was racing if there was at all a way to safe Noi, now that she was a member of the B&Bs. I-I will never forgive myself I she is killed… or worse… If I HAVE to KILL her…
He was brought out of his thought by Drebin. “Rumors says they got a fifth member. One which somehow combines all emotes and abilities of the other B&Bs. I don’t know yet how she is called or how she’s look like. By the way Edward, where’s your friend?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“That’s fine for me. I let you know if I find out about her whereabouts and such.” Drebin sounded promising and convincing. He drove with his Stryker away.
“We have to get through the Confinement facility to reach the Vista Mansion.” Edward explained.
“Okay, let’s roll.”
They took the Southeast route to it.
Snake got a call and gave Edward a sign to scout ahead.
A few soldiers were patrolling the facility, greeting Edward. It had Salt mines.
A Sniper was in a watch tower, or better said a Sniper nest. Edward took him out.
Heh, this works better than I expected! Snake caught up. “I cover you.”
Edward putted every PMC soldier to sleep he saw as Snake moved to the building where two rebels where hold prisoner.
“Who’s gonna safe us now? Damn!” one of the rebels complained as Snake took the guard out.
Together with the rebels, they moved towards the mansion where a bulldozer tried to bust his way in.
“Get in there. Attack!” the dozer destroyed a barricade. “Advance!”
Then he destroyed a gate and drove over a PMC soldier. "Everybody charge! Now!”
As the rebel ordered, Snake and Edward also moved up.
There was no turning back now. Edward knew, if he wanted to have Noi back, he had to help Snake find his friend. And the young man was even ready to kill to save Noi.