An Uneasy Alliance

Raziel met the human's gaze. After a few moments, he lowered his strange weapon, but kept it on his lap. Raziel allowed it. After all, it would have been strange if the human were too trusting. Raziel also remained wary. He knew the power of that strange weapon. It did not seem as if it needed effort to control, but the metal projectiles that blasted from it had quickly sent him back to the spectral realm. The last thing he desired at the moment was to waste time and energy, and retrace his steps once more.

The man took a deep breath drawing in smoke from the item on his lips. He exhaled the smoke through his nose. "What…do you mean 'my feelings exactly'?"

Raziel lifted a brow. "Free will is an illusion. I have come to learn that fact… but it is only an illusion because the hand of Fate deems that it is. I despise being the pawn in Fate's chess game and your words voiced that same opinion."

The man winced, shifting in place. "Awfully eloquent for a demon, aren't you?"

"Hmph. I suppose to humans, I may be considered a demon because of my appearance. And they would not be so far from the truth. But then, humans are not known for their wisdom or their tact."

The human inhaled the smoke again, and then exhaled. A smile twisted on his lips. "Subtle. But point taken. The name's Solid Snake."

Solid Snake? "I am Raziel."

The man nodded and leaned his head back. He moved his weapon to a more comfortable position on his lap. Raziel watched him carefully.

"I'm not going to shoot you, Raziel. Not anymore. You pull out that thing on your arm again though, that's something else," he said.

Raziel shook his head. "I have some questions… Solid Snake."

"… Okay, shoot."

Raziel lifted a brow, but ignored the strange phrase. "What era of Nosgoth is this?"

Raziel saw Snake blink at him for a moment. "If by era you mean what year, it's 2018 AD. I've no clue about that 'Nosgoth' bit though."

"This land is not called Nosgoth?"

Snake straightened. "No. This 'land' is the United States of America."

"How far into the past have I traveled? Or how far into the future…?" Raziel turned to Snake. "Are the Pillars in tact?"

"Excuse me?"

"The Pillars. Are they still keeping the balance of the world or have they been destroyed?" Raziel asked.

"I don't know what world you're talking about. The only pillars keeping balance here are the ones that support a building. The rest are just decoration."

"The Pillars do not exist…?" Perhaps I have traveled to a time, before the Pillars very existence. Is that even possible?

Raziel shook his head and turned to Snake. "Why are you here, Solid Snake? In this place? You do not seem to be one of Moebius' subordinates."

"Just call me Snake, all right? And I'm no one's subordinate…except maybe my wife and kids'. I don't know who this Moebius guy you're talking about is, but I'm here because I'm hunting a group of people called the Patriots. This is, supposedly, their base." Snake paused. Raziel waited and saw ashes fall from the thing on his lips. "I take it you don't work for them?"

"I have never heard of these 'Patriots'. I am here hunting for a man named Moebius," Raziel said.

"Well, there's one thing we have in common already. We're both here to hunt someone and neither of us work for the opposite side. There's a plus." Raziel met Snake's gaze. Raziel waited for him to continue. "I think it's my turn for a question."

Raziel remained silent and watched Snake toss the thing away from his mouth. He reached into his pocket and grabbed another. He placed it on his lips and pulled out something else. From the item in his hand, fire came forth and lit the thing on his lips.

"Where did you come from?" Snake asked. "Were you already in the building? If not, how did you get in?"

"I came through the Time Streaming Device."

Raziel saw Snake's eyebrow lift cynically. Raziel shook his claw. "I came from a different era in this planet's history. Whether it is the future or the past remains to be seen. But let it suffice to say that there is a room in this fortress that leads to a world beyond this one."

Snake blinked. "Fortress, huh? Yeah, I think that's an apt name for this place. Despite the fact that there are no guards or soldiers around."

"Perhaps Moebius is expecting me," Raziel murmured to himself half in anger. That sly fiend. Perhaps this too was a trap to lure Raziel into doing as Moebius bid, but Kain and Raziel had been certain that they had slid past Moebius' current agenda. This was the era in which everything in Nosgoth was depending. This had to be the past. Even the Pillars had yet to be created.

"Snake," the man turned to Raziel. He seemed to have been pondering some information as well. "Tell me about these… 'Patriots'. If this is their lair as well as Moebius', it may be that we share a common enemy."

Snake was silent for a moment and then nodded. "All right. But then you tell me about this Moebius character."

"Very well."

Snake nodded. "These people, called the 'Patriots', are a secret sect of people in our government that control it all. Personally, I do special missions to prevent a certain kind of weapon from ever being sent out into the public. But in the last mission, I came across this group. They control everything. We supposedly live in a democratic government, but it isn't. They run it all from behind the scenes, always have. They have controlled the media, what people see, hear and believe to be true. They choose what is truth and what isn't for people. Taking away their lives and playing them like puppets. And now they're trying to control the flow of information even more dramatically. I plan on stopping them, no matter what it takes. In my previous mission they dictated everything, every movement part of the plan. There was only one thing they had not counted on. Me. That's why I'm the only one who can stop them. They want to create a world where the truth is only known and controlled by the men in great power. They are trying to take the people's free will. And I'm not letting it happen. But the weird part about it, is that when my friend and I found out the names of the Patriots, we also discovered that they were all already dead. For about a hundred years."

Raziel shook his head. "I am assured now that I am from this world's future."

Snake lifted an eyebrow. "Oh? If you really are from the future then it came out a lot worse than I thought it would."

"And so it did, Snake. What these 'Patriots' hope to accomplish, is exactly what happens in Nosgoth. My story is a long one, but I will say the relevant points. Something happens to this world. I am not sure what, but I do know that in order to protect it and maintain its natural balance, the Pillars of Nosgoth were created. There is no city or country called 'United States'. Everything is Nosgoth. But this world is exactly what you fear. Power is in the hands of the powerful, they control the people like they are pawns in a chess game and these people have no power in their own life. Free will is nothing more than an illusion in Nosgoth. The hand of Fate wields everything and the men of power control her hand. But the man called Moebius is the mastermind behind it all. For he was born with the power to control the web of time. Because of that alone, he controls destiny and makes us all puppets to dance into the palm of his hand. I have been a puppet for far too long. When you say that those 'Patriots' died a hundred years ago, it only confirms my belief that Moebius is their mastermind as well. Because only Moebius can control time, and through controlling time, control both life and death. I will see him and his evil be destroyed with him."

Raziel watched Snake slowly get up. The man winced with the pain. When he had steadied himself, Raziel saw him open his eyes and smile crookedly. "Well, I will say this. Whoever this Moebius guy is, he does plan things a little too well."

"Indeed."

"But why is he in this time? Why lead the Patriots?" Snake murmured. Raziel watched Snake shake his head and then say the answer.

"To create Nosgoth, huh? If the Patriots succeed in what they're doing, Nosgoth will be created of sorts. Just great. I thought this was a standard conspiracy, not one with magic, time traveling, and fate all wrapped into one messy package," Snake muttered.

"Hmph. Perhaps Kain was right, after all."

Raziel watched Snake turn to him. "Kain?"

"Another one who has suffered from Moebius' manipulation. I hate him, but under certain circumstances forced to collaborate. Especially when Moebius' plot was revealed. Kain had two choices that Moebius presented under the guise of 'Fate'. One was to lead the world into decay and destruction. The other was to hand it over peacefully to Moebius. Either way, Moebius won. Kain chose destruction, because at least he would have some control later so he could change destiny. Both sides of that coin only led into playing into Moebius' hand in some form or another. Kain believed that there was a way to slide through Moebius' plot. What would happen if the coin did not fall on either side…but on its edge?"

Raziel saw Snake straighten. He put the weapon on his shoulder. "So?"

"Perhaps this is the edge, Kain meant. You said it yourself. The only thing the Patriots could not predict… was you. And we are both willing to fight to take the illusion of free will and make it once more into a reality. I found my way to the Time Streaming Device in this place by following a path Moebius could not predict. By walking the path on the edge of the coin."

Snake rolled his shoulders back and placed the weapon beside him. He took the smoldering thing from his mouth and flicked it away. "So you're saying that we're both the edge of this coin?"

"No. Alone, neither of us, I believe, would be able to stop the flow of Moebius' and the Patriots' plot. But perhaps the edge itself is our meeting."

Snake smiled lightly. "I'll buy that."

Raziel gave Snake a sideways glance. "So, we will be hunting our prey together?"

Snake picked up his weapon. "Well, we do have a mutual goal."

Raziel smiled as best he could.

* * *

Raziel waited until Snake had finished recouping from his injury. Raziel did not feel sorry for what he had done and Snake had not asked for an apology. There was only silence while Snake equipped himself. After he finished he turned to Raziel.

"Since we're down a whole floor, I might as well pick up another body armor. I saw one in a room down this hallway," Snake said.

Raziel walked toward him. "I have yet to discover what unlocks these strange doorways. I have torn a few open; most are very fragile. But there are some that are sealed too tightly for me to pull free."

Snake arched an eyebrow. "Well, that's one way to do it." Snake walked toward the door. "All right. First that body armor then back upstairs. I think that door you were looking at earlier is where we've got to go next."

"Yes. That was one of those doors that I could not tear open."

"…" Snake shook his head. Raziel watched him peer out the door, his weapon ready. He noticed Snake's silence. No wonder this human caught him by surprise. Snake left the room without making a sound and turned right into the hall. Raziel followed him. Snake did not make a sound while moving. He was as silent as death. Raziel had not even noticed his presence earlier and had wondered why. Now he had his answer. Snake was a silent warrior and from his movements, and Raziel's experience, a deadly one as well.

Raziel saw Snake stop just ahead. The man was staring at a doorway. Raziel noticed the twisted metal off to the side and the gaping doorway.

Raziel watched Snake turn to him. "Maybe you should be a bit more subtle."

Raziel waved his claw. "I have an extreme amount of patience when it comes to solving a puzzle. But if the puzzle cannot be solved, I cease to tolerate it. I learned quickly that if the door could not be opened by any means within my power, then I would rip it open."

"Understandable, but with the racket that tearing a door makes, I'm amazed no one knows you're here yet," Snake said.

Raziel's eyes narrowed. "I would prefer some confrontation to this disturbing silence that haunts this place."

Snake shrugged and looked into the room. "I have to agree with that. No guards, no soldiers, nothing. Makes my skin crawl."

"We are of like minds then."

Raziel saw a smile twist on Snake's lips. "Guess so." Snake entered the room and Raziel only waited. When he had entered the room earlier there had been an item there that a human could wear, so he had left it there. When Snake emerged from the room, he was wearing it.

"All right, Raziel. Ready to go. I'm sure you've torn open all the rooms on this floor, so that makes my Level 3 and 4 key cards pretty useless. But that door upstairs is probably a Level 5 lock." Snake took out a small, flat rectangular object.

"That is how you open the doors? With that…'key card'?"

Snake nodded and placed the card back into a pocket. "Let's go."

Raziel followed Snake back up to the 'floor' above and arrived at the door. Raziel watched as Snake pulled out the card once more and slid it into the small opening on the device beside the door. There was a small beeping sound and the door slid open. The card was ejected from the device. Raziel stared at the open doorway. What kind of puzzle was this? Find this card and open the doors? And what strange form of device was this that a door would slide and vanish into the wall… as if the wall had swallowed it?

Raziel was about to step into the room to get a closer look at where the door had disappeared when he saw Snake's arm before him. He turned to the human in annoyance.

"Hold on a sec." Snake was looking upwards. Raziel followed his gaze and saw a strange object of rectangular shape with a small tube at both ends. One tube was connected to the wall and ceiling. There was a blinking blue light on it.

Raziel saw Snake lift up his weapon, a different weapon than the one he had used on Raziel earlier, and take aim. He watched Snake pulled a small trigger on the weapon and saw the weapon fire its projectile. It hit the device above them, making it shatter.

Raziel turned back to Snake and the man stepped into the room. "Don't want it to see us," Snake said.

Raziel narrowed his eyes. "How can it 'see' us?"

Snake turned to Raziel. "You know, if I didn't believe earlier when you said you weren't from this time or this world, I'd believe you now. You don't even know what a surveillance camera is."

"'Surveillance camera'?"

"Yeah. Through it people can see what is happening in this room. It's the first one I've seen in this entire building. Another thing that bothered me. Looks like we're getting close."

"Why do you assume that?"

"Because it seems like there are people from here on in. Guess they don't think anyone can get into the building, so they don't guard the lower floors. But now there seems to be some security at least," Snake said.

"How do you know there are souls here?"

Snake paused and Raziel met Snake's gaze. "… Radar."

Raziel shook his head at the unfamiliar word. He was not even going to bother. "This world is very different from what it will become."

Snake turned away and looked down the hallway before them. "I believe it." Snake began to move silently down the hall, his body pressed close against the wall. Raziel followed. There was something strange with what Snake had said earlier… Something that did not make sense…

"Snake," Raziel said.

Snake turned to face Raziel. He lifted an eyebrow.

Raziel met the human's gaze. "If this fortress is so difficult to enter and that is why the lower half is unguarded… How is it that you entered?"

A small smile formed on Snake's lips. "Could ask you the same thing, Raziel."

Raziel shook his head. "I came from a room already inside the building. From the Time Streaming Device."

"Hey, is that 'Time Streaming Device' of yours the room with the infinity mark on the door on the first floor? No matter what I did, I couldn't get in," Snake said.

"Yes. The marking is Moebius' symbol."

Snake shook his head. "Damn…"

"You have not answered me, Snake."

Snake shrugged. "Right. Well, Raziel, let's just say I have a friend that made it possible for me to get inside. He's also the one who found this place.Which reminds me…" Snake crouched down. "Can you wait a moment?"

Raziel said nothing. He only watched as Snake knelt and lifted his right hand to his ear. Snake then began to speak quietly to himself.

"Hey, Otacon. Ran into him again." Pause. "No." A longer pause. "No." Pause. "No." Pause. "Seems like he doesn't work for the Patriots at all." Snake was silent for a while before he spoke again. "Yeah. He has his own agenda.He's after a guy named Moebius and from the discussion we had, it seems like this Moebius guy may be the one running the Patriots." Pause. "His name is Raziel." Silence. "…" And a longer silence. "Not sure." Pause. "Hasn't come up in conversation yet." Silence. "…" A long pause. "Don't get your underwear in a knot, Otacon. He isn't going to do anything to me, unless I do it him first. I'm not going to get into the details, but he was already inside the building when he arrived. He didn't have to break in. Remember that door with the infinity mark I told you about?" Pause. "Yeah." Pause. "Well, he came from in there. The infinity symbol is Moebius' trademark and behind that door is a device that allowed Raziel to get in." Silence. "It's too much to explain right now, Otacon." Pause. "Yeah." Pause. "Because there are guards on this level." A longer pause. "…" And a long silence. "I'm still trying to figure that one out, Otacon." A pause. "Got it."

Snake dropped his hand and straightened. When he turned, Raziel posed the question.

"What… were you doing?"

Snake readied his weapon. "Remember when you heard me talking in the bathroom?" Raziel nodded slightly. "I was talking to my friend, Otacon, on Codec. Codec is a device that allows me to communicate with people on certain frequencies. Right now, I was talking to him to let him know the situation at hand."

"I see."

Snake shook his head and turned around. Raziel watched him slowly ease his way down the hall. What a very strange place was the world… before Nosgoth was born.

Snake stopped at the corner and looked quickly around it. He then turned to Raziel. "There's a guard. Looks like a genome soldier; smarter, faster and stronger than an average human. Probably better off killing him." Raziel watched as Snake switched weapons and screwed on a piece to the end of the weapon. He looked over the corner again.

"Why this hiding?" Raziel said and pulled out the Soul Reaver. "I will just destroy him."

Snake turned back and stared at the Soul Reaver for a moment. Then he returned his gaze and Raziel met his eyes. "Will the guy scream if you kill him with that?"

"Most likely." Raziel called back the Soul Reaver.

Snake shook his head. "Bad idea then. We don't want them to know we're here yet. Haven't you ever heard of stealth?"

Raziel lifted his shoulders carelessly. "Most of my battles have been very direct. I have never needed to hide my presence."

Snake turned back around. "Well, in this case, the less they know, the better." Raziel saw Snake peer over the corner again. He came back and paused for a moment. Then he completely left the wall and fired his weapon in the direction of the soldier.

Raziel walked behind Snake and saw him approaching the body. Snake looked around to the sides. "Got some ammo. Now where to stash the body…"

Raziel pulled down his shawl and sucked in the floating soul. Clearly, Snake could not see it, but that was not surprising. But the human had definitely sensed something, because he quickly turned around.

After Raziel had absorbed the soul, he looked at Snake's stupefied expression. Snake then shook his head. "I had no idea you didn't have a jaw… How do you talk?"

"…"

"All right. Just one more question."

Raziel waited.

"What are you exactly?"

Raziel shook his head. "Something beyond vampire. I do not suck blood, but souls. That is what I did now. I sucked in that man's soul. You could call me a… Soul Reaver." He brought out the ethereal blade. "This is a part of my soul," Raziel said. He saw Snake readying the weapon in his hand. "This too is called the Soul Reaver. Anything that it cuts down, it will devour its soul."

"Then point it the other way."

Raziel pulled back the blade.

Snake shook his head. "Nevermind. Let's just get moving. The faster we get through this place, the faster we can get our questions answered."

"My thoughts exactly."

Raziel saw Snake turn around and walk down the hallway silently. Raziel followed him quietly. It seemed this uneasy alliance is turning to his benefit after all.