Quick Author's Note: I have not written fan fiction in many years, about ten, to be exact. But I've had this story in my head for a few months and I feel the need to write it down. Who knows, maybe some of you, wonderful readers, may actually enjoy it. I've tried and dissected the time line to make sure that this story fits into the original canon. I also went out of my way to keep all the characters IC. If you have questions about some of the military terminology, just ask me and I will gladly explain what they mean.
I also wanted to write this from Meryl's point of view. The games are told from Snake's and I don't think that Meryl really gets enough kudos. I am also going on the assumption that Snake left Meryl, not the other way around. Yes, I know in MGS 2: Substance the Snake Tales say that Meryl walked out on Snake, but in MGS 4 it's implied that Snake left first. I am going with what MGS 4. The only reason Snake Tales exists is because fans wouldn't stop complaining about Raiden in MGS 2.
I decided in a M rating because there is a detailed sex scene that I have planned out. It won't happen until later chapters, and I will note the specific chapter. This chapter also has a steamy scene in it, but it's more T rated. There will also be graphic violence, language, and hints of rape. Don't like, don't read. And as of yet, Meryl does not know that Campbell is her father.
Italics indicate a flashback
Story Summary: What if Snake and Meryl met up in the battlefield after the Tanker Incident, when he was presumed dead. With rumors of a new Metal Gear project underway, both Snake and Meryl, unaware to each other, are sent in to investigate the possible new threat.
Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING! Everything Metal Gear Solid is property of Hideo Kojima and Konami.
Prologe
Jab. Uppercut. Hook. Kick. Jab. Uppercut. Hook. Kick.
Meryl repeated the same patter of punches over and over, the thick droplets of sweat pouring from her brow onto her gloved hands. The large vinyl punching bag continued to take her abuse steadily for the next five minutes or so, before taking a moment to catch her breath. The air was thick with the pungent oder of sweat and salt; Meryl would often seek solace in the gym at Fort Myer. More often then not, she would be the only female at the punching bags. The red headed soldier would often attract stares and sideways glances from her male counterparts, but Meryl paid them no heed. She enjoyed the time alone with her thoughts, her memories, and anger.
Looking up at the digital clock, she took note of the time; 0030 it blared in bright neon red lights. She'd been fighting imaginary foes for the past three hours. Taking a moment to survey the gym, she realized it was deserted. All of the soldiers had retired to their barracks for the evening. It was past midnight, after all. Catching a glimpse of herself in the a mirror, red faced and soaked in sweat, she decided to call it a night and walked off towards the showers.
At Fort Myer, female facilities were far and few between, however the gym did have a fairly sizable ladies locker room, and it was sparsely used. Claiming the first shower stall, Meryl quietly turned the hot water on, forcing the temperature as hot as possible. An old habit from her time in Twin Lakes, Alaska. The hot water a welcome relief from the bitter Alaskan cold. Steam quickly filled the locker room and Meryl began to slip out of her soiled gym sweats. Stepping into the shower, the searing hot water flushed her skin bright pink and she closed her eyes, letting her mind to ponder the past few months.
She had been at Fort Myer for approximately six months. It was strange being back in the Washington D.C. metropolitan after her months in the Alaskan wilderness. But after Snake disappeared, she had no where else to go. Her uncle resided in Arlington, Virginia, enjoying his retirement. With Campbell's connections, her record at Shadow Moses had been expunged, and she was allowed to return to active duty in her old Army unit. Colonel Campbell was merciful and did not ask why she has returned from Alaska alone. Meryl was grateful for her discretion. The last thing she needed was questions to which she has no answer. Or rather, no answer that she was willing to say aloud.
She just wanted to block the whole affair from her brain, Solid Snake, Shadow Moses, all of it.
"You must not say anything of Shadow Moses. As far as anyone knows, you were deployed to Southern Africa during your time in Alaska. Stick to that story," her uncle implored her. "Shadow Moses was a cover story for your mission in Africa. You can make up the details, if you wish, but you must stick to that story. That's the White House's official statement and we mustn't deviate from that." Campbell rummaged around his desk for a moment, before pulling out a manila envelope, extending it to her. "Here is an official copy of your orders to Fort Myer."
Meryl nodded in understanding, taking the envelope. "When can I be back in the field?" she asked. She wanted nothing more then to utterly lose herself in a mission, working in the field, carrying out her orders like a true soldier. When left to it's own devices, her mind would often reflect on this six months in Alaska. Six amazing months with a man she loved. 'No,' she thought to herself. 'He left. Forget about him.' Her hero, her mentor…and her lover. It was for the best if she just let those memories of Alaska fade into the abyss.
Colonel Campbell shook his head defeated. "Unfortunately our higher ups don't want you involved in any exercises, real or training, until you've been properly evaluated. You never sought treatment for your Post Tramautic-," he began but was abruptly cut off.
"Nothing happened. I'm fine," Meryl spat viciously. Her uncle had been relentlessly pushing her to talk to a therapist after Shadow Moses. The last thing she needed was a quack in a beige chair taking notes on how she had been imprisoned shot, tortured and…worse. She didn't need a therapist, or anyone else for that matter. The only one she had opened up to was Snake, and not even he knew everything. She was fine.
"Well either way, until you are physically and mentally evaluated and deemed fit, you are not allowed to return to the field. That's not just from me, it's orders from the unit commander. Mei Ling is also under the same scrutiny. You are being watched and monitored. And until the Department of Defense is satisfied you will have to deal with it. You are lucky. Mei Ling has been demoted to a secretary for naval officer and was questioned extensively by NCIS, the NSA, and DoD. You were lucky enough to disappear for a while and have now been grated a blank slate. You have been assigned to the electronics unit on post. Your report no later then date is in a week, giving you time to find an apartment off post. Any questions?" Campbell said bluntly. He had pulled every string and contact he had made in his military career to have his daughter's record purged of her involvement at Shadow Moses. Meryl was stubborn, he knew, but he at least wanted to give her a second chance. Being a soldier was her dream, and he didn't want those bastards at the Pentagon to rob it from her. He sighed heavily and eyed his daughter. Tall, lean and stubborn as an ass, she softened her demeanor at his explanation.
"Thank you, uncle," she said softly, smiling fondly at her uncle.
Her first six months at Myer dragged at a snail's pace. She was made aware in no uncertain terms that, for the time being, she was chained to a desk, answering phones, and filing paperwork. Before Shadow Moses, her job was a specialist in electronics, and she had at least expected to resume her normal responsibilities. But instead, her unit commander had essentially chained her to a desk. The work was boring and monotonous. Nine hours a day, five days a week, she was chained to "answer phones and look pretty," as her Commander instructed her. It took every once of restraint and self control not to punch the misogynistic old man in the face with all her might, but Meryl kept a low profile. Every free moment she had was spent working out and training, counting down until she was no longer on lockdown.
With such a dull and boring job, Meryl couldn't help as her mind would drift back to her time in Alaska. Her time with him. Solid Snake. The Solid Snake…no…her David. Their time together had been short, sweet, and wonderful. Days were filled with mushing, training, and laughter, while their nights were sleepless and passionate. Snake had not been the first man she'd been intimate with, but he was definitely the most skilled.
The chilly Alaskan air was whirling outside, but Meryl was nice and warm curled up under a thick goose down blanket with Solid Snake next to her. A gentle orange glow radiated from the stone fireplace that was the sole source of warmth in Snake's tiny cabin. She pulled the thick blanket up to her chin, taking a moment to drink in the sight of the man next to her.
He was sleeping at the moment; the chiseled features of his visage were at ease in his slumber. God, he looked ten years younger, then the war torn hero she'd seen at Shadow Moses. Snake's hair was frizzled from their latest frenzy of love making, and his chest slowly rose with the rhythm of his breath. Sleepy and restless at the same time, Meryl didn't quite know what to make of herself, and she rolled out of bed to add another log to the fire. Still nude, she shamelessly slid from the sheets and tended to the fire. The renewed warmth was welcoming, but not as inviting as the handsome man sleeping feet from her.
Looking back, Snake really was the most attractive man she'd ever seen. Years of training, combat, and war had sculpted his features with a certain roughness that she found irresistible. His hands, calloused and worn, had a tender touch to them when he ran them over her body, surprisingly so. Solid Snake was as experienced in the bedroom as he was in combat, knowing exactly how and where to touch her.
"What are you doing?" a raspy voice said, snapping Meryl out of her thoughts.
Meryl jumped, and flushed pink. "I was just thinking, nothing wrong with that."
Snake smirked at her, knowing full well what was on her mind. "It's late, get back to bed."
Smiling Meryl teased, "You can't tell me what to do."
"Oh really?" he smiled. Hopping out of bed, naked in the glow of the fire, he walked over to Meryl and in a flash, pinned her down in the wooden floor of his cabin. Her face reddened so much that it matched the hue of her hair. She made no effort to escape his grip, nor could she even if she wanted it. Snake leaned down, teasing her for a moment, kissing and nibbling at her lower up.
The water in the shower had long since grown cold when Meryl snapped out of her daydream. Alarmed, she quickly toweled off, threw on a set of clean clothes, and set out for her apartment. She avoided thinking about Snake. She found it an easier coping mechanism then wondering why. Why did he leave? It maybe wasn't the most mature way of handling the situation, but avoidance worked just fine for her.
She lived in a small flat just 5 minutes away from post. It was a modest one-bedroom apartment, but more then adequate for a single woman. Not even bothering to go to her bed, Meryl curled up on her couch, drew a plush micro-blanket across her body and within minutes fell asleep.
The next morning came quickly as morning light managed to creep through her curtains. Groaning, Meryl threw her blanket across her face. It was a Sunday morning, a non-duty day, and she was determined to catch as much sleep as possible. Rarely did she go a full evening without recurrent flashbacks. During sleep, her thoughts would bring memories of Shadow Moses, a dark cell, and a man with sandy brown hair with a long duster. It was classic Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, she knew, but kept repressed in a lonely corner of her brain. Officially Shadow Moses never happened, so neither did her flashbacks.
A loud sharp knock to her apartment door forced Meryl out of her slumber. "Too early," she mumbled. "GO AWAY," she shouted across the room. Checking her watch, it was six thirty in the morning. Who on Earth would be at her door this early in the morning? Rolling over, she shoved a pillow over her ears in an attempt to block out the noise.
"Meryl, it's me. I need to talk to you!" a disgruntled Colonel Campbell yelled through the door.
Grumpily, Meryl stood up and unlatched her door. Not caring she wore only a pair of sweatpants and a black tee-shirt, she invited her uncle into the apartment. His complexion was pale and ashen. Roy Campbell appeared to have aged twenty years over night, with large bags hanging beneath his eyes. Alarmed at his appearance, Meryl reached out to her uncle "Are you alright?"
"Yes. Perchance, do you have coffee?" Campbell asked in a poor attempt to seem calm and collected Meryl motioned over to the small circular dining table she owned. To anyone else the act would have worked, but she knew her uncle better then anyone. As Roy took his seat, Meryl went about the kitchen to her small coffee maker. Within a few minutes, the odor of fresh-brewed coffee filled the room. "It's about Snake…" Campbell trailed off. Faltering for a moment, she tried to maintain a nonchalant demeanor as she reached for a pair of mugs.
"What about him? He disappeared six months ago."
"I wanted you to hear it from me, and not on the news," the Colonel said. Meryl stood still in her tracks, her hands laden with full mugs of coffee, suddenly weighed more then she could handle. Not a trace had been found of Snake since he disappeared in Twin Lakes.
"Hear what?" Meryl demanded.
"Last night, in the Hudson River, a tanker known as the Discovery was sunk in a terrorist attack, or so the news stations claim. I do not know the exact details, but official reports say Solid Snake is responsible for this terrorist attack," Campbell relayed. His voice was slow and controlled, and eyes fixed firmly on Meryl's. He did not know the details of her and Snake's relationship, save for the fact that they loved each other.
It took a moment for Meryl to regain her composer. Snake was a terrorist? That didn't make sense. What was going on? Was he still alive? Her mind was firing a thousand questions at once. "What happened to him?" she managed to blurt out. A small clamor came from her hands as they shook the mugs, spilling searing hot coffee on her bare hands. Meryl didn't notice, but was fixated in her uncle. "What happened to him," she said again, more forcefully.
"A casualty crew found a body. A DNA analysis is currently being run, but the preliminary results…" his sentence was cut off as a loud CLANG rang sharply in the room, the sound of two coffee mugs falling onto the tile floor.
Thank you to everyone who actually read this. It's a slow prologue, but it kind of sets the tone for everything that's going to come. And there's a LOT to come. :-)
Keep in mind that Snake was officially dead until the Big Shell Incident, so for about two years. It wouldn't make sense for everyone to know he was really alive. Even Ocelot didn't know he was alive.
If you like, please review. More reviews = more chapters faster.