Lucas's Ultimatum

Mall Steakout

Hey hey, just a small thing. I'm sorry if the past however many things I've posted have been mistimed or filled with mistakes, it's been a tough year so far so it's hard to really find that motivation. I'm hoping they are at least somewhat good though. Thank you for reading them.

_____________________________________________________

October 31st 20xx

Snake opened the door to see his father, Big Boss. He walked in and grabbed Snake's hand, shaking it. "How's the force been treating you, kiddo?" Big Boss asked. Snake simply shrugged.

"How you'd expect. Lucina can be a bitch sometimes." Big Boss chuckled as he patted Snake's back. Snake turned around and adjusted his sleeve. "Well, let's go. The team will be excited to see you." Big Boss nodded his head as he was led through the station back to the meeting room dedicated for the Strike Force. Snake stepped in first, the team was already in there. "Good morning, team. If you remember, I told you I had an informant. And that informant is here today."

"Finally. Was it necessary to keep us in the dark for so long?" Zero asked. Snake sat down at the front desk.

"It's for safety reasons. But I feel it's safe enough now. Come on in." Big Boss entered the room and closed the door. He walked over to stand next to his son. "This, everyone, is my father. We just call him Big Boss."

"Sounds like a nickname you'd give to a mobster on a tv show," Joker smirked. Cloud jabbed Joker's gut for being disrespectful. "HEY!" Joker looked up at him, but Cloud's stare toward Big Boss and Snake didn't falter.

"Behave. My father here has been a member of Star Wolf for years."

"Years? How can we trust him if he's been in it for so long?" Cloud asked. Big Boss stepped to the table and made the hologram show the Smash Ball.

"This is the Smash Ball. It's a powerful tool," Big Boss started. It caught the attention of everyone.

"The logo of the city?" Byte questioned.

"Yes. The logo of the city was made because of this."

"How powerful can it be? Unless it's magical," Joker asked. Big Boss shook his head.

"No, not magical. Not in the traditional sense, at least. The City of Ultimatum is advanced. Very advanced. Every city around does not have the things we do. We have access to the very thing you're looking at, holograms."

"Holograms have existed for years, it's not out of the question for us to have upgraded it," Catherine stated.

"Correct. But we didn't get this version of holograms via upgrading one that already existed. Same goes for everything else in the city. The city only exists because of this Smash Ball. It's a ball of pure energy. It's been powering this city since 1999. It's the source of every bit of electricity, internet, etc around the whole city, and has since then. And so far, it shows no sign of ending."

"How does something like that exist? That's scientifically impossible," Byte mentioned, his robotic systems starting to buck up with all the information.

"I don't know. But Wolf had it. He literally had the city in the palm of his paw. He could crush it at any moment, and no one wanted that. Everyone bowed down to him. Star Wolf was created."

"Wait....you were using past tense," Cloud started, "Where is the Smash Ball?" Big Boss turned off the hologram.

"This is where you all will know you can trust him," Snake said as he walked over to his father's side.

"I stole it. I gave it up."

"What!" Cloud yelled.

"You gave up the thing that holds the city together?" Impa asked.