Final Fantasy: Solid 2 Part 3

Squall returned to Strut F, where he found an AK after killing a few guards and reading a porno magazine. After this rather anti-climatic mission, he returned to the task at hand: finding Tseng and the president.

He returned to whatever bridge connects to the Shell 1 Core (IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE I PLAYED, OKAY?!). He put on the rather tight camoflouge suit and black mask, which always denotes a terrorist, then equipped his AK and ran accross the bridge.

The core was actually fairly quiet compared to the rest of the Big Shell. A few guards where walking to and fro, but they paid little attention to Squall, since he was wearing one of their uniforms. He simply walked through them and stopped at the elevator.

As he pressed the down button, a security camera above him suddenly came on. But instead of an alarm, he heard a small "beep", and the doors opened. Wasting no time, he darted in and pressed the B2 button.

Down there, he found some more guards busy with their own things at the control panels. They were wearing different uniforms, but they were too involved in their own work to notice Squall. He just walked in, took the Directional Microphone off a desk, and left while they were reading porno magazines and drinking their asses off.

Now, he finally went up to the B1 floor, where Tseng was supposadely held. The instant the door opened, he saw a guard use a retinal scanner to open the door Squall needed to go through. With no other options, he came up with a plan...

Crouching behind some crates, Squall waited for the next guard to come. When he did, Squall jumped up, grabbed him in a bizzare wrestling move from behind, and jammed his head into the retinal scanner. The match was made, and Squall tossed the unconcious guy aside and entered.

Here was where the problems began. Row upon row of people were being held here, each one of them tied and gagged as to make it difficult to tell them apart. Squall carefully snuck down, activated the microphone, and prayed to God for a match.

(about a hundred yada, yada, yada, later...)

Upon realizing that this was pure luck, Squall turned to the nearest guy and asked, "You're Tseng, right?"

The man jerked his head up in surprise, then shook his head as to indicate "yes". Squall made sure the guard went out to the bathroom, then removed the blindfold and gag.

"Who are you?" asked Tseng.

"MOG-CHOCO, sir," responded Squall, enthusiasm in his voice.

Tseng looked dumbfounded for a bit, then said, "Switch over to nanocommunication. The guards might hear us right now."

***

Meanwhile, Irvine watched the scene on a large security monitor. Sighing heavily, he got up and set off for the Shell 1 Core.

***

(begin codec conversasion)
Tseng: There. That's better.
Squall: Where's the President?
Tseng: He's being held in the Shell 2 core.
Squall: What're the terrorists planning, anyway?
Tseng: They want something that's inside the facility.
Squall: What's here, anyway?
Tseng: This whole facility is a charade. The truth is, it was being developed by the military so they could design their newest weapon in secret.
Squall: ???
Tseng: That's right; it's a new Metal Gear.
Squall: So that's what they're after...
Tseng: But it's not only that. There are also nukes being held on the base. Their other plan is to launch one using Metal Gear.
Squall: But...how?
Tseng: The "football"-
Squall: Football? Nah, always hated it.
Tseng: No, you moron! It's the term for the detonation device for the nuke. Without it, Metal Gear will not fire any nuclear weapons, although it can still use the other weapons.
Squall: Then where is it?
Tseng: Half was in a briefcase. It was handcuffed to a navy sailor, but he was killed rather quickly, and it was taken.
Squall: And the other?
Tseng: The other half is the President himself.
Squall: What?!
Tseng: The President has a machine inside him measuring his heart rate and bodily actions. When a launch is requested, the machine checks his systems, then checks again an hour later. If his heart rate is anything above normal, the launch will be aborted immediately.
Squall: So they can't kill him...
Tseng: But that also means he has to be calm. That can mean only one thing: he's working with the terrorists.
Squall: What the hell?!
Tseng: Inside my pocket is a keycard for the Shell 1-2 connecting bridge. Take it.

Squall took the card, but just then, he heard footsteps coming. He saw three people: the first was Terra, the second was some guy in a cowboy getup, and the third was wrapped in a large black cloak. Pulling out his directional microphone, he listened to their conversasion.

Cowboy: King!
King: I take it the first check has been complete?
Cowboy: Yes, sir. Everything is going according to plan.
Terra: Like it ever has, Irvine.
Irvine: Shut up, you wretch!
Terra: You let my father die, you bastard!
Irvine: We've been through this before, Terra-
King: Stop fighting, you two!
Irvine: Why should we listen to you? This is a private matter!
King: Irvine, if it wasn't for my funding, you would only have one arm! And Terra, your soldiers had no home before I came along. You should both be grateful!
Irvine: Wait, what's that in there?

(returning to codec)
Tseng: Irvine's coming! Get your AK out and stand at attention!
(end codec conversasion)

Squall pulled out his AK just as Irvine came in front of him. "You there!" he shouted. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I was ill," Tseng said. "I told him to remove my gag and blindfold."

Irvine was slightly amused. "I thought Galbadia turned out first-rate liers. It looks like it doesn't, after all...Colonel Tseng!" Squall just stood there, unable to do anything, as Irvine continued. "They knew that the president was going to betray them, so they sent you to keep tabs on him. Well, it looks like your mission failed."

"You'll never escape the La-Le-Lu-Le-Lo!" shouted Tseng, filled with confidence that his skill in Talk Fu would defeat Irvine. Unfortunately, it didn't quite work.

Irvine pointed his pistol straight at Tseng's forehead. "We'll see who makes it out of here alive."

Just then, Tseng jumped forward, definately in pain. As he scrambled around in shock, he mumbled the words of a desperate dying man.

"You- you tricked me. Now I know what's going on. Irvine, you- you're..." As he said those last words, he slumped to the ground, dead from a heart attack.

Irvine now turned his attention to Squall. "You there, what's your outfit? Which team are you with?" When Squall didn't answer, the guard came to them.

"He is not one of mine."

Realizing what was going on, Irvine had several guards surround Squall, then pulled his mask off, revealing the handsome youth.

"Well, we meet at last!" said Irvine, once again pulling his gun up. However, Squall was a lot luckier than Tseng. The ninja jumped down from the roof, causing Irvine to draw his arm back. Gunfire opened up on all sides, and the hostages jumped for cover.

"Hold your fire!" shouted Irvine. "We need those hostages alive!" He then turned to the ninja. "You- but you're dead!"

Squall dashed to the door. The ninja jumped behind him, blocking another hail of bullets.

"Leave this to me," he said. Squall escaped from the firefight into the hall.

***

Squall ran into the hall as the announcer's voice blared everywhere. "An intruder has been found in the Shell 1 Core. All units be on your guard. Oh, and porno tonight!"

Squall jumped into the elevator. Returning to the first floor, he hid from the guards, dodged the cameras, and finally escaped.

After finding a nice place to hide, he called Pliskin.

(begin codec conversasion)
Squall: Pliskin, I've found the hostages. One dead, and several wounded.
Pliskin: Good.
Squall: Any word on the damage to Shell 2?
Pliskin: Two of the struts are completely blown apart. Most of the others are flooded, and the B2 of the Shell 2 core is completely underwater.
Squall: What about the toxins?
Pliskin: Huh?
Squall: The Shell 2 should have toxins from the clean-up!
Pliskin: I haven't seen anything like that.
Squall: What?!
Pliskin: Anyway, you'll need to get to Shell 2 now. I'll worry about the hostages.
Squall: Do you have a way to get them out?
Pliskin: I've found two Kasatka Helicopters over here. I should be able to fly it over there.
Squall: Alright. How do I reach Shell 2?
Pliskin: There's a connecting bridge by Strut F. Oh, and I left a Sniper Rifle for you there; I think you'll need it.
(end codec conversasion)

Squall made his way to Strut F, where he picked up a Sniper Rifle and reached the Shell 1-2 connecting bridge. To his horror, he found that it was covered with explosives. Suddenly, Pliskin called again.

(begin codec conversasion)
Pliskin: Aim at the green lights. Once you take all of them out, you'll be able to cross safely.

(about a hundred yada, yada, yada, later)

Squall took out the last of the lights. Pliskin called again.

(begin codec conversasion)
Squall: I've cleared the bridge.
Pliskin: Good. I was able to hijack one Kastka. I also took the liberty of sabatoging the other so they won't be able to follow us.
Squall: Can you fly one of those?
Pliskin: No, but I have someone here who can. I'd like you to meet Butz.
Butz: Uh...hi.
Squall: *hangs head in shock*
Guard: There they are! Kill them!
Pliskin: Shit! We're out of here!
(end codec conversasion)

Squall looked up to see Pliskin flying towards the Shell 1 core in his lovely Kasatka helicopter. After exchanging salutes, he flew off.

Just then, the same person who had been talking to Terra and Irvine before walked onto the bridge, still wearing a highly oversized black cloak.

"Well, look what the fools sent in now," he said. "Hmm...I'm certain I know you from somewhere?"

Squall turned around, his gun already drawn. "So, you're the boss here..."

"Not just any boss!" said the man. "I am the one who will surpass Big Boss himself: Cloud!"

Just then, Pliskin decided to take the Kasatka back towards Squall. "No! That is not Cloud!"

The man turned toward the helicopter, unfazed by Pliskin's words.

"Why, hello...dear brother."

Pliskin loaded his rifle and fired nearly a hundred rounds into Cloud (nobody was counting), but the bullets just bounced off like he was some kind of superman. Finally, Pliskin poped a gernade into his rifle and fired.

Cloud dashed right out of the explosive's range, causing it to take the area he was standing on instead. Cloud looked up, displeasure etched across his face. "I'm a whole different game from Kuja, brother."

Cloud jumped over the railing. Suddenly, the Harrier-2 Airship from before rose up, piloted by none other than Vincent! Cloud climbed into one of the seats, buckled up, and prepared for battle.

Pliskin tossed Squall a Scorpion Rocket Launcher. "Use it! Take that thing down!"

(boss: Harrier-2 Airship)

Squall quickly grabbed the Scorpion. Patiently, he kept an eye on the Airship as it flew around. Finally, he locked onto it and fired. The missle was a direct hit. Several more direct hits followed, from both the Kasatka and the Scorpion.

Finally, the Airship gained a lot of altitude, and appeared to be retreating. But just then, it dropped a few bombs. Which soon split into a few dozen bombs. And then into a few HUNDRED bombs!

Squall leaped over the railing, holding on for life's sake. The Kasatka tried to move away from the explosion, but didn't make it; part of the blast caught it. Nearly the entire walkway itself was blown apart.

Finally, Squall jumped back into position and fired away until the Airship was finished.

(end boss fight)

The final missle caused the entire Airship to catch fire. Cloud tried hastily to unbuckle his seatbelt, but a piece of debris flew up and struck him in the eye, ripping it out completely and sending him into unconciousness. Vincent leaped from the side and ran across the water.

Suddenly, to everyone's surprise, a gigantic robot, bearing a slight resemblance to Godzilla, jumped out of the water, grabbed the Airship in its mouth, and swan away.

With no other option, Squall called Pliskin.

(begin codec conversasion)
Squall: Pliskin, are you...Cloud?
Pliskin: Yeah, that's me.
Squall: Really? I mean, you are Cloud?!
Cloud: Shut up, okay. I don't do autographs.
Squall: Alright. But why are you here?
Butz: We heard that a new type of Metal Gear was being developed here. We came to investigate.
Squall: WHAT?! A new Metal Gear?
Cloud: We don't know the details yet. Anyway, we have to land and make some repairs. You need to finish your mission.
(end codec conversasion)

Squall then called Steiner.

(begin codec conversasion)
Squall: Colonel, Pliskin is really-
Rinoa: Cloud, former hero, now a wanted terrorist.
Steiner: Forget about him. He's not a part of the simulation.
Squall: Steiner, you and Cloud used to be on the same side. I read all about it in "In the Shadow of the Frozen Continent".
Steiner: I don't give a fuck about what you read! Just get back to the mission!
Rinoa: Oh, and have you remembered what April 30th is yet?
Squall: No. Sorry.
Rinoa: Okay. I'll just save your game.
SAVING...Saved.
Rinoa: Good luck!
(end codec conversasion)

Squall prepared for the most difficult climb/jump/crawl/run he had ever attempted. He had to climb across a steel beam, fall only a large piece of support, make his way down it while dodging seagul crap and various other debris, climb up some stairway-like steps, and reach the Shell 2 Core.

(about seventy million yada yada yada...)

Squall climbed up the ladder to the outside of Strut L. After carefully dodging some guards, he dashed across a weakened walkway, which fell into the ocean behind him. After stealthely taking down some of those helicopter-surveilance camera thingies, he carefully crawled across a pipe, climbed across a piece of railing, and dodged some more guards.

Suddenly, he heard a loud voice boom from above him. "Oh! I think I'm going to go in my pants! Nobody's looking, right?" Suddenly, a stream of piss came down from the roof. Carefully dodging it, Squall jumped down to a lower walkway, ran to the other side, pulled out his Sniper Rifle, and took out a BUNCH of cameras.

Putting his gun away, Squall continued to another busted walkway. After jumping across a large gap and making his way across another collapsing area, he finally reached the door leading into the core.

***

Squall immediately heard footsteps coming from around the corner. Making his way against the wall, he peeked over the side to find Terra pushing some buttons on a remote. The floor in front of her, which led to a door conveniently labeled "Where the President is being held", began to crackle with live electricity.

She then began to talk on a radio, but the electricity made it hard for Squall to here. He pulled out his Directional Microphone yet again to pick up the conversasion between Terra and the fake Cloud.

***

Terra: The security of the area is complete. The Shell 2 Core will not collapse.
Fake Cloud: Excellent.
Terra: You went somewhat overboard with your attempts to kill those fools.
Fake Cloud: Just a minor inconvenience. Don't worry; Galbadia will soon hand over the ransom.
Terra: Good. Once we get our share of the money, I will divide it among the rest of my unit. We will then go our seperate ways.
Fake Cloud: Whatever happened to reviving the Empire?
Terra: The old man is dead. His dream is no more. I will live my own life soon.
Fake Cloud: Very well. I want you and Vincent to check in with Irvine. The hostages need to be treated.
Terra: I will be there shortly.

***

Terra then walked through a hidden side door. Squall quickly called Steiner.

(begin codec conversasion)
Squall: I found where the President is, but the floor's electrified!
Steiner: Don't test it! You'll be bacon, with a side of eggs and hash. God, I can go for that now...
Rinoa: Forgive him. He hasn't eaten in a while.
Squall: Okay, now what?
Steiner: We picked up evidence that the control panel for the electricity is inside where the President is being held. You have to launch a Nikita into there and destroy it, but don't hit the President!
(end codec conversasion)

Squall then called Cloud.

Squall found his way to the elevator (after snagging a M4 along the way), and went down to the second floor. He found that the entire basement, except for a few high places, was flooded. Jumping into the water, he swam around, dodging mines and opening doors. Finally, he reached a closed door, which he promptly opened.

A dead body floated by him, leaving some blood as a trail. It wasn't until he had left the room that he realized that he had passed Leo's body.

***

After somehow finding the damn Nikita, Squall went back to the elevator, got out of the water, and went back to where the President was being held. Standing in front of a ventilation shaft, he fired the Nikita.

Skillfully, he navigated the rocket down the shaft. It exited out the other side, but the President, having heard it, jumped and ran around, screaming like a lunatic. Fortunately, the rocket hit the control panel and not him.

Squall could hear the electricity dying. Putting his new toy away, he ran through the door to the President's cell.

***

The President simply looked at Squall for a few moments, then said, in a rather sarcastic tone, "So you finally showed up. I'm here, and I'm ready to face my punishment for my actions." He then, in a rather unsettling way, grabbed Squall's crotch. Fortunately, he backed away before anything else could happen.

"You're- a man?"

Squall, despite the fact that he was, for all essential purposes, violated, still regared the man with some level of respect. "MOG-CHOCO, sir."

"I see," said the President. "Now things are started to make sense." He sat himself on a small piece of piping and pointed to his head. "Switch over to nanocommunication. We don't want to be overheard."

(begin codec conversasion)
Squall: Are you really working with the terrorists?
Deling: If you had talked to me a few minutes ago, the answer would have been, 'yes'.
Squall: But...
Deling: Sephiroth...backstabbed me...
Squall: Sephiroth?
Deling: The leader of the terrorists. He plans to use this base as an act of revenge.
Squall: What? But, why were you working for them? You're the President-
Deling: HAH! President, huh? The leader of Galbadia? Hardly.
Squall: What the hell-
Deling: There are people above me, people who have the entire world in their grip. "The Patriots."
Squall: The Patriots?
Deling: The Patriots are composed of twelve of the world's greatest minds. Their identities are unknown to everyone; even I recieve my instructions from a cut-out. They dictate everything that happens in the world and politics. Democracy is something for the history books.
Squall: But how does Sephiroth tie into this?
Deling: Sephiroth is a major enemy of the Patriots. And so is his brother, Cloud.

Squall: How do they connect to this?
Deling: Sephiroth was my predeccessor, President Wilcox. Like always, the Patriots chose him as the figurehead. For much of his two terms, he followed orders. Then-
Squall: What?
Deling: Would you stop interrupting me, please? Damn kids these days!
Squall: Sorry.
Deling: Anyway, Sephiroth gave the funding to MARKA to build Metal Gear Atma. The base, as I'm sure you know, was built under the cover of a mako-disposal site. He even sent Irvine, his best agent, in to supervise. He then faked the terrorist attack in order to test the weapon. However, Cloud stopped him, revealing the Metal Gear project and various other conspiracies, thus earning him the wrath of the Patriots.
Squall: Zzzzz...
Deling: WAKE UP!
Squall: Oh, sorry.
Deling: Anyway, Wilcox didn't resign, like was stated. In truth, the Patriots had scheduled for his health to unexpectadly fail them, thus ending his life. He escaped and went underground, where he joined forces with Irvine and Dead Cell. He then rose as the new leader following the death of the previous one.
Squall: So that's how he became an enemy of the Patriots, but how did Cloud fit into this?
Deling: Cloud became sort of a hero after the Frozen Continent incident. However, he wasn't suppossed to be a hero. The Patriots cannot let anything happen smoothly without their input. That's why they rigged the tanker.
Squall: WHAT?!
Deling: The tanker incident was faked. The one Cloud was on had no oil in it whatsoever. That one was sunk, then another one, full of oil, was brought in and sunk.
Squall: Those bastards...
Deling: Anyway, we have to destroy the new Metal Gear.
Squall: Where is it?
Deling: The whole Big Shell.
Squall: ?!
Deling: The Big Shell is actually Arsenal Gear, the newest Metal Gear. The Patriots are using it to continue their power by censoring the one thing left that's not under their control: the Internet.
Squall: ?!!
Deling: No more talk for now. We have to prepare you for destroying Arsenal Gear, the newest Metal Gear.
(end codec conversasion)

Deling handed Squall a small floppy disk. "This disk contains a virus, similar to MogDie. It'll take out the components neccessary for Arsenal Gear to run. This will ruin the plans of the Patriots."

He then backed away. "Well, that's it. Now there's only one thing left to do." He then lunged straight at Squall's SOCOM.

"Come on, you idiot!" he shouted. "Fire the damn gun! Any second now, the second check will be complete! You have to stop the nuke!"

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out. Deling slumped onto the ground, a bullet hole in his chest. However, it wasn't Squall that fired.

Irvine put his gun away. "Oops, I guess my finger slipped. See you later, carrier boy." With that, he slipped off.

Squall began to follow him, but Deling grabbed his leg. "No, he did us a favor. The launch can't continue. Now, go. Stop Sephiroth!" With that, he died.

Squall exited the room, then called Steiner.

(begin codec conversasion)
Squall: Colonel, the president's-
Steiner: I...already know.
Squall: What should I do now?
Steiner: Your orders were to rescue the president and escape. However, given the recent turn of events, we have no choice but to go through with the president's last requests.
Squall: How in the world do we destroy Arsenal Gear?
Steiner: Why don't you just call Cloud? He's your FAVORITE person! Why should I give all the advice?
Squall: Whatever.
(end codec conversasion)

(begin codec conversasion)
Cloud: I heard about the president.
Squall: How?
Cloud: Easy. I know how these missions work.
Squall: Oh. How's the chopper?
Butz: It's pretty badly damaged, but I can repair it. The guards are a bit preoccupied with something right now. Oh, and Squall, I have a request.
Squall: What is it this time?
Butz: My sister, Cara.
Squall: What? Your sister?
Butz: She was working her as one of Arsenal Gear's top engineers. She's still inside here. I want you to find her.
Squall: Any ideas where to look?
Cloud: My guess would be in one of the unflooded areas of the second floor basement. That's where a lot of the programming went on. She might be able to help us.
Squall: How?
Butz: If she's the engineer, then she can help us find a way to disarm Arsenal before it goes completely active. Besides, I haven't seen her in a long time; I feel like I owe her a visit.
Squall: Fine, fine, I'll go look.
Butz: Oh, and there's one other thing.
Squall: What?
Butz: She's afraid of water.
Cloud: Damnit, Butz! Most of the B2 is flooded!
Butz: I know. She used to swim like a fish, until she almost drowned in our pool. Now she won't even put a bathing suit on.
Squall: Okay, I'll think of a way to get her out of there.
(end codec conversasion)

Squall made his way through the murky water, until he reached a previously unexplored area. He opened the door to find a small room. A square-shaped catwalk stood over a pool of strange-looking water, with a large gap in the middle. Another door was on the other side, but the big problem was still in the room.

Hovering just over the gap was Vincent.

"So," said Vincent, "you finally showed yourself."

"Give it up!" shouted Squall. "The president's dead. Your plans have failed!"

Vincent, however, was unfazed. "The final check was complete long before the president died, you fool! The weapon is ready for launch!"

Squall was completely dumbfounded. What the hell was going on here?

"The girl is up ahead," continued the villain. "Of course, the room she's in is flooding, so you'd better hurry if you want to save her."

He motioned to the strange water. "This is modified ocean water. Once you fall in, you don't come out. You'll sink like a stone!" With that, he jumped in and, remarkably, began to swim!

(boss: Vincent)

Squall pulled out his M4 and kept his eyes on Vincent. When the vampire jumped out of the water, Squall quickly fired at the bullet hole in his forehead.

Angered, Vincent charged forward, knife drawn. Squall rolled to the side, then fired again. Vincent then jumped onto the support beams.

Suddenly, a vast array of knives began to fly out of every corner of the room. Squall dodged them, finally caught a glimpse of Vincent, then fired.

The vampire jumped back into the water, swam around, then leaped back out. Squall dodged some more knives, then continued to shoot.

Finally, Vincent was standing in front of the gap in the center of the platform. Squall fired one last shot into him, sending him falling backwards.

(end boss battle)

Vincent tumbled straight into the water, the battle having taken its toll on his strength. His body sank into the deep, bizzare water. Within seconds, Vincent had dissapeared entirely.

Squall then decided to call Cloud and Butz.

(begin codec conversasion)
Squall: Another terrorist down. It's Vincent this time.
Butz: So, you killed the fag, huh?
Squall: What the hell?!
Cloud: Butz! This is no time for your prejudicial overtones!
Butz: Well, it's true, isn't it?
Cloud: He's a BI, not a homosexual, Butz!
Squall: That would explain a lot...
Cloud: Anyway, back on topic. We found out the terrorist plan.
Squall: What is it?
Cloud: They want to "liberate" the area along the Galbadia River and turn it into some kind of a Republic.
Squall: So, unless they get their own nation, they'll nuke Galbadia!
Cloud: No. It's much worse than that.
Squall: Huh?
Butz: They'll detonate the nuke while in the air.
Squall: What good is that?!
Butz: If they detonate it while it's airborn, it'll create an EMP-like field that'll fry all electronics. With Galbadia being the economic center that it is, it'll trigger a global depression, literally trapping the world in a living hell...
Squall: Okay, that's a long enough narrative for now. So what do I do?
Cloud: Get Cara and make your way to the control room in B2 of the Shell 1 Core. She'll be able to program the virus into the computer.
Squall: Got it.
(end codec conversasion)


Note (not part of the fic): I hate the next scene SO FREAKING MUCH that I pushed most of it out of my mind. So I'm kinda winging it here. Bear with me.


***

Squall opened the door into the next room. Like so many rooms, it had sprung quite a nasty leak; an entire foot-and-a-half of water had filled the area. Inside was noting more than a bunch of lockers, indicating that this was a locker room. Squall didn't see Cara inside, so he went through a locker-to-locker search.

Finally, he found Cara. She looked up at him, fear in her eyes. Her blond hair was quite wet, her glasses were cracked slightly, and a small card hanged from her neck. Like her brother before her, she was quick to soil herself in the face of this new guy with a gun.

"AAAAAHH!" she screamed. "PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DON'T HURT ME!"

"Sheesh," said Squall. "Are all of you scientists THIS freaked out by every single solitary thing?"

"Oh, sorry," said Cara. "It's been a very bad day, what with the terrorist takeover and all."

Squall picked her up. "Let's get out of here. We don't know when they'll show up again."

Cara started to walk, but suddenly fell forward. "My...my legs! They feel...so weak..."

At this point, Squall realized that he'd have to help guide Cara along the damn path every single minute he was with her. The thought of Rinoa was the only thing keeping him from blowing his brains out right there.

Squall led Cara into the room where he fought Vincent. Fortunately, there was no sign of the evil vampire. At this point, Squall dropped Cara and called Cloud.

(begin codec conversasion)
Squall: I got Cara, like you said to.
Butz: Oh, and there's one thing I forgot to tell you.
Squall: Oh, I can't wait to hear this...
Butz: She's afraid of water.
Squall: What the hell?! THE ENTIRE BASEMENT OF THE CORE IS FREAKING FLOODED!!!
Butz: Figure something out. She has it pretty bad, though; she won't even get into a bathing suit now.
Cloud: Butz, you...are...an...idiot.
Butz: Well...can I at least talk to her?
Squall: How?
Butz: She should have codec. All staff on the Big Shell have it.
Squall: Fine, fine, go ahead.
Butz: Cara!
Cara:...Butz?
Butz: Yeah, sis! It's me!
Cara: WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!
Butz: Is that any way to treat your brother?
Cara: You deserve it, considering what you put me and mom through, you soulless bastard!
Cloud: Hey! He may be a bastard, but he DOES have a soul!
Butz: Listen. Push everything about the past behind you for now. Just follow Squall to the Shell 1 Core.
Cara:...
Butz: Oh, and use your codec for a majority of the time now. We can't risk letting the enemy get ahold of any of our conversations.
Cara:...
Butz: And quit with the silent treatment! I'll kick your ass when we meet if you don't!
Cara: Hah! I kicked your ass every time we fought before! What makes it any different now?
Cloud: *tries to hold back a laugh* You were beat up by your little sister?
Butz: Shut up...
Squall: Let's go.
(end codec conversasion)

Squall took Cara to the next room, which was still flooded. Already he could feel Cara beginning to tense up.

"Just close your eyes," said Squall. "I'll carry you along through the water. Just close your eyes and count to one hundred. Oh, and before we go, just how does Arsenal work?"

"You remember the Y2K fiasco? How everyone was afraid that all the computers would stop working once the year 2000 came around? Well, the Patriots created a program to prevent the disaster, and sent it worldwide through the world governments. I should know; I helped program it."

"What?!" screamed Squall. "You helped the Patriots?!"

"Anyway," continued Cara, "when Arsenal Gear comes online, a trigger in the program will take over each and every computer it's programmed into, which is about every single one on Earth. They'll then be able to censor however they see fit."

Squall sighed. "Let's just go."

(ONE PAINFULLY BORING AND DIFFICULT SWIM LATER)

Squall and Cara reached the connecting bridges, only to find that they had nearly all collapsed for some odd reason. While Squall went into a corner to cuss, Cara motioned toward a door.

Squall grabbed her and dragged her to the door. Unfortunately, it was locked with a Level 5 lock. Just when everything seemed hopeless, Cara showed Squall a Level 5 card. After cussing her out for not giving it to him in the first place, he opened the door.

Following some passages, they reached a ladder leading down to the oil fence. Just then, they got a call from Cloud.

(begin codec conversasion)
Cloud: There's no other way to the Shell 1 Core except through the oil fence. Arsenal's start-up destroyed all the bridges that weren't damaged during the Harrier fight.
Squall: Great.
Cara: Don't worry. I think I can walk a bit.
Squall: Good, because that fence will NOT support more than one person at a time. I'll have to cover you.
Cloud: There are a few sentries, as well as some Cyphers. I'll be on the other side to give you some more cover, as well as take over leading Cara once she gets to the other side.
Squall: Got it.
(end codec conversasion)

Squall and Cara climbed down the ladder. The oil fence was ahead. It was a small, narrow bridge that was held into position by several columns, each with two guards on them. Several cyphers were also flying around, but were too far away from where the two heroes were standing to notice. The bridge itself looped around through the columns in a kind of semi-circle, leading to the bottom of the Shell 1 Core.

Suddenly, Squall got a call from Cloud.

(begin codec conversasion)
Cloud: I'm in position on the Shell 1 Core platform. Keep your scope on Cara; don't let her out of your sight.
Squall: Got it.
(end codec conversasion)

"Look at the sunset!" said Cara. Squall finally noticed that it was indeed getting quite late. "Isn't it beautiful?"

The sun itself began to slowly descend in the horizon. Squall thought it looked nice...then the codec went off.

(begin codec conversasion)
Rinoa: Hey, Squall!
Squall: What?
Rinoa: Have you remembered what tommorrow is yet?
Squall: Uh...no.
Rinoa: You...you...you...
Squall: Calm down, okay?
Rinoa: Remember when I went into your room?
Squall: Why now?
Rinoa: It was just so...empty...all there was was a bed, a picture, and a bare wall.
Squall: Shut up, okay?!
Rinoa: Well, if you're going to be like that, I have no choice but to save your game.
SAVING...Saved.
Squall: Damn!
Rinoa: No more Mr. Hot-Shot for you!
(end codec conversasion)

"Can you get onto the fence?" asked Squall.

"No," said Cara, "I'll be fine." With that, she jumped down onto the fence and began her trek across.

***

Squall ducked down and raised the sniper rifle. After dispatching of the two guards on the first column, he turned his attention to the Cyphers. However, two more guards went onto the column, so he took those out as Cara climbed onto it.

She stepped onto the next section of the fence. Squall turned his attention to the cyphers yet again, but Cloud had already taken care of a good number of them. A few more came around, but Squall took them out.

Cara climbed onto the second column. She then began to cross the third oil fence. Things were looking good...

***

Cloud smiled as Cara began to get close to the end. She was halfway across the fence now. Finally, Arsenal could be stopped...

Then a faint gurgling reached his ears. Just as Vincent jumped straight out of the water, knife in hand.

***

Squall saw what happened with shock. Cloud was paralyzed with shock. Cara was shocked with fear. Only Vincent wasn't shocked.

Grabing Cara from behind, he raised the knife to her throat.

(boss: Vincent)

Squall just aimed at the bullet wound in Vincent's head and fired.

(end boss fight)

Vincent lost his grip on Cara and the knife. Dropping them both, he fell back into the water, hopefully for good.

Cara began to stagger forward. At first, they thought it was just because of the shock she had recieved from the experience. Then they saw it.

Blood was slowly coming out of her chest.

Cloud, in an act of complete rage, jumped down off the column and ran to Cara, shooting down several Cyphers along the way using only his SOCOM. Swinging Cara over his shoulder, he dashed back to the column and entered the Shell 1 Core. Squall followed in suit.

After climbing in, he recieved a call from Cloud.

(begin codec conversasion)
Cloud: Cara's begun to enter the virus. You have to get here. Fortunately, most of Terra's soldiers are already inside Arsenal, so this place should be rather empty.
Squall: How's Cara?
Cloud: She's...Just get your ass over here! We don't have much time.
(end codec conversasion)

Squall soon found that the few remaining guards were all busy listening to the evil music of Britney Spears, so he was able to easily sneak past them while they masturbated to posters of her. Of course, being somewhat sane, he nearly shot himself just looking at one picture, but that was the end of it.

Finally, Squall reached the B2 of the Shell 1 Core. Cara was nearly unconcious and being held up by Butz, while Cloud was simply watching. He almost immediately noticed Squall.

"He got some organs," he said, knowing what the question was going to be. "We can't stop the bleeding. She doesn't have long."

Cara and Butz soon began to exchange their final conversasion. Butz finally explained the truth about their father's death. Apparantly Butz had had an affair with Cara's mother (his stepmother). When his dad found out, he tried to drown himself in the pool, but Cara got caught up by mistake. Since Butz was too busy rocking out in his room, he didn't hear the struggle. He then left in shame.

Finally realizing why her brother had left, Cara finally forgave him. Then, as if on cue, she died in his arms.

(After much crying by Butz)

"Butz," said Cloud, "the chopper's working. Take the hostages and get out of here. We'll take care of Sephiroth."

However, just then, a loud alarm went off on the control panel. The screen that had once shown the progress of the virus simply flashed one word: ERROR.

"Shit!" shouted Cloud. "Arsenal has a damn Antibody system!"

"You mean the virus isn't going to work?" asked Squall.

"It'll still work," said Cloud, "but it'll take several hours for it to breach enough through the Antibody program to inflict enough damage to bring it down. We'll have to deal with the rest of Dead Cell and Terra's group while we wait, or they might still have time to launch the nuke."

With that, they all left.

***

Cloud and Squall soon ran into Squall's old friend, the cyborg ninja. He took his katana and cut off his helmet, revealing...Terra! Terra was the ninja the whole time!

Squall raised his gun in panic, but soon heard Cloud say, "It's night time, kid." Then he felt a strong blow to the back of his head, and everything went dark.

***

(begin codec conversasion)
Rinoa: Squall, can you hear me? I have a very bad feeling here. I'll save everything that has happened up to this point.
SAVING...Saved.
Rinoa: God, may he be okay...
(end codec conversasion)

***

Squall found himself strapped to some kind of metal bed. In front of him was none other than Sephiroth himself, only now he had an eye patch and a strange backpack-like thing with Dr. Octopus-esque tentacles. To his side were Irvine and Terra, with the girl now being dressed in her military gear.

"Are you awake, my son?" asked Sephiroth. "Don't tell me you don't remember me now...Squall?"

Suddenly, one of Sephiroth's mechanical tentacles lashed out and began to strangle Squall. Desperately, he struggled against this force, but it was to no avail. Finally, as if by an act of God, the thing fell back.

"Come on now!" shouted Sephiroth. "You could never have possibly forgotten me! I practically raised you, you little brat!"

"Why go through all this?" asked Irvine. "What does the boy possibly know?"

"His past is the key to the Patriots. If he can remember me, I'm sure he'll help." He turned back to Squall. "Now face the truth about your past."

(WARNING: LONG CUTSCENE!)

"The Jungle Continent, the 1980s. You were part of the Youth Infantry Mercenary Division. You were hired by one of the warring factions. Don't you remember those years? The killing? The slaughter? You loved it! It was your entire life!"

Squall was unmoved...he had known it all along...

"After the wars were over, you were returned to a Foster Home; your parents were long dead by then. You hid this single fact about your past. Now it's time to join me, your protector, in destroying the Patriots!"

Squall said nothing. However, Irvine finally broke the silence when his arm began to quiver again.

"Damn it!" he shouted. "This arm...it's like it seeks revenge against Cloud!"

"That means...Cloud's nearby!" shouted Sephiroth. "Terra, you stay here and keep watch over Squall. Irvine and I will make the final preperations for the Metal Gears. See you later...Squall."

Sephiroth and Irvine exited out the door while Terra aproached Squall.

(begin codec conversasion)
Squall: So you're the ninja...
Terra: Yes. I've been helping you since the beginning.
Squall: But why?
Terra: I joined the terrorists because I thought it would give me a chance to find Cloud. Together, we set this up so that you could stop Arsenal.
Squall: So you've been working with him all along?
Terra: No. We fought in the shell. It turned out that he saved me when that Tanker went down...and that Irvine was the one that killed my father.
Rinoa: Squall!
Terra: Talk to your girlfriend for a minute. I have to finish my cigarretes.
Rinoa: Squall, is that true? What Sephiroth said?
Squall:...yes.
Rinoa: But why didn't you say anything before?
Squall: That is my past, my secret. I swore I'd never let anyone know that about me again. I would be free from that hell.
Rinoa: Squall...you didn't...trust me.
Squall: No. I learned long ago never to trust anyone.
Rinoa: *hangs up*
Terra: You have no idea what a woman wants, do you?
Squall: Shut up!
Terra: Look, I'll let you out. You'll have to avoid the guards and meet up with Cloud; he has your equipment.
Squall: Okay.
(end codec conversasion)

Terra walked straight up to Squall. "But first..."

Then she socked him in the stomach. Hard. After Squall was done doubling over, she left and opened the straps.

Squall checked his wrists...then realized that he was naked...

***

Running out of the room, Squall ducked behind some boxes and recieved a call from Steiner.

(begin codec conversasion)
Steiner: Squall, you have to continue your m-m-mission.
Squall: I have to see Cloud first.
Steiner: Leave him out of this! He wasn't a part of the s-s-s-s-similation!
Squall: Well I can't do anything like this!
Steiner: That's true. You won't be able to attack or enter the Hanging Mode either.
Squall: Cloud has my gear. I have to find him!
Steiner: Your role- I mean, mission, is to stop Arsenal!
Squall: My role? Why do you keep saying that?
Steiner:...
Squall: Colonel, I just realized something.
Steiner: What?
Squall: That I never actually met you before. Not once.
Steiner:...
Squall: Who are you, anyway?
Steiner: You'd better do your mission. We have Rinoa.
Squall: What?
Steiner: Communication terminated!
(end codec conversasion)

Part 4