Welcome to the first chapter of 'Hymn'. This small project was inspired by several sources, one of them being the astounding Shining Zephyr. Her latest work, 'Aurora Endless', paved the foundation for this project. The human language fails to measure her striking, unparalleled heart. Other sources of inspiration are as follows: 'Requiem for a Tower'/'Requiem for a Dream Techno Remix', Assassin's Creed (PS3), and plans for an upcoming project: Psyche. Locate the details for that project within my profile.

While thinking of some scenes for Psyche, I decided to give the world a taste of my brainstorming. Since I wish to give nothing away, I decided to post this little ditty. It's an alternative story to Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Please sit back, relax and enjoy!

Disclaimer: Aside from a copy of MGS4, I don't own anything related to Konami.

Warning: This project not only contains boy/boy love, but it contains a gay Snake. If you're allergic to the idea of gay couples, or even just a gay Snake, please steer clear.

As light and shadow, they supported one another. They stood by one another, forming a union that couldn't be broken. They were torn from different cloths, born in different worlds, but they stood by one another. Without fail they supported one another, tying themselves closer as time passed. Even as the world threatened to cave in on them, they supported one another. Even though they didn't voice their appreciation, both were grateful for the other's presence. Their hearts were hardly able to contain gratitude, thankful to have the union of yin and yang.

In such dark times, a powerful union was required to surpass the storm. The union had been formed between two legends, one much older than the other. They weren't of the same world, but their hearts had fused together. The beginning of their union started amidst the buds of chaos, and as those buds blossomed, their hearts fell into a synchronized state. The older one failed to comprehend the younger one's heart, but he held it nonetheless. Due to an intolerable absence of love, he needed the younger one's presence. He wanted the younger male by his side. Without him, his life would fall into a never-ending vortex.

Without even realizing it, the two of them had given birth to a rather poignant union.

On the battlefield, having such a connection gave soldiers an advantage. Snake and Leon certainly needed the advantage, for they were up against the world's darkest threat. Liquid, Snake's brother, dabbled into forces mortals weren't meant to touch. By collaborating with Osmund Saddler, leader of the Los Illuminados, he infected a colossal amount of humans with a mind-controlling parasite. As a result of the infection, many individuals were either driven mad or infused with Liquid's consciousness. Widespread chaos quickly broke out as a result, pulling an esteemed agent of the President into action. Summoned by Snake's lifelong friend, Dr. Hal Emmerich, Leon allied himself with the old soldier. The birth of their connection occurred within mere moments, also branching off into intimate connections with Snake's makeshift family. Leon was known to fly solo for his own work, but he evidently had no problems with being a team player.

Just as people developed an instant shine for Hal, Hal developed an instant fondness for Leon. After the Kennedy learned of his partner's story, he integrated himself into their family. The young one not only offered to give Snake his support, but offered to project the otaku and his surrogate daughter. Sunny, shortly after this, overcame her initial shyness and gave the President's agent a hug. Hal drew the agent into a tearful embrace, expressing every last bit of appreciation. The softhearted otaku, a soldier in his own right, had been through his own forms of trauma-while fearing for the life of his dearest friend. The Kennedy's presence softened his daily fear, and even gave him a light at the end of the tunnel.

Snake, aside from 'Otacon', had never worked with a partner in the past. He quickly became comfortable with Leon, who was an invaluable soldier-not to mention companion. The legendary soldier was astounded by his quick attachment to the younger male, previously believing that he'd never work well with anyone-other than Hal. Leon quickly crushed all assumptions into ashes, working at his hardest to lend Snake a hand. The young one learned the ins and outs of FOXDIE, relieving Snake whenever the virus got out of hand. Favors were constantly bestowed onto Hal's dearest friend, without any desires presented. Ranging from massages to complete control of a mission, Leon did everything in his power to aid the other. Whenever Snake succumbed to the overpowering virus, Hal was dragged into a muddy pit of overwhelming despair. Leon always rushed to his partner's side, either administering Naomi's syringe or giving the other a massage-accompanied by soothing words of encouragement.

And so, because of Leon S. Kennedy, Hal decided to believe in miracles.

The young agent was a muscular man of striking features. Short, silken brown tresses sat upon his head, complimented by a set of vigilant brown eyes. His physique constantly earned the attention of surrounding soldiers, one of them being Snake. In addition to his phenomenal appearance, he possessed unparalleled courage. He was a priceless companion to Snake, diving into the most dangerous tasks without a second. An average soldier would have keeled over from fright, facing most of the tasks Leon took on. As a result of his unyielding courage, Leon frequently suffered wounds in several different places. During one mission, he almost had his leg torn off while attempting to reach a distant Snake.

Hal, as a result, spoke of immense amounts of stress. Leon might have been invaluable to his little family, but he sliced years off of Hal's lifespan-in addition to the damage Snake already caused. Despite the tremendous amount of worry, he was happy to have him.

I don't know where Dave would be without you. Thank you, Leon.

With a violent thud, an old soldier struck the ground. A pool of blood emerged from his quivering lips, followed by an even thicker body of rose red aches. His lungs throbbed against fierce, heartless walls of pain, crushed under the impact of savage kicks. His entire body was a pulsating, burning mass as he struggled to rise, but was instantly knocked down. As blood streamed from his many wounds, tears streamed from his eyes. His tormentor, however, paid no heed to his own sibling's pain.

Another battle had broken out, swallowing an entire city whole. Victims of the Las Plagas parasite were falling apart, either giving birth to widespread bloodshed or running around in a frenzied, berserk state. Liquid made the decision to witness his latest triumph, pursued by the newly formed team of Snake and Leon. Unfortunately for the team, both of them had made a careless decision. They decided to separate from one another, wishing to attend to matters in different vicinities. Much to Liquid's pleasure, Snake ended up in the wrong vicinity. And if he had anything to say about it, Snake's life was about to meet an excruciating end.

The laughter of a euphoric demon escaped Liquid's lips. The laughter continued as he continued to batter his brother, giving no mercy and acknowledging no sign of humanity. Mercilessly he rained kicks onto his brother's body, his laughter gaining momentum with each of his sibling's moans. Once he caught sight of his brother's tears, the laughter temporarily halted for triumphant speech. His voice had earned rather demonic qualities, to say the least.

"What right do you have to cry beneath me, you dirt-ridden dog?! What right do you have to show off your humanity?! Absolutely none! You're a damned, corrupted piece of shit, my beloved brother, and beneath my feet you shall grovel for forgiveness! Repent, Snake! You've stained this planet long enough! Apologize for your pitiful existence by atoning! You should have never been born!"

The one beneath his feet said nothing, pleadingly looking into his tormentor's face. He had not a scrap of strength left, and no longer wished to fight. He looked into his brother's eyes helplessly, hopefully, sorrowfully, asking for even the smallest scrap of affection. He had spent his entire life waiting for the birth of a family, and his remaining sibling seemed to be his only hope. Unfortunately, Liquid had no desire to bond with his remaining family member. As far as he was concerned, family wasn't of importance. He spat upon the mortally wounded Snake, sneering with poisonous disgust.

"Ugh. Why don't you hurry up and die, you twisted beast? I wish you'd stop looking at me. I wish you'd stop breathing! You're nothing but a waste of flesh and blood! Haven't I killed you yet?!"

Apparently not. Still breathing, a convulsive, bloodied puppy gazed upon his last link to family. The puppy's tormentor snarled at him, clearly disgusted by the broken creature's existence. "Stop looking at me, you empty carcass," the black hearted sibling roared, initiating another round of kicks. Four kicks managed to snap the puppy's legs like twigs. As a result, a tearful cry of unfathomable pain broke out of Snake's throat. His brother was more than happy to hear it, acknowledging the cry with laughter.

"There! Maybe now you'll die!"

A second later, the click of a gun fell into Liquid's ears. The end of a gun soon found the back of Liquid's head. "You'll be the first to die," a dark, young voice growled, earning the attention of Snake's brother. Snake, on his own end, was immersed in far too much pain to hear anything-other than his own moans. Meanwhile, Liquid turned to face his assailant. It was none other than Leon, the muscular agent from President Wilson's service-and Hal Emmerich's angel.

"You?! What do you think you're doing?!"

Leon, keeping both of his guns focused on Liquid's forehead, gave an instant reply. "Protecting your brother."

Liquid took those words as a joke. Putting his hands about his hips, he looked upon the livid agent mirthfully. Leon wasn't in the mood for light-hearted playtime, but Liquid was all for it. "You're protecting my brother?!" the wicked beast cried out, eyes glowing with malicious rapture. In the process of bonding himself to Osmund, he had attained some devilish qualities for himself. He not only cast away his remaining shreds of humanity, but enjoyed his unholy attributes.

"He's a filth-ridden, damned time bomb! A stinking, bleeding ball of flesh!"

Once again, Leon wasted no time in delivering a response. His voice was sharp, crisp and immensely perilous.

"You're a fucking coward, you mewling son of a bitch."

Recognizing the speaker's voice, Snake lifted his head from bloodied soil. Eyes clouded by pain, and enshrouded in thin sheets of blood, he struggled to view a newborn confrontation. A young male had thrown himself into a duel with Liquid, who was no longer focused on torturing his own sibling. Snake would have preferred to keep Liquid's eyes on him, though, for he was none too comfortable with having Leon in danger. To add salt to injury, there was nothing he could do. Realizing this, he gave off a series of wrathful, forlorn grunts. Tears surged from his eyes as he watched a battle unfold, desperately hoping for his partner's victory. Leon, an expert in martial arts and gunmanship, utilized every skill he had against Liquid. Liquid, with his newly acquired grasp on devil's euphoria, utilized his arsenal of martial arts against Leon. Both appeared to be evenly matched, able to land brutal blows.

Terrified, weepy eyes observed Leon. They not only begged for his victory, but they begged for his company. Right out of the gate, Leon had supplied him with two vital elements of life: encouragement and affection. Without any previous ties to Snake's world, the Kennedy acted as the old soldier's shadow. In Snake's eyes, Leon was the light. He loved how authoritative Leon was whenever he took command of lost soldiers. He loved how Leon's eyes glistened in the midst of fire. He loved how Leon rushed out into a field of land mines, without heeding the danger. He loved how Leon's arms felt around him, and relished the soft impact of Leon's soothing voice. He loved-

Leon.

Moaning, he reached out to his brother's combatant-but found his fingers gripping the cold, hard soil. Now, more than ever, he hated their separation. Whimpers conveyed his longing for the younger male, but all were unheard. Lungs pulsated against endless, blazing pain, elevating the tears within his eyes. Blood rushed from open gashes, his shattered legs were limp on the ground, and-

He wanted Leon.

Leon. Leon defended him from Liquid on more than one occasion. He comforted him after his encounters with Meryl, who had accepted Akiba's proposal. He had taken him into his arms, as the world rang with gunfire. He had whispered serene messages into his quivering ears.

Leon.

"Leon...L-L-Leon..."

Could something like Snake comprehend love? Could something so worn out, useless and bloodied hold onto something so precious? Could he possibly love someone so pure, beautiful and young? Could a broken, used and abused doll of the military love a valiant agent? Could he hold onto love, even as he teetered on the edge of death?

Agent and beast wrestled one another, determined to beat the other into a painful death. Several feet away, a tearful puppy made an attempt to rise to his feet-wanting to rush out to the agent. As soon as his legs caved in on him, he remembered how his legs had been shattered by his own brother. With a tearful thud, he resigned himself to the sidelines. Helplessly he watched as two combatants tore away at each other, rolling dangerously close to the edge of a cliff. A gasp rose from his heart once those two combatants rolled off the cliff, and vanished.

Silence emerged from its cocoon. It swept through the bloodstained battlefield, separating Snake from the rest of the world's battles. Helplessly two eyes darted about, searching for any sign of Leon's existence. Whimpers walked out of his broken heart, hoping to attain the attention of a certain companion. Winds howled as he dragged himself towards the cliff, eyes filled with tears. Grunts escaped as he did so, as a result of the horrid pain he tried to ignore.

"Get up! I'm right here with you!"

"Don't let go of my hand! I've got you!"

"You can do it! On your feet, soldier, on your feet!"

"I'm not letting go! So don't give up on me! Stay with me, Snake!"

Meryl had given up on him. She had discarded him, tossed him away him as if he had become a boring action figure. Liquid, his one and only brother, tormented him to no end. He had never come into contact with Solidus, and if he had, their meeting was not present in his mind's eye. His father never acknowledged him, and he had grown up without a mother. He didn't know where his name 'David' came from. Solid Snake (or Old Snake, as it was now) was nothing but a blood-ridden enigma.

In spite of all that, Leon was with him. Leon stayed with him. Leon...

Did Leon...?

Every breath was laborious, endlessly painful. Every breath rattled his ribs. Every move he took rattled his weary, listless body. In spite of all that, he crawled. He crawled as an athlete would crawl to the finish line, searching for the light at the end of his tunnel. Black rain clouds unleashed a downpour as he continued to crawl, drenching the battlefield's last remnant in hostile water. In spite of all that, he crawled. He crawled on, hoping to catch a familiar face. Maybe one of Leon's rare smiles.

Minutes were no different from epochs. Snake's eyes finally dove over the cliff, wrapped up in blankets of blazing agony. Moans continued to leave his lips as he realized something. He was alone, left without a friendly face. Left without Otacon. Left without Campbell, who had sent him after Liquid and Osmund in the first place. Left without Sunny, the adorable little maiden who desperately wanted to heal his heart. Left without-

"Leon. L-L-Leon...L-L-Leon..."

Only the wind answered him. Surely Leon would find him. The young agent would find him, sweep him into his arms, and assure him of his safety.

"You're okay. I've got you."

"Don't worry about a thing. I'll take care of this."

"You're with me now. You're in good hands."

"Hey. Th' name's Leon. It's a pleasure to meet you, Dave."

Save for Otacon, everyone had always addressed him as 'Snake'. The Solid Snake, to be precise. No one ever used his birth name. No one ever addressed him as a human. No one-

-could ever love a beast. Or could they?

Drenched in a rain, a sodden puppy sought a much loved face. Rain soaked every inch of his war torn body, from head to toe. His forlorn eyes sought a much loved face, heart pounding and falling deeper into the rain's sad silence. Five minutes passed before he lifted his head to the black heavens, heart and soul full of tears.

"Leon! Leon! Leeeeon!"

Wails followed, coming from the legendary, unstoppable...

...heartbroken and torn Old Snake.

1) This was composed to 'Requiem for a Tower', 'Faint-Remix' and strangely, 'Reflection' from the Mulan soundtrack. XD I don't know. Its lyrics just make me think of Snake. XD

2) Originally, I didn't plan on having both of Snake's legs broken. Blame my baby sister and Assassin's Creed. XD Expect Liquid to be just as violent in 'Psyche', for your yummy information. XD

3) Leon is from the esteemed Resident Evil series. He's also hailed as one of the hottest game characters of all time. And with good reason. XD He stars in Resident Evil 4, and is featured in his own RE film. Osmund is RE4's protagonist, as the Los Illuminados are Leon's deadly opponents throughout the hellish tale. The Los Illuminados are a collection of zombiefied individuals, gone mad from the parasite known as Las Plagas (also from RE4).

This is part one of two, unless the beloved lady Zephyr wishes for this to blossom into a full-grown flower. With so many possibilities and dreams for 2009, who knows? But expect the next chapter soon! As the leaders of the Assassin's Bureau would say, may peace be upon you. XD

Dedicated to the legendary flower, Zephyr. As always, you inspire me to climb new mountains.