PMC's, War Economies, and Fillies? I didn't sign up for this!

by Bronycommander

Chapter 8 Nothing gained

Chapter 8: Nothing gained

Once the bulldozer had broken through, hell broke loose. PMCs were in battle with the rebels, too busy to notice Snake and Edward.

Inside, two PMCs prepared to move out. “There’s too many of ‘em!”

“Kill ‘em all!”

“Below! Let’s go!”

“Roger!”

Snake used and his rebel disguise and played dead as they came down. Edward acted as if he had “killed” the rebel, and gave a sign to the PMCs to move.

Snake and Edward moved to the Wine cellar where a ladder was.

“Whose side are you on here?” Edward asked before getting up the ladder.

“My own.”

After going up, they slowly moved into the Research lab as a female voice could be heard from the inside.

“Then we’ll have to make a lot of changes…Yes, that’s right. We’ll need another go at it. That won’t be a problem. Uh huh. Yes…I’ve taken care of it…Of course. Yes, I understand, but…”

While the woman talked on a phone, Edward switched to his Mk.17 as Snake slowly opened the door and they got inside.

“Yes, the next test.”

“Naomi?” Snake recognized her.

“And things on your end? I see. We’re on schedule here as well. I know. Me, too. Until then…” She hung up and got a seizure.

Naomi used a syringe to get it under control.

Edward got a closer look at her. She had brown hair and eyes.

“I knew you’d come…You and I…neither of us can escape your fate. I haven’t seen you since Shadow Moses. How long? Ten years?”

“Nine.”

“And Dr. Emmerich? Is he with you? How is the good doctor?”

“Otacon’s fine. He’s the same as ever.”

“I see…And your friend is with you.”

“Yes I am. Why did you call me on my Radio?” Edward asked her.

“I was talking with Liquid on the phone. Although I suppose he’s really Ocelot…From a medical standpoint. He interrogated Noi as he thought that she knows about Snake. I had no choice but to cooperate with him. What you saw in the Middle East, was the Soldiers’ emotions run amok. I’m surprised that you weren’t affected as much as they were.”

“I got disconnected earlier that’s why. Because of Noi.” He sounded sad yet angry.

“I know, she told me about you. Would you leave us alone for a moment?”

“Sure, I watch the outside.”

As he guarded the outside, his mind raced. Liquid and his FROGS, they will pay for what they did to her! If I have to, I will kill every one of them!

While outside, he heard how Naomi explained to Snake, that once the System was shut down, everything was unleashed into the hearts of the soldiers. It left a heavy burden on their hearts. It wasn’t surprising him as he had experienced this before. Yet it wondered him how he could survived this as the body should reject the Nanomachines. They also talked about someone called Frank also known as Grey Fox. He had never heard of someone with that name.

Naomi waved to show he could come in.

“Ordinarily, our hearts are hardened through experience. Even the most grizzled veterans live with an inescapable guilt they’ve had to overcome bit by bit through the years. And even them, it never truly goes away. For a mind lacking this essential experience, it was simply too much to bear.” Naomi explained as she was sitting on a bed.

Snake asked what is about him as he never was under the System’s control.

“That’s why I want to examine your body. And Edward too. We both need to know.”

“Alright, let’s get this over with.” Edward hoped he wouldn’t die because of his Nanomachines.

After the examination, Naomi was fascinated.

“Incredible! Instead of rejecting the Nanomachines, your body naturally adopted them. A second immune system so to speak. While they don’t control your emotions anymore, it still optimizes oral intake and excrements, adrenaline and endorphins to some extent. As your father was a Genome Soldier, you seemed to inherit his enhanced senses, making you more Resistant to infection and other things.”

Edward let out a whistle. “Never expected that.”

“Snake, The FOXDIE virus in you has mutated. This means it could kill anybody not just people with matching genetic pattern. Edward is immune to it thanks to the Nanomachines.”

Naomi gave them 2 syringes.

“It contains the same substance the soldiers’ nanomachines secrete inside their bodies. It’s a drug that inhibits the nanomachines’ ability to regulate the senses.

The nanomachines inside the body malfunction when the System interferes with them. It triggers a reaction in the body, which is why you’re having seizures. Give yourselves a shot whenever they get bad.”

“Okay.” Edward thought it would come in handy later.

“It’s potent, so use it sparingly…Unless you want to end up an invalid.”

“No problem, I’m no junkie.”

Naomi told them that Liquid planned to hijack the system before she got a seizure and a flashbang was thrown in.

Edward was still stunned as two soldiers evacuated Naomi. “This place isn’t safe. Come with us. This way.” They thought that Edward was still on their side.

As Edward regained his senses, Snake shouted, “FROGS!”

Suddenly there was laugher above them. It was Laughing Octopus.

“Snake…My prey. Isn’t it funny? Come on! Laugh, while you can! There’s no escape from here! Laugh yourself to death!” Two FROGS jumped down and she released a cloud of thick, inky black smoke and vanished.

Edward switched to his Mk.17 and cocked it.

Two FROGS came around the corner, Edward killed them with headshots.

Another 2 were put to sleep by Snake. Another one charged at Edward, he ducked and shot the trooper in the head with his Makarov.

Snake took another 2 out with a Stun grenade.

The last one jumped through a window but Edward sprayed bullets all over him.

“Okay, now where is…” Edward asked as Octopus laughed again and dropped behind them on the floor and curled herself into a ball.

“What a riot…People suffering…People hurting…People dying…It’s all so hysterical!” she got up.

“Laugh. Laugh with me!”

She drew a P90 but Edward quickly hit her with a round from his Mosin-Nagant.

In response, she curled herself into a ball and released smoke. Thermal vision was useless and small explosives made it dangerous to follow her.

Broken Pony rushed through and tried to punch Snake, he avoided it by doing a roll. Pony vanished with crying and laughter before he or the young man could react.

Edward saw a silhouette on the wall and fired on it. As Octopus cover was blown, she used her smoke wall again. Broken Pony advanced again, but stopped with a screech as it was Edward not Snake. “I don’t want to hurt you!”

“Me neither, Noi. Stop this while you still can!” He could swear he heard sobbing and a quiet “Daddy” from her as she backed up and vanished again. He couldn’t pull the trigger as she retreated.

“Snake, come here!” Otacon shouted through the Mk. II. He drove away but bumped into Edward’s back, he kicked it.

“What?!” Octopus realized that her trick had been seen through as Edward shot another round in her.

“Daddy…Help me…it hurts…”

Octopus mimicked Noi’s voice and face, but Edward said cold, “Nice try.” And fired another round on her.

This time, she lunged at him and knocked him to the ground.

On his back, he fired the last round on her.

She collapsed, her octopus helmet and face mask tumbled to the ground, and Octopus stumbled forward.

“I am an Octopus…” Her bodysuit flickered on and off.

“An eight legged beast. These tentacles…Are beyond my control. Their will…is the will of the battlefield.” She had blond hair. The woman then dropped to her knees and began to vomit what appeared to be ink while laughing hysterically.

“Funny…So funny…It’s all so funny…No…It’s not funny…Nothing is funny. I shouldn’t be laughing. I can’t…” She took a few steps forward Snake and Edward.

“The truth is…I’m not laughing. Not laughing at all.” She suddenly sobered.

“I shouldn’t be laughing. I’m scared. I’m really scared.” She sobbed as she held her head in pain.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. So sorry I laughed. I’m sorry…I won’t laugh anymore. I can’t. I don’t want to.”

Edward and Snake backed up as she came closer. Glass shattered only she passed it, screams, beating, gunshots echoed through the building. Snake collected a doll from a bed which appeared to be an action figure of Laughing Octopus. Would make a great gift for Sunny. Snake thought as he fired his tranquilizer gun at Octopus.

As Edward fired his Mosin-Nagant too, she fell to the floor, curling into a fetal position, snoring.

Snake checked her pulse, nodded, then procured her FaceCamo mask for his own purposes. Edward let out a sigh of relief.

“Glad that this this over. Let’s find Naomi.” His and Snake's radio ringed.

“Yo Snake and Edward! Looking good today.”

“Drebin.” Both men said in union.

“I wanted to tell you about FaceCamo. It used the same kind of technology as the suit. Combining both should get better results. You both managed to defeat Laughing Octopus. She just kept on laughing. Now why do you suppose that is?”

“Her past?” Edward suspected.

“You got it. She’s from a village in Scandinavia – little seaside hamlet known to all the locals as the Devil’s Village. Place wasn’t known for Devils, though. It was known for octopus. See, this was one of the few places in Europe where they ate octopus customarily.

Anyway, there’s this cult of crazies who for some reason hate this village, with a passion. Then, when she was just a teenager, things go bad.

These nutcases get their hands on some weapons and attack the village. Overnight, her sleepy little fishing town becomes a war zone.

They round up all the villagers and execute them one by one. Except for that girl.

They had something else planned for her, something a whole lot worse than dying.

Calling her the Devil’s Child, they forced her to do the kind of thing you’d expect from a Lucifer’s own.

After they made her torture her family and friends, they made her kill ‘em. The whole time they were forcing her to laugh, howl like some sort of demon. Like she was enjoying it.

“What was she gonna do, say no? They’d kill her, too. So she let fear take control, and did exactly as they told her. She butchered the bodies of the ones she loved, and laughed while she did it.

And as she bathed in their blood, it gradually turned from deep red to jet black. To her, it looked like the ink of an octopus.

The experience scarred her deep. Ever since them, she hasn’t stopped laughing. Only, that ain’t really laughter. Fighting you cleansed her mind. It was the right thing.”

Edward didn’t listen to Drebin anymore. This gave him hope that there was a way to safe Noi. But deep within, he was afraid what Liquid did to her.

After Laughing Octopus was defeated, Broken Pony retreated to a safe distance and reported. “We got a problem. Snake defeated Octopus.” She said into her helmet radio.

“Damn. Meet up with Naomi and Vamp. You will get him next time.”

“Yes, sir.” As Pony moved out, she thought deep in her mind and heart, Stay safe, Edward.

Comments

[General_Rommel]

Me, too. Until then…” She hung up and got a seizure.
Naomi used a syringe to get it under control.

[Bronycommander]

8288771
Yes, I did what I could to discribe the game cutscene in Detail.