This fic takes place before MGS4. No real spoilers here. I don't own any of the characters.

Gray Hair

By Marie Nomad

It all began with Big Shell. No, it started long before Big Shell. Roy Campbell always knew that there was something strange about Solid Snake and Liquid Snake. They resembled Big Boss back when he was Naked Snake. They were identical and yet they were not. At first, he thought that they were twins born from one of Big Boss' flings on one of his missions but they were different. Shadow Moses happened and he discovered the truth.

Solid Snake and Liquid Snake are clones of Big Boss.

It bothered him a little about the idea that the US decided to venture off into a forbidden science back when it was still so new but he cannot let it affect the way he thought about Snake. After all, Solid Snake was still human. He can bleed, he can hurt, and he can love.

After Shadow Moses, Snake went underground with that odd engineer that he called 'Otacon' to fight Metal Gears and make sure that they don't destroy the world. Campbell helped when he could from the shadows, giving them information and making sure Mei Ling didn't get caught helping them. Campbell didn't think about Snake's origins so much. Why should he get so worried about the past and what Snake might be? In his eyes, he was a son to him.

Then Big Shell happened. It attracted Campbell's attention in many ways. It dealt with a former US president who decided to take a huge Metal Gear with the help of another Black Ops group that had fallen from grace. It mirrored Shadow Moses to such a degree that it frightened him. It also dealt with a young athletic soldier who was working under an AI impersonating him. That made him mad.

Campbell had to reassure Raiden that he was real and that he cared about Snake. He learned more about the man called Solidus. Solidus was a third clone of Big Boss made after Snake and Liquid. The math was confusing. Raiden must be at least twenty but Snake was about thirty-seven. Solidus should be younger but he was a mirror image of Big Boss without the facial hair.

What did Dr. Clark do to make Solidus grow up so fast?

That was when Campbell started to gather information. He needed to know about Snake. He wanted to know what sort of genetic tinkering that was done in Snake's creation. It wasn't that hard. Snake's medical information was declassified after his 'death'. It still took him time to find out. No, he stalled himself. A part of him didn't want to know anything that makes Snake less human. He didn't want to think Snake as different.

"Colonel?" Mei Ling interrupted him.

Campbell looked up at the young girl. She had been helping him get the information he need to find the truth and to keep him going. Mei Ling had that childlike curiosity about Snake's life that pushed him forward. Why was he so scared? He really was living up to the old codename 'Chicken Fox'.

"Let's see it."

Mei Ling brought up the data on the screen. Most of it was medical data that he couldn't comprehend. Finally, he found the doctor's notes.

Les Enfant Terribles

The project in the second stage. The eight embryos are created and I had implemented the changes in those genes. The main concern is that the clones will be used by the enemy. We cannot afford to have a Big Boss leading a resistance against us. I am sterilizing the clones and introducing the terminator genes so that they won't be cloned.

I am still concerned that they could influence the world against us. Most of the greatest leaders in history were part of the military. If they enter politics, they could be our greatest ally or our greatest foe. I am going to see if I can make them grow up faster so that we can use them. Maybe we can use them for a legion of disposable soldiers.

Campbell felt his stomach turn. How could Dr. Clark even consider mass producing humans just for a disposable army? Snake had mentioned that he felt like people see him as a weapon to be used and thrown away but he had no idea how true it could be. He flipped through the pages. It recorded the timeline of the embryos' growth and how Dr. Clark decided which embryos to destroy for the others to absorb. It made him sick to think that Snake's life was decided by a literal ennie meanie miney moe. Finally, he reached some parts that he didn't know before.

Well, I successfully shortened the lifespan of the fetuses but they are still developing at a normal rate. I think that I just made them age at a peculiar rate. It was somewhat like a normal human until they are in their prime. Then, they will gradually start to deteriorate. It won't be noticeable at first but once they start the middle age symptoms like lower testosterone, watch out. I give them until about the age of forty to fifty. I will perfect the aging method on the final clone. I am a little worried that the aging will get to those two without warning and show that they are clones. Maybe they will die before then.

"Paramedic!"

Mei Ling turned to see Campbell toss the papers down onto the floor. "Colonel?'

"Why, Paramedic? Why did you have to do this?"

"Paramedic?"

"A young doctor who saved my life back when Foxhound was being formed." Campbell sighed as he got up. "I'm sorry. We had a history together. She thought her work was more important than me."

"I'm sorry."

"It was ancient history, before you were born. Don't worry about it."

"But, what are we going to tell Snake? According to this, he might die between forty and fifty and he's already thirty-seven."

"Nothing."

"Huh?"

Campbell stood up straight. "We are going to tell him nothing. All this was embedded into his DNA, it can't be changed. I don't want him to feel like he has a death sentence or that the reason that he was born was as a stepping stone for Solidus' creation. I don't want him to suffer like Liquid did. Please, don't tell Snake about any of this."

"But what will we do when he starts to see how much he's aging?"

"I don't know. But we have to support him no matter what. Knowing him, he may feel very sensitive about the aging." Campbell spoke from experience. He started feeling very sensitive about his age, especially seeing his little girl grow up to be a woman. But he had years to grow old; Snake will more than likely wake up one day with white hair and wrinkles. Snake will have one hell of a midlife crisis.

"I understand." Mei Ling looked down. "I had no idea that he has this little time left. It's not fair!"

"Life is never fair. Thank you, Mei Ling for everything."

"You're welcome, sir."

Weeks passed and Campbell wanted to contact Snake just to see him but he couldn't. Finally, he went ahead and typed into the private communication channel. His heart started to pound right away when he saw Snake's face. He had a few wrinkles around his eyes but what really stood out to him were the streaks of gray hair. "Hey, Colonel. Any leads to Liquid?"

"Uh… no. No. I was just wondering, how are you?" He couldn't believe it. Snake was starting to get gray hair before he was even forty.

"I'm fine." He looked at the older man suspiciously. "Are you sure, nothing is wrong?"

"NO! Nothing at all. Everything is fine. Your hair…"

"I know, it's graying. Otacon's been joking nonstop about it. Makes me feel old."

"You look distinguished. Besides, Big Boss's hair turned gray when he was middle aged too."

"I suppose." Snake grumbled.

"I… I have to go. Work. I'll call back when I hear anything."

"Okay."

With shaking hands, Campbell turned off the monitor. He gazed at his own reflection for a moment. Finally, he collapsed onto his desk and cried.

The End…