It's been a while since I've seen some action. It was standard stuff, except here the conflict was civil. Bodies of innocents and soldiers were everywhere and villages were destroyed. I wander through one of these villages and killed soldiers out of self-defense, but should I even explained why I did it. The fact of the matter is, I killed. I search the village for any supplies, but there was nothing there. There was nothing for me there, so it was time to move on, but I was stopped by a young girl. Her blonde hair was stained with blood and her eyes were the one of those who've seen the fires of hell, something that we have in common.

The girl grabs a stick and starts swinging at me, but I easily grab the stick mid-swing and take it from her. The girl then tries to lunge at me so I grabbed her and slammed her into the ground, rendering her unconscious. I don't know the exact reason why this girl attacked me, but I can tell from her eyes that it was all for revenge.

Iraqi Kurdistan, 21:20

The girl wakes up and is shocked to find me sitting near her. She tries to move but soon realizes that I tied her up with rope.

"Let me go!," the girl yelled.

"Only if you promise not to try and kill me again," I responded.

"You think you can bargain with me?," the girl asked.

I look at the girl with murderous intent and said, "No, I'm saying that for your own safety. If you try to kill me again, then I may be forced to kill you."

The girl shivers and diverts her eyes. I think she got the point. I pulled out my knife and cut the rope of off her. I then start a camp fire to keep us warm for the night. I sit back down and noticed that the girl was staring at the fire with solemn eyes. I handed her a ration and asked, "What's your name kid?"

"I…"

The girl's stopped herself and said, "My friends… they called me Wolf."

"Were they killed in the conflict?," I asked.

Wolf clenched her fists and nods her head.

"We've always been able to get away from the regime," Wolf said.

"And you thought I was with them, right?," I asked. "That's why you attacked me. It was an attempt to avenge your fallen friends."

Wolf clutches her bandaged arm and I tell her, "You shouldn't just charge at people like that. "I could have killed you if I wanted too. You shouldn't let your anger cloud your judgement in a war."

Wolf stops eating and asked, "So, who are you?"

"Me? I'm Big Boss," I answered. "But you can call me Snake."

"You're Big Boss?," a surprised Wolf asked.

"You heard of me?," I asked in response.

"Of course," Wolf answered. "You're a legend to those on the battlefield."

"Someone told me that before," I said.

"What are you doing here," Wolf asked.

"I'm looking for people to join a revolution," I answered.

"Revolution?"

I look at Wolf and said, "Outer Heaven"

Wolf looks at me surprised and muttered, "Outer Heaven…"

Wolf finishes her Ration and notices Quiet's Sniper Rifle I'm carrying.

"That's not for kids, kid," I said.

"Snake, can you give me a weapon?," asked Wolf.

"What for?," I asked.

"So I can defend myself," Wolf said.

"You mean so you can kill," I said.

She didn't fool me. I could tell what she really wanted to do.

"Listen, Wolf. You shouldn't go down a path of revenge. It'll turn you into a demon," I said.

"How would you know?," Wolf asked.

It was at that moment that I began to reminisce about the past. The Destruction of Mother Base, Skull Face, Huey, Eli, Quiet.

"Trust me, I know," I said.

Wolf stayed silent and I asked, "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know," Wolf said. "I lost my family and the world has turned their back on me."

Wolf then laid on the ground and eventually fell asleep. I laid back myself and looked up at the stars. It reminded me of the time I did this with Quiet. I pulled out a Phantom Cigar out of my bag and used my iDroid to light it up.

The next day, 07:43

I open my eye and notices birds flying by. I then heard gunshots and grab my assault rifle. As I look around for enemies, I noticed that Wolf was gone and Quiet's Sniper Rifle was missing. I made my way to the source of the gunshots and found Wolf hiding behind a rock while a group of soldiers were shooting at her position. Using the element of surprise, I killed half of their men as I ran to Wolf. The soldiers kept firing at my position and I asked Wolf, "What the hell is going on?!"

"I, uh, tried to take revenge on some of the regime's soldiers," Wolf said.

"Maybe, I should have told you not to take revenge because it will get you killed," I said.

"But…"

"Wolf, you're a kid and unlike the child soldiers I've come across, you've never even held a gun," I said.

I pulled a smoke grenade from my bag and told Wolf to stay behind the rock. I tossed the grenade over the rock and soon the soldiers were blinded by the smoke. I dashed from behind the rock and threw of the soldiers on the ground. It then shot two of them in the legs and shot another in the face. The smoke soon disappeared and I heard a gunshot. I turned around and saw a soldier with a hole in his forehead fall over. Wolf walked from behind the rock, visibly shaken, and hands me Quiet's Sniper Rifle.

"Are you okay?," I asked.

"Y-Yeah," Wolf said. "No injuries here."

"That's not what I meant," I said. "You just killed someone. How does that make you feel?"

"I thought it would feel good, but…"

Wolf looked at the dead bodies and I asked, "You feel empty right? You killed someone for revenge but nothing changed did it?"

"My friends and family are still dead," Wolf said.

"So what are you going to do now?," I asked.

"I don't want revenge anymore," Wolf said. "But I also want to make sure others don't end up like me."

"So you're going to keep on killing?," I asked.

"If that's what it takes," Wolf said.

"So you're going to war, huh?," I asked. "Wolf, you realize that if you do that, you'll see more fallen comrades. Are you sure that's what you want?"

"I'm used to fallen comrades," Wolf said.

"No one can ever get used to that," I said. "I still feel the pain of loss when I think about the person who owned this sniper rifle."

"Then I'll discard my feelings," Wolf said.

"That's impossible to do," I said.

"How is that impossible?," Wolf asked.

"Because you're human," I said.

Wolf looked at me with surprise and I said, "But if you want to go to war, then I know where you can learn how to be a soldier."

"Where?," Wolf asked.

I extend my right hand to her and said, "Outer Heaven."

Venom Snake One-Shot: The End