The Other Side of Sanity

Chapter Three - The Great Escape

by H7

Disclaimer: Posted on the first chapter. If any doubts, please refer back to chapter one.

Warnings : In later chapters, extreme graphical violence. Some violence in this chapter. Bad language, and possibly some trippy mind problems (insanity). Character death and OCs. Angst. Nanomachine communication is represented by "Blah", and flashbacks are "Blah". Normal radio communication is represented by "Blah."

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The ninja moved with a speed that was almost impossible to see, racing over toward Snake with a killer intent. Luckily, Snake had encountered this kind of skill before, and when that blade was suddenly swung at him, it took all of his ability to dodge the maneuver.

He leaped backward, and the ninja, not even fazed by the sudden movement (but then again why should it be? It must have been used to such speeds) followed, again slicing at him. This time, with a bit more wits about himself, Snake was able to duck under the attack, rolling past his opponent, and as the ninja spun about to face him, he raised his gun and fired. Not once, but twice.

The first shot sailed harmlessly past the ninja's head, hitting the wall with a noise and leaving little more than a mark, but the second shot, instead, was directly on target, lined up with his opponent's neck.

Or, at least it was, until with lightning speed, the ninja raised his arm, and the bullet ricochet leaving no more than a tiny smoking trial, marking where it had briefly come in contact with the thick armor.

Thoughts raced through Snake's head, What kind of exoskeleton is that?

There was no chance for even that thought to finish, for as soon as the bullet deflected, the ninja disappeared. Now, while it was a bewildering tactic, Snake had fought Grey Fox several years earlier, and this was nothing new to him.

The ninja appeared behind him, and Snake twisted out of the way to dodge the downward strike, his opponent's blade whistling past him before hitting the ground with a clink. Instantly, the ninja continued to move, noticing quickly its miss, and attempted yet another strike. Snake had not even the chance to land yet, so as he continued to dodge, he spun around in the air, lashing out first with his foot, followed by a shot from his gun.

The bullet was simply dodged, and as his foot came in contact with the tough exoskeleton, the ninja moved swiftly, grabbing the heel of his foot and twisting, causing his whole body to flip and fall to the ground gracelessly.

How tough is he? Snake thought, staring up at the ninja, Grey Fox at least had to dodge bullets when I shot at him, but they just bounce off of this guy.

There was a flash of movement, and as the ninja's blade flew down toward him in a stabbing motion, Snake was able to roll to the side and quickly get to his feet. He thought about tossing his gun to the side - useless thing that it was - and the ninja was just too fast to land a proper hit on.

All in all, Snake was beginning to believe the ninja was just toying with him.

Said enemy walked slowly forward, blade in one hand, angled to the ground. The ninja was obviously drawing the encounter out, but for what reason? What difference would it make if it attacked now or later?

A quick glance told Snake that Otacon was behind him, sitting in a curled up position against the wall, watching the events fearfully. The man's hands were shaking, and his eyes were wide, just like when Grey Fox started attacking the man.

The memory struck Snake hard, Jager reminding him so much of the figure before him. Was it possible that they had managed to bring Fox back from death, again?

But no. . .He was smeared across the floor! There was no way-

Before he could finish the thought, the ninja charged forward yet again. Snake instinctively ducked down, avoiding the razor sharp blade (proven when the sword left a long gash in the wall) and using the opportunity as a chance to knock out the ninja's legs. Snake spun, his own movements much more clumsy than the ninja's, and thus his opponent was able to see the attack and flip over his futile attemps.

Needless to say, the hopelessness of it all was starting to get on Snake's nerves, and with a hint of anger on his face, the Legendary Solid Snake jumped and took a wild chance, attempting to tackle the figure.

It was no challenge for the ninja to simply grab him by the collar and throw him to the ground. The ninja, now straddling him, raised his blade high, his knees on either side of Snake's chest. This time, there was no rolling out of the way, and with a pang of dismay, Snake saw that he had dropped his gun when he had been grabbed.

The visor of the ninja's helmet glowed even stronger for a brief second, and then the blade came flying down. Closing his eyes and bracing for impact, Snake was ready, doubting that his fists could do anything to this-

There was the sound of a sudden gunshot, temporarily banishing the sound of Snake's hard fast breath. Instantly at the noise, Snake opened his eyes and glanced up. The ninja still sat there, posed, but his blue visor was rapidly blackening. Without warning, the ninja suddenly lost his balance, and slipped off of Snake and on to the floor beside Snake, his body limp. His blade clattered to the ground the sound the only thing in the sudden still.

Now without restraint, Snake sat up quickly, looking up. There, half standing half leaning against the wall was a frightened but triumphant looking Otacon, smoking gun still in hand. Snake allowed himself a brief, tiny smile before turning his attention back to the downed ninja.

The ninja was laying half twisted on to his stomach, visor completely dark. Snake automatically stiffened, caution running rampant throughout his veins. Carefully, he did the only thing he could do - shook the ninja lightly, to see if it woke up.

When the ninja made no move, a frown formed on his face, but Snake continued to examine his foe, anyway.

Everything seemed absolutely fine, except for a patch on the ninja's back where there were tiny little sparks (which were already dying away) and less than a foot from where he sat, Snake could see the missing part.

A rather large piece of metal, obviously not a usual part of the exoskeleton. It was about as long and wide as a television remote, and it was of a lighter, grey color. It too, had a few sparks flying off of it. It seemed unusually awkward, especially for a design so sleek as what the ninjas tended to use.

Dismissing rather silly theories as to what the part could be, Snake turned back to the ninja. Could it really be Jager, his friend who even when he asked for death, Snake could not do it? Not even when it was the only way to kill Liquid. . .

He quickly moved his hand down to the helmet of the ninja, and searched the siding. It all looked the same, flat and smooth, separated only by tiny little divisions in the exoskeleton, but soon enough Snake found a section that when pressed, dipped in. He tapped the apparent button, and was not surprised to see the visor of the helmet slide open.

What he was surprised to see, however, was the face within.

There was one, blinding second where he did believe it was Fox, but it didn't take long for Snake to realize that he was wrong. It wasn't Jager at all - though, it did look like him. Maybe it was the dim lighting of the room, and the strong smell of oil in the air that made him think that.

It was Raiden.

"Otacon," he hissed, rolling Raiden over on to his back, "Get over here, quick."

Raiden, his face now partially exposed to the dim ceiling lights, was covered in a sheen of sweat. Snake noticed, as Otacon raced to his side - gun still in his hand - how the boy's eyes raced beneath their lids. . .

Pale, shaking (from the little he could see), sweating. . .

Is he sick? Snake asked himself, moving forward so he could better hear Raiden's shallow breathing.

Raiden didn't sound good at all.

But. . .Why would he attack them?

"Raiden? Oh no. . ." Otacon murmured in a frightful voice, suddenly, looking up at Snake and nearly dropping his gun, worry evident in his eyes, "I didn't kill him. . .Did I?" His voice quavered, slightly.

Snake shook his head, returning his eyes down toward the sick boy (not that he was really a boy, if what the computers suggested was true), "No. He's alive, but we better get him out of here. I think he's really sick."

Otacon's eyes widened, "But what if he attacks us again?"

Shaking his head, Snake reached over and picked up the little grey device, raising it for both of them to see, ". . .I think that this was what made him do it. . ." Idly, snake rotated the device in his hands, studying it from all sides. Outwardly, it was just a smooth chunk of rectangular metal, "Now that you shot it off of him. . .I think we'll be fine."

Otacon paused, thinking, before nodding, "Yeah. . .And besides, it's not like we can just leave him here, can we?"

Snake shook his head, "But I think we'll have to leave. Immediately. As much as I'd like to find out more about this crazy place, I'm not sure if the kid can handle too much more without medical attention."

Otacon seemed to understand, but then suddenly glanced back at Snake with a questioning look in his eyes, "I'm all for getting out of here, but how can we? We'd have to take him back. . .They know that I'm with you now, so how will the three of us manage to slip out? We'd have to carry him."

"I think I can carry him on my own, but you're right. . .This is going to be tricky." Snake glanced up at the door, and back down to the sick Raiden, who was still looking rather pale and sick, "I think that we'll have to take him back up, and I'll keep going ahead to check for guards."

"You said there were hardly any guards when you came down here," Otacon pointed out.

"Hardly any, but one is more than enough, if he spots us," Snake sighs, "I'm also curious to what the hell they did to him-" Seeing Raiden in an exoskeleton, and remembering what Doctor Naomi Hunter told him about Grey Fox was not a reassuring train of thought, "-and if it's reversible. We got to get him out of here, and soon." Snake was unable to get his hand against Raiden's forehead, as the visor was still blocking most of his face, but the one finger he was able to get inside proved that Raiden was very warm. . .Too warm.

Retracting his finger, Snake first put the boy's sword back into its sheath on the boy's back, and the he moved to pick Raiden up. It would be a bit awkward, he decided, and so instead lifted up Raiden, and slung the boy over his shoulder. Raiden's head and upper torso lay against his back, swaying slightly as he walked, while the boy's lower body was in front of him, held there by his hand on the boy's waist.

Raiden was far lighter than he expected, perhaps a little too light even. Snake shrugged away the thought for the moment, leaving it to when they actually got a better chance to look at Raiden. For now, their priority was to escape.

Now, how to get out? Snake moved over to the door from which they came earlier, curious. A deep, worried feeling spread through him when he realized it was actually unlocked. . .It was almost like someone planned the entire thing. . .But whether that was true or not he did not know. Again, so many things he could not answer. . .

The door slid open, revealing to them an bare hallway before them. . .There were no guards waiting, no clearing teams. . .Just the open hallway. Cautious and concerned, Snake said nothing, and only motioned for Otacon to follow him. They crept into the corridor, and began moving down it.

There was of course a sense of urgency behind it all, and Snake found himself subconsciously moving faster then he would really consider safe, in a place where they could easily turn a corner and run face first into a patrolling guard. Raiden still limp over his left shoulder, and his right hand holding his gun, he ignored his worry, rather focusing on enough caution to get them out alive.

They sped around the next corner, and continued up the stairs leading up to the next floor. Their feet clanged against the metal of the staircase, the noise echoing in the empty room, but it didn't matter. There was apparently no one around to hear it. Inwardly, Snake praised the straightforwardness of this place, as it was easy enough to just backtrack and leave. There were no convoluted turns, no inexplicable twists. It was linear to a fault.

A quick glance over his shoulder revealed that Otacon was close behind him, though the scientist was having a bit of trouble keeping up. Hal had never been an athlete, not in his entire life, and so it was no surprise to Snake that the man was having problems. Still, Otacon persisted, letting Snake know that he was okay with a quick nod and a forced smile.

Turning back around, Snake continued forward, taking a right turn at a fork in the path. He slowed down, the fear of guards nearby acute, and took a quick glance around the corner, and down the hall.

No one.

He smiled.

"Come on," Snake said, turning toward the panting Otacon, "This way. And stay quiet." Now choosing silence over speed, he began creeping down the hallway, both careful not to make too much noise, or to jolt the unconscious man laying limp over his shoulder.

The general feeling of wrongness with the building almost seemed to double as they creeped down that hall. Shouldn't there have been someone, anyone, chasing them? Sure, there were few guards on the way in, but they were spotted earlier by that damn camera. . .There was something wrong. There had to be.

The problem revealed itself as Snake peered around the next corner. At least eight guards were running toward them, guns drawn, and at the sight of Snake's partially concealed face, were already moving to fire. Feeling his own eyes widen, Snake ducked back into the hall from which he came, and motioned to Otacon to move. The scientist seemed startled when the bullets hit the wall so close to him, and it took only a second to follow Snake into the side room.

In a hall like there was outside, there was really no place to hide. No fixtures, no indents, nothing. However, once they darted into the side room, Snake could see many places that would all do in a pinch. It was a work room of sorts for office people - there were desks here and there, and in the middle of the room there was a section that was separated from the rest of the room by a half wall, which then connected to the ceiling (and thus completing itself) by a large sheet of glass.

Praying that the stuff was at least tempered, Snake dove behind the wall, landing hard but managing to keep from hurting Raiden too bad. The unconscious boy - Man, Snake reminded himself, man, - moaned as he was tossed around slightly, his limp body swinging uselessly against Snake. The older man felt a pang of worry for the boy - man - but brushed it aside quickly, laying Raiden down beside him, and preparing his gun.

At first there was no sound other than his own swift thinking, and the heavy yet muffled sound of Hal's breath, but soon enough, he heard the sound of a soft footstep. . .The quiet rustle of cloth. . .

Counting away the seconds, Snake waited until he could see the shadow of one of the would be assailants. Steeling himself, he pulled off the wall, and moved to the side, raising his gun. The guard only had the chance to register the fact that Snake was shooting at him before he received the bullet to the chest, flying back and hitting into the far wall, right next to the door.

Of course, the sound and movement (and blood) alerted the guards rather quickly. Quickly, he darted back behind the half wall, and waited, motioning briefly with a nod for Otacon to ready himself. If the scientist needed assistance, then he would give it, but first of all, he had to watch to make sure that he could handle the ones after him.

Soon enough, two more guards passed the wall on his side, ready for him. His instinct took over, and he raised his gun and fired, quickly eliminating one with a shot to the head. He aimed his next shot as he moved, pushing again off the wall, but straight out this time instead. As he rolled, he fired, clipping the guard in the shoulder. Of course, once he stopped moving, a second shot was fired and the poor young guard was swiftly killed, landing in a heap on the floor.

Now that he had distance between himself and the wall, Snake looked over toward Otacon. The scientist had not moved, which was both good and bad. Bad, because he was a sitting duck, and good because Snake had no clue what these people wanted with Raiden, and had no intention of just handing over the boy to them.

Hal was staring up wide eyed at a guard who was in the motions of raising his gun, but Snake was faster. Taking only the briefest of moments to aim, Snake managed to shoot the man's gun hand, causing both for the gun to drop and also what may have been irreparable damage.

The guard, understandably, screamed out loud, a large bullet hole in his hand. Snake's expression did not change as he fired the second shot, the bullet just missing the man's temple. It was close enough. The guard stood there for a moment, eyes wide and blank, before slumping forward and falling flat on his face with a deadening finality.

Four guards down, four to go.

Snake wasn't all that surprised when he heard the familiar clinking of a grenade hitting the floor, and though later he wondered how he managed to move in time, he somehow was quick enough to grab both Otacon and Raiden and drag them away from where he suspected the explosive to be.

The explosion rocked the room, as they always did, filling the entrance with smoke and shattering the glass. For one brief second, it was absolute chaos, and time seemed to slow down. Every movement seemed to take forever, as Snake scrambled, still dragging Otacon and Raiden and praying to anything that ever existed that the glass was indeed tempered. It must have been, as he did not cut himself, nor did he hear anything from either Otacon or Raiden.

The sounds of ricocheting bullets resounded throughout the room, and Snake found himself pulling his comrades behind one of the desks for cover (it wouldn't provide much but sometimes all you need is just a little) and firing back into the cloud of smoke. He couldn't see anything but that didn't mean he couldn't hit them by coincidence-

In a sudden lull in the battle - he was reloading his own bullets, and it seemed that everyone else was as well - the soft noise of sobbing, light and quiet but still there. The sound perked his interest, but as another bullet whizzed past his shoulder - already the dust was beginning to settle and it was disturbing just how much their aim improved in that time - and so with only the faintest tinge of stifled curiosity, he turned back to the battle at hand, firing another three shots into the somewhat still clouded entrance, looking briefly for anyone that he could just snipe off.

There weren't many left, and although they tried their damnedest to remain hidden, he was able to pick them off - two to the head, and one in the arm, and as he fell out of his hiding spot, another to the neck - even Hal was able to work up enough courage to get one. His shot was sloppy, but that was to be expected (the scientist was not a natural born fighter).

When there was only dead silence from the hall, only then did Snake turn around and head over to where he heard the gentle crying. Curiosity had gotten the better of him, no matter how many times he reminded himself that things like this were never good.

"Uh, Snake? Where are you-?"

"Just a second, Otacon," he replied, his voice low and quiet as he moved around one of the desks, gun drawn and prepared for just about anything. What greeted him was something that he had never expected. A young, slender woman dressed in a long white lab coat with chocolate brown hair and emerald eyes greeted him. She was crying, her eyes red as she stared up at him with fear.

Fear that was immediately replaced by bravado.

Snake involuntarily smirked, his eyes narrowing in a mixture of suspicion and amusement, "And who are you?" His gun was still ready, and though it was not directly aimed at the young woman, he knew that it would take less than a moment for him to kill, if the need arose. He tried to let this confidence show in his gaze, as a warning. Whether it would be taken instead for overconfidence, he didn't know, but it seemed like it had to be done.

". . .I work here," the woman managed, her voice still choked with tears.

Snake raised the gun, aiming for her head. He didn't plan to shoot, but maybe it would make her talk easier, he figured, "Tell me why I shouldn't kill you right now, then."

She hesitated, the fear returning to her face, along with a lonely look of panic. Snake figured either she really wasn't out to get them, as he had first feared, but that she instead really was just a scientist caught up in the crossfire. That, or a really good actor. . .She glanced over behind Snake, and he quickly shot a look over his own shoulder. She was looking at Raiden. . .she had to be. . .

"I-I can. . .I can help you. . .and him. I can help you with him." Her voice was almost like a pleading whisper.

"How? What can you do for him?"

" . . .We. . .We installed nanomachines into his brain. . .They help ke-keep track of his location," the girl stuttered, the fear nearly over coming her. Her eyes were trained on the gun Snake held in his hands, and he made sure to make a point of keeping his trigger finger ready, "I can help. . .I can take them out - they can't track you if I do that, I swear! Please don't kill me!"

Snake nearly rolled his eyes at the scene. How dramatic, "And how do I know that you won't kill him, or make him worse?"

"I won't! I swear! Please, please just let me go!"

"I'll let you go. . .But you have to help him, understand? I want information, too. . .If anything goes wrong, I'll make sure that there's a bullet in your head, got it?"

She whimpered and nodded at his menacing tone, slowly moving toward where Raiden lay, motionless. Snake made sure to keep his gun on her at all times, and he could tell by the way she held herself that she knew exactly where he was at all times. She was wary of his presence. . .Not sure exactly what to make of that, Snake decided that he would take it as a good sign.

"Tell me about what you people did to him," Snake muttered, watching as Otacon moved away from Raiden's body to make room for the unsuspected visitor. She took a moment to think on the question, placing her hands on the side of Raiden's helmet, and pressing something. The whole helmet disappeared, the metal almost seemed to turn to a liquid, and retreat back into the high neck - which ran right up to Raiden's jaw - and vanished beneath the rest of the armor.

". . .We have used the latest in technology to create this specimen," now talking about something she was familiar with, she seemed much more relaxed than before, though Snake could see that she was still scared, "The helmet is made of an interesting combination of both metal and chemical compounds, and when stimulated by the proper command, actually melts and retreats back into the neck of the exoskeleton." Snake could now see the condition of his former comrade - the boy was definitely in the grips of a strong fever and far too pale - and it didn't look good at all, "What we have done with him is a good question, but an even better one would be what haven't we done."

Snake's eyes narrowed, "Tell me. . .I won't let you leave otherwise."

"He is sick due to the chemical treatments he has over gone for the last three years. The chemicals used were designed to help improve reaction time and overall speed, things he was already skilled at. This is but a mere side effect. Various areas of his body were replaced with complete mechanical parts-"

"Just what do you mean?" Otacon interrupted, his eyes wide.

"The exoskeleton is a part of him now, you can never fully get it off. To do so would be to dismantle him, and seeing as both his helmet and his armor is made of the same versatile liquid, that would be almost impossible."

She placed a hand on Raiden's forehead, before leaning in close and checking his breathing patterns, "Various other mechanisms were implanted to control his actions and movements, making him basically a prisoner in his own mind. That is, if he still has one. I cannot guarantee it, as we have seen signs of severe personality loss and memory loss, due most likely to a general lack of hope."

"So. . .what you're saying is, he's basically brain dead?" Snake couldn't keep the hint of surprise and disbelief out of his voice.

"No. . .He's not brain dead - he can still breath and live on his own, but his individuality may have suffered. We did not yet have the chance to experiment and see, as he is - was - not quite complete. . .Just. . .how did you find him, anyway?"

"He ambushed us, on the second floor," Otacon answered, his eyes on Raiden, "We happened to shoot something off of his back - do you know maybe what it was?"

She looked down for a second, apparently contemplating, before again raising her head, "Yes. . .It was most likely the device that we use to control him. Without that on, we have little to no power over him-"

"Why are you telling us this?" Snake prodded, his finger rubbing anxiously against the trigger. This place just didn't make any sense.

She shrugged, "If I didn't tell you, you would just shoot me. Besides, you've already shot it off, and you won't let me leave until I dispose of the tracking devices, correct? And anyway, this isn't between me and you, I just work here. I do what I'm told."

"So experimenting on people is just a job for you? A hobby?" Otacon sounded absolutely horrified, though his face was trapped in somewhat of an uncharacteristic stony glare. The lady shrugged again.

"I get paid."

"Listen lady," Snake couldn't keep the contempt out of his voice, "You are going to come with us, and then you are going to get those nanomachines and whatever else out, got it? Try anything, and I can guarantee that you will be killed, understand?"

Slowly, she stood, and thus, the group of them left together, Raiden again over Snake's shoulder, and the unknown scientist lead away at gunpoint. Luckily, they ran into no more patrols, or anything else for that matter. All and all, it seemed a little too orchestrated. . .And though she had answered a lot already, Snake still had one question that he was saving. . .Why Raiden?

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A/N : Hi! Sorry about the LONG delay. . .Once again, this chapter just didn't want to come. Whatever. I think I'm finally falling back into my third person writing mindset, so this should get a little better. I hope.

Oh, and by the way, the new lady is NOT a main character, and thus is NOT a Mary sue. I hope she turned out alright, I don't usually end up writing intellectual theories and such. Sorry if any of it was crap, and if there's something you think should be rewritten, just tell me and I'll work on it, okay?

Thanks to all the reviewers and such. . .I really appreciate it!

Oh, and if there are any mistakes, feel free to just point them out.