Metal Gear Solid V: Chronicles of Outer Heaven (MGS/Valkyria Chronicles)

[NHO]

12. An omake describing the experience of someone being fultoned by Big Boss.

Spoiler: Everything was right in the world

Everything was right in the world.

Grass was green, familiar and slightly below. On second thought, not everything was all right in the world. Headache announced it's existence in force. Yes, you woke up because something tugged you painfully by the belt. Where's the ground? Ground is close, but so far away. Hands can't hit anything. What is going on? There's a horned man with eye patch nearby. Is that?

There's a flop, like a canvas being whipped straight. The... tug, the pressure, hits you in the gut like a punch and you scream, in surprise, in pain. Your hat... You lost your hat. YOUR HAT! You scream in protest and in fear, for Earth is getting farther and farther, like perverse reversion of parachute drop. There's no parachute, if your belt breaks, you fall and die! You never seen your deployment area from such height. Your screams are lost in the wind, and then you puke. It just makes everything worse. You are out of breath and you can't scream no more.

You rise, like a mad Wizard of Emerald City on his hot air balloon, except you have no control over your flight at all. Maybe if you get hold of whatever is holding you by the belt, you can straighten up and stop flopping like a demented cat toy on a sting? No, better not to risk it, if you accidentally disconnect the... whatever, way down would be way faster and with definite end, instead of your current, unknown fate. Afghanistan is beautiful from here. You can see your base, mountains, all the roads... How high are you right now?

You cry. You didn't want this. You was conscripted! Your duty your fatherland... You just got broken down in training and send here, in those merciless mountains with murderous mujaheddin and their weird faith. What the hell is wrong with them? What future brings you? Once, you got plans - be a machinist, make machines. Yes, everyone got dreams, like cosmonaut and doctor and and and... Then school was over, then you started to learn your profession in polytechnic, then conscription came and you lost the sight of the future, you just wanted it over. Then you just wanted to survive and go home. Now? What now? What this all was for?

It started to get cold, breathing started being... hard, not enough. When you reach higher altitude, you are going to die, for the air is to thin there, you remember that from your school program. Whoever and whatever did this to you, he just decided to kill you in cruel, uncertain way? You cry in despair now.

Time passes and you calm down a bit. You are convinced that there's no future and you would either spend eternity being uncomfortably suspended between heaven and earth, or fly too high and die or fall down and die. Everything is far away enough that you can't see small features, but maybe traces rivers, of roads and canyons. It's like humans got very little purchase on this weird mountainous land. There were no orders, no great cities, just sky, mountains and your ankles. This could bring a man to think about life and reach deep philosophical ideas, and you started to remember all the little embarrassing things from your service, training, school, childhood. You would never apologize to your grandma, you would never see your cat again, will your mom cry when she gets a message that you are missing in action? This can situation can change person's entire outlook, but you want to pee.

You want to pee very much. You can't. You hold it in to prevent pissing in your pants. Your hands are heavy and alien and hard to control, and even if you can reach up, force them to unbutton your fly and do the deed, what would be result? Pissing into your own face? That's... No. Better hold until you can't any more and then soil your pants. Are there soiled now? You are not sure, but you hope that your initial ascent haven't caused an accident beyond puking.

You laugh on absurdity of all. You are freezing and trying to stuff your ice-cold hands inside your uniform. You are shivering from the cold and your legs are like two icicles in the boots and your head is swimming – is that lack of oxygen or just too much blood down your head? You don't know. You want to pee. You cry some more in despair.

There's a faint thumping sound somewhere. You frantically look around and behind, until you see dark speck in the air, rapidly closing. A helicopter! A rescue! You are not sure what to feel, honestly. Well, at least you will live and your future will better than to be a prisoner of mujaheddin.

There's a slight crash above and a lurch and warm hands reel you in. You never was so happy. You cry in relief until you snot. Someone in the plane gives you a mug full of liquid. It's cold, but you are surprisingly thirsty. Is that a vodka? After second and third gulp you decide that it's too smooth to be a vodka. Medical alcohol? That's better and just what you need right now. Uniforms of the soldiers on the helicopter are weird and unfamiliar, but they are Russians, and you are too happy to be suspicious.

They secure your body sitting to one of the benches and you see that on opposite bench is your sergeant. Is he sleeping? Was he also suddenly put into the air? You have questions, many questions, but alcohol, warmth and stress of the fultoning together act to knock you out rapidly. There are no dreams.

You wake up on surprisingly comfortable bench in the prison cell. There's a toiler near you, and that's exactly what you need right now. Happily, there's a sink, too, so you can wash your hands. You are wearing... Not uniform that started the day on you, but it's still some kind of uniform. Surprisingly comfortable. There's someone sleeping on the upper bench. Sergeant?

Before you can get to him, door opened, letting gray-haired man in. He called you by name, said he is KGB and ordered you to follow him.

Everything was wrong in the world.

1052 words, quality is so-so, but I kinda liked writing this flow of thought.

 

[RandomDwarf]

Okay I got one, hope its okay...

Spoiler: Why you should not play video games on metal gear systems.

Omake: Why no one should play games on a Metal Gears Systems!

-Welcome to Outer Heaven message board, please respect your comrades and keep the messages down to 100 words that is all.

-Daily Note Begin:

-DO NOT PLAY GAMES ON OUR METAL GEARS, THEY NOW HAVE ACHIEVED SENTIENCE!-

(That means you Ocelot!)-Miller

(Hey, I didn't know that holding that gaming convention would result in Sahelanthropus becoming an AI!)- Ocelot

[PRAISE.THE.SUN.]-ST-84 Metal Gear "Sahelanthropus

(Okay who set the AI core into Sahelanthropus, because Hal is still in the brig! Also get that metal gear back into its pen, it almost crushed the dining area with that maneuver.)- Venom Snake

(Bark, Bark, Bark Bark)- D-Dog

(Alright D-Dog lets go for a walk…)- Venom Snake

-Daily note End.-

A couple of soldiers watching the daily message board slowly and carefully looked at each other, and then turned to the dining area's strut that now had the resident Metal Gear posing to honor the sun as it rose on a new day over Outer Heaven.

"So…anyone going to do anything about that murder-machine that's standing in the way of our morning chow time?" One DD remarked as everyone carefully shuffled away from the sight as the machine let out of whale like moan over seeing the sun finally reveal its glory to it.

"NOT IT!" one soldier cried as he ran back to the supply depot, resulting in a mass of human's now trying to desperately head to the supply strut to see if there was anything they could eat rather then deal with the monster of a machine that seems to have made its nest over their dining hall.

Over the Noise of soldiers trying in vain to run away from the large now functional metal gear Venom Snake could only shake his head with a sigh as he turned to Ocelot.

"Care to explain this Ocelot?" He deadpanned as Ocelot kept staring at the machine with a neutral face.

"Not much to explain boss, we had a game convention for the men, showed a good morale boost, finished repairing the metal gear, and then put the AI core in. Now its standing above the dining strut praising the sun…I wonder if I can train it?" Ocelot mused as he gained a slight grin on his face while in the background miller ground his teeth at the annoyance of that damn machine…how the heck was he going to get his Chilly convention Mk.2 going if he couldn't get to the supplies in the kitchens!

"This is going to put a strain on our supplies, I might have to go out and…acquire…some extras until the metal gear goes back into its pen." Venom remarked as Miller Blanched at the thought of Boss going out to get more stuff in his…usual…way.

"Boss…I don't think you should-wait where are you going!?! Boss!? BOSS! BBBOOOOSSSS!!!" Miller cried out as he hobbled after Venom as he raced to the helicopter platform.

To bad they had left Ocelot standing back on the previous platform with his usual grin that he had when he was going to cause Miller a few headaches, like the time he trained the Dolphins into Dimond Dogs, if that one soldier thought that the water guardians were for protecting his stashes.

Well he would be partly right, the rest of it was to make sure no Cipher bastard blew up the supports again like they did during the original outer heaven. Ah those were the times, training animals into soldiers…maybe he should get D-dog a few extra playmates? It would certainly help the morale of the men and women if they had an animal companion to go out and cause some havoc.

As he stared at the metal gear that was now practicing its singing (it was terrible at it) Ocelot wondered about when the base would be seeing-oh wait there they are.

The next rain of balloon's carrying the supplies of literally everything in the boss's operation area including some new recruits (to be "trained") …they looked like they hadn't ever experienced being up to 20,000 feet in the air being only held up by cables and a shady balloon.

It always amused Ocelot when the new recruits were brought in and put in the holding cell, heck they even started a few unofficial therapy sessions for the new recruits that now had a fear of heights.

But for now, he should go back to check on the animals that the Boss brought in for the PETA, he always wanted to ride a shark armed with a laser on its forehead. Especially if it could do CQC, the veins on Millers forehead would surely explode this time around! If not, then the bases dentist would be having words with him for grinding his teeth down. So, a win-win situation for him, maybe tuna fish would do best for the bull-shark they now have in the water-tank strut?

All the while Unit ST-84 Metal Gear "Sahelanthropus groaned in its metallic language as the meat-bags now had left the vicinity of its scanning equipment. So far, the GLORIOUS rays of the Grand Sun was everything that the [DARK-SOULS] simulation program told it was to be. However, it had yet to encounter "Hallows" or any sort of knights, nor could it preform "Miracles". It did however had data revolving to the conflict between it and the [BOSS-PILOT-MASTER]. With its programming it could now easily begin to requisition supplies and construction material as well as request the Robotics Research Strut to create a cockpit for [BOSS-PILOT-MASTER].

This would allow Unit ST-84 Metal Gear "Sahelanthropus to have the best of the best, as well as attain the Meat-Bags so called "Gut Instinct" as well as allow it to begin analyzing how to properly conduct battlefield tactics of this new age of fire!

So far it had concluded thus-

1) Meat-bags had atrocious situational area instinct and recording programs, as [BOSS-PILOT-MASTER] proved with its usage of paperboard material-based packaging to fool their bio-sensors.

2) Grabbing all battlefield material and recycling it to the [BOSS-PILOT-MASTER]'s usage for their own supplies is massively preferable, Meat-bags call this behavior: Magpie collecting.

3) Meat-Bags are also susceptible to being recruitable if they are knocked into a non-state of active awareness and Fulton technology.

4) [BOSS-PILOT-MASTER] is now classified by the Unit ST-84 Metal Gear "Sahelanthropus to be a Human Magpie.

5) D-Dog is now to be labeled as Beta Male of the hierarchy the pack of Site Outer Heaven, scratches are a must. Note to robotics research station: create smaller manipulation appendages to deliver pets to D-Dog.

6) Praising the sun is now labeled as a must for each morning session according to simulation [DARK-SOULS].

7) Fighting in CQC is recommended with fighting other unit ST-84 Metal Gear "Sahelanthropus units, as this unit now to be called Unit 01 Sahelanthropus has spent much time in [FIGHTING] simulations. Cooperation simulations of [MARIO PARTY] simulations have proven to be of great interest, as well as [PORTAL 1&2] simulations have taught much in the usage of possible Fulton wormhole possibilities, as well as working with other Metal Gear Units.

Unit ST-84 Metal Gear "Sahelanthropus was now experiencing the simulated experience of [ANTICIPATION] as it finished its preparations for the day and began its slow treck to its hanger bay to await [BOSS-PILOT-MASTER]'s summons. Perhaps it could emulate some of the [DARK-SOULS] simulated [BOSS] battle's as a form of CQC?

A warmth unfamiliar to its systems spread throughout its body, Unit ST-84 Metal Gear Sahelanthropus logged the anomaly and proceeded to hit the button for the hanger bay doors to open and then sat itself onto its retractable struts after transforming into its non-upright walker mode.

Elsewhere the engineers of Outer Heaven were bored again, after that bit of excitement of grabbing every TV screen that they requested the boss to grab in the field, hooking up every monitor system they could get their hands on (as part of the testing process before they used the metal gear, they aren't that stupid, just crazy). they had proceeded to then hook every game system and create the largest hand-made TV screen besides the movie theaters back on the continents to create the best gaming convention ever produced by mankind.

With the Boss's out of the way doing whatever it was they were doing and soldiers in their down-time doing whatever they felt like, well they had the brilliant idea of getting the rest of the men together and ordering so many gaming systems and their corresponding games that they held a week long down-time-super-secret-gaming-convention-that-in-no-way-ocelot-had-a-hand-in-it.

It had been utterly glorious for the engineers to pull a fast one over the egg-heads back in the research struts. Couldn't build a super-system for games could they! Well they showed them what REAL science was all about.

And when Sahelanthropus came back after its morning Glorifying the sun, the engineers of outer-heaven rejoiced, for it was now game time…and many of their members were itching to get back at the heavens devils for their winning streak last game session on Mario cart!

Not to sure of the quality, but it seems decent for a group of bored people on a rig to do, especially bored engineer's trying to spice life up...of course this is metal gear so shenanigans ensue...

also note: Mario Cart, Mario Party, Dark Souls, and other fighting games are now prohibited from the base, orders from Miller.
(note: this also means portal games as well...we don't want another cake incident!)

word count 1523

edit: non-cannon, because it cant happen...right? boss why are you looking at me like that?

 

[Shashenka]

Speaking of omake rules one think I'd like from everyone if i'm going to continue upkeeping the omake prompt list is that if you use one of the prompts can you please tell me who the prompt was from and which number it was so I can cross it out to signal its already been used once. (Not saying they can't use them more than once but I assume Konamikode won't count omakes from the same prompt and it would also be a signal to those who made the prompt that someone ran with it.)

 

[SKsniper128]

Made another Omake starring Stalking Tiger + squad as a main POV

Word count of: 1017

Wetworks​

Stalking Tiger carefully crept through the vacant metal halls within Mother Base. The sheer size of the rig and the assorted platforms meant that, for all the personnel within the Diamond Dogs, there were sections of the facility that sat empty and unused. Halls and corridors that no one had any business traveling in.

Halls like the one he made his way down.

Laughing Panther kept pace on the other side of the corridor a few steps behind. Both men cautiously covering half-open entryways as they proceeded forward.

His eyes narrowed as he heard the scuff of a boot on the metal deck. He adjusted his grip on his weapons and subtly gestured towards Panther.

The other man nodded, proceeding to take a few steps forward to cover the next entryway as Tiger positioned himself alongside the door.

He sheathed his knife and reached out with his free hand to grasp the handle.

The moment he attempted to turn the handle, he knew something was wrong. The grip was stuck and refused to budge. Almost immediately after that, the hatch flew open, dragging Tiger into the doorway along with it.

Caught off guard by the sudden action, he didn't release the handle until he was already in the line of fire. Instead he threw himself into a forward roll, landing at the feet of a shocked adversary. He lunged forward and tackled the man in front of him, grasping his combat harness and swinging him around to block the line of fire of the one in the doorway.

The man on top of him grunted and fell limp as Tiger headbutted him and slugged him in the solar plexus for good measure. With his makeshift cover on top of him, Tiger returned fire with his own weapon. A feminine gasp indicated that he found his mark.

He shoved the groaning man off the top of him as he stood up and called back out into the hallway, "Thanks for the backup Panther. I couldn't have done it without you."

Panther shrugged as he held his weapon in a relaxed grip, "It looked like you had it covered."

Tiger rolled his eyes and turned back towards his downed foe, "Right, wel-"

He stared down the barrel of a gun. His instincts flared and he threw himself backwards away from the threat. He grunted as his back slammed into the unyielding metal bulkhead and slid down onto the deck.

Panther immediately engaged, a pair of shots connecting with the downed man's chest. Red liquid dripped steadily onto the metal deck as all movement stopped.

"Shit! I thought you took care of him! Tiger, you green?"

Tiger patted himself down quickly feeling for any wetness. He froze when his hands landed on a warm wet patch on his clothes.

"..."

Panther looked over, "Tiger? Shit."

He flicked on a flashlight to confirm what they already knew.

Red.

"Damnit."

Tiger leaned back against the wall and left out a heavy breath as the adrenaline slowly bled out of him.

"Finish the mission Panther, you're the only one left."

He shook his head, "Fuck man, I'm not leaving you behind, gimme your hand."

Panther moved closer and reached out to pick him up in a Fireman's carry. Tiger waved him off shaking his head, "The objective is just down the hall on the left, get it and go. You don't have time to waste on me. I'll be fine, trust me."

Indecision warred with the instinct to follow orders. The man grimaced as he stood back up, "Fine, I'll be right back!"

-----------------

Tiger lay there and listened as Panther's footsteps drew further away. A chuckle drew his attention to the door.

"'Finish the mission?' 'You're the only one left?', really?"

He rolled his eyes as the man Panther shot also started laughing, "W-what's next? 'T-tell m-my wife...I...'" he trailed off as he continued to laugh.

"N-nah, that's impossible, he can't get out a full sentence without having to friend zone or sister zone that poor girl."

"You mean like the one who tried to chat him up last time we went stateside?" Puma turned his head to face Tiger, "I mean seriously, I don't think she could have made it any easier. All you had to do was smile and get her a drink. Her panties would have blasted off her hips."

Tiger raised his gun, "Shh...the dead shouldn't speak."

*squirt*

*squirt*

Splashes of warm red water hit Puma's face as he lay on his back. Another set of shots hit Cougar where she sat next to the doorway, the water dripping down off her harness.

The laughter only increased as they pulled their own squirt guns and returned fire.

-----------------

"Holy shit, look at them!"

"Jesus, is that all blood?"

"Miller didn't send anyone out on any Ops did he?"

Quiet murmurs could be heard as the four trouped their way back to their barracks. Of the four, only Laughing Panther remained intact, all others dripped copious amounts of thickened red water onto Mother Base's metal decks. Red droplets and boot prints followed them like a trail of blood.

"And what, do we have here?"

They all froze.

White Hair, Red Scarf, Shotgun shell bandoleer, twin holsters for those ridiculous revolvers and cowboy boots.

He stood before them, blocking the entrance to the barracks, a fire hose dangling from his relaxed hands.

"I had heard that a group of soldiers was making a mess around here, figured that I ought to sort the problem out before it got worse."

The corner of his lips tugged upwards slightly and he triggered the hose.
-----------------

"I wonder what happened to them?"

Tiger ignored the comment as the four trouped their way through the barracks. None of the four were spared the assault of high pressure sea-water, as a result, they now dripped copious amounts of salt water onto the decks within the barracks. Fortunately, the unexpected deluge had removed all traces of the faux blood from their bodies, so there were no further comments regarding their mental state or demons or some combination of the two.

 

[Atreidestrooper]

Just something silly; this came to mind due to most of the members being above Elite levels of being fit, and that there are 100 FOX level members, which means doing weird shit is within their skills.

* * * *

A Ball Game at Mother Base​

In one calm afternoon, the members of DD were engaged in a rather particular game.

Now, Miller was the first one to introduce it, where he stated that he knew that Japan used to have a weird game that basically made the Lifting of a Soccer Ball into an Aristocratic Art, which he then combined with Basketball.

The basic rules were that you had to keep the ball above the ground without using your hands. Then, you have to shoot the ball at a target that would be placed a couple of meters above the heads of the players.

Unlike Basketball, the players are not supposed to get in the way of each other when in "possession" of the ball, but fighting for control of the ball while it was up in the air was fair game, leading to moments where a group of players would try to tackle each other away from where the ball was falling to. Or, some even deftly tried to flick a ball away just as the ball got a few inches away from somebody.

All in all, a game that only a member of the Diamond Dogs could comfortably play without breaking something while doing so. If any person who did not keep fit upon the standards of the Diamond Dogs tried to play the game themselves, they would either be deeply hurt, or end up seeing things that men were not intended to see.

Why did Miller end up introducing such a game into the Diamond Dogs, you ask?

While the Struts of Mother Base were large and could house many things, a whole Soccer field was considered to be a waste of space, and thus those into Soccer would glare at those who preferred Basketball, which could be played even on the Mother Base as all one needed was a hoop at a sufficiently high place and enough space for a half-court.

Of course, anybody with a lick of reason would have successfully guessed that the argument was more than a little ridiculous, since all you really needed to play some Soccer/Football was the ball itself, and maybe pushing for creating a Flight Deck if the space was really needed. Indeed, the whole thing was little more than some extended ribbing, an exaggerated posturing between the fans of different sports.

Those who played neither game found the little "feud" to be more than a little silly, but it helped to alleviate the mood somewhat to see such silly posturing and name calling to happen. Especially when the situation with the Vocal Parasites had affected morale, it became a welcome thing since such posturing didn't need vocal communication to make things understood.

That it was Miller who ended up setting an "end" to the "feud" was interesting, though the intent behind it probably wasn't as light hearted as the resulting game ended up as.

Miller had once entered into the scene of one such "feud", which had been happening in the mess hall, and he promptly found it unacceptable. He had, according to rumor, seen the ribbing and name calling and posturing and found it... wanting... for the lack of a better word.

So, Miller ended up "appealing" to the two groups to find a "compromise", and ended up creating a game that the two groups could play upon the Mother Base without having to create any more extra doodads. It was already the case that the Construction Staff tended to add doodads that Miller apparently wasn't fond of.

In the end, the game was just as strange as Miller's problem with the light-hearted and silly "feud". In a group of people who were lesser talented in terms of physical abilities, it would have just been Miller being a bit eccentric in his own paranoia about things.

However, the game ended up being popular amongst the member of DD, if only because it brought in a sort of physical challenge that wasn't something that happened in a common manner. It wasn't everyday where doing a handstand was a viable tactic in a game, after all.

As it was, in place of the feud, now there was a lively game being held on the Struts from time to time, with each "match" being watched to some extent while the players did back flips and other such acrobatics so as to keep the "control" of their ball as much as possible.

As time passed, the rules of the game slowly became more complex. It was, in a sense, expected. The basic rules that Miller set out as a means to end a "meaningless" argument wouldn't have been remotely enough to be usable as a game, so it was natural that it would get developed as things went by. The game started being fought between an offense and a defense instead of a Free-for-all, then a rule defining how long a person can "possess" the ball was made, and then somebody started thinking the hoop (as a Basketball hoop was initially used) wasn't being part of the game enough, and changed it to a pillar with a target on top, making it easier to score.

At this point, the one being the most perturbed was Miller, since he apparently didn't even think that what he did meant anything more than a distraction from his duties. Besides his Chemical Burger Passion that was "suddenly discovered" recently, but that was a "well guarded secret" that nobody talked about.

Beyond Code Talker, apparently, but that was that.

Still, the game continued to be played, though the sort of required skill in body coordination eventually limited the pool of players, though that had the curious side-effect of helping the Boss to sort the wheat from the chaff in terms of physical skill. Or, at least, it introduced the new recruits to one aspect of being a field agent in the Diamond Dogs; you can't really slack off on the physicals.
(It also showed how the Diamond Dogs were seriously silly in their antics, but that was something else.)

All of that aside, in this calm afternoon, the ball was kicked up to the sky, and the players started to toss each other away from where the ball would probably fall, causing a ruckus as bets were made and beers were passed around.

All in all, a calm day on Mother Base, which was something to be cherished.

* * * *​

1067 words. Just a calm day at Mother Base.

 

[TikiTau]

While I am sad my omakes are too short to count towards the next action, I still plan on writing more of them.

Short little funnies are fun to write!

Click to shrink...

Eh, nothing wrong with short omakes.

I mean, Character Survival Points or whatnot are nothing to sneeze about, since KKDice are perfectly willing to Accidentally a Headshot people, especially because KK is a monster who feeds off of both 'd'awwwwww' from konafluff and our salty tears of grief and rage.

SPEAKING OF WHICH.

MORE OMAKE FOR KK?
More Omake for @konamikode .

Just a short one, before I get back to playing VC4 (which is also KK's fault).

xXxXx​

War is hell.

A trite saying, generally meant to emphasize how modern armed combat is an ugly thing for all involved, combatant or civilian.

One could be forgiven, however, for believing it was a bit more literal, were one to be able to take on the furious cauldron of conflict taking place in the ruined, half-fallen wreckage of what was once Gallia's proud Ghirlandaio Citadel. Pitted by fierce artillery bombardment, flames rising from ruined outbuildings, corpses and ruined tanks everywhere.

The Imperial's advance, spearheaded by High Command Brigadier General Selvaria Bles, had shattered Gallia's fortifications. The fall of the fortress was inevitable, at that point. Artillery, poison gas, conventional firepower...None of it could stop the coming Imperial victory and further invasion into Gallia's heartlands.

Except…they came.

Unheralded, unexpected, unasked for by Gallia's High Command, borne on strange flying machines.

The Diamond Dogs.

Tough, highly skilled infantry dropped off their flying machines into the wreckage, finding cover in the unlikeliest of places, opening fire on the Imperial soldiers with rifles of unknown make and design, putting a hail of metal-jacketed lead downrange with demonic accuracy.

Imperial Tanks moved up to try and displace the infantry, only to be struck down by lances that packed obscene power for their size, the wreckage used as cover by the brawling infantry from both sides.

And, at the gates of Ghirlandaio, Brigadier General Selvaria Bles, the Azure Witch herself, found herself in an unprecedented situation.

She found herself in check.

The Azure Witch found herself fighting a One-Eyed Demon, a man used to fighting humans with abilities beyond rationality.

The Legendary Mercenary.

The Commander of the Diamond Dogs.

Big Boss.

Saber slashes checked by combat knife, blows dodged or turned aside, his fists slamming into vulnerable portions of her body. In return, she fought back, finding her blows blocked by an arm of metal, the strange alloy holding up to her strength, the one-eyed demon grunting as he shrugged off minor injuries.

If it had not been for her well-hidden capabilities as a Valkyria, she knew she may well have fallen by now, since for all her natural power and strength, she didn't have the Demon's skill at Close Quarters Combat.

Around her, her personal unit bravely fought on, inspired by their general, doing their best to hold the Demon's Dogs at bay, keeping them from backing up their commander.

She suddenly jerked her head back, a knife strike nearly slicing into her neck, grazing a few strands of her azure hair...and then, she heard a noise.

A loud click, a weight on the small of her back.

Before her, the Demon's one eye blinked, and he paused his attack, knife still held up and at the ready in his foreign combat stance.

Turning, feeling time slow down, she looked over her shoulder.

Standing behind her, tail wagging furiously, was a massive dog or wolf, a large pack of some sort with a buckle freshly clipped to her belt. In its jaws, the dog held what looked to be a large pull-tab of some sort.

Her eyes widened. "Don't you dare. DON'T YOU DA-"

The dog dared.

xXxXx​

Ahab blinked as DD yanked the pull-tab on the new Fulton Recovery Device. The balloons deployed instantly, jerking his opponent up off her feet, making her yell in shock as she bobbed for just a second from the backlash of the ballon deployment. Before she could do more than that, the Fulton Device did its job, yanking her up to recovery altitude, a dopplering scream left in her wake.

Staring at him, then at the air where their commander had vanished, the Imperial Troops began to surrender or retreat.

For his part, Ahab just strolled forwards to DD, who sat down, panting happily, tail still wagging furiously. Reaching down with his flesh-and-blood hand, he rubbed the big one-eyed wolfdog's ears firmly.

"Good boy."

DD barked happily.

xXxXx​

Operation: Omake Ops #4 (Good Dog!)
Length: ~630 words​

 

[Megaolix]

Retrospection of a Phantom


There was no other way to describe it, in his opinion. The mood, the atmosphere, knowing the days of the past…

Diamond Dogs was a corpse. A zombie of MSF that no one was yet ready to let die.

What other way existed to describe everything since he woke up? They had a goal, certainly. Even if it did not compare to the job that had MSF grow into a mini superpower before it all ended, finding and taking down Skull Face was a task he had been more than glad to undertake.

So why did he feel so empty when he was doing it?

He went out, did a job, returned to rest and resupply and went out again. Rinse and repeat. Sometimes, it was just a job. But then they started to find Skull Face's trail and things started to get more focused.

But the emptiness never left him. It was as cold as his mechanical arm was.

He probably had an idea about the reasons. It was not something he liked to think about, because it just caused him to be more morbid. But given what he SAW… He could not ignore it.

Huey… What the hell happened to him? What possible reason did he have to do it all? Was he just flat out insane now and they all missed it or did they just all choose him as the bogeyman? There was no denying his actions. But he couldn't make sense of his reasons, whatever they were? Was it all a horrible mistake on their part? Was he really that delusional, despite his genius?

Why?

He couldn't make sense of the why. So when things went to the point of no return, that why got forever lost. Doing anything but siding with Miller would have sparked a riot amongst the men. Not that Huey wasn't guilty of what he did. Was he insane when he caused it and then ignored his responsibility? Was he insane since way back? Were they all insane, maybe?

He missed the old Huey. The one that was kinda goofy, but had his heart and mind at the right place.

Eli… It was hard to think he had a brain to plot a breakout despite being so antagonistic about everything they tried to offer. Did he hate him so much he cared not for what he could get and learn here? To the point he did not care about murdering his allies, if he ever saw them as that? Or did he just see the others kids as pawns for him to use?

Eli certainly looked like he wanted to be an alpha. To be on top of things. But while he was around, it would never happen. He did not care about growing stronger here, he wanted it here and now. He never spoke of his reasons nor his methods. All that mattered to Eli was to eliminate him and be free.

He liked to think that if he had a son, he wouldn't be as rebellious. On the other hand, he never truly tried to talk to him. He had others things to do and Eli did not care to explain himself. May he should take him down, take a chair and wait to see who would give up first. The little kid or he who was his father, yet not his father.

As loyal as he was to Big Boss, he wondered if he foresaw all this and that it was why he gave up on Miller's dream.

Ocelot… That man was a mystery. He who was his closest ally, yet whose truly loyalty was to Big Boss. The true one, not the poisonous snake he was. The man antagonized Miller like no one else. He never truly meet him before. What did Big Boss do that earned this much loyalty from a man like Ocelot? What did they saw in the goal they worked for together? He went along with it, because it was convenient.

Maybe he should take Ocelot for drinks at some point.

Quiet was one of the few rays of sunshine left. One of the reason he still kept going. She had nowhere else left and it was this reason why Big Boss started this all to begin with. Even if Miller still wondered about her loyalty, he knew it was true.

And because he fucked up, he lost that little bit of light. Caused her to sacrifice herself to save him.

If there was one thing to be happy to know how it ended, it was that he would prevent this mess this time. And maybe, just maybe, they could find a way to let her speak again without unleashing a biological bomb on them all.

Code Talker was old. It would not be surprising if he passed away any day now. In fact, it was surprising he survived Skull Face. The man actually could talk with anyone, but it would not last. Not one gave him trouble, because all knew he did not have that long left. He spent his days trying to undo the damages he did working for Skull Face in his remaining days.

He too knew of what it was to have broken dreams.

And then, finally, Miller. Miller, who was at the heart of operations. Miller, the heart of MSF and Diamond Dogs.

It was painful to see how black his heart was now.

Miller cared. Far more than anyone else did. It was because he cared so much that even now, he could not let go of what MSF was. It was because he cared that he was so bitter and angry today. It was because he cared so much, what happened hurt him so much that he did not want to experience it ever again.

Now, Miller jumped at everything. He would not forgive Huey, who came away from that mess without losing as much as he did. He would not get closer to Ocelot, who he probably hated simply because he was closer to Big Boss than he was. He tried to care again, to be the man he was when they rescued those kids… And they paid for it by the parasite infection that struck Mother Base.

The road to hell was paved by good intentions, huh?

But even worse than that, Miller could hardly get himself to trust others now. In MSF, he was the mood maker. The one that united them all with his good mood and his cheer. Now, he was paranoid. He feared any of the men could be a traitor and set them against each other. He refused to get a new arm and leg because he still hated the idea of letting the past go. In this new Mother Base, everything was cold and empty because Miller's heart was now the same.

He missed the old Miller. Now, he couldn't say for sure he knew him.

And maybe, just maybe, that was the issue here. No one knew anyone. Miller refused to get close to anyone else. Huey stayed in his corner and liked it that way. Ocelot did not care that much, being here for Big Boss. Eli didn't care for anyone but himself. Quiet did not care for anyone but him. Code Talker was quietly doing what he could until his body gave out. They had little unity and now that Skull Face was gone, they would start breaking apart shortly.

And he wasn't sure he could prevent it. What cause did they have to band them together now? The glory of MSF would never return. What was he supposed to do and say now?

He did not know. Maybe that was why he fucked up so badly in his dreams. It was easier to go along with everything. To be a living corpse like everyone else.

But still, even if he did not know, he wanted to try. Because he too was like Miller, unable to let this go. He too remembered those glorious days.

Either he would fail once more or maybe something would happen. He already walked the path to hell once. Even if he ended up in the same place, he could try to take different turns.

Maybe, just maybe, his heart would start beating again then.

---------

@konamikode
Here we go. A bit of an idea on how Venom Snake see things right now, with his current knowledge.

Edit: Word count of 1385.

 

[cokerpilot]

Huey


The command room of Mother base was surprisingly empty for once. Just a few members of the supply unit going about their business, the guards, and something that was even rarer than the emptiness Big Boss. The Boss was sitting at the desk he went out of his way to avoid, doing paperwork that he could no longer put off. With the death of Skullface he had run out of excuses to put it off any longer. Besides the mild hum of machines, the quiet of the room was only interrupted by the occasional faint whispering of the staff, the shuffling of papers, and the scratching of the Boss' pen.

There was a faint beep. One of the guards raised his radio to his ear. After a moment, he made his way over the to Boss and whispered something in his ear. The Boss seemed to ignore the guard for a moment, as he signed another document. Then he closed his eyes briefly as he put down his pen. He turned his head to the guard and nodded. After whispered response the guard's radio, the guard opened the main entrance to the room.

Standing at the entrance was a nervous and tired looking Huey. Slowly he made his way over to the Boss's desk. Huey nervously shuffled some papers he had brought with him. When he arrived in front of the desk he opened his mouth speak but then shut it as he noticed the Boss's cold gaze. There were a few moments of silence. Everyone else in the room tried to look they weren't watching.

"Doctor Emmerich, have a seat." The Boss said patiently. "I was told me you want to go over some proposals with me."

Yes, of course, Sna... Boss." Emmerich nodded nervously, as he pulled a chair over. He adjusted his leg supports then sat down. He looked around seeming to be worried about the others in the room listening in. He tired steel himself for before continuing.

"I, um... I have some proposals on what to do with Sahelanthropus, as well as some other ideas. And well, that man said I should bring them to you." He again shuffled his papers and looked around again. "And... well... I was kind of hoping we could... you know."

The Boss regarded him for a moment then sighed before speaking. "Well, I guess we could all use a break." He turned to the command staff and announced. "You are all dismissed until after lunch. Bring some back for me."

There were several sharp responses of "Sir" and "Yes, Sir" as the command room staff left. The Boss regarded Emmerich for a few moments then addressed the guards. "Raven, Hippo, go take a walk." Both guards snapped a sharp salute than marched out of the room. The Boss then turned his head to the side of the room. "Jackal you too."

There was muttered cursing and a bump as Huey whipped his head in he same direction the Boss was looking. A man wearing a sneaking suit crawled out from the shadows behind some radio equipment. He stood and made a small show of dusting himself off. He looked directly at the Boss completely ignoring Huey's presence.

"How long did you know I was there Boss?" He asked

The Boss merely raised an eyebrow in response

"Damn it!" Laughing Jackal exclaimed, "I'll get you one of these days Boss," as he marched towards the door.

"Jackal." The man in question paused. "Good job matching up your breathing with the machine noise... But you forgot to take into account the slight whine the radios make whenever their cords get strained. Report to Miller for additional cleaning duties." With a frustrated sigh, Jackal left the command room.

Big Boss again turned to look at Huey who seemed to be trying to decide whether he should be nervous, confused, relieved or some combination of those feelings. Then the Boss stood and walked to the coffee machine.

"You look like shit." The Boss noted pouring a new mug of coffee.

"I..." Huey tried to respond but was cut off.

The Boss continued, "Not surprisingly really, between the work you have been doing and the constant grilling." He walked back to the desk and placed the coffee mug down in front of Huey as he continued speaking. "Drink this. It will help."

Huey looked down in surprise at the coffee mug, recognition flashing in his eyes as he saw the old MSF logo on it. Cautiously he reached down and held it for a moment before drinking it down slowly.

"Figured the privacy might help." Said the Boss.

Huey finished drinking and set the mug down. Taking a deep breath he finally responded, "Thanks, Snake. I really needed this"

"I could tell. Now tell me what you have for me, Huey." Snake spoke softly.

Huey now seeming much calmer and more composed than when he had first entered the room. He nodded and began to speak a faint bit of old enthusiasm in his tone.

"Right. Regarding the Metal Gear situation, I have three different proposals written up. First, we can simply repair Sahelanthropus. The second option is..." Huey grimaced and seemed reluctant to continue "Well, we could dismantle it and use the working parts for a new project and figure out what to do with the rest later. I don't like that choice, Snake, but you should know we could do it. Finally while doing either option one or two, I could also start to work on a new Gear."

Snake blinked then slowly put his hand to his head. "And exactly how do you suggest we hold on to it?" He asked with exaggerated patience.

Huey looked up from his notes with a mild look of surprise. "Come on now, Snake, just hear me out. I have some designs based on the old Russian idea. A spin-off if you will, I'll show you the plans later but just give me a chance okay?" Huey all but pleaded.

Snake rubbed his forehead but motioned for Huey to continue

Huey beamed in response then continued his explanation. "RIght then. So about Sahelanthropus. With the right resources and equipment, I guarantee I could get it fully operational again. It really is a marvelous machine, isn't it? The only problem would be controlling it. With its current design building a pilot compartment for anything other than a child would completely unbalance the Gear. Even if I did, I doubt a kid would be able to fully control the functions of it anyway. Even an adult would have trouble with how complicated it will be. I would honestly recommend an AI. That's what I told Skullface back when he was forcing me to work on it."

Huey stopped for a second swaying a little bit in his seat. "He's... really dead, right? I killed him. That wasn't a dream was it Snake? I have dreams... nightmares really, about him. He said and did such horrible things you know. He could get into and mess with your head and it was all but impossible to disagree. He even started to make me think he cared about me in his own twisted way. He made me do terrible things Snake."

Huey paused for a moment and continued, his voice starting to shake.

"Then you woke up. His obsession with you distracted him enough that he wasn't able to focus on me. And I realized he was just like all the others. He never cared about me, I was just a tool to him. Just like Coldman."

Huey paused again taking off his glasses. Leaning forward he put his elbows on the desk while holding his head. It looked like it was all he could do to keep himself from shaking. "And just like Strangelove."

At this remark, Snake started to focus intently. Not that Huey seemed to notice. Huey was off in his own world now.

"I loved her, Snake, I really did. And I thought that maybe with time, maybe she would come to love me. She promised me she would at least try. We had a son, you know. I even tried to use his help with Sahelanthropus. It would have been a family experience, perfectly safe. Besides what kid wouldn't want to be able to pilot a giant robot. She took him away when I tried that, and she told me the truth. She would never love me. She had just wanted to use me. Just like everyone else."

Huey stopped for a moment to hold back a sob and picked up the mug staring intently at the logo. "It wasn't my fault Snake. It really wasn't I couldn't have known it would happen. I... we had such big plans. We were going to show the world. We were going to do it together. But I... I was deceived by Skullface. I couldn't have known it was a trick. Everything seemed so right, it should have gone perfectly damn it. It wasn't my fault... but I let him in Snake."

Huey was practically swaying back and forth as he wrapped his arms around himself still shaking. "Should've just trusted you. You were the only one who didn't just see me as a tool. But everything went wrong Snake. So very very wrong."

With that Huey shook one last time, then his eyelids sagged as tipped forward out of his seat.

Snake sat there for a moment taking a sip of coffee before he turned to face the back of the room. "Well?" he asked.

"Not exactly what I was hoping for, but it was always a long shot" There was a smooth reply. Ocelot emerged from a room deeper in the command center with a slight metal rattle to each of his steps.

"What exactly was in that coffee?" the Boss asked.

Ocelot put his hands on his hips and looked down at the unconscious Huey, He emitted a soft whistle.

"KGB calls it the Истина говорит and our friends in the CIA like to call it the Babble pills. Causes flight of ideas while causing the mind to focus on memories triggered any external stimuli. I had hoped the logo would serve as a good stimulus. The memories of Skullface must have been a lot stronger than even I suspected to distract him that much from the provided stimulus."

* * * * * *

A few orders into the radio later and Huey was being transported to the medical bay.

The Boss and Ocelot were now sitting opposite of each other at the desk.

"Will there be any side effects?" the Boss asked.

"None that I know of," Ocelot answered.

"How much will he remember?"

"Previous subjects have ranged from nothing to vague recollections of events. Most only remember the more emotional moments. And even those tend to be hazy."

They both sat in silence for a minute.

"So" The Boss broke the silence. "What's your opinion?"

Ocelot gave him an odd look. "You sure you don't want Miller in on this?"

"No." the Boss answered immediately looking into the distance. "I trust Kaz with my life, but I can't trust his judgment on this. He's far too involved. I need someone with a more objective perspective.

"Your call" Ocelot shrugged. He put his right hand to his chin and hummed. "My professional opinion is that we could use his expertise in Metal Gears and other robotics projects. And while he's no omnidisciplinary, he's not a slouch in several other fields as well. He is, however, a ticking time bomb. Though one we could probably defuse with some time and effort. It certainly won't be easy, but it could be worth it. Personally, I think he should be getting psychiatric help and possibly some form of medication." The Boss nodded.

"Well," Ocelot said with a drawl as stood up "If that's all you need, I'll be going. You know where to find me." He walked out the main door.

The Boss waited till he was sure Ocelot was gone before leaned back in his chair and kicked his feet up on the desk. He turned his head to face the wall to his right. "And what do you think?"

He was answered by a simple musical humming noise. "That's what you always say."

Sitting back up, the Boss opened the bottom drawer and pulled out an old photo. He gazed at it for several minutes. Snake stood and left the room.


----------------------
@konamikode

Words: 2085

 

[Nix's Warden]

A Phantom of Sorrow​

Location: Motherbase Medical Ward; Long Term Patient Care
Group: Paz's Visitors
POV: Venom Snake

It's almost like you never even left that hospital. If you close your eye, if you let the sounds and the smells fill your senses, you wouldn't be surprised at all if Ishmael called out to you moments later. But Ishmael is gone, dead or missing, and you did leave that burning hospital behind. Miller and Ocelot fan out behind you and together you approach an old friend you haven't seen in close to a decade.

As you sit in the chair waiting for you next to her bed, as you hold a hand you haven't touched in many years, as you look at a face you haven't seen in so long, you can barely even believe it's her.

It is her though, you can see it, even with the wasting away that comes with being stationary for so long.

You hate it.

Paz was trying to save your life when she tried to jump out of that chopper, she chose to sell out Cipher to Skullface in order to get him to spare your life, she spared Chico when he discovered her modifying ZEKE despite having every chance to kill him, her own private tapes told the story of how her loyalty to Cipher waved as her bonds with Militaires Sans Frontieres grew.

Paz was, no IS, one of yours. She's a believer in your dream of peace, she's helped you so much, she is a Diamond Dog, and like you told your men when you first walked out of hell.

You won't let her end as ashes.

You hold out your hand for the gifts you brought after such a long absence and both Kaz and Adam pass them to you without a word. This is no place for idle chatter or wasted words. The dishes are still steaming, hot and fresh out of Catfish's kitchen, and you place them on the table you had the doc move next to her bed. Gallo Pinto the traditional food of Costa Rica, Ackee and Saltfish Fritters the national food of the Caribbean, and a plate of good old fashioned american hamburgers and hotdogs. Even as you breath in the smells you can almost see the party after you stopped ZEKE in front of you, the men and women dancing, and eating, and drinking, and partying the night away as they celebrate the stopping of ZEKE's nuke, and it's all you can do to stop yourself from grabbing a cigar and lighting it up in remembrance. You reach into your pocket, and pulling out the photograph taken of that very party, you start sharing your memories of the good days back then.

"Do you remember what everyone's face looked like after trying your cooking for the first time? It was pouring outside even more then usual, the sea was raging, and everyone was sopping wet and miserable, looking forwards to nothing more then a bunch of C-Rations for dinner. Then you came walking out the kitchen, freshly seared and grilled fish on platter after platter, enough for everyone to eat their fill and ask for seconds. You turned a mess hall full of miserable and irritated soldiers into kids in a candy store. It wasn't a one time thing either. Every single time, without fail, your cooking raised their spirits, and put smiles on their faces. Even when you had nothing but the same terrible military rations that we ate in the field, you managed to work miracles, and cooked something up that people actually wanted to eat!"

"Did you ever wonder why everyone in MSF loved your cooking so much Paz? It's because, as hard as it is to believe, you put your heart and soul in it. When I ate your meals I could feel your desire for peace. Your wish for the fighting to end and for the world to become one again. Your meals didn't just encourage us Paz they inspired us to greater heights. How many people in the world hoped for the same thing you did? How could we not do everything in our power to make their dream a reality? It's been awhile, and we're still walking forwards on the road to peace, but it's just not the same without everyone's favorite MSF cook. So, from me and everyone else, I'm begging you Paz. Please Wake up."

XxXxX

Location: ????
POV: Pacifica Ocean

It's Cold and Dark.

You can't move, your arms and legs weigh like mountains, your lungs are filled with lead, your eyelids heavy like the weight in your gut when you betrayed Big Boss for Cipher.

It's so Cold and Dark.

How long has it been since Snake tried to rescue you? A second, a minute, a hour, a day, a week, a year, ten years, a hundred, a thousand, an eternity? You don't know.

So very Cold and Dark.

How long has it been since you saw light? Since you were warmed by the presence of the man and the people whose dream you took as your own? Do they live still, bringing their dream of peace ever closer to reality? Or has Cipher managed to find someone else to finish the mission you failed and cause you ultimately rejected?

So very Cold and so very Dark...no it's....warm?

This warmth....I haven't felt this....in so very long.

This voice, the treasured memories he's forcing you to remember, you can feel the tears drip down your face as you realize who this person is.

Big Boss! Snake! He's Alive! He's Here! He's....begging me to wake up?

...He shouldn't be. I don't deserve it. I betrayed him and everyone in Motherbase! I tried to nuke the United States and pin the blame on them! I told Cipher everything I could about MSF, I was captured, and when Chico came to save me he was captured and tortured too! He shouldn't be begging for a monster and a traitor like me to wake up!

Wait...what's going on...what happened to the darkness? I can see?! I can move?! How?! Why am I in a river surrounded by jungle all of a sudden?! Where am I?! What's going on!!

"Sad."

What! Who is that!? Who's there!? Why is it raining now?! How is this happening?!

"So Sad."

You! Who are you!

"A host of sorrows."

Where are we?! Why am I here?!

"And you are one of them."

*A scared woman, who has been lost in the dark, locks eyes with a phantom of the past, and watches as a single tear of blood falls down his face in the rain.*

XxXxX

Location: Motherbase Medical Ward; Long Term Patient Care
Group: Paz's Visitors
POV: Kazuhira Miller

Looking at Big Boss as he sits there begging Paz to wake up only makes me feel more conflicted then before. She betrayed us, if she hadn't tried to use to ZEKE to nuke America under Cipher's orders, she and Chico wouldn't have been captured, and Boss would have been there to repel XOF's attack on Motherbase. If Snake had been there you know we would have been able to fight off Skullface and his forces. MSF and Motherbase would have survived, Snake would never have fallen into coma for almost a decade, and even if Skullface managed to escape that battle, it would only have been a matter of months before he was dead. Then we could have expanded and truly started to build our dream of peace in earnest. So much time lost, so many good soldiers dead, all because of her and Cipher.

But...even though she did that, she was still willing to try and jump out of the helicopter after being tortured for days, and undergoing bomb removal surgery without any anesthetic, to try and keep us all alive.

Who was the real Paz? The deceptive Cipher agent willing to kill us all for the sake of her mission? Willing to nuke thousands or even millions of people to frame us monsters and terrorists? Or the young woman who loved peace more then anything else and found a home with us? Does it even matter? Can I really bring myself to forgive someone who hurt our dream and our soldiers so harshly?

Even so....if I hate her for how she betrayed us....then I hate myself even more. I listened to Paz's personal tapes. I heard her begin to doubt her mission, I heard her love for MSF grow, and I heard her start to truly believe in Snake and his dream. If I hadn't reported to Cipher about the modifications to ZEKE being completed, if I had given her just a little more time, if she had gotten a chance to enjoy 'Peace Day' with us, would she have been willing to defy Cipher for Snake? For us? For our shared dream?

.....

I don't know. I don't have any of the answers, only one person does, and she's been in a coma for almost a decade. Still...Snake woke up so I guess I have to hope for just one more miracle don't I? Moving to the other side of the bed, I grab Paz's other hand, and hope against hope that this works.

"Hey Paz, it's me, Kazuhira Miller. Do you remember what I told you my name means? It means Peace, just like yours, sadly there hasn't been alot of peace going around lately. Its been rough but even so we're all still waiting on you...I'm still waiting on you. I want to talk to you, about our dream for peace, about our actions in regards to Cipher, about moving forwards together. I want to go fishing with you, I want to show you another of our wild parties, I want you live and laugh. I'll even get drunk and show everyone 'The Real Kazuhira Miller' again. I'll do anything you want."

"So please Paz. Wake Up."

XxXxX

Location: ?????
POV: Pacifica Ocean

Kaz....your here too....even after all I did? You still...believe in me? You still...want me to comeback?

"I am The Sorrow."

I thought...that you hated me. That everyone hated me. That I was alone. But....you...and Snake....and everyone...still want me? I still have a place to belong?

"Like you I too am filled with sadness."

How could you know my sorrow you damn ghost?! How could you know the sorrow I feel from betraying and almost killing the closest thing to a family I've ever had?!

"This world is one of sadness."

....Yes...It is.

"Battle brings death."

It does.

"Death brings Sorrow."

I won't deny that.

"The living may not hear them."

But...for all my sorrow...I won't give up on Big Boss's dream!

"Their voices may fall upon deaf ears."

I have hope he will create a peaceful world!

"But make no mistake....the dead....are not silent."

I believe in Snake, and Kaz, and I believe in the world they will one day create! A peaceful world! A united world! A world made whole!

"Now you will know the sorrow of those whose lives you have ended."

And nobody, living or dead, will stop me from helping them make that dream a reality! Now get out of my way!

*A young woman, who has been lost in the dark, finds the light and warmth leading home that she's desired for so long. Nothing, not a dead man, or an army of ghosts, will keep her from them.*

XxXxX

Location: Motherbase Medical Ward; Long Term Patient Care
Group: Paz's Visitors
POV: Adamska

To be honest I really have no idea why I of all people am here. John was the one who Pacifica was originally sent here for and who's dream she eventually came to believe in. Miller was her first friend on base and quickly became her older brother in all but name. Chico, may the boy rest in peace, was infatuated with her from practically the moment they met. But me? I wasn't close her. I couldn't bring myself to spend time around such a obvious assassin and plant. It went against every instinct and piece of training I possessed. I have no emotional bonds with Pacifica, no fond memories to share with her, no emotional connections to exploit, I possessed nothing that might influence her to awake from a nine year long coma.

Yet, here I am all the same, at John's request no less. Obviously he sees a reason for me to be here, something I can contribute in his goal of awakening the girl, but what it is I have no clue. So let's try and puzzle this out. John is providing physical stimuli via the food he brought and by holding her hand. Emotional stimuli, by bringing up the good times she spent at MSF cooking similar food for the soldiers there, and by being willing to beg for her to wake up. Miller is doing much the same, so the physical and emotional vectors are covered, which leaves mental stimulation mostly as a side effect of the food brought and words spoken.

Ah I understand now. Manipulating the mind always was my specialty.

Now, the girl is comatose, so hypnosis won't work, and torture is obviously out of the question. Looks like their's only one vector for me to apply my talents then. I step forwards, around John, place my hand on her head, and my lips by her ear. Now I just have to hope Miller and John don't try and stop me.

"Paz, you have slept for a very long time, for almost a decade. Militaires Sans Frontières was attacked and destroyed by XOF and Skullface. Big Boss was in a coma of his own that he only awoke from a short time ago. Miller was and still is lost in rage. He threw himself into war after war, eventually rebuilt MSF as The Diamond Dogs, and was attacked by Skullface again. His men were killed, he lost an arm and a leg, and was tortured for days by the Soviets. The pain and rage from what he's lost is atleast half the reason he can get out of bed every morning. There has been much suffering for the past nine years, Paz Ortega Andrade, but even so Snake and Kaz are still here. They're still fighting to make their dream of peace come true, they still have hope for a better future, but they are hurting."

"They need you Paz, to help them fulfill their dream, to help heal the pain in their hearts. Your the only one who can. They need their friend back. So please Paz. Wake up."

XxXxX

Location: ?????
POV: Pacifica Ocean

Ocelot too?....No. Please! Stop! I don't want to hear anymore!

"Your a failure! I should have been the one Zero chose to be his agent! Give me my life back!"

They suffered so much because of me! Even more then I knew they had! A decade of pain...Kaz, Snake, I'm so sorry!

"I trusted you Pacifica! You betrayed me! You stabbed in the back and let me bleed to death! You don't deserve to live!

...They need my help? Even after all I did....all they suffered....he thinks I'm the only one who can help them?

"Of course they need you girl. Another little soldier to follow that madman on his path to hell. Why wouldn't they try and fix such a valuable tool? Because that's all you are and all you ever will be. A tool for others to use as they see fit. Never your own methods, never your own goals, never your own dreams, always someone else's. A tool through and through."

Then...if Ocelot of all people said it....I CAN'T AFFORD TO STAY HERE FOR A MOMENT LONGER!

"YOU CAN AND YOU WILL! YOU WILL STAY HERE IN THE DARKNESS AND THE COLD WITH US FOR THE REST OF ETERNITY!"

I'M SORRY FOR WHAT I DID TO SOME OF YOU! SOME OF YOU WERE INNOCENTS WHO DIDN'T DESERVE TO DIE! SOME OF YOU WERE MONSTERS WHO DID DESERVE IT!

"All I wanted was peace! I wanted the United States and the Soviet Union to try and work together! All for the benefit of humanity! I WANTED PEACE!"

BUT NONE OF THAT MATTERS! THEY NEED ME!

"WE MATTER! YOU KILLED US! MURDERED US! WHAT ABOUT OUR FRIENDS! OUR FAMILIES! YOU MADE US LEAVE THEM ALL BEHIND YOU MONSTER!"

SO GET OUT OF MY WAY SO I CAN HELP THEM! I WILL HELP THEM FIND THEIR OWN PEACE! I WILL HELP THEM MAKE THE WORLD WHOLE AGAIN! NO MATTER WHO OUR ENEMY IS!

"Is there such a thing as an absolute, timeless enemy? There is no such thing, and never has been. And the reason is that our enemies are human beings like us. They can only be our enemies in relative terms. The world must be made whole again."

...Impossible. Your...

"Go back to your own world."

*A young woman, given hope and purpose, rages forwards towards the light. Past the ghosts of all those killed at her hands but halts in the face of the woman who's dream altered the world and human history forever. The darkness rushes towards her, not to drag her down, but to push her forwards.*

Everything goes white.

XxXxX

Location: Motherbase Medical Ward; Long Term Patient Care
Group: Paz's Visitors
POV: Venom Snake

Looking down at Paz's hand, as Adam whispers in her ear, I can only hope that this works. This is the best idea I could come up with to hopefully wake up Paz but it's slapdash at best. My own coma lasted for the same amount of time and the fact that I woke up in time to escape from XOF was nothing short of a miracle. The chances of her waking up from this....

"Hey Snake."

I snap my head to the sound, disbelief and desperate hope warring in my gut, but when I lock eyes with Paz, with her tired but openopenopen eyes, I feel the weight on my shoulders get just a little lighter.

"What took you so long?" she whispers and I wouldn't stop the swell of laughter or tears even if I could. Kaz definitely isn't. I can hear his glasses hit the floor, the tears in his voice as he laughs, Adam looks like the cat that ate the canary, and I feel the weight I carry get even lighter.

Fighting past the laughter in my throat I give her the answer she deserves to hear. "I'm sorry Paz. I should have been here a lot sooner."

"No Snake." I watch her slowly shake her head. "Everything that happened...was my fault. I don't...deserve your forgiveness but...you said you wanted me back...right?"

Looking her in the eyes I share the words I was afraid I'd never get to say again. "Welcome home Paz."

Slowly looking at you, Kaz, and even Adam with tears in her eyes, she says something I'm sure she's never said and meant before now. "It's good to be home."


Word Count: 3,176

@konamikode

Edit: Reposting this. Hope everything is right this time.

 

[konamikode]

Okay, Votes closed with

[X] Plan Child Healing
-[X] Main Ops 1: Recover Code Talker's Research
-[X] Side Ops 1: Miller Time
-[X] Side Ops 5: Saladin
-[X] R&D 8: Basic Education Program

I've been pulled away from VC to get through all the omakes and stuff, for now gonna open up the new vote for the extra dice coupon.

I don't believe we have enough to get another action, so I'm gonna go ahead and go on with the dice vote.

Could be wrong though, be ready for a heads up.

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Choose 1 more action for this turn, vote closes Monday 9 AM PST