Chapter 16: Hunting the Wolf
Edward and Snake walked through the snow, a wolf howled in the distance. Snake popped his back while Edward rubbed his hands. While the uniform kept him warm, it was an old habit when he was a kid.
In the distance, Crying Wolf opened her armor and raised her upper body up to use her railgun. Noi acted as her spotter.
“Standby…six, two, three degrees…Range: 200 meters. Fire when ready…” She checked the distance with her HUD linked to her WA2000
“Snake…Found you…” As Wolf took aim, Broken Pony noticed that she was wearing a sealed suit and a white helmet, which covered her left eye, with a scanning lens on her right eye that she used alongside the telescopic sight of her rail gun.
Snake collapsed and groaned in pain but got up as Edward was worried about him.
“Cry…Cry for us.” Wolf aimed at Snake, making sure that Edward wouldn’t be harmed. “Go on…Let us hear you cry!” She fired.
Snake and Edward dived away from the shot, Snake threw his back out.
He attempted to grab his M4 but a second shot strayed his shoulder and he had to roll away to avoid getting crushed by a falling tree.
He spotted Wolf in the distance, Noi on her back. “Come…Show us your tears. Let them flow! Cry…Until your eyes run red!” She closed her armor and ran away, Noi riding with a smile on her back.
The middle-aged man tried again to reach for his rifle but another shot kept him from doing so.
Edward had recovered and looked up. “FROGS.” He muttered as server of them moved in. Snake fired blind with his Operator, Edward did the same with his Makarov before they both managed to get their rifles.
“Sad…So sad…So very, very sad…So sad I could die!” Noi’s voice echoed.
Wolf howled as Edward fired at the Haven troops. Seeing a supply truck nearby to the east of his location and crawled under it. A good Sniper position. They can’t see me but I can see them. He thought as he equipped his Sniper Rifle. While the blizzard made it difficult to see anything, the Mosin-Nagant was equipped with a Thermal Scope by Drebin somehow between this and Eastern Europe.
While Snake lured Wolf out, the young man waited for the moment to strike.
Once Crying Wolf was in sight, Edward fired a shot as she was exposed. She retreated and he played the waiting game.
As the PMC soldier heard the wimping sounds of Crying Wolf, he contacted with his radio Rosemary, a Psychological counselor that got introduced to him after getting on the Nomad with Snake as they had escaped out of South America.
“The Beast is crying... In psychology, crying is thought of as a way to freely express and release feelings.”
“I know I experienced this myself. I guess something sad in her past?” Edward guessed.
“Bingo. That Beast cries and cries without stopping. There must be some intense sadness in her, the stress of which is tormenting her mentally and physically. Crying is the only way she can deal with it.”
I guess that is why Noi cries when she sees me. She must be sad as she misses her sister and probably me in some way.
Then, the Sniper saw a glint in the distance. It was Noi, searching for Snake with her rifle. “I can't do it!” He exclaimed upon having her in his sight.
“I can’t do it!” She exclaimed in union as she spotted him, the foal couldn’t bring herself to pull the trigger. The human was like a father for her. The child didn’t want to hurt him in fear she would lose him. Plus he was a victim of Snake.
Good that the truck protects me from the blizzard. Edward was glad about that. Suddenly, Crying Wolf stopped next to the truck, opening her armor to look for Snake. Now! Edward fired a round, her armor collapsed and Wolf climbed out.
She collapsed on the ground, wimping. Edward crawled out as Snake joined him.
The woman slowly got up, her helmet fell off. Wolf had black hair.
“I hear them…I hear the cries…The cries of babies. Stop it!” She shouted at nothing. Stop crying! Please! Please, stop crying!” She collapsed. Suddenly, the beauty crawled backwards. “No, wolf…Go away. Don’t come any closer. I’m sorry. I was so scared. Forgive me. I’m sorry.” She hugged her knees, sobbing. “You can cry if you want to. Cry if you need to.” She looked up at Snake and Edward. “No…I don’t need tears anymore. I’ve cried myself dry.” She got up. “So cry…As much as you like. I…Will be there to listen.”
The two men nodded at each other. Now they had to defeat the beauty form of Wolf.
Snake walked backwards and bumped into an action figure of Crying Wolf’s customized battle suit. He collected it.
While they fought Wolf with non-lethal means, the cries of babies, the growl of Wolves and the sound of Thunder echoed through the snow-capped landscape.
As with the other Beauty and Beast members, Crying Wolf collapsed into the fetal position, with a peaceful expression on her face after she got hit by several non-lethal rounds.
While Snake took the rail gun, Edward checked for hostiles before they got called by Drebin.
“Yo, you two. I finished laundering that rail gun you picked up right now. Knock yourself out. It’s on the house.”
“Thanks.” Snake thanked him.
“Time for another bedtime story. This one’s about Crying Wolf.
“You don’t need me to tell you there’s whole nations in Africa tearing themselves apart in the name of ethnic cleansing. Well, she was born into that environment.
When she was a little girl, her village was attacked by rival armed factions. Her parents and siblings were slaughtered, and she was left a refugee.
She took her last surviving relative, her baby brother, and ran as far as she could away from the war zone.
One day, they came across an enemy unit, so she took her brother and hid in an abandoned shack.
And then her brother started to cry…She knew that if the soldiers heard the noise, they would find them and kill them both. So she wrapped her hand as tight as she could around his mouth.
As the footsteps gradually went away, she came back to her senses. Her brother wasn’t crying anymore. Horrified, she pulled her hand away, covered in sweat and spit. He wasn’t breathing.
They say wolfs eat their own pups when they die. She was spotted wandering through the thick of battle carrying her dead brother in her arms. She had visions, too – a wolf walking alongside her.
Every night, the wolf would howl and cry, just like her brother did that day. Eventually, she made it to a government-run refugee camp. But by then, her brother’s body had rotted away.
The camp was crowded with refugees like herself, and little children like her brother. Day and night she was tormented by the cries of the babies.
The wolf that followed her heard her sorrowful screams and answered.
He made his way around the camp. And one by one…He silenced the children.
She tried to stop it, but she was powerless to stop the wolf. A few days passed, and on the eve of the enemy’s raid, there wasn’t a child left. The adults who survived were torn up pretty bad.
Of course, there never was any wolf in that camp. She was the one who killed those babies. But she couldn’t bring herself to admit it.
She couldn’t bear the thought of herself going from one baby to the next, howling like a wolf, snuffing out their little lives.
And she never did, even as Crying Wolf, a lonely beast forever stalking the battlefield.
Snake, Edward, fighting with you made Wolf finally accept what she’d done. She was cleansed by you. If the cries she heard of children on the battlefield have been silenced, it’s because of you. You ought to be proud.”
While Edward was proud, this reminded him when he was in the building with Noi in the Middle East, defending her from the militia. He hoped that her young heart could take it after she would realize what she’d done.
Rose called him. “Edward?”
“Yes?”
“I'm glad to see your safe. You're not hurt too seriously, are you?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“I was listening to the BB's stories, too. It's heartbreaking...”
“I know.”
“They've suffered such unimaginable trauma. Hearing the cries of phantom infants in your head, facing flashbacks of uncontrollable rage... These are textbook clinical cases for us counselors.”
“PTSD.” Edward figured it out.
“Absolutely. I can't believe anybody would coerce them into entering battle in their state...”
“Me too but Liquid managed to do it somehow.”
“Without the proper treatment, their symptoms will worsen, eventually leaving them unfit for combat entirely. And that can't be good for their commanding officer...”
“Yes, until someday, nothing good remains, that they are just…”
“Edward, I reason I called you is, I will do anything I can do to help cure Noi from her trauma. You have my word. A sweet child like her doesn’t deserve something like this. You have my support.”
“Thanks Rosemary, I appreciate it.” I really hope Noi can be cured from it. I will never forgive myself it she’s forced to be trapped in that trauma…
The howl of a wolf tore him out. He saw a wolfdog hoisted up Crying Wolf’s body onto its back before walking off into the blizzard.
I hope we could help you. He felt sorry for her.
Inside the Blast Furnace, Otacon called them both.
“Hold it Snake. Time to change the disc. I know, I know ... it's a pain. But you need to swap disc 1 for disc 2. You see the disc labeled ‘2’?”
“Uhh…no.”
“Huh? ...Oh wait! We're on PlayStation 3! It's a Blu-ray disc. Dual-layered too - no need to swap.”
“Plus we’re actually on PC as it is a Fanfiction story with this as crossover,” Edward added but Snake was not amused.
“Damn it, Otacon, get a grip!”
“Yeah, what an age we live in, huh, Snake? Wonder what they'll think of next!”
Edward suppressed a giggle as he was lightly amused by it.
Broken Pony retreated and reported. “Snake defeated Wolf.”
“You will get him eventually. Meet up with Vamp ad Naomi, we have what we need.”
“Understood. Snake, you will pay for forcing Edward to help you! B-but what if I k-kill him by accident?”
Inside, Edward peeled around the corner. “There are way too many Scarabs to ho through unnoticed.”
“I got this.” Snake equipped a Chaff grenade. He threw it through the door. The Scarabs were stunned by it, “dancing” in circles.
The two men vaulted over a catwalk and moved past them to an elevator.
Inside it, another flashback started.
Snake. I’ve got something to tell you about Naomi Hunter.”
“What about her?”
“She might be a spy!”
“To kill me? Is that all you cared about?”
“Frank Jaeger,” Naomi’s voice echoed, “the man who you destroyed, was my brother and my only family.”
“Gray Fox?”
“You killed my benefactor and sent my brother home a cripple. I vowed revenge.”
“But I can’t go yet. I still have a job to do.”
“I vowed revenge…”
Edward groaned. “I hope that was the last flashback. It must be exhausting for the author to write all these.”
“What you’re talking about?” Snake asked confused.
“Nothing.”
As the elevator door opened, a Gekko had his back turned. They waited until it moved away.
Then they moved to a conveyor belt, crawling through it to avoid the sentries.
At the end of it, another Gekko blocked the way. Edward just fired a few rounds with his Mosin-Nagant to make the Gekko collapse.
As the way was free, they moved to the underground base.
“Finally, it’s just up ahead. The hanger is just a little bit further. Stay on route,” Otacon informed them.
Snake threw another Chaff grenade as the stairs to the hanger where guarded by more Scarabs.
“REX is on the floor above you. Use the lift,” The former chief engineer of REX advised them as they reached the underground supply tunnel.
The little robot activated the lift.
Edward let out a whistle as he saw REX. It was untouched and it the same state after Snake destroyed the Nuclear-armed bipedal tank nine years ago.
“So this is REX. Never thought I would see it with my own eyes. That must been in deployment for years.” The young man was impressed.
“Well, its designs go back in the early 1960s when its original designer had the idea for it. Look! The rail gun’s been removed! Liquid doesn’t need the whole REX to launch his nuke…He only needs the rail gun.” Otacon pointed the missing weapon on Rex out.
“Damn it! Has it already been shipped?” Snake asked.
“Hang on, I’ll check.” The Mk.III used an interface on one leg of REX.
I’m afraid so. Unfortunately for you...The rail gun is no longer here.” Vamp was on another entrance up high, Naomi hugged him Romantic while Broken Pony stood by his side. She showed no emotion but looked down at Edward as Vamp continued
“This grave will be your grave…Ad my Queen and Princess wishes.” He patted Noi, she giggled. “The Suicide Gekko are on their way. Soon, there’ll be nothing left of this place. Edward, you’re free to go. Orders by Liquid.”
“Gee thanks.” He replied Sarcastic.
“Snake, Edward, I think I might be able to get REX working. I just need some time!” The Mk.III climbed up to the cockpit of REX.
“We’ll leave the rest to you.” Naomi leaved.
“But please don’t hurt daddy.” Noi pleaded.
“I won’t, promise.” Vamp jumped down. "Excellent…You’ll amuse me until they arrive.”
The PMC chocked his Mk.17. “Mortal or immortal, I’ll bring you down either way! You will pay for doing this to her! Show me what you got, Vamp!”