Disclaimer: Metal Gear Solid and all the characters are sole property of Hideo Kojima and Konami. I'm only borrowing them for a while! .

Chapter one: Rain

Rain fell gracefully; it almost danced down above the cityscape. The tiny lights that shone in people's windows glistened faintly in the night sky, the full moon obscured by ominous clouds that vowed to punish the humans below with even more rain. Snake found himself pondering if the rain would ever cease, even for a just a few days. Like most of his wishes it went ignored.

Snake ignited a cigarette with a match he found in his pocket as he wandered towards the sole window in his bleak diminutive corner of New York. It really wasn't an apartment, just a fridge, couch and a coffee table in the middle of four walls. The russet colored wallpaper seemed to be peeling near the doorway and the cream paint-job on the window was riddled with cracks. Snake longed for his peaceful, uneventful lifestyle in Alaska once again. New York wasn't his cup of tea. At times Snake would close his eyes at night envisioning the landscape, the pristine and virginal white snow awaiting the imprint of his huskies' paws. Alaska held too many memories for him now, and Philanthropy fell right into his lap. In a rare moment to himself he even scoured his brain to attempt to understand what kept him devoted to Metal Gear. It was some twisted destiny. He knew that as long as Metal Gear's mechanical re-incarnations existed he was cursed with the duty to destroy them.

Snake felt that no one was more sexually frustrated than him. He drank too much and masturbated way to often. " I need a woman." He thought. He really didn't have a type but he longed for someone feminine, tomboy's had too strong of a will but he had an affinity for them. Adorning his coffee table was his only companion, a laptop open to a news website, the headline slightly covered by pop-ups. Snake had managed to make front-page news. An onslaught of images came to mind but none had to do with Alaska or the tanker. What haunted him was Meryl. Snake could only assume she knew of his "death" by now. Snake pretended that what Meryl thought or felt held no meaning to him whatsoever. But somehow he just couldn't pluck the Meryl he met in Shadow Moses out of his heart.

The rain drummed against the window. His cell phone commenced to ring. Caution guarded his every action as he inched his way to the cell phone adjacent to his laptop. Snake was feeling particularly paranoid. He flipped open the phone revealing the reflective screen. It was Mei-ling.

"So when's the funeral?" Snake snickered congenially.

" You know it's bad to make jokes like that." Mei-Ling alleged considerately. Even when they had no real physical contact just the hum of her voice had the capacity to comfort him. Her voice put the same spell over him that Meryl's did. " I was really worried."

" I'm glad you were at least."

" Why do you say that?"

" No reason."

" Anyways, Hal told me everything. You've lucky to have him in a tight situation." Mei-ling's voice seemed to smile.

" Alright, enough about Octacon. After all I was the one doing the dirty work."

" Right, sorry it was just that you would have died if he weren't there."

" I suppose you're right but I don't want him to get cocky. After all he only repaid me for what I did for him."

" What was that?"

" I was the one who saved his ass in Shadow Moses."

" That's true. Anyways you wanted to know how Olga made out right?" Mei-Ling inquired in a quizzical tone of voice.

" Yeah…I do. Why?" Snake asked aggressively.

" …no reason. It's just, not like you."

" Not like me?" Snake said perplexedly.

" She tried to kill you."

" That's true but what would you say if instead it were Meryl who was trying to kill me?"

" I don't understand what you've implying."

" Sometimes Mei-Ling you have to beyond someone's politics in order to see a resemblance."

" You see a lot of Meryl in Olga, don't you?"

" I see Meryl and I in the same situation."

" You mean…?"

" Exactly what it sounds like. It wouldn't be the first time I've looked down the barrel of Meryl's gun."

" That's horrible!"

" It isn't horrible we just have two very different ideals. We're both soldiers."

" That doesn't excuse that she tried to kill you."

" Enough about Meryl. Tell me about Olga."

Mei-ling had limited knowledge of Olga's location or her status but it was enough to assure Snake that she was still alive. Secretly he was pleased that Olga would live, hoping to perhaps encounter her again. He admired anyone who could handle him or herself that well against him, although his complements were always caked with a good dose of ego on his own part, he hardly complemented his adversaries. Olga's father may have been involved with Revolver Ocelot but Snake was still a mercenary and if it weren't for Philanthropy he would have joined either side for the right price.

" I'd like to see her, Mei-Ling."

" Who?" Mei-Ling knew that Snake wanted to visit Olga but Mei-Ling abhorred the idea. Even if Snake had saved her life she still attempted to kill him, nothing changes that. Mei-Ling was especially prejudiced against her for working with Revolver Ocelot. Despite working with the military Mei-Ling lacked Snake's reasoning.

" I want to visit Olga. I assume she's still in town."

" I'm sorry Snake but I can't." Mei-Ling felt a tinge of jealousy towards Olga for sparking such a great fascination in Snake.

" Can't what?"

" Give you any information about that woman."

" Fine. I'll ask Octacon."

" Snake, have you gone mad?" Mei-Ling's voice turned stern " She probably has member's of her Unit keeping guard over her. Are you insane enough to risk going out in public and on top of that having to deal with member's of Gurlukovich's Unit?"

" Yep."

" You aren't in love with this woman. Then tell me why you find her so fascinating?"

" She doesn't fascinate me. I simply just felt like seeing her."

" For what? You want to pretend like she's Meryl?"

" Not exactly."

" Then what?"

" …" Snake halted briefly, he had no idea why he was suddenly felt the impulse to see her, " I don't know."