The road towards the city is littered with dead bodies and androids. M16A1 asked Pancakes to stop the APC for a bit to investigate.
She grabbed hold of an empty shell casing on the ground and let out a sigh.
"So they're here, huh?" M16A1 tightened her grip on the empty shell.
"Who might you be referring to?" Pancakes asked.
"Sangvis Ferri." She threw away the empty shell casing, "Our enemy."
"By the way, who are these Kronosapiens?" M4A1 asked, "I tried asking Green Tea about it before but then we got interrupted and we just… never brought it up again."
"Kronosapiens are beings made entirely out of mechanical cogs." Pancakes show a bunch of pictures of the Kronosapien from her tablet, "We don't know where they originated, and haven't had an ample understanding on what they are; but we do know that they are very hostile towards us. So hostile that they seek to destroy our universe."
"So are they the main culprit as to why we got transported to this world?", said M16A1 as they got back on the APC and continued their journey.
"No, the main culprit was an Eldritch girl who attacked the goddess we worship." Pancakes slowly weave through the empty vehicles in the road.
"Eldritch girl? Why did this 'Eldritch girl' attack your 'goddess'?" SOPMOD asked.
"There's a lot that we don't know, but I'm sure we'll find some answers in this world…" Pancakes answered as she put the vehicle to a stop.
Her comrades alongside other soldiers exit the vehicle, and help out on moving the empty vehicles out of the way.
As they move obstacles aside, gunshots and inhuman screams can be heard from a distance. They were alerted as they immediately got back on their APC again and quickly drove over to the location where they heard the gunshots, ramming through all the obstructions in the way this time.
Upon getting a better visual on the situation of the area, they spotted a huge horde of strange-looking undead surrounded the building with the "R.P.D." sign in its front gate. Three men on the second floor were firing towards the horde while two cyborgs, one male, and one female were preventing the undead from climbing the fence with melee combat.
They all disembarked from the APC and lined up their formations, aiming their sights towards the horde after drawing their weapons. Without any words of instruction uttered during this strategic process, they began firing at the undead. The ones who stayed on the APC manned the 20mm cannon which began unleashing its high explosive rounds at its targets. The gunshots coming from them grabbed the attention of the horde and mindlessly marched at these newcomers. Their numbers died down in roughly ten minutes.
When everything settled down, they were immediately granted entry and barricaded the building while checking the surroundings for any remaining hostiles. When the coast is clear, they all gather around in the main hall of the building. A man with the name tag "R. Hawken" shook hands with Captain Patrick James.
"Name is Corporal Reeves Hawken. I'm the leader of the second reconnaissance team. My team suffered casualties with 3 dead and 1 heavily injured."
"Who are these other three?" Patrick asked Reeves.
"They said they got transported into this world…" Reeves replied.
"So the same as us." M4A1 whispered.
All of them began exchanging names. The heavily injured guy was Specialist Vladimir Bodovsky. The guy near him who was wearing a bandana called himself "Solid Snake".
"It's a code name. " He said upon hearing a request for further clarification.
The male white-haired cyborg was called Raiden which is also a codename.
"This girl has something to report," said Raiden, as a girl with short light gray hair walks forward.
"My name is ICEY. I'm a cyborg." She introduced herself.
"I'm requesting a rescue mission…" she added.
"Did this person you wanted to rescue also get transported into this world?" Patrick asked.
"Yes. Her name is Persicaria." ICEY replied.
"Persicaria?!" M4A1 raised her voice in surprise.
"You know her?" Patrick asked.
"Yes, she is our creator…" M4A1 answered.
"Right... ICEY, please continue." Patrick affirmed and just nodded.
"I suddenly got transported into this world for unknown reasons. I wandered the city, trying to recollect what I was doing before all this transporting. The only thing I realized was that I seem to have forgotten a lot of things. No idea why I'm here, what I was doing before I got here, and even lapses of time after waking up in a new world. While wandering the city, I saw a girl who was glowing. She had light blue hair and a very ghostly appearance. I tried following her through the alleyway but upon a sharp turn, the girl just disappeared. Just moments after I heard a scream. It was Persicaria, cornered by three android-looking girls holding two SMGs. I quickly destroyed those three androids, saving Persicaria. We both hid in a relatively safe location and chatted for a bit… until a large number of androids in black color found us and attacked again. Persicaria said that those androids were aiming to capture her."
"I didn't want to split up. But it was the only way we would be able to make it out alive. We were heavily outnumbered. With a last-minute plan, I was forced to leave Persicaria, I promised that I would come back to rescue her. She voluntarily let herself be captured, and I escaped but the black androids still were hot on my trail. Fortunately, from out of nowhere, I was saved by Raiden here." ICEY said as she pointed at Raiden.
"You saved her because she is a girl, huh?" Snake asked Raiden.
"No. I saved her because she was in trouble." Raiden answered as Snake stared blankly at him. "Nothing more."
"We have to rescue her!" M4A1 exclaimed.
"What does this 'Persicaria' look like?" Patrick asked.
"Ummm, she has long pinkish hair and has cat ear-like ornaments in her hair." M4A1 gestured a pair of cat ears with both her hands on her head.
"She looks very lazy!" SOPMOD added.
"...She has eyebags…" ST AR-15 added.
"Yes, yes! Big eyebags!" M16A1 added and points at ST AR-15.
AR-15 only sneers at M16A1 in response.
"Errr, she is a Tactical Doll scientist, she developed most of the advanced technology used by modern tactical dolls." RO added.
"Sounds like a very important person…" Patrick commented. "Well then, we will have to divide our forces. One will rescue Persicaria while the rest wait here." Patrick ordered the men.
"MEI-417, how's Vlad?" He turned to Pancakes and asked.
"I somehow managed to stabilize his condition." Pancakes answered. "But he still needs to be treated in a proper hospital."
"Then we'll use the variable craft to evacuate him immediate–"
BANG!
From out of nowhere, Patrick got shot, and it was followed by an explosion just by the side of the building they were in. That resulted in the APC getting destroyed. The building was now surrounded by a lot of black androids.
"Shit! it's the Sangvis Ferri!" M16A1 shouted and began firing at the SF dolls that were in the vicinity.
"Medic! MEDIC! Patrick got hit!" Reeves rushed over to catch Patrick's body. "Stay with me, Captain!"
Patrick only responds with gurgling blood. Applying pressure to wherever he could, he tried to prevent Patrick from bleeding out. The shot he took poked a hole between his right shoulder and right chest.
"Move!"
The available Medic group began treating him when suddenly an explosion happened beside them, sending the 3 men flying; both were gravely injured. MEI-417 rushed them out of the scene and into safety.
"Manticore!" HK416 shouted as she saw a four-legged machine walking towards where they stood.
With its built sentry guns, it began firing at the building. Reeves was not able to do much, so MEI-417 rushed in and took over, trying her best to tend to Patrick but with the lack of medical equipment and all the chaos, he slowly succumbed to his wounds. His final words being:
"Despite the short-l-lived service… it was an honor serving with you all…"
The fighting still hasn't let up. Everyone was occupied with pushing back the numbers of SF dolls advancing themselves towards their building.
"Captain Patrick... He's dead..." MEI-417 softly spoke through the comms.
"N-no..." ST AR-15 grieved.
"You bastards!!" M16A1 begins to intensify her assault against the SF Dolls.
Even if it was just a brief moment, these girls were very thankful towards Captain Patrick James who was one of the very first people who accommodated them when they got transported to this unknown world.
Both Raiden and ICEY aimed to stop the Manticore but were preoccupied with multiple invading SF dolls in the way.
"There's too many of them!" UMP9 shouted.
As they were about to get overrun by SF dolls when suddenly, multiple missiles hit the building where SF dolls were heavily concentrated. A black mecha fell from the sky, directly landing on top of the Manticore, crushing it in the process. Its two fifty caliber machine guns located at each shoulder started raining bullets at the SF Dolls in their sights. Despite the impressive firepower, some of the melee-type dolls managed to jump towards the back of the mecha.
It flew again and immediately slammed its back towards a separate, nearby building, crushing SF dolls in the process. After clearing itself of its jockeys, it then continued its onslaught and launched 4 large missiles at the sky which then spread into 12 clusters of smaller heat seeking missiles per large missile all dropping down towards the SF Dolls, efficiently annihilating them all. The surviving SF Dolls had enough and tailed out to make their retreat. A few were gunned down by the T-Dolls but the opposing forces managed to escape.
The mecha then finally was able to safely dock on the solid ground near the allied group. Its cockpit doors open from the back after coming to a complete stop. A man with dark greyish hair came out and waved upon first contact.
"Back up has arrived!" He energetically exclaimed.
He waved his hand gesturing for a heavy variable transport craft to land beside the mecha. The medics spare no time with bringing the casualties inside the craft. The mech pilot stood in front of a body bag where the lifeless body of Captain Patrick James lies, he saluted and let out a heavy breath. He walked away afterward. M4A1 and the rest of the girls also saluted at the body bag of Patrick James as it passed by them.
"So, M4A1. What are you guys planning to do now?" This mech pilot asked them.
"Huh? Oh. We're gonna rescue someone we know…" M4A1 answered while wondering how this man knew her name.
"Is that so? How about you, Mr. David, Mr. Jack, and Ms. ICEY?" He asked.
The 3 involved were surprised with how this guy knows them even though it was their first meeting.
"Do I know you?" Raiden asked.
"Oh right, where are my manners?" He cleared his throat. "I am Captain Sam Shirohime of Special Intervention Corps Genesis." Sam saluted as he introduced himself.
"Emmmm…." Sam scratched his head. "You know what? I'll just explain it after we're done with this rescue mission. You three coming with us?"
"Yeah. We'll come with you.." Snake answered.
"Okay then, Pancakes!" Sam throws something towards Pancakes. "You pilot my mech and escort the craft out of harm's way. I'll be joining the rescue mission." Sam then opens a compartment located at the mech's legs that contains a lot of firearms, from small caliber pistol to anti-tank recoilless rifle.
"Mr. Dav– I mean, Mr. Snake, might want to grab some firearms?"
"Don't mind if I do." he begins checking some pistols and assault rifles. He then picked 1 pistol and 1 assault rifle and grabbed an x8 scope.
The girls then replenished their ammunition and grabbed some extra grenades while M16A1 grabbed a rectangular-shaped anti-material energy cannon.
"How about you cyborg ninjas? Wanna grab some firearms?" Sam asked Raiden and ICEY.
"This sword is enough for me." Raiden answered.
ICEY, on the other hand, remained silent.
"At least have some pistols just in case." Sam throws a pistol at each of them. They both caught it by reflex.
"You guys ready?" Sam asked.
"We're all good to go." M4A1 replied.
"Okay. Let's go!"
"Good luck!" Pancakes saluted as they all saluted back at her.
The moment the transport craft left they all moved out. They were divided into 4 groups. The first group is composed of Sam and Snake. The second group is composed of HK416, G11, UMP9, and UMP45. The third group is composed of M4A1, M16A1, M4 SOPMOD II, ST AR-15, and RO635. The fourth group is composed of Raiden and ICEY. They began searching for clues near the area where ICEY last saw Persicaria.
"I wished we had something to ride…" UMP9 mumbled.
"A moving vehicle would attract the attention of the undead and not to mention those Sangvis Ferri scum." UMP45 replied.
"I apologize." Sam replied. "My mech was carrying a vehicle when I met 3 stranded people in a distant desert. Probably the same case as you all." He added.
"Is that so? Who are they?" RO635 asked.
"Errr, a weirdly dressed pink-haired little girl, an average joe wielding a scythe, and an innocent shrine maiden." Sam answered.
"... What?"
"Uh, yes." Sam responded with a small smile.
"Here comes the rain." Raiden muttered under his breath as heavy rain began to pour and lightning flashed through the dark sky while thunder roared through the empty city. The ground shook as multiple lightning bolts rained down the ground 1km away from them, almost as if it were in a sequence.
"What was that?" SOPMOD II asked.
"I have a bad feeling about this..." RO635 commented.
The rain weakened then stopped unnaturally early. The streets were gradually covered in thick fog. This phenomenon certainly wasn't a normal one.
"Guys." Raiden spoke on the radio. "Come over here. I think you might wanna see this."
After regrouping, they were then greeted by a huge bipedal machine lying beside the building.
"What the hell?!" Snake raised his voice in utter surprise. "Why is Metal Gear REX in here?!"
"You won't believe it. It just appeared out of thin air in the sky and fell to the ground!" Raiden exclaimed.
"Let's hope no other 'metal gears' appear after this." Sam added
"Hey hey. Don't jinx it. Whatever those things are..." ST AR-15 replied.
Sam climbs on the REX cockpit and checks if it's operational.
"Looks like this machine is operational, though it needs some calibrations on the control." Sam began working on it.
"What's a Metal Gear?" M4A1 questioned Snake.
"It's a bipedal tank capable of launching nuclear weapons anywhere around the world…" Snake replied, taking out a cigarette and lighting it.
"We've got company!" ICEY loudly spoke through the comms.
Everyone gathered and positioned into a defensive formation around REX preparing for combat.
"How many are they?" Snake asked.
"Unknown, thanks to this damn fog." ICEY answered.
Just then, 2 Manticores accompanied by 5 SF Dolls slowly appeared in the empty road. The fog was utilized to their advantage.
"Raiden and ICEY, take out the quad legs. The rest of you, snipe the infantries. We will do this simultaneously on my signal." Snake equipped his rifle with a suppressor. The rest also equipped their weapons with a suppressor as Raiden and ICEY moved in position.
"Fire at them right at the moment Raiden and ICEY destroyed the quad legs." Snake ordered.
"3. 2. 1…. GO!"
Both Raiden and ICEY jump down the building, slicing the Manticores in a vertical slash, destroying them in one attack. After that, the firing squadron of T-Dolls and company fired upon the accompanying SF Dolls.
"Pretty good!" Snake praised them for a job well done.
"Aren't those a scout?" HK416 asked.
"Too big for a scout. It doesn't matter anyway, they'll probably be coming for REX." Snake answered. "Stay on guard!"
The moment Snake ordered them, they got fired upon by enemies from within the fog. They can't see them very clearly, but in this case, the same went for the enemy, so they were actually firing blindly.
"Take cover! Save your ammo and don't fire blindly! Wait for a more concise visual before pulling any triggers!" Snake ordered.
"Sam, is it done yet?" Snake asked and turned his attention to him.
"Give me 5 minutes!" Sam answered as he docks behind the cockpit of REX.
They slowly can see where the enemies are as the thick layers of fog slowly subside and begin firing at them. More ground troops and Manticores. Raiden and ICEY, having separate areas to cover, got busy fending off the melee-type SF Dolls.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Everything's destroyed! Ahahaha!" SOPMOD said and laughed as she gleefully fired all of her grenades towards a Manticore. The explosions and flying debris it caused harmed the enemy's own formations and destroyed a number of SF dolls.
"Hey! Be careful!" RO635 complains at SOPMOD because some of the debris nearly hit them.
"Aww... I wanted to play some more... Ah, whatever. There's always next time." SOPMOD replied.
A girl with long black hair and a mechanical left arm jumped at Raiden, slashing him with her sword. Raiden blocked her sword and intended to parry by kicking her but the girl immediately springboarded from Raiden's blade, went for a flip midair, and landed herself upright at a distance. She faced Raiden with a sinister grin.
"Hahahaha, ain't that a nice sword~" The girl pointed her sword's tip at Raiden.
Raiden prepares to attack that long-haired girl when suddenly he gets fired upon. Fortunately, he blocked them all with his blade and stood his ground. Another girl appeared but with dark curly twin-tails landed beside her while 3 gun-looking drones floated around her.
"This isn't part of the plan…" The girl with curly twin-tails said towards the girl with dark long hair.
"I don't care… I'd rather go fight them head-on!"
The impatient long-haired girl then jumped at Raiden for a second time while firing her guns. "Hahahahaha! Show me what you got!"
Raiden was ready and parried the bullets using his sword. Quickly putting her guns away, she went back to using her sword and wildly swung it towards Raiden. He managed to dodge and parry all of the attacks thrown at him so far. The girl with curly twin-tails let out a sigh and began supporting the other girl, instead of watching her stupid and battle-hungry comrade.
"Who are these people?!" Raiden asked using the comms.
"The one with a sword is Executioner and the one with floating guns is Scarecrow." ST AR-15 answered using her comms. "These two are Sangvis Ferri Ringleaders."
"Ugh!" Raiden grunted out.
Executioner was slowly overwhelming Raiden.
"Hahahahahaha! This new body is awesome! I feel a lot stronger now!" Executioner laughed maniacally as she continued to pummel him. ICEY tried rushing over to help Raiden but was then interrupted by Scarecrow.
"This is weird…" HK416 blurted. "These grunts are way stronger than before!"
"This crazy girl is spouting nonsense about her new body." Raiden replied. "I guess someone upgraded these ones before being sent to attack us!"
"Hey hey! Keep your eyes on me!" Executioner cut through with her words, and also with her blade as she managed to sever Raiden's left arm.
"Shit! Not again!" Raiden jumped backward and started glowing red. "You'll pay for that!"
Raiden, now the one on the offensive, had his attacks done faster and had his swings hit harder. ICEY on the other hand was busy preventing Scarecrow and her goons from assisting Executioner.
ICEY glowed out an explosive aura, sending several SF dolls into the air. She rushed towards Scarecrow as she fired her guns at her. ICEY used her sword to deflect the shots fired at her.
Grenade shells rain down upon them, sending ICEY, Executioner, and Raiden in the air while Scarecrow manages to run away just in time.
"Tch, Destroyer! Be careful!" Scarecrow shouted at the little white twin-tails girl standing at the top of a building.
"Shut up! Now feast your eyes upon my power!" She begins to indiscriminately fire her grenade launchers towards the ground.
"Ack! Now what?!" Raiden complained as he focused on dodging the explosions coming from Destroyer's long-range bombardments.
"It's Destroyer! Everyone! Take cover!" M16A1 shouted as they fled to cover.
"Sam! Are you done yet?!" Snake shouted.
"Yes yes! I am done! Now get over here! You will be piloting this machine!"
"Huh?!" Snake immediately runs towards REX and Sam begins to teach him how to pilot REX.
"By the way, you can use the REX's tough shell as a weapon!" Sam said.
"What??"
"Yeah! Otacon installed a program that makes REX feel like Street Fighter!" Sam exclaimed.
"Wait. How did you know Otac–" A deafening roar by a plasma cannon cutting through multiple buildings broke the conversation of the two.
"We've got big company! I will tell you everything after we return to base! For now, let's focus on the rescue mission!" Sam exclaimed.
Three bird looking bipedal mech appeared out of nowhere.
"What the hell?! First, it's REX, now it's Metal Gear RAY!" Snake lamented.
"On top of that, it's the unmanned version!" Raiden added.
"This is your fault, Sam…" HK416 cried.
"I'm sorry…?"
The three RAYs began attacking both them and the Sangvis Ferri group, pummeling multiple missiles at them. Raiden and ICEY began slicing the missiles that were about to hit them.
"Oh right! That special program that Otacon installed is still in alpha, so it's low on flexibility and only gives results in specific cases. I'll give you a signal when the conditions are right to activate it. When you see the signal, just press the ACTION Button and RAY won't even know what hit it!" Sam explained. "But first you have to get close to RAY."
"Got it! Let's do it!" Snake answered.
Sam responds by staring blankly into nothingness. It seemed like he was baiting a reaction there.
"What is it now?" Snake asked Sam.
"N-nothing!" Sam jumped out of the REX cockpit and began covering fire.
"I hope all this chaos won't attract those zombies…" Sam mumbled.
"SHUT UP SAM!", shouted the agitated HK416.
"Eek!"
REX slowly stood up. One of the RAY begins to rush towards REX.
"Do it now, Snake!" Sam shouted.
Snake executed the program and REX immediately kicked one RAY in the head, REX then jumped and landed at that RAY, it riddled it with a barrage of anti-tank missiles, rotary cannons, and laser, destroying it all in the choreographed manner.
"Well done Snake!" Sam congratulates Snake on executing it perfectly.
"It's not over yet!"
The remaining RAY let out a roar as it went closer to attack them. Another RAY begins to rush towards REX while the other one begins to unleash all of its warheads on the surrounding area.
As the two Metal Gears clashed, several melee-type SF dolls began climbing the two MGs, trying to destroy them both. Sam leaped high and landed above REX and he fended those enemy dolls off. The girls on the other hand were putting all their attention to fighting against Scarecrow and multiple Manticores. Raiden and ICEY fight Executioner while dodging the missiles.
REX slowly overpowered RAY and rammed it on a building. After pinning it down, it then reverted its attention to the still-ongoing battle, unleashing all of its arsenal towards that RAY, Scarecrow, and the Manticores. REX was able to destroy both the RAY and the Manticores but Scarecrow proved to be a slippery foe and wasn't put out by that series of attacks.
To make matters worse, loud multiple roars could be heard over the distance. It was the undead! But from the looks of it, they weren't just your ordinary zombies. They look mutated.
"GODDAMMIT SAM!" Everyone shouted, orchestrated by HK416.
"Hey hey! I was just stating the fact! With all this noise we made, it's amazing that they didn't come for us immediately!" Sam proceeds to casually and comically kick one of the SF Dolls in the head.
"Executioner, Destroyer. We're leaving!" Scarecrow ordered them.
"No way! I ain't leaving yet! I'm still having fun!" Executioner exclaimed.
"Same goes for me!" Destroyer added.
"Fine then… Suit yourselves!" Scarecrow fled the scene.
But upon leaving, she was ambushed by one of those mutated zombies. Just one of them attacked and she was injured immensely.
"Tch-- going offline."
Her neural consciousness has left her android shell and more came and overwhelmed her. The zombies gnawed and tore through the empty android body.
"Sam! Go help out Raiden and ICEY! We'll retreat now!" Snake provided some cover fire as the rest of the allied squadron retreated.
"Okay!"
Sam then immediately leaped in towards Executioner taking over Raiden's duty of combat. She barely managed to block Sam's attack with him coming from absolutely nowhere.
"Mind if I cut in?" A wisecrack he said as he simply smiled at the android on the defensive.
"Raiden, ICEY, retreat! I'll handle this!" Sam ordered without breaking his gaze off his opponent.
"I can still fight!" Raiden exclaimed.
"Not in that condition!"
Gathering enough resolve, Executioner threw Sam off to break their stationary position. Every time she hurled her sword at Sam, he managed to block it with out a single care. Sam quickly feinted a sword swing and successfully made Executioner fall for it. Sam kicked her as soon as she tried to block his feint attack, sending her flying towards the missiles that were about to hit them. The missile was enough to obliterate her into pieces.
The remaining RAY unit then unleashed an astounding round of its warheads. Several of the warheads hit REX but ultimately didn't do much damage. Destroyer got hit in the crossfire and she was sent flying in pieces, presumably destroying her.
Sam put his sword in its sheath and began glowing. The RAY then targeted Sam in its sights and transformed its right-wing into a huge blade. It grounded itself to the land in front of Sam and slammed the area where he was. Much dust and gravel was agitated and formed a cloud within the vicinity of the attack.
"No!" Snake exclaimed.
"Shit!" M16A4 cursed.
"Sam, respond! Sam? SAAAMMM!!" Raiden shouted through the radio.
As the dust cleared, they were all relieved to see Sam evade the attack by a mere inch in distance. With a smile, he unsheathed his glowing sword. He slashed the air in front of him in an upward motion and was able to cleanly slice the RAY in half. His display of prowess put everyone in awe. With all the Metal Gear RAYs now destroyed, they all began their retreat.
REX stayed a bit and let out a final farewell of a barrage of anti-tank missiles towards the zombies, presumably obliterating a lot of them. Or at least, dazing most of them in debris and smoke.