"You Never Can Tell With Bees"

 

 By Amazoness Duo

 amazonessduo@hotmail.com

 

 A little back-story of MGS3. It centers around a government operative named Kaitlynn Lanford, a member of a covert missions group named Watchdog. Their supposed to stop problems before they have a chance to get out of hand. Anyway, she had been dating her equipment specialist, Ming Pha, and they had been rather close. THis was awkward for Kaitlynn because she wasn't easy to get close to. Nevertheless, things continued onward and they continued to grow closer. But another government agency somehow set their sights on Kaitlynn and attacked her family. An agent with psychic powers infiltrated her family during a Christmas get together and got ahold of Ming Pha. He used her as bait and injured Ming Pha to get Kaitlynn to tell him what he wanted to know. Kaitlynn finally got him to leave but Ming Pha had been fatally wounded. She died at the hospital a short time later. Kaitlynn is having more and more difficulty reconciling what she has done and now she has nothing left to live for. Her family is dead and the woman she loved has been killed because of her profession. So she pours herself into her job, taking more risks as she cares less and less about what happens to her. Her current mission has taken her to Hong Kong to assassinate Solid Snake during a robotics conference that he and Dr. Hal Emmerich will be attending (Hal & Dave!! ^-^). But once in Hong Kong, someone meets her at the airport. Someone who looks remarkably familiar. Ming Pha's 15 year old sister, Hao Minh, meets up with Kaitlynn saying only that she recieved a phone call from her dead sister to come and meet her. Kaitlynn is immediately suspicious, but the eager Chinese girl doesn't seem at all flustered by the agent's threats or even holding a gun to her head. Giving up, Kaitlynn lets the younger girl follow along. She goes to Ming Pha's mother and tries to explain things but her mother blames Kaitlynn for Ming Pha's early death. Unable to convince her otherwise, Kaitlynn goes back to her hotel room. There she recieves an odd phone call from Ming Pha. The dead woman hints at something more happening but refuses to say much more than she thought Kaitlynn meeting up with her sister may be able to help the both of them. Kaitlynn is haunted by more and more images of Ming Pha. She seems to show up everywhere, in the mirror, in little things written into the water droplets in the shower, everywhere. But she continues to focus on her mission. She goes and speeks with Hal Emmerich at the robotics convention and manages to convince him to meet with her at a restaurant a short time later. She takes Hao Minh with her after a lot of whining on the younger woman's part and they head off. WHile there, they are attacked by a mysterious cyborg ninja. Snake shows up and helps to fend off the ninja, but not before she can chase them through the crowded streets of Hong Kong. Hao Minh seems out of it and quite possibly the ninja's target. Kaitlynn decides it isn't safe to leave Hao Minh at home and takes her back to her hotel room. The younger woman is a bit embarrassed, knowing that Kaitlynn had been dating her older sister, but she goes along with her. Later that night, Kaitlynn watches Hao Minh as she sleeps, remembering Ming Pha in the younger girl. She goes to take a shower but finds the water cold and droplets already on the shower. Ming Pha used to get up before her and use all of the hot water. She grapples with her own feelings over the other woman's death for a moment before seeing something behind her in the mirror. At first she thinks it's Ming Pha watching her, but when she turns around she discovers the ninja has returned. Armed with only a towel, she's in no position to fend off the ninja. But it seems that the ninja has no wish to fight her at the moment. She explains that Ming Pha was not killed on accident, that the whole purpose of the hit on Kaitlynn had been specifically to kill Ming Pha. Apparently, Ming Pha knows something that she shouldn't and she was killed for that. The ninja wants to know what she was killed for so upon hearing that Hao Minh had heard from her dead sister she had gone immediately to Hong Kong. Leaving Kaitlynn with a scar, the ninja says that they will meet again and that one of them will die. With that, the ninja fades away. Kaitlynn hurries out to make sure that Hao Minh is okay and is relieved to see that she's still all right. She gets another call from Ming Pha, but the dead woman refuses to explain what's going on or what she knew. Frustrated, Kaitlynn is ordered to the robotics convention the next day. Once again, Hao Minh accompanies her. She leaves the younger girl with Nastasha Romeneko in the lady's room when she sees a sniper lining up a shot on Hal Emmerich during his anti-Metal Gear speech. She manages to stop the sniper, but as she takes him through the back to speek with him, a strange man in a trenchcoat passes. The sniper drops lifeless to the floor after electricity passes through him. Kaitlynn confronts the strange man only to find that he's apparently part of the Neo Foxhound group that she was sent to uncover. She fires at him again and again, but all of the bullets hit into his electrical field. But before he can attack Kaitlynn, the ninja returns and holds him off as Kaitlynn escapes with Hao Minh. Waiting in a car outside, Snake, Hal, and Jack drive off to the hotel suite that Hal and Dave have been sharing. Kaitlynn lays a still shaken Hao Minh down and rests beside her. They talk for a bit about what might be happening before Hao Minh tentatively kisses Kaitlynn. Kaitlynn returns the kiss, through she feels guilty of betraying Ming Pha. 

 

 Okay, now that's about where we left off in the RPG. ^-^ Kaitlynn is the player, so I'm not responsible for any of her actions up till now. ^^ You can blame everyone else on me. ^-^ Anyway, here we go. ^-^

 

 Kaitlynn sighed to herself as she made her way through the busy streets of Hong Kong. She had just woken up less than twenty minutes ago to find Hao Minh had gone missing. She finally has a new hotel room and the Chinese girl had to up and disappear. She didn't even know what she was supposed to do about her. How was she supposed to protect Hao Minh when she hadn't even been able to protect her sister? That thought had plagued her from the very moment she had met the younger woman. Why did Ming Pha send her younger sister to her? What if she couldn't protect her the same as she hadn't been able to protect her sister? This whole scenario had her on the edge. She was doubting herself at every corner, second guessing herself at ever impasse. She was starting to wonder if there was anything she could do to keep death from claiming Hao Minh. 

 

 Kaitlynn glared at an older man as she pushed past him. He obviously hadn't been looking where he was going and she was in no mood to deal with him. Smiling politely, the old man apologized profusely. Sighing, Kaitlynn let herself fade into the crowd. She couldn't even get out any of her pent up frustration. She felt like she was barely balancing up above the streets and that any sudden gust of wind would send her sprawling to the streets below. How was she supposed to hold on? What was she supposed to hold on for? Her family was gone, her girlfriend killed by the same government that she herself worked for. So what was she hoping to uncover by remaining? It wasn't like she could stop any government conspiracy by herself. WHo was she compared to the Patriots? Hao Minh was already in danger because of her. How could she ever forgive herself if both sisters died while she was unable to protect them? 

 

 A familiar face caught her eye in the sea of people. The blonde woman agilely moved through the crowds, trying desperately to reach the younger girl. But try as she might, Kaitlynn couldn't cut the distance between herself and her target. Her green eyes never left Hao Minh as she continued to make her way past the throng of busy people as if they weren't there at all. 

 

 Conscious thought was a thing of the past for Kaitlynn. She was in her element. She was prowling the streets, stalking her prey like some silent panther. Eyes glinting, she followed the gentle Chinese girl, everything else fading into the background. She was aware of every tiny detail, but at the same time she was aware of nothing but the younger woman dead center in her vision. Part of her was relieved to have this chance to lose herself. The rest was too intent to notice. This was exactly what she had been trained for, what she had been bred for. Like an experienced predator, she moved almost exclusively in the shadows. But even with all of her years of experience, all of the time she had spent honing her skills to a razor's edge, she could not close the gap between herself and the younger woman. She knew it couldn't be the crowd that was the reason. Throngs of people had never been much of a problem for her before. She had assasinated people on busy streets often enough to know her way through the currents of people. Panic wasn't something she allowed herself the luxury of, but concern did begin to creep through her icy demeanor. Just what was going on?

 

 A sudden trill in Kaitlynn's ear forced her mind to return to the here and now, but her eyes never left the seemingly unconcerned Chinese girl. "Raven," she answered quietly as she stalked the girl she had promised to protect. 

 

 "Kaitlynn," a familiar voice whispered in her ear. It was one that she remembered often, one that spoke with the quiet intensity of the only person who had known her well, and even then for an all too brief amount of time. 

 

 "Ming Pha," Kaitlynn whispered, keeping a tight grasp on the clarity of mind that years of training had imparted upon her. Ducking past a few men on bikes, she hurried to the other side of the street, but by then Hao Minh had already made her way towards the bridge. Raindrops began to spatter down below from a dark and angry sky. Thunder sounded in the distance, low and rumbling. 

 

 "Kaitlynn, my sister is here with me," Ming Pha whispered. It sounded like she was thousands of miles away, but Kaitlynn heard her clearly. The codec got a burst of static that sounded like hundreds of voices before it became clear again. Ming Pha sounded calm, as if she were simply trying to explain something that Kaitlynn couldn't understand. But there was something urgent in her voice, like a warning from beyond the grave. 

 

 Hurrying after the younger Chinese girl, the blonde frowned to herself. She still wasn't even sure if it really was Ming Pha that was contacting her. It could easily be someone faking it to get to her. But for some reason, Kaitlynn couldn't bring herself to completely believe that. It -felt- like Ming Pha. The chords in her heart felt like they were being struck the same way as when Ming Pha had been there with her. "What do you mean?"

 

 "My sister is here with me. She got here a few days ago. She never met you, Kaitlynn." There was a long pause as she waited for this to sink in. A soft giggle filtered over the Codec. She had always found it amusing when the blonde refused to listen to her. It was something that frustrated most people, but she just took it in stride. "Hao Minh is here with me, Kaitlynn. I've been talking with her. I feel a little bad because she was so young, but I think she's better off here. It's a lot safer for her. Especially because of me. Of course, that's how she ended up here so early."

 

 Kaitlynn nearly froze at her dead lover's words. She had met Hao Minh after her plane had landed in Hong Kong. She had grown close to the younger Chinese girl in the past few days. There had been a beauty in her soul that had captivated the blonde women, had driven her to try and protect the younger woman. So how could Hao Minh be with Ming Pha? Ming Pha was... dead...

 

 A scream from up ahead shattered Kaitlynn's thoughts like a brick through a plate of glass. "Hao Minh!" She recognized the voice instantly. Her eyes darted ahead to see the younger woman being hefted in the air by a barely visible phantom. "Stealth.. Damn it!" Pulling out her gun, the agent forced her way through the crowd, ignoring the lash of the wind and the rain against her as she made her way up and over a car. Her mind immediately ran through a list of possibilities and stopped on the least palatable of them all. "The ninja..." Of course that was the mostly likely. The ninja had told her that she was after Hao Minh because Ming Pha had contacted her. But if Hao Minh was with Ming Pha... Forcing the thoughts away, the blond operative took chase after Hao Minh and the ninja. Rain tried to force her back, wet bangs sliding into her eyes seconds before headlights whipped in front of her. Cars zipped past as the storm picked up. She could barely keep her eye on the girl being dragged through traffic. Muscles tensing like an athletic runner, the blonde bolted through the rain, barely missing getting sideswiped by several cars as she hurried forward. "Hao Minh!!" she yelled above the rising storm. But even with the added weight of the Chinese girl, Kaitlynn couldn't seem to catch up with the ninja and her prize. Defeat began to gnaw at her heart, but she forced it back down, refusing to accept it. 

 

 Two cars skid to a halt in front of the barely visible ninja, spraying water as they ground to a halt. Men popped out of the cars in a swift, military fashion, training all of their guns on the dim visage of the ninja. 

 

 Kaitlynn paused in the rain, wiping the rain drops from her eyes like bitter teardrops, her eyes remaining on the Chinese girl. Her heart began to pound in her chest with all the power of the storm around her. There was no way she could reach Hao Minh in time. And the men seemed to be pointing their guns at her rather than the ninja. "Hao Minh!!" she screamed into the howling wind. 

 

 Seemingly hearing the blonde's voice, Hao Minh turned and met Kaitlynn's eyes. Hao Minh's usual vibrant brown eyes now looked impossibly deep and sorrowful, as if they had forever been lost to the darkness. Turning back to the men, the ninja disappeared, leaving Hao Minh alone in front of the wide assortment of guns. Rain whipped past her, drenching the young girl as thoroughly as if she had fallen into the sea below. 

 

 One of the men stepped forward, either not noticing or not caring about the rain. His gun remained trained on Hao Minh, his hand tensed and ready to end the young life ahead of him. "The game's over. You've lost. Now come with us."

 

 Hao Minh's head drooped visibly, her hands held tightly to her chest. The men didn't give an inch, all of them continuing their silent vigil as they kept her in their sights. "Must we always live a lie?" Her quiet voice asked the desolate wind. It didn't hold the same energy that Kaitlynn was used to hearing. Instead it was laced with a deep sadness that seemed to wrap itself around Hao Minh's soul. The younger girl looked up suddenly, her whole demeanor changing in seconds. Now there was something quietly imposing about her, something almost frightening. "You can't kill me." The men took this as their signal, fanning out around the fifteen year old. Hao Minh hardly seemed to take notice of the men as they encirlced her. 

 

 Lighting struck somewhere nearby, it's brilliant blue lighting the bridge. When the bolt faded, the man in front of Hao Minh lay dead. Kaitlynn watched in surprise, her eyes darting back and forth for the Chinese girl. An object in the air caught the blonde's attention. To her surprise, Hao Minh's small form had leapt into the air. It came down with sudden ferocity, breaking a second man's neck with her weight. Before he hit the ground, she had his gun. The other men fired back quickly, but they seemed no match for this little tigress. She moved with a lethal grace that defied belief. Like some sort of fatal dance, she continued forward amidst the hail of bullets, taking out the remaining men with an almost beautiful ferociousness.

 

 Standing in the middle of the bodies, Hao Minh stood motionless. The gun slowly slipped from her fingers, clattering silently to the street underneath her. Rain continued to pour down over her, but she took no notice. Her tears mixed with the rain as she stood amongst the broken and discarded men. 

 

 "Hao Minh?" Kaitlynn cautously approached the younger girl, her hands clutching the handle of her gun like a rope being held out to her. In all of her years as an agent of Watchdog, she had never seen anything like that. Her mind clicked and whirred as she remembered that grace from somewhere before. The scar on her thigh burned in rememberence. "You're the ninja..." It didn't make sense at first. She had seen the ninja chasing after Hao Minh. But it was the same fluid dance of death. Her heart felt frigid at the thought. She had been protecting this girl but it seemed that she didn't need her help at all. 

 

 The Codec beeped several times before Kaitlynn could bring herself to answer it. Her eyes remained on Hao Minh, her gun raised. "Raven."

 

 "Raven, this is Otacon. Snake thought I should tell you about this. He checked out the Chang house." The scientist sighed deeply, obviously not wanting to continue. Pushing up his glasses to steel himself, he spoke up. "It's Hao Minh. Snake found her body in the family garden. She's been buried there for a few days. The best we can tell is that it was around the time you got here. Raven, the girl you've been with isn't Hao Minh Chang. You need to get away from her. She has to be an imposter. Hao Minh's throat was slit by some sharp edged weapon."

 

 Kaitlynn couldn't respond. SHe merely watched the sobbing form of the girl that she had known as Hao Minh in front of her. Without a word, she switched off her Codec. With shaking hands, she circled the crying teenager. "Who the hell are you?" So she hadn't been able to protect Hao Minh after all. The girl had been killed before she had even reached Hong Kong. Forcing her gun against the sobbing Chinese girl's head, Kaitlynn felt anger and regret drowning her soul. "Just who the fuck are you?!"

 

 "I don't know... I don't know..." The Chinese girl whimpered, tears spilling down her cheeks. She sniffled weakly as she looked towards Kaitlynn with her deep brown eyes. "I told you... I'm like you. I have no name." Her hands rested on her chest, her clothes stuck to her body from the water thoroughly drenching them. 

 

 "What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Kaitlynn spat out angrily, forcing the gun tighter against the girl's head. "You killed her. You killed Hao Minh. I thought you were her this whole time, you murderer."

 

 The girl broke down into tears again, clutching her hands together tighter. "I'm sorry... I have to know... I have to know who I am. I told you the truth about why I'm here. Ming Pha knew who I was. She designed the ninja armor I wear. She knew. But they killed her before I could find out. Everybody wants to use me. They all want to use me like a gun. But I'm not! I'm not just a gun. I'm not a weapon. I just want to know who I am. I found out she had contacted Hao Minh but she wouldn't tell me. She wouldn't tell me what her sister told her. So I thought..." she began to sniffle harder, rubbing her eyes. "I thought that you could tell me... I thought Ming Pha might have told you..."

 

 Forcing the younger girl forward, Kaitlynn felt an odd mix of sympathy and raw hatred welling up inside of her, coating her heart. "So you fucking killed her? You killed her so you could get to me, is that it?" The anger won out as the sobbing girl nodded weakly. The blonde's finger tensed on the trigger, waiting for the slightest provocation. "I'm tired of being the reason that everyone gets killed. I'm tired of being a death sentence to everyone who knows me."

 

 "I'm tired of everyone trying to use me like a weapon. But that's all I am to everyone, a gun to be pointed in the right direction. I just want to know why," the girl wept miserably. With a motion quicker than the flashes of lightening painting the sky, the girl known as Hao Minh snatched the gun from Kaitlynn's hand, sending it careening into the shadows. The younger girl turned with the grace of a dancer, easily stepping away from the blonde agent and towards the shadows. "I told you the truth earlier. I really do have feelings for you. Spending time with you was the happiest time I can remember. I didn't want it to end. But I need to know who I am." She paused, wiping tears from her eyes as she continued to step back towards the shadows. "I think you and I are the same. People point us towards their enemies and wait for us to kill them. We're nothing more than guns. But I need to know why. Why do I kill? Why am I here? Maybe you can't tell me that. But I'm going to find out." And with that, the younger girl leapt backwards over the edge of the bridge. 

 

 Kaitlynn rushed forward, straining her eyes in the storm. The rain continued to pound into the waves below, but there was no sign at all of the woman who had leapt off the side. Had she leapt to her death? Had she given up her foolish quest? "We're not the same," the blonde whispered, though for who's benefit, she wasn't sure. "We're not. I'm not a gun. I'm not."