Part 45: Maria Boss Fight

Part 42: Maria Boss Fight

Snake and his elite squad are in the main dining hall of Lisbon's Royal Palace of Ajuda, away from the main city in the woods by the sea.

Everyone, away from that table, weapons up. We're getting out of here.

Queen Maria enters…alone.

Oh, Snake…how much do you know?

I know you're not Maria I.

Yes, I replaced her. It was quite smooth and painless, I assure you, and if you had just eaten that dinner, you never would have woken up. Then a new Big Boss would have returned to Mother Base.

The hell are you, some kind of a body snatcher?

Heh heh heh. Yes. Exactly.

Well, you're not snatching us. GO!

Snake and his troops book it out of dining hall, but as they hit the grand entrance of the palace a bomb goes off, collapsing the archway and sealing them in!

GAH!

Quick, look for an alternate way out!

Maria strolls in from the staircase leading to the Dining Hall. Everybody points their rifles at her.

Do you know what the original Maria I of Portugal was like? Babbling about nonsense, hallucinating her dead father looming over her, scaring her own servants. It was a relief when I replaced her. Yes, there were those who suspected I wasn't the same person, but they didn't care. That's who you're resisting, Snake. Not an enemy of humanity, but its future.

Hah! Run that by me again?

Humans are destined to kill each other off sooner or later. It's only through us that their memes and culture will be preserved. We'll save all the parts of humanity that deserve to be saved, and destroy the rest. INSECTORS!

Dozens of tiny spider-robots crawl out of every crack and crevice in the main hallway and begin firing tiny needle guns at the troops!

AUUGH!

GEE-AAHHH!

Scatter! Meet up at the rendezvous!

The troops blow away the tiny, fragile Insectors in one shot each, but several get pincushioned by the barrage of needle shots. Snake and two other MSF troops hustle down one side-hall and into the kitchen.

Bar that door!

Got it!

The trooper slams the door shut, but just as she lowers a wooden beam Maria's hand punches straight through the door and strangles her!

Gauuuguhhh...

With superhuman strength, Maria kicks down the door and approaches in a hunched, inhuman stance. Snake and the other soldier blast her six times in the face before she finally crumples.

Is she dead?

I hope so. What the hell is she?

The trooper pokes Maria's body with his gun…and her hand snaps around the barrel, twisting it out of his grasp! She rises, revealing a hideous metal skull face beneath her blasted-off artificial skin, and she pounces on the screaming trooper, crunching his bones like pretzels.



Gaaah, shiiiiiit!

Snake kicks out the glass of a window and jumps out through it, tumbling onto the grassy slope outside the palace. Without barely giving himself time to catch his breath he sprints towards a tied-up horse, leaps onto the saddle and begins galloping towards the gates.

Kaz, get me the hell out of here! Is the extraction vehicle finished yet? I need it! I think everybody's dead but me!

It'll be fifteen minutes before it reaches you!

Crap!

SNAAAAKKEEE!

Maria's on top of a wagon being pulled by a team of horses, in hot pursuit of Snake. He charges into the city of Lisbon through the gates and she thunders right after him.

You can't run from me, Snake! We're your future! A future you created!

The hell are you talking about?!

Maria yawns her mouth wide open, revealing a laser cannon hidden where a human's esophagus would be. She fires on Snake, killing his horse and sending him rolling into a nearby pile of trash. Maria slows her horses and trots up as Snake groans from his wounds.

The technology to create Snatchers came from Metal Gear scientists you sponsored. Metal Gear TX-55 was built by our chief designer Dr. Madnar in Outer Heaven, and the program that lets us imitate dead humans was pioneered by Dr. Strangelove! We are the grandchildren of Metal Gear, and of you!

Fighting through the pain, Snake tosses a lit stick of dynamite at the android and rolls to the other side of the trash pile to use as cover. The Snatcher Maria has barely a second to react before an explosion covers the area in smoke and debris.

GAUUUUGGHHHH!!!

Gahhh…did I get her?

The smoke clears…and the upper torso of Maria, with most of the artificial flesh seared off, is still crawling towards him!

No… damn it, why won't you die?

I ask only the same of you. It's over, Snake!

The Snatcher opens its mouth for another shot--only for its head to get blown off by a hand-cannon!

Guh?

Around the corner a figure strolls towards Snake and helps him up.

Who are you?

Eh, just some random stranger who really hates these things. Don't sweat the details.

Gahhh-gaaa-ggaaahhh--

Huh, the head's still working. Not for long, though.

Snake gingerly kicks the Snatcher head over with one foot to look at its face.

Ha…hah…hah! Even…ee-even this is a v-victory. Humans require trust. When trust ends, society collapses. You'll…you'll need to conquer and tear apart every ss-single city on the p-planet to get us all. You won't be able to stop! T-this is the end of Civilization, ssssSnake…

Snake looks up, but the stranger is already gone.

Boss, the extraction chopper is coming in! Are you okay?

I'm…I'm alive… Kaz… I think we need to get ready to step up our war machine…



To Be Continued!