Infiltration into the Beta Building

The four snuck their way towards the gates of the Beta Building, the gates were heavily guarded by mercenaries patrolling around the outside courtyard of the building. Gray Fox and Solid Snake were observing the gates through binoculars,

"So what's the plan?" Eagle asked

"With all those soldiers patrolling the gates, it's going to be hard to sneak in without getting shot at, especially with how we look." Fox stated, it was there where Snake got an idea.

"What if we steal some of their uniforms?" suggested Snake,

"Smart, but how will we lure 4 soldiers out of the gates to come here?" followed up Gray Fox. A minute passed and Snake was hiding behind a rock, he then picked up and threw a pebble at one of the mercenaries guarding the gate. The mercenary rubbed his head after feeling the pebble bounce off the side of his skull, which made the other one look at him weird.

"<What's wrong with you?>" he asked the annoyed mercenary,

"<Someone hit me with a fucking pebble!>" hostilely replied the mercenary, his comrade couldn't help but laugh at him,

"<C'mon that's ridiculous, who would come all the way here just to hit you with a-" he was cut off as he was then struck by a pebble,

"<Ow! What the fuck?!>" he yelled out,

"<Yeah not so funny when it's done to you->" he was also then interrupted by getting hit by a pebble.

"<WHAT THE FUCK?!>" he yelled which caught the attention of two mercenaries nearby,

"<What the fuck is wrong with you both?>" he asked,

"<Someone keeps throwing fucking pebbles at us!>"

"<You're joking right->" the two mercenaries were then struck by pebbles, they noticed it was coming from the rock where Snake was hiding,

"<…let's go beat the bastard doing this…>" ordered the mercenary and the four walked towards the rock. Snake then quickly knocked all four of them out. With the help of Fox, Ellen and Eagle, Snake dragged the unconscious mercenaries away and removed their clothes.

"Alright everyone, get undressed." Fox told them. Snake and Ellen went behind a tree while Gray Fox and Steel Eagle were behind the rock. Snake began unbuttoning the jacket to his uniform, then removed the black long sleeve. As Ellen was changing, she couldn't help but glance at Snake's figure. She noticed the faded scars on his body and his recently bandaged arm. Snake glanced over his shoulder briefly which made Ellen quickly look away with a blush. Snake was no different as he glanced at Ellen, observing and admiring her dancer built body, she had some toned muscle but still appeared light yet elegant almost like an angel. Ellen also noticed that Snake was watching her and just giggled, which made Snake quickly turn his head back straight. They both couldn't help but find the moment a little funny, letting out a small giggle. Once they finished putting on the uniforms, Snake and Ellen went back to Fox and Eagle,

"Alright, everyone follow my lead. No one gets trigger happy and no one does anything to get us caught." stated Fox, they all nodded and lowered the masks, Fox lead the group pass the gate, he then approached a nearby mercenary,

"<Hey, changing posts.>" Gray Fox simply stated. The mercenary turned and tilted his head, eyeing his rank,

"<Y-Yes sir!>" nervously replied the mercenary as he ran off. Snake and Ellen looked at Gray Fox and grinned under their masks.

"<Let's go.>" Fox told them as they walked towards the entrance. Once inside the building, the group noticed the large moat of water leading to a door which made the young rookie Snake raise an eyebrow,

" What the hell is the architecture of this place? " thought Snake,

"We're gonna split up, me and Eagle will try to find the others, you and Ellen find the Doc. Our intel on the second building says that the priority cells are held on the roof." said Fox. Snake nodded and Ellen and him began walking towards the elevator.

"I have a question." said Ellen, Snake faced her direction,

"Is Solid Snake your actual name?" asked Ellen which made Solid let out a chuckle,

"Obviously not." Snake replied,

"Well what is your real name if you don't mind me asking?" Snake rubbed the back of his head awkwardly,

"I think it's best if I keep that to myself."

"Why? I bet it's something silly." She joked, Snake chuckled,

"No it's not that, I never felt like my name even mattered."

"Names always matter, they define who we are, what we go by and what people will remember you by. I don't think you're the type to be remembered by being called Solid Snake." Ellen explained as they approached the elevator,

"What if I want to?" asked Snake, Ellen gave a face,

"You shouldn't, I guess I'm a bit poetic but I find beauty in our names. We were given them for a reason and we should always cherish them, it's the littlest thing that reminds us that we are human, that we are all special here, all made for a good purpose and blessed to live a good life." Snake pondered about what she said, he never gave it thought at first if he wanted to still be called David or be known as Solid Snake,

"Well, when this is over, I'll tell you my real name after dinner." slyly offered Snake, Ellen chuckled as the elevator doors opened, her heart feeling flustered as he said that.

"Did you just ask me on a date, Solid Snake?"

"Maybe I did." Snake replied with a grin,

"I don't date boys who call themselves Solid Snake." She replied with a chuckle, it even made Snake laugh too. They both stepped inside and pressed the roof button,

"So where are you from?" asked Ellen, Snake scratched his head,

"I don't know exactly but I grew up in Washington DC for most of my life." Snake replied,

"Any family?" asked Ellen,

"Not that I know of, I was bounced around the foster care system until I met Kaz Miller, he raised me with his daughter. They are the only family I know."

"So you don't know your parents?" curiously asked Ellen,

"No, I figured they got rid of me for a reason so I never bothered asking or looking for them." Snake said to her,

"Everyone has the right to the truth."

"If they want it, sometimes the hardest thing about the truth is the things behind it, what other things were hidden."

"Or maybe you're also afraid, afraid of what kind of person your father is because you just want to stay believing your imagination." suggested Ellen, Snake looked down as what she said struck a nerve,

"I was always very afraid. I grew up telling myself my father was the kind of person I wanted to be. Smart, wise, strong and polite, but unfortunately I feel I could never be like him. I don't have the courage like he does to keep going, even if everyone is giving him a reason to. During my first audition, I was so frightened I gave up because I couldn't face the directors, I just don't think I can ever be that courageous."

"Hey, you are wearing a mercenary's uniform and standing tall as we fight to find your father, I think as long as you have something to fight for, then you're already brave." Ellen smiled and rested her head on Snake's shoulder,

"Thank you, Snake." she quietly said to him. The elevator arrived at the roof, Snake and Ellen stepped out as the mercenaries patrolled nearby, Snake then listened into the conversation between two mercenaries,

"<How's the prisoner?>" asked one of the mercenaries as he tilted his head in the direction of one of the cells.

"<He's a little stubborn, don't worry we'll break him slowly.>"

"<Good, Ishmael wants him ready for his conversion.>" the mercenary replied, Snake and Ellen quickly maneuvered themselves to the opposite side of the cell, trying to avoid contact with the mercenaries. Snake then stopped at the end of the hallway and peeked around the corner to see the mercenaries walk away. Quickly, Snake moved towards the front door and spotted the number 3 on the door, he took out the matching keycard and put it in the slot to unlock the door then he and Ellen quickly rushed in. Once inside, they both noticed a prisoner tied to a chair, the rookie rushed to him and used his knife to cut him free then removed the sack off his head. The man was an older tanned man with brown hair and brown eyes, he had some bruises on his face, presumably from the beating he took. He glanced up at Snake and Ellen, heavily confused.

"<The hell? Why did you mercs free me?>" he asked,

"Don't worry, we're not mercenaries." Snake reassured as he removed his mask,

"I'm Solid Snake, FOXHOUND sent me." The man sighed in relief and got up,

"Kyle Schneider, I go by Blackbird, glad to see a friendly face." Blackbird said with a grin and South African accent,

"Nice to meet you, we already rescued Fox and Eagle in the Gamma building."

"Good, I overheard them saying where they were gonna take the others. Viper is in the Alpha Building, Golden Eagle and Dr Madnar are somewhere in this building." Ellen smiled widely once she heard her father was here.

"Mind handing me that M16, Snake?" he asked, Solid shook his head and was about to hand it to him until he heard the doors beginning to open. Blackbird quickly sat down then put the sack on his head and pretended to be tied up while Snake put the mask back on. Five mercenaries with their rifles ready came in and marched their way towards Snake and Ellen,

"<You two! Don't move!>" shouted the red beret mercenary commander. Blackbird sneakily tapped the back of Snake's shoe to signal him, Snake's intuition figured what Blackbird was trying to say and readied himself. The commander approached Snake with a mean and focused glare locked onto him.

"<We have found four men unconscious outside, when they awoke they said that a man attacked them and stole their uniforms. A guard nearby noticed you two coming in here so I demand you both to take your masks off now and identify yourselves.>" Snake looked at the five men then looked at Ellen and back at the men,

"<How about, no.>" Snake then let go of his rifle, diverting the men's attention to the rifle. Quickly, Solid Snake spun and knocked back the commander with a roundhouse and then leapt up to dropkick the mercenary on the right. Right before the mercenaries took aim, Ellen ducked and swept one of them down and Blackbird leapt forward and tossed the chair at two of the mercenaries, knocking them down on their backs. The commander got up and drew out his handgun but Snake palmed and pushed the commander's hand, aiming the gun to the wall. Snake quickly ducked under his arm and pulled him over his shoulder to toss him off, slamming him onto the wall. Ellen noticed the other mercenary she tripped getting up, quickly she leapt and in mid air, spun and elegantly kicked the rising mercenary with such elegance. She then twirled and kicked another in the ribs which gave Blackbird a nice opportunity. Blackbird rammed his elbow into his nose then spun and wrapped his leg around the other's throat. With a twist, he snapped the mercenary's neck, killing him. Snake sighed in relief after all of that,

"Guess the disguises are worthless, now I can get out of this thing." Snake said as he began removing the top of the uniform, Blackbird and Ellen went outside to check if there were more guards outside while Solid changed back to his regular uniform. Once he was done, he turned on the codec and began to dial in to Big Boss,

"This is Solid Snake, come in?" Suddenly there was loud static playing, Snake raised an eyebrow and pressed again on the earpiece to speak,

"This is Solid Snake, come in Big Boss?" the static still played but he can hear Big Boss's voice somewhat,

"Snake….can't reach….signal jammed….find Madnar…" the codec call cut off and it left Snake with more questions on what was going on, he turned the codec and began dialing Gray Fox,

"Fox, come in?" Snake called out,

"What is it, Snake?" Fox answered back clearly,

"I found Blackbird but I can't reach Big Boss, something must be jamming the signal." Snake informed,

"Shit, we can't contact him until we find what's jamming our signal. Did you hear anything he said?"

"Yeah, Blackbird told me Golden Eagle and Madnar are somewhere in this building, us three are currently on the rooftop cells. We'll look around here."

"Right and me and Steel will look around the other floors."

"One more thing, Fox. They found the mercenaries we knocked out, keep your guard up." Snake also informed,

"You too as well, Snake. Fox, out." The call ended and Solid Snake sighed, he got up and walked out to Blackbird and Ellen, informing them on the current situation and preparing for their search, unsure of how much time they have left or what left Outer Heaven had to offer.