All characters belong to Hideo Koijma. I don't own any of them. This contains massive MGS4 spoilers. The ending dialogue is taken right out of the game.
Two Sides of Death
By Marie Nomad
A week ago, we saved the world from both Liquid Ocelot and the Patriots. Yesterday, Big Boss saved Snake from a meaningless suicide. Today, I am trying to save my heart.
It was dark as I sat in the bedroom where Snake was sleeping. He looked so peaceful and I felt a little embarrassed for watching like some forlorn lover. I just couldn't believe that he was still here after all that happened. Now that Snake was not going to create a plague, he will just fade away and that scared me. When Snake started aging rapidly, I foolishly thought that it was something that he got exposed to in our fight against Metal Gears and the Patriots. We tried everything but Naomi told us that what was happening to Snake was natural for him. He was meant to die at forty-five.
Now, we are in Mexico at one of Mr. Campbell's houses. Snake refused at first but Campbell pointed out that it was one of Big Boss' safe houses and he would want his son to have a nice place to stay for at least a while. Snake didn't refuse that.
In some way, I wished that Snake would have pulled the trigger at that graveyard so that for once, someone I cared about would die and that I would not be a witness. It was calm and I closed my eyes. I was so tired.
I opened my eyes to see the room was full of mist and glowing flowers. "Snake! Sunny!" I called out.
"Death is constant. Death is sorrow." A dark figure appeared in dark mist. His face was black with a gray cloak surrounding him.
"Death is constant. Death is joy." A beautiful woman in white appeared around the glowing flowers.
"Who are you? Where's Snake?" I demanded as I tried to look for a weapon.
"Snake is fine; you are in the world between life and death." The dark figure replied as he walked closer. "I am The Sorrow."
"I am The Joy." The woman added.
"What do you want with me? Are you here to punish me for what I did?" I asked as I tried to stay calm.
"No, you had respected the dead and worked to atone for past mistakes. We are not here to punish." Sorrow started to say.
"We are here to heal." Joy finished as she came forward. "The deaths you saw are not your doing. Sniper Wolf wished to die in battle. Emma was attacked far beyond your reach. Naomi was dying years before you touched her and Snake was destined to age quickly the moment he was born."
"I know." I confessed as I looked away. "I was just not lucky."
"But they are lucky to know you." Joy said as Sorrow summoned Sniper Wolf.
I found my heart pounding to see her again, even in a ghostly form. She was smiling in a content way, like she was in a warm fuzzy blanket. "Wolf." Sorrow summoned Emma and Naomi and they looked just as happy. "Emma, Naomi." I started to cry.
"They were going to die, they were aware of it." Sorrow explained. "Their deaths would have ended with more sorrow but your presence caused them joy."
"I felt sorrow when they died." I said as my heart started to break.
"When someone dies, how they feel the moment of their death will resonate for years, perhaps even eternity. Your presence made them feel at ease in their passing and helped them for eternity." Joy said. "If Snake had killed himself, his spirit would have felt nothing but pain and despair because he felt when he died."
"But, he can pass on easier if he dies at peace?" I guessed.
"Yes." The two ghosts answered.
"When I died at the hands of Joy, I accepted it and stayed with her." Sorrow said.
"When I died at the hands of Jack, I accepted it and felt at peace." Joy added.
That was when I felt a sense of strength that I never felt before. Snake will die but how he dies can still be controlled. He still had several months left and I can still help him. "Thank you."
I opened my eyes to find myself back in the bedroom. It was daylight and Snake was gone. "Snake?" I looked outside to see Snake standing outside watching the sunrise. I glanced at the dresser drawer to see Snake's new pack of cigarettes laying there. "I'll do my smoking lecture later." I sighed as I picked up the pack and walked downstairs. "Snake! Wait up!" Snake turned around and I handed him the pack. "You forgot these."
Snake stared at them for the longest time. Finally, he gave them back to me. "No thanks. I'm quitting."
I was amazed. First, I was visited by a pair of spirits and now Snake has turned down smoking. Was this a day of miracles? "Snake?"
"These things will kill ya."
I nearly laughed. Only Snake could make a decision like that and made it sound like it was his own. At least he could breathe easier in his old age and Sunny won't work so hard at hiding them away. We started to walk around the garden full of blue roses. Snake's life was his own. "Where will you go? Our fight is finished, there's nothing left for us to do." I admitted. This world was free of the Patriots and Liquid Ocelot. They were the main reason we fought for all these years. For the first time ever since I met him, I didn't know what Snake was going to do.
"No, there's one thing I still have to do. I have to see this age off, see what the future brings."
For the first time, I find myself thinking of a future beyond Snake, Metal Gear, and maybe even me. This world was reset into zero and that made me excited. I want Snake to see as much as possible what I see. "Sounds good to me. I'll go with you."
Snake looked at me. He knew my tragic past and he shook his head. "Otacon, I'm gonna be dead soon, you don't have to come." He wanted to protect me from the sorrow of my heart at the idea of death. But he will die anyway; I can't stand the idea of him dying alone.
"You said it yourself, Snake. There's nothing inside you can pass on to the next generation. No genes, no memes. You're man-made. You're a beast." It wasn't an insult. It was a fact that Snake constantly said, especially during that last mission.
He shrugged. "I know. A blue rose. There won't be any happy "Beauty and the Beast" ending for me. What little time I spent left will be living as a beast; a shadow of the inside, of the old age."
"Exactly. That's why you need me as a witness."
"A witness?"
"Yeah. Someone on the outside to bear witness to your final days. Someone to pass on your story. Not that I'm your only witness. But I'll remember everything you were and stick with you to the end." I finished my little speech by putting my arm around his shoulders. He's stuck with me no matter what. People need to know that Snake was more than a soldier, a terrorist, but a friend, a man. And I have to be there for him.
Snake looked at me and smiled one of his small but apparent smiles. "Otacon."
I don't know why but everything felt nicer. The sunlight had become brighter, the flowers smell stronger, and my heart felt better. Sorrow and Joy are right. You can't escape death but you can do what you can before you die. You can do what you can for those who are dying. "Besides, you wouldn't let me suffer Sunny's eggs alone would you?"
The End