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Prepare for War

A few minutes passed after the destruction of the weather machine, the group went to the weapons storeroom to get themselves prepared to fight the Metal Gear. Snake was being bandaged by Ellen as the others were digging through the weapons crate,

"Make sure to leave some things for me." Snake said to them,

"We know, just relax and finish getting bandaged up." Fox replied, Snake gave a thumbs up as Fox grabbed a couple of rifles,

"Trick boomerangs? Seriously?" asked Golden Eagle to Viper,

"Everyone had a gimmick, that was his. Back when he was working with the terrorist organization, he'd kill people with boomerangs like those." Viper replied,

"Still, hard to believe anyone took him seriously with trick boomerangs." Golden Eagle replied, Ellen finished the bandaging then tore off the sleeves of the top and the undershirt,

"And done, there you go, Snake. Looking much better."

"I look like Indiana Jones in Temple of Doom." Snake emptily commented,

"A very young handsome Indiana Jones." Ellen replied with a chuckle as Madnar simply glanced back at his daughter. Snake walked towards Gray Fox and looked inside the crate, he noticed something inside that caught his attention, a black bow with a mix of explosive and regular arrows. Snake picked up the bow and almost began to admire it.

"Best to take any explosive we can get our hands on." Snake told them,

"Smart thinking, Snake." Fox replied, Snake took all of the arrows and continued to dig through the crates, eventually finding himself a M72 LAW, a RPG-27, a bunch of grenades and his specialty, the C4. Eventually, they were all finished and loaded up and prepared for battle, the group began walking to the elevator to the main fortress.

"So you guys all remember where to strike this thing?" asked Snake,

"Yep, we're only going to have one shot at this so we have to make every attack count." Fox replied,

"After we defeat the Metal Gear, Eagle Eye will meet us at a landing pad and that's when we escape the hell out of here. The Main Fortress has cars we can take to the platform where the Metal Gear is." explained Fox, they all nodded, understanding what they had to do in the next moment. They arrived at the elevator and after a few minutes of waiting, began riding it slowly up to the Main Fortress. Snake's heart was pounding from anticipation, he couldn't believe he was about to stare down this mechanized monster that he only heard by name and stories from the others. Once the elevator arrived, the doors slid apart and opened to reveal the main fortress. The base seemed very quiet, almost too quiet, it bothered Snake, but not just him, Gray Fox and the FOXHOUND operatives, even Ellen and Madnar felt bothered.

"This is odd, with such an important project, why aren't there any mercs?" questioned Snake,

"It was guarded when I was here last time? Where could they have gone?" Madnar asked,

"Let's try to get to the Metal Gear but everyone keep your guards up." Ordered Fox, Snake and the others nodded as they looked around the platform. Snake spotted two trucks parked stationary near the bridge between platforms.

"The TX-55 is over there on that platform." Madnar informed, pointing at one of the platforms, specifically the one with the wider building. Snake nodded then went up to one of the trucks and Gray Fox went up to the other, they both got in and the other six split into threes going into separate trucks. The Madnars and Viper went with Snake while Blackbird and the Eagles went with Gray Fox. Both men began driving the trucks across the bridge, still feeling uneasy with how unguarded this entire base is. Snake dialed Gray Fox on the codec as they drove,

"Big Boss said this base was heavily guarded, where is everybody?" questioned Snake,

"I don't know but it's making me feel thrown off. This could be the enemy setting a trap so we should still be on high alert." Gray Fox replied,

"Right, maybe they're doing what Big Boss said before. Mind games, trying to get in our head so they can throw us off our game."

"Psychological warfare is a lethal tactic, someone who's mastered it can manipulate the victim to do whatever they want, it takes one with strong will to overcome that kind of torment." explained Fox,

"You're right. Let's keep our focus on the Metal Gear." Snake replied,

"Right and Snake?" said Gray Fox,

"Hm?" asked Solid Snake,

"After all of this, drinks are on me. I definitely owe you a drink for saving my ass. Make that multiple drinks because I was saved by a rookie." Fox said to him, letting out a little chuckle. Snake laughed back at Fox's statement,

"I'll take it." Snake replied, grinning as he hung up. In the passenger seat beside him was Ellen who was staring out into the distance, he tapped her shoulder and she turned to him,

"David." Snake said to her, she tilted her head in confusion.

"My name is David Halley." Snake said once more with a smile, Ellen grinned widely at him, looking into his green eyes with such a big smile.

"Well nice to meet you, David. I guess this is our date, kind of a terrible place for a first date." Ellen jokes,

"Well, best to take each moment while we still have it. We live a long life yet a fast one, so good to cherish every moment." Snake replied, Ellen nodded and gently held Snake's hand.

"Agreed, David." She replied then rested her head against his arm as he drove, embracing this moment as it might be their last. A few minutes later, they arrived at the platform where the Metal Gear was stored, they parked the trucks in front of the building and all of them got out, heavily armed and ready. Solid Snake was the one in front leading them inside the building with no ceiling, it was dark inside the hallway, only the night sky served as their only source of light. Snake was holding the RPG that he got from the weapons storeroom, slowly pacing forward with Gray Fox and the others behind him. They entered a large room, looking around as it felt like they were in an arena. Suddenly the lights turned on, blinding them briefly and then they began to hear chanting, they all looked around to see the mercenaries madly chanting and cheering like bloodthirsty animals. Solid Snake and the others couldn't help but feel overwhelmed, there were over a thousand mercenaries all in this one arena. They started feeling the ground shake around them as right in front, two doors on the floor opened up. The mercenaries cheered even louder than before as they all heard an elevator rising slowly. The group aimed their guns in the direction of the elevator, readying themselves for a fight. Snake was the first to see it, the sleek metallic top of the mech. As it slowly rose, Solid Snake slowly lowered his weapon in awe, its large shadow casting over the heroes as they couldn't believe what they saw, it felt unreal. They could see its multiple red lights turn on and off as it was ascending. Eventually the elevator reached the top and the group were all shaken by the sight of the monstrous TX-55, the weapon to surpass the atom bomb, the Metal Gear. The crowd cheered and chanted "Metal Gear" over and over again like a cult. Right there, the doors of the cockpit slightly moved up, releasing a hissing air. The Metal Gear's door slowly opened and a man stepped out from the cockpit. The group couldn't believe it, even with his experience, Gray Fox was speechless but most of all Solid Snake was shattered from what he saw, to the point where he could only say the man's name.

"…B-B-Big Boss…"