Prologue:
"We have our own battles"
"What the hell?" the man muttered to his partner. He was puzzled, almost frightened within the sound of his own voice. He walked along in the alleyway, speaking to Hal Emmerich, his partner in Philanthropy. Hal Emmerich, also known as Otacon, moved his glasses while talking to the man. Within the CODEC picture, Otacon appeared a scrawny man in his late twenties.
His light blue hair, parted at the top except for his bangs, covered the right side of his forehead. The hairs on the back of his head were scarcely able to touch his collar. His glasses covered his large blue eyes, underneath was his small nose and mouth. The white lab coat covered a green T shirt. His scrawny body was that of a scientist, true to his appearance.
The other man in the codec sported a dark blue bandana over his forehead, and a brown mullet beneath it. His green eyes rested beneath the bandanna, under which his normally sized nose and large mouth were present. Underneath were his brawny shoulders, covered by his sky blue sneaking suit, with several dark stripes covering it. The suit ran from his blue booted feet to his neck. This man was undoubtedly, Solid Snake.
Snake was working within the invisibility of the improved stealth camouflage. "Otacon, repeat what the hell you just said?"
Otacon stuttered and repeated the information found on the disc. "Sn-Snake, all of these men died over one hundred years ago, all of their graves are in Manhattan, there are even photos of the graves. One of them was a huge contributor to Philanthropy's operations and work."
Suddenly, Snake slowed his pace in the alleyway, feeling as if he was being stalked by something...or someone. He continued to speak to Otacon over the CODEC.
"These men, this data, is it all true? I don't want any more surprises." Snake muttered, remembering Otacon's fault at the Tanker incident.
"Yes, no flaws within the data, it's all accurate. I've triple checked it to be sure. Snake. Something odd is happening right now, even with the Big Shell over. Snake, this is frightening, this is a secret war that has been going on for one hundred years....and these men continued it beyond the grave."
Otacon's words began to make Snake queasy. His vision blurred for a short second, again.
Snake began to sweat, his eyes began to quiver, and he had succumbed to the stress of the major battles in his life: the Big Shell, Tanker, Shadow Moses, and he fell to his knees, and then onto his back. With Snake's thunderous plunge into the hard pavement, Otacon panicked. With his last breath, he said "Otacon, bring the car over he-" Snake fell.
"Snake? SNAKE?! Damn!" Otacon responded, panicking as he rushed toward his car.
He dialed a new frequency on the codec, 140.64, the frequency known to the communications expert Mei Ling. A young, oriental woman appeared in the CODEC screen. Her black bangs covered her forehead, underneath was her brown eyes, a cute nose, and minute mouth. Her sweet accent matched her beauty, and she was ready for action, as one of Philanthropy's own.
"Otacon? What do you need?" she asked kindly.
"Mei Ling, Snake's just collapsed in the alley, I need you to track his frequency. Hurry, there's not much time!" He spoke with many worries, as he had lost many things in his past.
"Give me some time-wait, found him, in the alleyway...about four blocks away from Arsenal's crash site. I'll try and get some satellite photos, I'll send them to you through the CODEC" she responded quickly.
"Thanks, get some blankets ready, and contact Naomi, she's the only one who could understand this." Otacon spoke, with some hope this time. He just needed to find Snake.
Otacon drove quickly on the Manhattan streets, going sixty, eighty, ninety miles per hour even. It was a short drive from the Philanthropy office even, but Otacon knew he should go as fast as possible to reach Snake.
With the help of Mei Ling via codec, Otacon was able to find Snake. He observed Snake's body, warm but frail. He was doused within his own sweat; his eyes were completely bloodshot and rolled into the back of his head. He was shaking wildly, in short bursts of anguish, almost as if he was having a seizure. No blood, no sign of wounds, nothing injected within him to cause this. Time was running out.
"Snake, Snake! Jesus, hold on! Snake, please, you need to fight. You need to survive; I've lost Emma, please, Snake, SNAKE!!!"
It was all just a blur to Snake, darkness consumed his vision. Otacon's words were given a deaf ear. Snake was passing into the unconscious, where he had never ventured like this before.
The shadows surrounded him, and he was consumed within them.