Part 24: Napoleon Boss Fight?

Part 24: Napoleon Boss Fight?

Snake and his troops move slowly through the palace, carefully clearing hallways with expert training. The opulent furnishings have been largely overturned and the palace is replete with garbage that's been gathered from the ruins--artifacts from all over history.

There's a hell of a lot of salvage here… even more junk than Alexander had. There's even a lot of junk I recognize…these crates! They're flying platforms from Groznyj Grad!

Napoleon's voice rings out over the recently-installed loudspeakers.

It's a pity that I made such a mess of this great place, but war sometimes demands sacrifice. Did you know, Big Boss, that I didn't merely fight Genghis Khan? An ancient Caesar and his Romans were among the small tribes I crushed when reasserting myself in this land beyond time.

You must be very proud of yourself.

Oh, but I am! I was armed with not much more than he at that point, but my strategies were superior. I've studied ancient and modern war strategy, of course. I've even found documents from the future, dealing with the weapons of the future. Your iron horses and flying machines, for example.

And steamships? (he smirks)

Heh…I'll never live down that infamous quote, will I? Well, the Romans were no minor foe.

Snake and his forward team move past into the wide open area of the Louvre courtyard, filled with military junk. Napoleon's scavengers and technicians are already scurrying about.

FREEZE! Secure them. Make sure nobody here's armed.

Oh, there's no need for that, Snake.

Where are you?

Heh heh heh. I do so admire the Romans for making a science of war. They may have been the enemies of the ancestors of the French, but in the end, they gave so much to us. Culture, of course, and weapons. The ballista…the gladius…

A trickle of sweat runs down Snake's face.

He's about to spring something. TAKE COVER!

And in all my excavations, I found quite a new gladius. Let me show it to you! Ignition.

From the back end of the junk-filled courtyard come the unmistakable sounds of rocket engines roaring. A tarp flies away and reveals a futuristic VTOL fighter jet with sword-like wings and protrusions!

VIC VIPER, LAUNCH!



Aaaah, HELL!

The Vic Viper flies high into the air as the MSF run straight back into the palace.

Now to take care of those bothersome tanks. Laser.

The Vic Viper hovers around the palace, blasting the MSF tanks surrounding it to pieces effortlessly.

HAHAHAHAHA! Such POWER! This one weapon could wipe out your entire army…and it will!

Don't worry, Boss, we've got air support coming in!

No, wait!

Several of MSF's cobbled-together WWII-era fighter planes speed towards the palace in formation.

This is nothing. Mode Change. Missile.

The Vic Viper switches from hover to flight mode and blasts straight past the fighters, circles behind them and blasts them to smithereens with its homing missiles.

I've got to do something… there!

Snake spies one of the flying platforms like the kind he saw at Groznyj Grad and hops on, whipping out one of his submachine guns with his non-piloting hand.

Boss, are you crazy? What are you doing?

That jet looks like it's designed to fight conventional vehicles, but this bucket is as unconventional as it gets. Its radar profile is tiny, Napoleon won't be able to lock on as well.

Snake starts up the engine and the hover bucket wobbles into the air.

But, your weapons…

That Vic Viper's fast…real fast… and that's always been the weakness of aircraft. They need to be light to be fast--it probably has no armor at all. If I get in close even this gun will be enough to damage it.

Hover Mode. Now, for the last of the tanks…Ripple!

The Vic Viper launches rippling concentric circles of energy down at the ground, laying waste to retreating tanks.

NAPOLEON! I'M COMING FOR YOU!

Snake's tiny platform hurtles towards the Vic Viper. It reacts almost as a living thing and swings towards Snake, firing its ripple beam.

AWWW SHIIIIT!

Snake narrowly aims his tiny platform straight through the center of the rings of energy and blasts straight past the Vic Viper. He takes a potshot with his submachine gun as he passes, putting a few bullet holes into the jet, but nowhere critical.

DAMN YOU!

The Vic Viper does a 180 in the air.

I'll need more than this…OPTION!

A flying pod deploys out of the side of the jet and hovers alongside it, matching the Vic Viper's movements.

Can you handle twice the firepower, Snake? LASER!

The Vic Viper pursues Snake's flying bucket as it jukes and weaves low below the rooflines of the buildings. For every shot Napoleon takes, the Option Pod matches his shot, doubling his offense!

This was a bad idea…

Snake flies his bucket under the arches of an ornate Cathedral, just barely missing more shots from the futuristic jet. Napoleon completely obliterates the cathedral as Snake passes through. Snake fires wildly again at Napoleon, then tosses his useless weapon aside after it runs out of ammo.

We've gotta help the boss! Everyone on the ground, shoot at it, even if you've just got a rifle!

The ground troops fire wildly upwards at the lightning-fast jet, but they don't do much as it zips around far too fast for them to accurately hit.

Mercenary scum! OPTION!

A SECOND Option Pod deploys from the Vic Viper. It shifts its orientation and aims down at the ground.

All of you…please die. RIPPLE.

DEPLOY CHAFF!

The air around the Vic Viper explodes into shards of floating metal foil and iron dust. The Vic Viper shudders in the air and the option pods fall lifelessly to the ground, their connection to the jet blocked by the jamming effect.

What!? GaGUUUG…ERROR Thisssss is IMPOSSIBLE Restart restart RE-BOOT

Howling, Snake leaps out of his hover bucket and lands precariously on top of the stationary Vic Viper. He quickly pulls out a block of C4, smashes it into the canopy and sets the timer.

NOOO! GET OFF!

See you in hell, Emperor.

Snake attaches a Fulton Recovery Balloon to his belt and inflates it, and the high-speed floatation effect whisks him away. The C4 on the Vic Viper explodes beneath him!

SNAAAAAKKKKEEEE!

The hover jet spins wildly and crashes into the ground, breaking apart into pieces. Then, for once, everything is silent. Snake's balloon slowly drifts downwards and he slumps in his harness.

God…that was amazing. Really awful, but amazing!

Check the wreckage!

The troops move forward to the smoldering wreck, being careful in case of a fuel leak or explosion. A few of them poke around what used to be the cockpit.

Boss…he's not here!

Did he eject?

No way he ejected.

No, boss, that's not it… it's empty. There's no room for a pilot, it's just a computer hooked up to the controls!

What the hell…

To Be Continued!