AN: Welcome to my latest story, Pull Me from the Abyss. This story was inspired by Invitation to Heaven by the one and only Shining Zephyr! She is a very good author and the only other supporter of SnakeZelda, the pair this story is about. This story also takes influence from 'Desire of Ages' (MGS) by Solid Snake's Aurora and 'If You Let Me' by Byoshi, two other awesome authors. Enjoy the story!
WARNING: This story contains a human Solid Snake, not the overly badass one. Please do not let this discourage you from reading this tale.
Pull Me from the Abyss
The night, a time of peace, tranquility, and dreams of tomorrow, all the qualities that were adored by Princess Zelda of Hyrule. All the Brawls for the day have ended and Master Hand had dismissed all the smashers for some well needed rest. The last brawl of the day was between Zelda and Solid Snake.
Zelda frowned at the thought of the man. Zelda had easily won the match, leaving the mercenary to sulk in defeat. Snake wasn't liked too much by the majority of the smashers due to the fact many of them saw him as an outsider, although many of them liked the other outsider, Sonic the Hedgehog due to him having a perkier and friendly demeanor compared to
Snake's quiet one. To make matters worse, the mercenary had few friends, with only Samus, Fox, Pit, and surprisingly, Ganondorf accepting him. Zelda believed that the latter one just wished to corrupt him though.
The princess generally tolerated Snake; she would greet him warmly whenever she'd see him, she'd save him food when meals were served, she'd sit with him to keep him company, she even tried to compliment him on his performance in tonight's match. He just responded to her last attempt with an angry scowl and red eyes that showed signs of crying.
Zelda didn't like the thought of such a grizzled soldier, who had probably fought in countless wars with sights she couldn't possibly imagine, crying over such a meaningless loss. There must have been another reason for why Solid Snake would just break down and cry, but what could that reason be?
Zelda got on her knees in front of her windowsill, with only the moonlight radiating her. She folded her arms again and began to pray, "Oh great goddesses Nayru, Din, and Farore, please bless every last soul in this mansion, even the ones who are imprisoned by the chains of darkness, such as Ganondorf and Bowser," Zelda prayed for her friends and enemies alike. She took a deep breath and continued, "But most of all, I'd like you to watch over the soul of Solid Snake, who has fallen into the abyss of sadness. Please I beg you to guide him through his troubles and into the light of joy and love".
The princess rose from her knees and removed her boots followed by her dress. She put on a dark blue nightgown and got under the covers of her bed. She stared at the position where she was previously praying.
"Please, help him," she begged an invisible presence. She closed her eyes and went to sleep, hoping the goddesses would help Snake's tortured soul.
Although Zelda saw the night as a time of peace and tranquility, her views were not shared by Solid Snake. Every night to Snake was like a trip to hell and back because of constant nightmares about Meryl's death, Gray Fox or Frank Jaeger's betrayal, the bipedal nuclear tank, Metal Gear and about his father, Big Boss. But the one who tormented his self conscious the most was his brother, Liquid Snake the other clone of Big Boss. Although he was killed several years ago by the assassination virus FOXDIE, he would still haunt Snake with traumatic nightmares.
Whenever Snake would awake from these scenes of horror, he'd end up crying himself back to sleep. The effect from the nightmares would also have effects on his performance as a Smasher because of lack of sleep and focus, which would result in a string of defeats.
He felt completely alone in his mental struggle. His friends would not help him in the slightest, they didn't comfort him, they didn't really talk to him, he could barely even call them friends in the first place, they were more like acquaintances at most.
The first of his friends was Samus Aran, who had befriended him when he first arrived at Smash Manor because Snake appeared to be, in Samus's eyes, someone she could associate with because of their similar careers and battle hardened souls. Although she wasn't exactly the ideal friend he expected. Samus only cared about winning and had little respect for human emotions. Whenever Snake would lose a match she'd berate him for losing and then she'd purposely win a match and tell him to be just like her. This angered him because of her arrogance and this would also damage his self esteem.
The next one was Fox McCloud, the lead pilot of Star Fox. The anthromorph very kind to him and Snake thought they might be good friends. He was wrong, Fox would pay no attention to what he'd say and as soon as Falco or Captain Falcon would pass by he'd run off to go chat with them, leaving Snake all alone.
Pit seemed to sort of care about Snake's problems, listening to his woes and even offering him comfort. Like Fox though, Pit would rarely spend time with Snake and would always run off to go flirt with Ike.
Ganondorf was a strange case, he'd listen to what Snake had to say and would even give advice on how to deal with his problems, but with all good things come bad ones. Ganon being the King of all Evil and only associating himself with other sinister beings namely the likes of Wolf O' Donnell, Bowser and Wario, Snake being a friend of Ganon's branded him as a monster in most of the other smashers' eyes causing people to say cruel things like, "He's just one of Ganon's pawns". The other problem with Ganon was, Snake felt very uncomfortable around him due to the murderous vibe and gave off, combined with his piercing gaze it didn't make him feel very comfortable at all.
The last of them was Princess Zelda. The girl was extremely kind to him and would show it in her loving acts such as saving him food and keeping him company if he was alone. Snake didn't really trust Zelda, because of him being suspicious of her kind acts. Another reason Snake was suspicious about her was because she was friends with Peach and Link who both ridiculed him for being friends with Ganondorf.
A few past memories came flooding back to Snake. One was off this one time he heard Peach ask Zelda about him, to which she replied, "He's just as they say he is, a mercenary skilled only in war," he didn't hear the rest of their conversation because he felt hurt at what she said. A more recent memory was from earlier this evening when Zelda congratulated him for his performance against her in their match. He responded to her appraisal with an angry scowl filled with venom.
"Damn royal," he grumbled, "Trying to mock me for my defeat".
Snake took out a cigarette and lit it. He inhaled and then exhaled the lung killing smoke, he took the cigarette out from between his lips and stared at it, "Unfortunately, you are my only true friends nowadays, we've been together since the beginning," Snake stated nostalgically of his days as a Green Beret and later FOXHOUND.
While in FOXHOUND, he had noticed his father and commanding officer, was also fond of smoking, but he smoked cigars not cigarettes.
"Hmph, like father like son I suppose," Snake spoke bitterly of the father who never loved him. The mercenary took one last drag from his cigarette before putting it out. Snake let out a sad sigh before getting in bed, braced for the nightmares to come.
One hour later
Zelda was sleeping peacefully until a scream awoke her from her slumber. Zelda rose from her bed and looked around the room when another scream was heard. Zelda hopped out of her bed and entered the hallway. She followed the heart wrenching cries of agony to its source, Snake's room. Zelda put her ear against the door, Snake was definitely crying for some reason. Just hearing the man's sobs made her heart ache. Her instincts told her to go into his room and comfort his soul. She slowly opened the door to see Snake twisting and writhing in bed.
"LIQUID, STOP!" the man begged an unknown presence.
"Liquid?" Zelda wondered aloud.
"Please, just stop," Snake now had tears forming at the brims of his eyes, "Leave them alone!"
Zelda walked over to the tortured soul's bedside and sat next to the broken man. She gently lifted his head and placed it on her lap. The princess then began to stroke his hair and hum the lullaby of the royal family that Impa would sing to her as a child. As a result Snake's crying began to subside and he began to calm down. Zelda flashed a sad smile at the man in her lap.
Slowly Snake began to open his now red eyes, to see Zelda, "You," he rasped, "What are you doing here, came to laugh at me?"
"Laugh at you?" Zelda repeated confused, "Why would I do that?"
Snake turned his head to avoid Zelda's gaze, "You caught me in a pitiful moment, that's why".
Zelda sighed at his response, "Snake, everyone cries, it is only natural".
Snake snorted in reply, "I'm supposed to be soulless, I'm just one of Ganon's pawns after all".
"One of Ganon's pawns, who gave you that idea?" Zelda asked.
"Everyone," he responded glumly, "That's the only thing people see me as here, just because Ganondorf befriended me when I came here".
"I don't see you as one of Ganon's pawns," the girl spoke softly to the bitter man, "I see you only as you"
"What as a mercenary meant only for war?" Snake accused the princess, Zelda quirked an eyebrow in confusion, "Surprised? I heard you tell that bubbly, blond Peach, that's how you see me".
"I'm sorry you took it the wrong way, Snake," Zelda apologized to the bitter man, "I meant that you are battle hardened, a true warrior skilled in the bloody art of war," she praised the mercenary, "But along with your skill and experience comes a tortured soul, yearning for peace and love".
"What do you know!?" Snake snapped, getting out of Zelda's lap, "You don't know anything!"
Zelda ignored the mercenary's outburst and sighed, "I do know one thing though," she stated calmly, "You're living in denial".
"You don't know anything!" he growled like a frustrated child. He felt the urge to demand she leave him alone, but her words stung into his soul. He closed his eyes and tried to calm down.
"You don't understand me, I was created to kill, to wage war. I grew up with no real family, only a father who tried to kill me, and a brother who wanted to kill me and steal my genes. The only thing I've ever had was my name".
His name. Zelda never really gave any thought to what Snake's real name was until now. "What is your real name, Snake, your true identity?"
"I don't trust you," he blurted out.
Zelda sighed; trying to get through to Snake was like taming a wild animal. Prideful, solitary, and leery of people, "Do you trust me enough to tell me more about your life or what's been bothering you?"
"That's what's bothering me".
"What?"
"My life," Snake answered, "It's my mere existence that bothers me, no one trusts me or accepts me, my friends can be barely called friends, and who I knew as family all wanted me dead," the mercenary explained his voice shaking.
Zelda put a hand comfortingly on Snake's shoulder, "Please, continue".
"I-I don't know if I can," Snake said his voice cracking.
"Yes you can," Zelda urged the man.
Snake nodded reluctantly, "It all began to go wrong after the fall of Outer Heaven and after I had defeated my former commander Big Boss, who had turned rouge. It didn't affect me too much in the beginning, but four later in the nation of Zanzibarland where I faced Big Boss again and defeated him," Snake swallowed, "Before he died, he- he told me he was my father. After that I was sent spiraling into depression, so I moved to Alaska as a place of solitude where I learned to cope with the fact I had killed my father".
"Six years later, I was called back into service. My mission was to rescue hostages and neutralize the members of my former unit, FOXHOUND. My mission seemed just like a routine mission, but in that facility it all ended in betrayal and heartbreak. While in Shadow Moses, I came face to face with a demon straight from hell, Liquid Snake, my brother. He was a madman, he was going to kill millions of people using a weapon called Metal Gear REX. He held only contempt and hatred for me; he killed my best friend, Frank Jaeger and the only woman I ever grew to love,Meryl Silverburgh. He killed them both and I couldn't do anything about it! I eventually defeated him but he still won in the end by leaving a psychological impact that continues to haunt me".
Snake finished his summary on how his life went to hell, tears now falling down his cheeks, "It was all my fault! I gave into my fear, I allowed my enemies to rip me apart and Frank and Meryl paid the price for it! I'm a weakling a loser!" his soul cried.
"Snake it's not your fault," Zelda comforted, "Your enemies, this Liquid and Big Boss, they are monsters who only sought to make you suffer".
"You don't understand!" Snake shouted, lucky he didn't wake any one else up, "They were my family! My own family wanted to kill me and destroy my life!" Snake's voice toned down to a sadder one, "If they could see me now, they could see what a good fucking job they did".
Zelda pulled the sobbing man into her arms. Snake didn't fight back, he just cried into her shoulder, "Just let it all out, Snake. Let all the bottled up emotions inside your heart, flow out like a river," the princess spoke soothingly as she stroked his hair.
Snake did exactly as she said; he released his emotions and let it flow out of his heart. It was like this for what seemed like hours, Snake crying into Zelda's shoulder, and Zelda whispering comforting words to him. Soon, Snake's crying came to an end.
"Are you feeling better now?" Zelda asked like a mother to her child.
Snake didn't respond he just stared into Zelda's cerulean eyes with his now bloodshot ones, not muttering a single word.
Zelda offered him a smile, "I know you don't trust me, but you need to understand that I just want to be your friend, I just want to help you through your suffering using love and kindness".
Trust. The word stung in his mind. This girl wants to help him, she wants to be his friend, she wants to ease his pain. Could he trust her and let her heal him?
"David," he muttered.
"Hmm".
"David, my name," Snake repeated, "You wanted to know my name earlier, but I said I didn't trust you".
Zelda smiled, "So, does this mean you trust me?"
Snake nodded, returning her smile.
"David," Zelda began, using Snake's real name, "Your pain is now my pain, I will free you from your mental prison".
Zelda got up from the bed and prepared to leave, but Snake grabbed her arm, "Please don't go," he begged. Zelda took a look at Snake's face; it was wearing that childish expression from earlier, "Please, I feel safe with you," Zelda gave into his plea and got back into the bed next to Snake.
"Zelda, that song you were humming earlier, what was it?" Snake asked.
"It was the lullaby my guardian Impa would sing for me as a child, to get me to go to sleep".
Snake nodded, "Can you…sing it again?"
Zelda nodded, she cleared her throat and began to hum the lullaby to Snake. Within minutes Snake fell asleep on Zelda's shoulder, submitting to the lullaby. Zelda cast the sleeping man a sorrowful glance. It was going to be a long trip to recovery, but Zelda was determined to save Snake from his sadness and fear. The princess pulled Snake closer to her and sighed.
"David, you have suffered so much at the hands of your very own family and you are scarred, but in due time your wounds will heal. I promise you, I will be the one to pull you from the abyss you have fallen into, I promise".
Tonight for Solid Snake, marked the first time in ages, that he was able to enjoy the peace and tranquility the night had to offer, all thanks to Zelda, his savior, the one who would save him from the abyss.
AN: This is my first SnakeZelda story, I hope it is good. I will eventually transform this into a whole story starring Snake and Zelda. Personally I felt the quality decline a bit near the end of the story, so if you forgive me if you think the same thing. Please take the time to review the story, I'll respond to any review.