Fan Fiction / Crossover Fan Fiction / Magic Knight Rayearth Fan Fiction ❯ Tragic Heroes ❯ Welcome to the Jungle ( Chapter 6 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Tragic Heroes
a Magic Knight Rayearth/Metal Gear crossover
Chapter 6: Welcome to the Jungle
7-17-2003
by Grey Fox

Disclaimer: Solid Snake and Metal Gear are the creation of the gaming genius Hideo Kojima and the property of Konami. Hikaru Shidou and Magic Knight Rayearth are the creation and property of the talented ladies of CLAMP studios.

*****

Snake walked along the worn road that led deeper into the wilderness with his pistol drawn, with Hikaru anxiously following behind him, sword at the ready, as a light drizzle continued to pour down. Snake was feeling slightly nervous as well, since he really had no idea where this path was leading the two of them. Additionally, his thoughts were preoccupied with what Joey had said to them back at the storage warehouse - or rather, what he would have said had he not been silenced. Obviously, it was a significant piece of information if that woman was willing to shoot her own teammate in order to keep Snake from hearing it.

Suddenly, Snake's tumultuous thoughts were interrupted when his foot snagged on something, causing him to trip. Hikaru was immediately at his side. "Snake! You OK?" she asked as she helped him up.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied in an annoyed voice as he got back up.

"And you accused ME of klutziness," said Hikaru in a humorous tone. Snake just stared at her.

"It's still too dark to see," he snapped back. "Hmmm, maybe we should use the goggles we picked up earlier." Snake then took out his night vision goggles and put them on. "Oh yes, much better." Hikaru took out her thermal goggles as well, and fumbled with them trying to get them on. For a few seconds Snake just watched, thinking it was ridiculously adorable how she was awkwardly trying to get the thermal goggles to work. Eventually though, he went over and helped her get them on properly.

"Whoa, this is weird," said Hikaru as she looked around with infrared vision.

"It lets you see in terms of heat, not light," explained Snake. "But one thing though: try not to use your magic around me. MY goggles amplify light, and you'll probably blind me if you blast something."

"OK Snake, let's go!" she said cheerfully.

"And keep it down, damnit," said Snake harshly, but Hikaru didn't seem fazed in the slightest as he once again followed him down the road. Maybe it was a good thing she was so perky and energetic, because he really didn't have any idea where they were going. "That really makes things more difficult," he thought aloud.

"What?" said Hikaru.

"Nothing," said Snake quickly. "It's just that, well, the other times I did this, there were people I was in constant contact with to help guide me through most of the mission," he started to explain. "Except for you, this time I'm on my own."

"Yeah, I understand what you mean," replied Hikaru. "I'm sort of used to having help like that too. Back in Cephiro, Umi, Fuu and I had Mokona to guide us."

"Mokona?" asked Snake curiously. "You mean that fluffy, bouncy little thing you mentioned?"

"Yeah, exactly," said Hikaru. "But like you said, at least you don't have to do this alone. I'm here too."

"You're right about that," said Snake. But he was more preoccupied with painful memories of when people who had helped him before got killed. Snake shuddered as he remembered how Nastasha Marcova and Jimmy Harks had died right in front of him, how he had been powerless to save them....

"Snake, I think we're on the right track," said Hikaru, snapping Snake out of his private musings. He looked up to see Hikaru pointed ahead at a wire gate. Indeed, it looked like they had been heading in the right direction after all.

Snake walked up to the gate and inspected it. Yes, there was an electronic locking mechanism on it, as well as a part that would open up and let a large vehicle through - a vehicle as large as the truck that woman had driven away in. But there waqs a bit of a problem. "The lock doesn't use security cards, so we'll have to climb over it, and the noise may attract anyone nearby..."

"Then let's just make our own entrance," spoke up Hikaru. Before Snake could ask her what she planned to do, she approached the gate and thrust her sword through it. She then proceeded to slice away at the gate. When Hikaru was done, there was a gaping hole in the gate that a person could easily walk through. And although Hikaru had made some noise cutting away the hole, he doubted it was loud enough to alert any nearby guards. "Well, what are we waiting for?" asked Hikaru with a smirk as she walked through the hole.

"Nice work," said Snake as he followed her through the hole. "Time to see what's going on around here."

Hikaru and Snake continued onward, keeping an eye out for any more soldiers. None were found, but eventually, Snake noticed something in front of them. Footprints that had been left in the soggy soil, and on ground that they had not yet trod on. "Um, Hikaru, I think we're in an area being patrolled again," Snake pointed out in a whisper. Hikaru immediately knew what that meant; once again, she and Snake would have to move quickly and quietly to avoid being spotted by the enemy.

And now the path ahead of them wasn't a straight road for them to follow. Just like earlier, the forest now had paths that branched out in all directions. Hikaru and Snake descended into the maze without hesitation, moving as silently and stealthily as possible.

Eventually, as they continued on, the duo arrived at a split in the path that led to the left, and then arrived at a corner where the path branched to the left, Snake took a quick peek around the corner to be certain no one was there. Thanks to his night vision goggles, he could easily see that someone was there. Not much more than a few meters away was a guard, standing at a three-way intersection. Snake had an idea of how to easily evade him, and leaned over and whispered his plan into Hikaru's ear. "Gotcha," said Hikaru, and lifted her sword up and rustled the leaves and branches above her.

"Huh? What the?" she heard the guard say. Then she heard the guard begin to noisily walk towards them to investigate, his feet making loud squishing noises in the mud. Hikaru and Snake promptly ran back to the split in the path they passed by earlier and ran down it, and eventually arrived at the three-way intersection the guard had been standing at. Only the guard was no longer there, having been lured away from his post so easily. "Aahh, musta been some animal," Hikaru heard him say as she and Snake sped away.

"Whew," breathed a relieved Hikaru. "That was pretty easy."

"Don't count on things to be that easy in the future, though," warned Snake sternly. "Now that they know we're here, they've no doubt beefed up security."

And how right he was. Throughout the winding paths of the forest they had about a half-dozen near run-ins with the patrolling soldiers. Practically around every corner there was a guard on the lookout for any sign of them. *Guess we really spooked them if they dispatched THIS many soldiers to look for us,* Hikaru thought morbidly as she and Snake continued to stealthily make their way through the forest. But though she was a fast learner, she had been to used to fighting every enemy that crossed her path in Cephiro and was unaccustomed to these sort of stealth operations, and it was very likely she would make a mistake.

Eventually, she did. Turning a corner, she absent-mindedly stepped into a puddle created from the recent rain and made a loud splash. And unfortunately, it was while they were trying to get past a guard who had his back turned. The guard quickly turned around and spotted the two of them before they had a chance to get out of view. "Hey! They're over here! Everyone, this way!" Hikaru heard him yell as she ran away. A surge of disgust swept over Hikaru for having caused them to get spotted. "Snake, I-I..."

"Forget it," said Snake, seeming to know she was about to apologize. "Just run." Hikaru complied, following Snake as he led the way. Soon enough, all the guards in the vicinity were closing in, frantically searching for them. Adrenaline coursed through her body as they navigated the winding paths of the forests, hearing the sounds of guards searching all over for them. She looked wildly about, trying to make sure none of the guards were around. But she was still trying to get used to the infrared vision of her goggles and wasn't really able to make out her surroundings, and that just increased her anxiety all the more.

Eventually, though, it seemed like the guards had given up their search for them. Hikaru heard one say "Damn, they got away," and another say "Everyone, return to your positions." Snake and Hikaru decided to stop to take a breather in a grassy area. "Whew, that was way too close," muttered Hikaru, wiping away the nervous sweat from her forehead. She spoke in a whispered voice, for fear that they may be overheard again.

"Yeah, I know," replied Snake, also in a whisper. "Try not to make slip-ups like that again, OK?"

Before Hikaru could reply, she heard a surprised outburst from behind them: "What the?" She whirled around and saw that one of the guards had spotted them again....

Time seemed to then stand still, and Hikaru was hit with another one of those mysterious freak headaches. But this time, the headache was accompanied by something else; some form of energy resonating deep within her. It felt sort of similar to when Clef had first given her magic and taught her how to use it, but there was one significant difference. That power Clef showed her had the feeling of unmatchable beauty, of total ecstacy. This new power, though, felt insanely raucous, uncontrollably chaotic, obstreperous.....

And utterly uncontainable.

Before Hikaru was even aware anything was happening, she felt this new energy burst forth to the surface, and discharge itself from her body. Through her thermal goggles, she witnessed a white-hot flash of energy issue forth from herself and lash out at the soldier who had found her and Snake. She heard him scream out in agony, and then saw him crumple.

Time returned to normal for her, and for a while, she just stood there, witnessing her involuntary deed through her thermal goggles. Looking at the fallen guard, she saw bright white areas around the spot where he was truck by whatever had come out of her. *Oh God, don't tell me I killed another one...* she thought.

"Damn!" came an annoyed voiced from behind her. Hikaru turned around to see Snake holding an arm in front of his face. "Didn't I tell you not to use your magic while I had this thing on?!"

"I-It wasn't my magic," stammered Hikaru, trying to explain what had happened, which was difficult since she herself didn't know. "At least, it didn't FEEL like the magic I've used before...." Then it hit her. Before the start of her journey Future had told her that a new, third form of fire magic would manifest itself while on this mission. Those sudden headaches she had felt earlier must have been a result of this new magic spell trying to assert itself. Hikaru quickly told Snake what she had just deduced. *But if I can't keep this under control,* she silently added in her thoughts, *what use could it be on a mission where I have to remain unseen?*

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the approach of more soldiers. "I think that scream came from over here," she heard one of them say.

"Oh swell," spat Snake. "Quick, hide in the grass." Hikaru did as she was told, and laid flat on the ground along with Snake, letting the thick, tall grass conceal them from view.

"He's alive, but burned badly," they heard one of the guards say. "Get him out of here. Everyone else, fan out! Let's find those bastards."

*Well, at least I didn't kill him,* Hikaru thought with relief as the guards dispatched from the area. Once they were sure all of them were gone, Hikaru and Snake stood up and brushed of the leaves and pieces of grass that had stuck to their damp clothing.

"Not good," said Snake suddenly. "Whatever the hell it was you did to him, it's got all of them on edge. They'll be twice as alert now."

Hikaru looked down at the ground, mortified about how she had blown their cover, twice, because of her mistakes. "Snake, I-I'm so sorry. I almost got us...."

"Like I said before, forget it," said Snake, cutting her off. "It's obvious you learn fast. Just learn a little faster, OK?" he said with a coarse smile.

Hikaru took heart from Snake's compliment. "Yeah, OK," she replied with a smile of her own. "Let's get going."

So the two continued to make their way through the forest, with Snake in the lead. Hikaru was beginning to wonder if they would ever find anything in this forest maze, or even the way out. Memories of the difficult trek through the Forest of Silence came flooding back, and this time, there was no Mokona to guide them. But soon, Snake spoke up, and that snapped her out of her worrisome thoughts. "Hikaru, looks like we found something," said Snake, pointing at something in the distance. Hikaru looked up to see Snake pointing at a small cabin. "Let's go check it out," added Snake.

Thankfully, no soldiers were present inside the cabin. All that was inside was stacks and stacks of large cardboard boxes. "ANOTHER storage area?!" blurted out Hikaru. "What's with their obsession of stockpiling everything they can think of all around this base?"

"I have no idea whatsoever," answered Snake as he opened one of the boxes. Inside were a bunch of M-16 and FAMAS rifles along with a copious amount of ammo for them. "Apparently, they're hell-bent on making sure there's a supply of weapons within a 100 foot radius anywhere on this base!" exclaimed Snake as he reached in and snatched up more clips of ammunition for his assault rifle. Then he rached over and opened another box. "Perfect!" he cried as he pulled out more fragmentation grenades and refilled his exhausted supply.

"Well, at least we found something useful in here," stated Hikaru. "But we're still not sure where Metal Gear is, not to mention we're still deep in a forest that's swarming with armed guards looking for us," she added in a nervous voice.

"You're right about that first part," replied Snake. "But about that second part, I think I can solve that problem. You see, I've been making a mental picture of the layout of this forest as we were walking around, and I think I can figure out where the exit might be. And as for the guards, well, these'll help us with that." Snake reached over and grabbed one of the boxes he had opened and dumped its contents onto the floor. He then held out the empty box in front of him.

Hikaru just stared at him dubiously. "A... cardboard box?" she asked in a perplexed tone. "How's THAT going to help us?"

----------------------------------------------------

One of the guards walked along a long path in the forest. As he was walking, he noticed something out of the ordinary out of the corner of his eye. "Eh, what's this?" he thought aloud as he walked up to what had piqued his interest. "Hmmmm. Just a couple of boxes," he said dismissively as he continued on his way.

Once he had turned a corner and was gone, the two boxes that had been lying there started to move all of a sudden. They moved down the path, opposite the way the guard had came. They moved as if they were people underneath the boxes......

The boxes stopped at an area where the forest seemed to end and a path up a rocky hill began. The boxes then flew off, revealing the people who had been prancing around under them: Hikaru Shidou and Solid Snake.

For a while, Hikaru just stood there, staring at the carboard box she had been under with a look of utter disbelief. "I just can't BELIEVE all those soldiers fell for that trick!" exclaimed Hikaru, her voice betraying a profound sense of surprise.

"I can," said Snake nonchalantly. "The guards in Zanzibar and Outer Heaven fell for it, and these guys don't seem too bright either."

"Well, at least you were right about being able to find the way out," said Hikaru.

"And not only that, but I think we're also on the right track," stated Snake, pointing to something on the ground. Hikaru looked at what he was hinting at. It was a bootprint that had been left in the muddy ground. A *VERY* large bootprint.

"So she's come this way," deduced Hikaru.

"Yeah, and I bet she knows something, something that she doesn't want US to know," added Snake bitterly. "C'mon, let's find her and get some answers out of her." With that, the two made their way up the rocky path. They both had their weapons out. On this terrain, they could be spotted easily, and had to be ready for a fight at any time. But it looked like luck was with them for now - there wasn't a single guard to be found anywhere. Thus, it was quite uneventful, the first few minutes they were walking up the mountainous path. Still, instead of making Hikaru feel more relieved, the abscene of any opposition made her more nervous.

*At least we're out of that forest,* thought Hikaru, trying to look on the bright side. She looked ahead of them and saw a large gorge ahead of them that they had to pass through in order to continue. But thanks to the infrared vision provided by her goggles, she saw something else up ahead too. Scattered about the middle of the gorge were small, bright dots, and though she was unsure exactly what they were, she figured they weren't good news. "Snake, stop!" cried Hikaru, reaching out and grabbing hold of Snake's arm before he could walk any further.

"Huh? What the? Why?" Snake spurted out, but Hikaru just hushed him and forced him to listen.

"Look, I don't know what it is, but I see a bunch of bright spots on the ground just ahead...." she started to say.

"Damn!" shouted Snake, slapping himself on the forehead. "Now I *KNOW* I'm getting old! I should've figured out there'd be a mine field ahead of us."

"A mine field?!" cried out Hikaru. "Then... how do we get across?"

"Gimme your goggles. I'll show you," instructed Snake. Hikaru complied and promptly removed her thermal goggles. Snake took off his own goggles and put on Hikaru's, then he went over to the center of the gorge and laid down flat on his stomach. Then he began to crawl all around the gorge, disarming the mines and picking them up. After about five minutes, he got up and walked back over to Hikaru, handing her back her goggles. "There. That's done," he said as he put his night vision goggles back on. "Let's keep going."

Hikaru put her thermal goggles back on as he continued to follow Snake, wildly looking about, making sure there were no more mine fields. The next few minutes were spent steadily progressing up the hill, but there was still no sign of any other buildings that could be housing Metal Gear, or of that woman they encountered back at the storage warehouse. "I'm getting tired of wandering," Hikaru thought aloud. "When are we gonna find her?"

"Careful what you wish for, sweetie," came the mocking voice of the woman they encountered earlier, seeming to originate from farther up the hill. Hikaru quickly assumed a fighting stance, her hands gripping her sword tightly. Snake did the same, holding his rifle with both hands, preparing for an attack at any moment. An attack came, but not in the way they were expecting. A metal object fell down near them, and before either of them could move, it exploded, giving off a dizzying flash of light and knocking both of them to the ground.

"Stun grenade," muttered Snake angrily as he lifted up his goggles and rubbed his aching, burning eyes.

"Heh heh heh, do I have your attention now?" came the sardonic voice again.

"Where are you?!" demanded Hikaru bitterly. "Face us!!"

"You've been looking for me, huh?" came the snippy reply. "Well, come on up to the top. I'll be waiting for you!"

"You got it!" Hikaru shot back. "Come on Snake, we've found her. Now let's get some answers," she told him as she took off, heading to the top of the hill.

"Ugh, here we go again," said Snake as he ran after Hikaru. As he ran, he removed his goggles, just in case she tried anything with a stun grenade again, and so Hikaru could attack freely in a fight and not hurt his eyes. Once both of them got to the top, it was clear that this was more of a small plateau instead of a hill; the top was almost an entirely flat surface. The only things that stood out on the flat surface were large rocks that seemed to jut out from the ground, not unlike stalagtites. But nowhere in sight was their quarry. "All right, where the hell is she?" blurted out Snake.

"Up here," came a swift reply. Snake and Hikaru looked up. About twenty meters ahead of them was a twenty meter high stalagtite-like rock. And standing on top of that rock was the woman they were looking for. "Ready or not, here I come!" she shouted out in that peculiar Portuguese accent of hers before leaping off her perch and landing with a noisy crash at the base of the rock. Snake no longer had the aid of the night vision goggles, but there was enough light provided by the moon to allow him to get a good look at her. She was dressed in the same garb as before, but now sported some new sort of weapon. Strapped to her back were two cylindrical storage tanks of some sort, and a long cord from those tanks was attached to a large cannon that she was holding firmly in both hands.

"There's always one," Snake muttered under his breath.

"What do you mean by that?" demanded the woman.

"I mean there's always some big guy with a big gun I have to fight," answered Snake. "Or in your case, a big girl. A regular Amazon."

"Cute, Snake. Very coy," she snapped back, her grip on her weapon visibly tightening.

"I'm curious, though. I'm sure you could've picked us off while we were still making our way up here, yet you let us make it all the way here," said Snake querulously.

"Well, that would've been playing dirty, don't you think?" she replied. "I don't work that way. When I finish off my foes, I prefer to do it face-to-face."

"Yet you killed your own teammate!" snapped Hikaru. The woman turned her steely gaze to Hikaru, which caused her to slightly shudder on the inside.

"Details, details. I did that to keep him from telling you more than he should have," she answered her with a sneer. "Besides, he was as good as dead anyway. I'm sure your friend here would've seen to that." Then she turned to Snake, who had a look of utter contempt on his face, getting pretty annoyed with everyone throwing accusations his way. "Oh, and Snake, about that Amazon comment, well, you're quite correct. I was born of the native tribes of Brazil. That's part of the reason why they call me.... Piranha."

******

Next time: Hikaru & Snake vs. Piranha! Stick around for Chapter 7, won't you. Pretty please?

So long,
Grey Fox