A sharp crack resounded in the cold warehouse air as Snake pulled the trigger on his pistol. Taka snapped to attention and flipped out of the bullet's path, the small steel projectile instead daintily bouncing off the hull of the Metal Gear. Snake's aim followed Taka's movements across the moving bay, continuing to open fire. Staying on his toes, Taka easily evaded the gunshots just as easily as he'd taken out the goons just before, slowly closing in on Snake. Eventually, Snake needed to reload, and while he was exchanging the useless, empty clip for a full one, Taka rolled in towards him, and the first thing Snake saw when he looked back up from restocking the ammunition of his weapon was the silver flash of Taka's right switchblade heading straight for him.

Sidestepping out of harm's way, Snake withdrew his stun knife and prepared for close-up combat. Taka swung his switchblades at Snake, aiming for the vital point of his neck, and Snake answered by blocking on of them with the knife and releasing the electricity into the blade, the current coursing through Taka's switchblade and into his arm.

Taka: Oww!

Fighting through the stinging electricity that bit at his skin, Taka flipped sideways and smacked the bridge of his foot into Snake's cheek, following up by dropping a smoke bomb at his feet and vanishing, sprinting away under his cardboard box.

As soon as he had recovered from the kick he'd taken, Snake noticed that his enemy was nowhere to be seen. Looking at the red mist, Snake realized his enemy had bolted, so he found it safe to reactivate his CODEC, the internal communicator ringing to life.

Snake: I've made contact with the unknown. He's a confirmed enemy, armed and dangerous with switchblades on his forearms.

Otacon sounded relieved to hear Snake after the previous call. He responded, thinking.

Otacon: Strange... We haven't got records of anybody like that here. Did you see his face at all? I could try to ID him.

Snake shook his head for his own emphasis.

Snake: He's wearing a mask that covers everything below his eyes and his left eye has an eyepiece over it.

An audible sigh greeted his report of the intruder's appearance.

Otacon: Well, no way I could ID based on that... Stay on your toes for now. I'll see what I can manage.

Snake slipped his stun knife back into its sheath and took out his M4 Carbine, locking and loading the assault rifle for action.

Snake: This guy's well-trained. I know that much for certain.

Snake ended the call and set to patrolling the bay in search of his enemy. Peering around corners and scouting out possible vantage points, he combed the scene bit by bit. On occasion, he would stop and plant a C4 on the box he was passing, planning out tactics for later in their fight. After he had planted a few, he realized his search was going nowhere, so he activated his Solid Eye.

The moment the device whirred to life, he could see Taka's footprints and where they led. He had made his escape behind some large cargo, and Snake cautiously followed the trail, the red light of his Solid Eye shining into the shadows. The trail of prints led snake behind a giant metal container, where they suddenly disappeared. Confused, Snake looked around him, rifle held at his chest, as he analyzed the surroundings of the trail's mysterious end.

Squee... Whoosh.

A small, quiet sound from the rafters caught Snake's attention, and he looked up to see Taka descending from above. With a strike to the top of Snake's head, Taka stunned his opponent for just a moment. He landed safely and flipped over Snake, executing a Kaiten and slashing at him from above. A cut in Snake's shoulder was made, and he grunted in shock and pain.

Taka: Peekaboo.

Snake whirled and opened fire suddenly with his M4 Carbine, catching Taka off guard as he landed. A bullet tore into Taka's hand, earning a cry from the assassin as blood leaked from the open wound. Turning on a heel, Taka swung his blade again, the edge cleaving through the neck of Snake's rifle and rendering it useless. With a growl, Snake threw the broken weapon aside and withdrew his Solar Gun, taking aim and releasing a stream of energy shots at Taka, who nimbly flipped and twisted around them. Aggravated by how agile his enemy was in dodging his guns, Snake swung the blunt end of the Solar Gun at Taka, missing by a mile much to his misfortune. Taka went to swing another swift kick at him, but Snake surprisingly followed through with the momentum of his swing, sprinting away from Taka.

Confused, Taka's ear folded down in perplexity... Until he noticed a blinking red box stuck to the crate next to him, and what appeared to be a detonator in Snake's hand.

Taka: ...Oops.

As Snake's thumb hammered down on the button of the detonator, the C4 he'd planted exploded in a bright array of orange and yellow, ripping apart the metal crate he'd placed the explosive on and sending Taka flying across the compound, landing on top of a metal shipping box. Smoldering and burned in several spots over his arms, Taka stood, dazed from the explosion. His ears drowned in the sound of a high-pitched ring, and he shook his head rapidly to clear his mind.

From across the loading bay, he could see Snake mounting a crate and bringing out his Nikita rocket launcher. As Snake loaded it with guided missiles, Taka dusted off his uniform, which was singed in several places from the explosion. The two looked up and locked eyes for a brief moment, Snake bringing the Nikita up to its mount on his shoulder. Taka took a ready stance and extended his hand, performing the traditional "come on" taunt.

Snake pulled the trigger, firing a single rocket that he began to guide towards Taka. Beginning to make his way over to Snake, Taka sprinted, leaping from crate to crate, getting closer to Snake with every bound, the rocket hot on his tail. After a few moments, Snake realized what the fox-man was up to and he took out his Remington 870 shotgun, loading it with shells as quickly as he could.  Trying to slow Taka down, he flung an incendiary grenade that exploded on the top of one of the crates Taka was leaping to.

Taka: Whoo!

Planting the very tip of his switchblade on the surface instead of his feet, Taka managed to avoid getting burned, the tips of the flames licking greedily at his fingertips. Landing soundly and safely on the next crate, Taka kept on rushing, now only two crates from reaching his enemy. Snake, on the other hand, finished loading his shotgun and raised it instantly, releasing a single, powerful shot that sent several bullets flying towards Taka.

The edge of his switchblade still glowing orange with heat from being dipped in the flames of Snake's incendiary grenade, Taka slashed out at the bullets, everything else seeming to move in slow motion. Round by round, Taka eventually made halves of every shot Snake's shotgun had just fired, before smirking underneath his mask as he blitzed straight up to Snake, whirled behind him, and threw him in the direction of the rocket that had been pursuing him this entire time.

The rocket exploded on contact with the person it had been launched by, sending Snake flying back, only to be caught on the edges of Taka's X-Retsu that he had activated to catch Snake on the flying path backward. With burn marks across his suit and a bloody X carved in the flesh of his chest, Snake fell to the hard ground below. Taka relaxed after landing back on the crate, but his ears failed to pick up the sound of something small and metallic hitting the ground next to him. Had he looked down he would have seen a small hand grenade, pin already pulled, roll just between his feet.

Another explosion rocking Taka's mind, the grenade erupted and sent Taka flying up, then down to land right across from Snake, who had yet to get up from his fall. Seconds passed as the two shadowy fighters, both battered in several places from their brawl, lay there on the ground of the warehouse, the Metal Gear watching from far away.

Then, slowly but surefootedly, both Snake and Taka got up to their feet, grunting in effort and pain. They exchanged glances, and Taka smirked underneath his mask.

Taka: You're not so bad. What do you say to a good ol' fistfight? No guns, no switchblades: Just you, me, and our fists.

Emphasizing his offer, Taka flicked his switchblades down to resting positions, folded back at his forearms. Snake took a moment to consider before withdrawing the Stun Knife and letting it clatter to the floor. He lit a cigarette, took a quick puff, and tossed that to the side as well, grinning.

Snake: Sounds fine to me.


Snake and Taka rushed in at each other bare-fisted, ready to throw down one last time. Taka leaped high, aiming to come down for an overhead punch, and Snake reacted by preparing himself for the coming strike. The knuckles of House Kamuha's puppet bashed against Snake's crossed arms, and Taka touched down on the ground softly.  Snake lashed his right foot upwards for a solid kick to Taka's ribs, and as he made the hit he felt something snap.  Taka grunted in pain, one of his lower, smaller ribs now broken from Snake's kick.  Retaliating in a flash of pain, Taka headbutted Snake forcefully, sending the soldier staggering backward.

Otacon: Snake, are you okay?

Not bothering to respond in the heat of a fight, Snake rushed back forwards and delivered a set of strikes as Taka was nursing his broken rib, his knuckles grazing his opponent's temple, cheek, and chest. With a flip into the air and a solid kick to the sternum, Snake sent Taka sprawling backward, only for the fox faunus to handspring back to his feet. A bright red flash escaped from his eyepiece, heralding a berserk anger.

Taka: Alright, this is getting old. Let's wrap this up.

Snake grunted and wiped some blood from his chin.

Snake: Couldn't agree more.

In a burst of red mist, Taka vanished into his Kaku. Snake pulled out his infrared goggles, but before he could even activate them he felt something quickly smash into the front of the headgear. Taka hadn't even moved after using his Kaku, instead having used it as a bait for Snake to be distracted. The force of Taka's fist shattered the goggles, rendering them useless and leaving Snake blinded. Giving him no leeway to remove the useless gear, Taka unleashed a brutal combo of punches and agile kicks.  After he'd given Snake a good taste of his anger ending the stream of attacks with a midair flip kick that sent Snake flying back.

Otacon: Snake!?

Snake crashed into a giant wooden crate, getting stuck in the indentation he left in its frame. Heaving from the brutal flow of attacks he'd just been on the receiving end of, Sake weakly went to pry off the useless tech still fastened to his forehead. Taka saw this as his moment and flipped out his switchblades before stepping backward. He closed his eyes and felt energy humming through his body and into his arms, the familiar weight of his weapons on his forearms calming him. He inhaled, then exhaled. He was ready.

Launching himself forward, Taka sprinted full-force towards Snake, who was still trying to remove the broken technology from his face. His feet barely even touching the floor beneath, Taka held his arms to the side, switchblades glinting as they reflected the dull glow of the overhead ceiling lights. The red hue in his eyepiece glowed brightly as Taka moved in, a blur to his surroundings.

Fingers forcing their way underneath the eyewear, Snake finally yanked the infrared goggles off his face, tossing them aside angrily. Instinctively, he turned his gaze forward to continue to pry himself free of the crate he was smashed into.

Schlip.

That was the only sound made as the points of Taka's switchblades, driven by his speed, stabbed into and through Snake's abdomen, tearing a twin set of holes in the soldier's suit and flesh like the tip of a pencil through paper. A shout of pain was wrought from Snake's lips, and Taka's eyes burned with killing intent.

Taka: So long, GI Joe.

Forcefully swinging his arms outward, Taka ripped his switchblades through the rest of Snake's stomach and midsection, effectively carving him in two halves. Snake's top half went flying over Taka's head as a result, landing on the floor with a loud thud. Coughing up blood, but still kicking, Snake tried to crawl away from his foe, desperately trying to stay alive despite the huge wound Taka had inflicted, a trail of blood being left as his open stomach hemorrhaged. Unfortunately, it was all in vain, and as Snake's strength slipped away from him he heard Otacon's voice over the CODEC one final time.

Otacon: SNAAAAAKE!

Snake coughed up another round of blood and, too delirious to reply through the CODEC, let out:

Snake: Otacon... goodbye.

As the final words escaped his mouth, Snake's head hit the floor, his lower half falling to its knees behind him. The legendary soldier was finished.

Taka sighed deeply, calming down from his state of bloodlust. He looked down at his switchblades, now stained red, and exhaled softly. Then he turned his attention back to the prototype Metal Gear, which had been relatively unscathed for the duration of their fight. It was time to fulfill his purpose for being here...

...Destroying the Metal Gear. So House Kamuha would never touch it.

Taka: Now... Where was I?

GA: Aww... Well, FOXHOUND just lost its top badass...

Zach: Both Snake and Taka are masters of their field, each bringing a certain advantage to the battlefield against one another. Snake's wide and varying arsenal gave him a leg up in versatility as well as a huge advantage when put at a distance, and Taka's high-damage abilities allowed him an edge when in close quarters. But Taka's greater destructive power, speed, and durability gave him the advantage he needed to overpower Snake.

GA: While it's true Snake's tracking tech would be enough to rule out Kaku as a use of escape for Taka, that couldn't counter its use as a healing means for Taka, whereas Taka could hit Snake with X-Retsu and instantly cripple his ability to heal thanks to the Mortal Wound the attack applies.

Zach: Additionally, while minuscule in comparison to Snake's, Taka's arsenal allows him to keep up with astral mages, Elder Dragons, dark wizards, and bulky river trolls on a day-to-day basis. This easily means he could take on someone like Snake any day. And although the same could be said for Snake, he's never gone up against an opponent with raw power like Taka's before.

GA: Yes, Snake's weaponry is capable of some pretty amazing stuff. Heck, he's got explosives that are multi-city block, and those aren't the best of what he's got to offer. But Taka can fight off characters like Celeste, whose star-creating abilities are enough to torch an entire city on accident, and Reim, who can create spires of ice the size of Trostan, one of the biggest port cities in VainGlory. Being able to eliminate powerful heroes such as these easily puts him over Snake in terms of attack potency.

Zach: Taka's edge in speed thanks to being able to react to and dodge Celeste's supernova ability also meant Snake would have a difficult time tagging him with any of his attacks, be it gunfire, explosions, or melee strikes. And while we're on that subject, Taka fights enemies similar to Snake within the Halcyon Fold on a regular basis, the only difference being how powerful said opponents are in comparison to Snake. The most prominent comparison would be SAW, a soldier-slash-mercenary wielding an aircraft-model chain gun that he used to kill a giant monster the size of a goddamn city. And Taka can take this gunfire and still keep on trucking, essentially meaning there was nothing in Snake's arsenal that could have hoped to put Kamuha's prize down for good.

GA: Looks to me like Taka's victory was pretty Solid from the get-go.