Liquid Gear 2 (Patreon)

Liquid Gear 2 - Or ‘Where is the fucking instructions for this big ass robot?!?’ (Metal Gearverse, Liquid!SI)

Setting up a target practice exercise was easier than I had been worried it was going to be.

Then again, the camp had a special training area that was meant to be used to get militia build up from basic exercises to learn and then be sent to face warfare head on.

The troops I got were kids. Small and afraid kids at that- but I had something on them that made them compliant to my training: they were being fed, they were being treated with worth and they were given a chance to ‘no longer be targeted and stop those that hurt kids like them’.

The notion of being a hero is the basis of being a soldier. As a child, one that swears to protect and keeps on with that mindset usually looks into the army or any jobs which involve danger of any sort.

A child is unique because they are expected to be innocent and unable to fully grasp the horror that is the world’s cruelty. Those were not normal kids. Their childhood had been tattered by power-hungry warlords that were desperate enough to hire cheap manpower by killing these youths’ hopes and dreams of civilian dreams by having, in some part, have them kill their own parents.

It was a reality as brutal in my previous life as it was in this one. I didn’t like it, but I had to live with it because it was a necessary evil not only for my survival- but theirs. These kids can’t exactly be given the ‘Raiden’ option and be given hope by the US.

We are far from having the US involved in this place as only mercs were intervening with the UNITA-MPLA Civil War in Angola. So, I had to get them ready, get them prepared and then, once the time was ready, leave Africa with them.

Would they leave their homes? Yes. There was no home for them here. What was left was a battlefield that painfully reminded them of what was taken from them. I asked a few about it and they were interested in the idea of traveling.

It was relieving, but I held back from making any major voting on the matter until we had this mess of a situation wrapped up. So, the first mission I had, this time for only myself as my troops trained, was to infiltrate the Mfinda Oilfield.

It was a place owned by the Patriots and that was being used to contaminate the river with some of the oil. It was responsible for some accidents, and it had killed people. But it wasn’t a place I wanted to destroy or stop.

I know this may sound odd for me to bring up- but this place was useful in polluting the water and tampering with the parasite festering the river. The Vocal Cord Parasite was the primary element of many troubles throughout the series.

In its original form, it is capable of latching on adults’ vocal cords, hiding away from detection and, once the right kind of language was uttered by the patient, it would mate about and cause an abnormal internal reproduction that could tear into lungs and kill the host.

In its current state, it wasn’t infectious until activated and it didn’t latch on young humans. It was also containable through a Wolbachia Bacteria but… it wasn’t feasible. It rendered the host infertile and it wasn’t perfect if the parasite was heavily modified.

No, there had to be something else, and I had to have that answer from the one that created the Parasite.

Code Talker. I had to find precisely where his manor was. Like, I could track down the Mfinda Oilfield, but I couldn’t find anything whatsoever about a manor in the Lufwa Valley. And that place was massive, so I wasn’t going to randomly wander off and hope to find some clue on where he was being held.

Which is why a visit to the Oilfield was needed: if the Patriots were already investigating the matter, they should have reports around to suggest potential areas where the parasitical pollution started from.

After leaving my troops to basic chores, I left with a modified car so that I could reach the pedals. It was an amusing sight, but it was better than going around by foot. Hell, I had to go through a hour-long car drive to get to my destination, and then I had to invest two more to infiltrate the place.

I was not Big Boss or Venom Snake, I didn’t have enough training and skills to speedrun through a base packing with some advanced weaponry and specialists, but I was still a clever kid and one that knew how to carefully plan out an infiltration by taking slow steps. I had to avoid killing anyone as I had no silencer on me, and humans here weren’t as dumb as they were in the games- at least in combat situations.

So, after that painstaking effort, I managed to get to the center of command or something like that. It was definitely the central spot where most papers and documents were getting passed around between being taken or sent elsewhere.

The commanding officer was out for an inspection, so I managed to secure the documents I was looking for- a potential path to Code Talker’s current location. It was noted as a potential area where XOF had struck from, and I put all of the files on the case in my bag before leaving.

It took me less time to get out, still a full hour, and I was soon back to… some worried kids. After all, I was the responsible adult, and I had been missing for roughly five hours.

Not a pleasant way to be reminded that these children saw me as their ‘dad’ to some extent. So, I was careful about rushing back into solo action for the next two days. In fact, I started to take some out to test out their affinity by liberating some more camps, this time freeing people in MPLA-owned outposts.

Saved more people, secured more supplies, and got more child soldiers to expand my own militia. It didn’t have a name just yet, but I had some memetic ideas to experiment upon once I was done with the Code Talker’s debacle.

With the kids’ safety assured and some of them getting a taste of handling dangerous forces that represented some of their traumas, I took off for that planned excursion into the Lufwa Valley.

And that’s where things got quite interesting.

In Metal Gear Solid V, the place was garrisoned by four Parasite Unit members of the Camo kind. Bald women that were using a special variant of the ‘The one that Covers’ parasite from which the Vocal Cord Parasite was originated from.

In this situation, which I had hoped XOF would have employed none due to a lack of Big Boss in the area, I could see one already patrolling. She had been there for a long while, I could tell from how at ease she was. I had to park very far and go by foot for thirty minutes to avoid any surprises, and this one was… concerning.

A single one of those bitches can really kill me very easily without some early planning. And I had been worrying about facing some of those- so, my plan was tied to my two guns.

A Walther WA 2000 Sniper rifle with a metallic scope, and a Franchi SPAS-12 shotgun. The former was to handle most of the encounter, while the second weapon was a guarantee in case things end up close and personal.

The decision to not use a scope was a risky one considering the wind and the long-distance shots I had to do, but it was better to not be detected by the foe’s highly-precise ‘laser aim’.

I had to pretty much mimic The End to deal with this, finding myself a nice patch of soft green, putting on my camo hood and then carefully covering the sniper rifle with some moss and grass. Once I was safe enough to take a shot, I did so right as the wind got favorable.

The bullet struck the woman’s head… but it kind of bounced off. If I remember correctly, these foes can be killed with three to four headshots. And I pretty much told her that I was trying to murder her as aggressively as possible. I lowered the gun, hugging the ground and waiting for a moment as I heard the special soldier ‘relocate’ through the kind of special mist-like teleportation it had.

I swear to God I will have my own big-butted ninjas too, Kojima! You hear me?!?

After a full minute of waiting, I slowly raised my head and scanned around for that incriminating red laser and I found it. I waited another minute thinking on how to aim without moving too much, but I decided to try on the side and… I hit her nose. I literally saw her nostrils detonate in blood and gore.

I dropped on the ground again, but as she relocated… I realized she was very pissed as I was welcomed by a kick on the ribs that sent me rolling away and dropping my rifle.

The bitch was holding a machete, one that was coated in a corrosive material that could have easily been a painful way for me to die but… she jumped and was greeted by a shell from the SPAS-12 straight into her ugly scowl.

Her entire head exploded due to how close it was to the blast, and it instantly killed her. I waited for a moment, groaning in pain as my ribs were hurting a bit. It wasn’t too bad, but it ached as I moved.

I paced through the forest between the valley and the manor, groaning as I felt the pain growing until I finally entered the manor. The path to the large chamber where the old Navajo had settled himself with candles was soon before me. But rather than having the candles off and lit up as I passed by those, the opposite happened.

My steps drain the light, giving darkness to the world.

Limping my way to the sitting old Native American, I finally stood in front of him and he… spoke.

“Finally, you are here, Awééʼ tl'iish(1),” The old man muttered, a strange smile on his face. “Your arrival is indeed interesting. Even more than the one I predicted I would have had with your ataaʼ(2).”

I sighed. “Sir, I don’t speak Navajo, so can we please speak English or, if you truly dislike it, Portuguese?”

He didn’t appear surprised at the cheeky yet mature response, and the old man puffed from his pipe.

“My apologies. I tend to get quite… chatty, especially when the opportunity comes to see the Hozho(3) of this world.”

I sat down with him, ignoring the mystical bullshit as science was somehow involved in this- just in a sane way as it tends to be in this sort of situation.

“Then you know why I am here.”

“I do,” The wizened researcher hummed. “You seek a cure for my mistakes, yet you do seem aware this may not be within reach.”

“It all depends if you know something that can help and you are willing to share that knowledge.”

Code Talker didn’t respond at first, appearing thoughtful.

“I do have an idea. But I will have to look into it and… a price has to be paid.”

“Which is? A strain that can be used to kill off all the English-speaking population of this planet?” The pain was getting to me, and the old man noticed. And he was amused by it.

“No. Albeit, I find the notion entertaining, it isn’t as delightful as giving you a chance to blossom and not die here due to a broken rib.”

My rib was actually broken? Then this was bad and- wait, what does he mean a ‘chance to blossom’. Before I could ask, he retrieved a vial with a needle in it. It didn’t have the Vocal Cord Parasite, no… it was… The thing that the bitch I fought had in her body but in an odd shape. I remember seeing those with passing glances, but this one was not like the rest.

“What?”

“A Weaker Strain of ‘The one that Covers’. It was produced with the intention of being… used on lesser troops, to merely improve their bodies without granting them the same properties as those blessed by the common strain.”

I frowned. “Why? There has to be more than this being a gift!”

“There is… after all, I find your existence as paradoxical as hopeful. The light you drain is the fire of war within this planet. You have a burden, one you can betray any time due to the limits of mortality.”

I dropped to one knee, blood pooling by my throat as I knew I wasn’t being left with a choice.

“You will live if you want to fight for the right thing. A world without war, could your grandmother’s wish be upheld? I do wonder.”

He offered me the needle and…

I growled angrily as I picked it up and stabbed myself in the heart with it.

Ten minutes later, I was sitting in the car, Code Talker seated in the passenger’s seat as he hummed to himself, giving me a flat look.

“Are you recovered already?”

I glared forward. “I carried you here.” With the guns and a supposedly broken ribs that ‘got fixed’ by the parasites in my body.

“You definitely did,” He confirmed. “However, you are driven by sheer will. So, it would be fair to assume it could have been that too.”

“...I am fine.”

“I am glad,” The old man remarked. “Also, I will take the opportunity to work as a doctor at your base for as long as you are amusing.”

“Bored much, George?”

He scowled, but said nothing as silence descended upon us.

…

“So, do I develop a skin condition or-”

“No,” He remarked dryly. “The Parasite has a different name for its effects. It is known as ‘The One that Gives from Within’.”

“That’s neat, I guess.”

“It will make you stronger. You will grow with it,” Code Talker continued to chat aimlessly. “And it will give you the main tool to win.”

“...Why?”

“You’re an anomaly. I like studying anomalies.”

This is plain ominous at this point…

—------d-d-d-d—-----

AN

The One that Gives from Within is an unique variant of the OG parasite that gives these powers to the Parasite Units of Skull Face, Quiet, The End and Code Talker. It’s not as invasive, and yet it isn’t as absolute as others. It’s a boost to Eli’s abilities, but it will not make him too special early on.

He can carry heavier things, move slightly faster and have a sharper eye while using a sniper. Biologically speaking, Eli will need less water and food to survive as his body now processes both in a more efficient way- he is not reliant on photosynthesis as The End and Code Talker, but he can handle smaller meals just fine.

Navajo-to-English Translation (I used an online dictionary):
1) Young Snake;
2) Male Parent/Father;
3) Hozho, the ‘Spiritual Beauty’. In this context, it is referring to the Balance of the Universe.