Twin Suns

Twin Suns was the event referring to Old Snake's attempt to get to Metal Gear REX's railgun before Liquid Ocelot did. It took place at the infamous and now abandoned Shadow Moses Island.

"Return to Shadow Moses"
Through the Metal Gear Mk. II, Solid Snake and Otacon were able to hear everything said on Liquid Ocelot's boat. Although the Mk. II was discovered and destroyed by Vamp, they were able to hear enough to figure out Liquid's true plan: to take down the Patriots himself by destroying the main satellite of JD, the head AI. Of course, to do that, he needed a weapon that was powerful enough to fire a missile into space, but was not governed by the Patriots AI network, as Liquid can't access WMDs due to it being governed by JD and not SOP.

Otacon then explains that Liquid most likely managed to gain SOP easily because he managed to recover and piece together GW, which was believed to have been destroyed at the end of the Big Shell Incident five years prior due to the Patriots machinations, something even the Patriots themselves believed. In addition, Otacon explained that Mei Ling is tracking the coordinates from Mk II's final transmission, before Snake and Otacon manage to deduce from Liquid Ocelot's reference to REX being ready that they were at Shadow Moses Island. Campbell calls in and tells them that, thanks to Liquid hijacking SOP, all of the US military's systems have been transferred to Liquid as well as causing all regional guns to shut down, marking the first total cease-fire in recorded human history. Campbell also explains that the President has yet to make an announcement on this issue, but the media is reporting on it in full, and without the information being controlled, because of the severity of the economy grinding to a complete halt. He also states that Liquid plans to eliminate JD, and thus any control it has over nukes, although Snake and Campbell are still wondering how Liquid is going to achieve it, especially when two years prior, the military replaced its nuclear arsenal with reliable replacement warheads that were ID locked. Otacon deduces that they intend to utilize Metal Gear REX, as it was created before the change happened. Snake and Campbell realize that this also means that they are going to Shadow Moses to retrieve REX's rail gun, as it was outside of the Patriots control. Otacon begs for Snake not to go, as he feels that they have long lost, because not only is the military in shambles, but Liquid's army has more than enough manpower to match it in either case. Snake explains that he's doing it to finish what he and Liquid started a long time ago. Sunny attempts to stop Snake from taking Raiden as he is still recovering from his injuries. Raiden wants to go with to help stop Liquid, as he vowed to not let himself become anyone's slave, but Snake stated that following him will not benefit Raiden, as [Snake] is a shadow of whom no light can shine upon.

Mei Ling then calls in and confirms that Shadow Moses is indeed the destination of Liquid Ocelot and his army. She also shows civilian satellite imagery of Shadow Moses, revealing that it is slowly sinking into the Pacific due to global warming. Deducing that Shadow Moses was not touched upon since the incident, and that no one alive either knew about the incident, or things were falsified/deleted regarding the incident and also resulted in most of the personnel involved being exiled to desk jobs, including herself, and it was a forgotten island, they decide to go over to stop Liquid Ocelot.

Deducing that Liquid was planning to revisit Shadow Moses, Snake followed him to Alaska, and to the one place he never thought he would return, re-navigating the route he took almost a decade earlier to reach Metal Gear REX's Underground Base. While on the way to Shadow Moses, Solid Snake had a dream about his first visit to Shadow Moses, one which he abruptly wakes up from in a panic.

"Cold Memories"
Otacon inserted Snake at a snowfield west of the heliport. After evading a patrolling Gekko Snake once again arrived at the helipad.

As he made his way to the nuclear warhead storage building, Snake was visited by a series of haunting flashbacks while evading the Dwarf Gekko. Otacon suggested this time that Snake can enter the Snowfield through the back of the Storage Building rather than going through the commander's office in the basement. Snake activated the door by retracing his steps to Otacon's old office with the new Metal Gear Mk. III, but not before witnessing Naomi and Vamp via surveillance camera on their way to REX's hangar.

"Crying Wolf and Vamp"
"Cry. Until your eyes run RED!"

- Crying Wolf



Snake emerged into the snowfield where he fought and killed Sniper Wolf, encountering, to his shock, her doppelganger, BB member Crying Wolf with a railgun. After engaging in a lengthy sniper duel, Snake defeated her and continued to the Underground Base. However Snake had to make a detour from the blast furnace to the casting facility after the elevator he used nine years ago to get to the warehouse was locked. Once there, Otacon used the Metal Gear Mk. III to reactivate the elevator, taking them up to where REX was still laying unmoved, exactly where Snake had left it. Unfortunately, also waiting for him were Vamp and Naomi Hunter. Snake fought Vamp, and as he was already well aware of Vamp's regenerative capabilities, managed to subdue him with a CQC administered nanomachine-suppressor injection.

"Atonement"
Vamp was now mortal, but still just as deadly. Suddenly, Raiden, fully recovered after a White Blood infusion, appeared to fight Vamp while Snake fended off the Suicide Gekko swarming the base. Snake destroyed all the Gekko, and after receiving many wounds, Raiden managed to pull off a devastating swipe to Vamp very much in the way he had killed Solidus. Vamp, now having mortal wounds for the first time, was euthanized by Naomi by a full dose of nano-suppressant.

Vamp defeated, Naomi apologized to Snake and Otacon, before revealing that she had cancer, and, overwhelmed by guilt, injected herself with the syringe, effectively committing suicide. They mourned for their loss, accepting that they would never know where Naomi's true allegiance lied.

"Fight of the Metal Gears"
"Moses! Where our fates were born. And where yours ends, Snake!"

- Liquid Ocelot, on board Metal Gear RAY, prior to fighting Snake's REX



With more Suicide Gekko on the way, Otacon used the Mk. III to reactivate REX. With Raiden hanging on, Snake used it to escape from the collapsing base. Upon emerging, Raiden was crushed by falling rubble, and Snake was confronted by Metal Gear RAY, being piloted by Liquid. Though REX was handicapped due to the loss of its rail gun and radome, it still had much of its previous weaponry with it, such as the anti-tank missiles, free-electron laser, and machine cannons. Otacon also activated a program, secretly installed on board REX while it was still in development, which utilized its hull as a weapon in itself, drastically increasing its chances against RAY, although it could only be activated in certain situations. Though RAY had been specifically designed to destroy REX and its many variants, Snake was still able to defeat the more advanced Metal Gear model.

"Everything Ends"
Liquid Ocelot, however, survived RAY's destruction, and after trying to fake Snake out with acting as though he is dying from FOXDIE, escaped, with Snake at tow (although Snake also had trouble catching up to him, as he had apparently broken his arm and leg as a result of the hard landing from getting off of the deactivated REX's cockpit). Snake attempted to chase him down until he noticed a figure emerging from the ocean moments later. Liquid Ocelot then explained at the helm of his own Arsenal Gear, Outer Haven, what he intends to do with REX's railgun: With REX's rail gun, he intends to launch a nuclear weapon at JD where he will reset the Patriots to be under his control via GW, where everything ends and everything begins. Outer Haven, with REX's rail gun now connected to it, rammed itself into the port, almost killing a weak Snake. Luckily, Raiden, having cut off his own arm to break free, managed to stop it moving, and was seemingly crushed in the process. Outer Haven only retreated when the USS Missouri, now captained by Mei Ling, arrived at the port and opened fire on the Arsenal Gear. Snake was carried back onboard the Missouri.

Trivia

 * In the same fashion as Gray Fox nine years earlier, Ninja Raiden also lost an arm on Shadow Moses Island, albeit willingly. Both also used their immense cybenetic-enhanced strength to hold back a tremendous weight in order to protect Snake. Additionally, Naomi Hunter, Gray Fox's adopted sibling, died in the same place as her brother did, in REX's hangar.
 * In 2005, Liquid Snake exclaimed the word "Fox..." before his death, followed by Solid Snake muttering "...Die..." In 2014, as Liquid Ocelot appeared to succumb to the same virus, Snake exclaimed "Fox," with Liquid Ocelot finishing "DIE!!!", before revealing that he was only pretending.

Behind the scenes
"Twin Suns" is the title of Act 4 in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. It is a reference to Solid Snake and Liquid Snake, as well as the remake of the original Metal Gear Solid, The Twin Snakes. The whole act is one of nostalgia as it is a reference to the debut of the rivalry between Snake and Liquid.

According to an Integral Podcast for Metal Gear Solid 4, Act 4 was originally intended to be more action based, with their planning an alternate route to the Canyon from the starting point where they could find a frozen lake with patrolling Gekko, and the player would have the option of shattering the ice below the Gekko to have them sink to their watery graves, as well as a secret base below the Warhead Storage Building, but these were cut when it was decided to make Act 4 more nostalgic instead.

Gameplay
If the player dies during this act, flashbacks of the events of Metal Gear Solid appear onscreen, and the original Game Over music will play.

After defeating Crying Wolf, if the player shoots one of the wolves that appear, the others will attack them and will keep attacking either until the player leaves the area or until they're all shot.

After completing the game once, when the player has to distract the Gekko while the Mk. III is unlocking the door, the player can use the Crying Wolf's rail gun to kill the Gekko instantly. Also, after the Gekko is killed, the player won't have to wait until the timer expires, instead, the player only has to wait about 5 seconds after the Gekko explodes.