"X has come to...X has come to..."
I wake up to see
a face looking at me.
"Do you understand me? I'm a medic."
As he speaks, I try to remember what happened.
***
I was on a hill, overlooking a village. From my viewpoint, I saw a river of people move in, while another, smaller river moved out.
An invading army. And fleeing refugees.
I was going to leave. I had no reason to be here, no reason to do anything.
Then half the village went up in flames.
I took a look at the unit patch I was holding and put it away. I moved forward, into the village.
I stuck to the shadows and covered my face with a cloth, moving silently through the smoke.
I was surprised to find my first hiding spot was occupied. A woman and a child.
Both of them looked at me in fear. I simply put a finger to where the cloth covered my lips.
When I did I spotted one of the invaders. An armored knight with a gun. Unbelievable.
I glanced at the woman, hoping she would understand my intent, and moved away to sneak around behind the soldier.
How irritating. I would have preferred using my garrote, but that knighyt armor (knight armor, really!)
would get in the way.
Fortunately, I always carried backup. Before the soldier even noticed, I shot the back of his head with my pistol. I heard the sound of the shot, heard the blood and brains smack the inside of his helmet. Heard the woman and child bolt from their hiding place. I payed them no mind.
I took a look at the fallen soldier's gun. As I picked it up, I realized it was a sniper rifle.
Not my first choice of weapon...but I did know how to wield it.
It all blurred together after that. I killed a few soldiers with the rifle and fled into the shadows and silence. I do it again and again. Soon I saw other people fighting the soldiers. A defending army, or perhaps a militia protecting the survivors. I aimed my shots to help them, giving them a distraction they need to retreat, or fight back.
But eventually my luck runs out. There is a sound of a stray bullet, and pain bursts from my neck.
I fell down, my hands desperately clutching my throat.
I wonder if I'm going to die.
I wonder why I don't care.
***
When I put my hand to my throat I find skin. I sit up, look down and see there's not even a bandage on my neck.
I look at the medic in confusion. He gives a small smile. "That Ragnaid works wonders. I might be out of a job soon."
Looking around, I find myself on a cot in a makeshift medical tent.
"I'm going to need to do some tests", the medic says. I let him do so as I consider what to do next.
It's about then that the woman from earlier enters the tent. Before the medic can wave her off, she...
Hugs me.
"Thank you. You saved us.
"
I don't answer.
I don't know what to say.
Finally she lets go, and the medic asks her to leave. I barely pay attention.
When the woman leaves, the medic turns to me. "You know, you did some nice work there. People are alive because of you. You're a hero."
I shook my head. I would never use that word to describe myself.
The man seems to understand. "You're better than you think you are". He then puts something next to me.
My unit patch.
My
XOF unit patch.
I come to a realization. "You're MSF".
The doctor nods.
For a moment I wonder if I can kill him and make a break for it.
Then I lie back down. I was pretty sure my life was over.
"So it looks like you're fine. Your clothes and other things are over there, and you can pick them up and go."
I shake my head.
Liar.
"I'm serious. You can leave whenever you want."
"I'm your enemy" I say.
"What, do you have a something against us?" the man asks.
The question was so unexpected I found myself answering. "No..."
The man shrugs. "We were enemies. Now we aren't."
He can't be serious. "Don't you want revenge?" I ask.
"Some might," he says, "but I think that some phantoms should stay in the past."
The medic then leaves the tent. I do nothing for awhile. When I see that nothing has happened, I put on my old clothes, take the patch from where it was placed, and step outside.
I expected to be shot right then and there.
It didn't happen.
It was dark outside, but I could see I was in a makeshift camp. I noticed the medic was standing, looking at the horizon. I moved next to him. He said nothing.
For some time we looked at the sky, at stars that were not of our world.
Finally I break the silence. "It was vengeance that drove me to them." The words that I kept in me spilled out. "I lost everything, and revenge was all I had left. They told me it was a language of it's own, something all humans could understand."
I looked down, at the XOF patch in my hands.
"I think I'm done speaking the language of revenge."
I kneeled down and dug a shallow hole in the dirt with one hand. I put the patch in it, and covered it up.
A phantom, now dead and buried.
When I got up the medic looked at me. He said nothing, but I heard his unspoken question.
What now?
For the first time in a long time, I smiled. A
real smile.
"I think I'll try to learn the language of gratitude.
Thank you."
The medic smiled and I knew his was as real as mine. "You're welcome."
There was another moment of silence.
"By the way," he said. "What's your name?"
My name....
"I lost my real name a long time ago. But you can call me..."
***
GAINED HERO UNIT:
SILENT BUTTERFLY
***
Author's Note and Explanation: Konami's original quest was an AU of Ground Zeroes, which meant that Venom Snake...never existed, and remained a medic. (The quest gave him the codename Capybara, by the way.)
After Phantom Pain came out I figured...well, if we can have Ocelot and Blade Wolf show up, why not past!Quiet?
It never happened, but oh did I want it to.
Anyway, we barely know anything about past!Quiet, so I based her portrayal on what little we saw of her in Phantom Pain's prologue, and her canonical final message. Technically she didn't have a pistol in the prologue, but
eh.
I also admit that Capybara meeting Butterfly smacks of authorial fiat, but
eh. This thing was pure self gratification anyway.
Might do more omake's set in this AU if there's interest.
(Reminds me of the Wikipedia donation message)
