Disclaimer: The Metal Gear Solid franchise belongs to Hideo Kojima.

A/N: Huge thanks to everyone who reviewed/favorited/followed the first chapter, you guys are awesome. Once again some spoilers if you haven't beaten the mission "A Quiet Exit".

This one is a little short, but I wanted to get it out before midterms started.

Chapter 2: Gratitude

"I did not choose to be Quiet. I wanted to express my feelings to you. If only we shared a common tongue."

The first thing to greet Snake as he entered the research lab was a strange mixture of antiseptic and smoke.

The room itself sported white paint, fluorescent lights, and a linoleum floor. Cabinets filled with expensive looking equipment lined the upper half of the walls while tables were placed at regular intervals around the room. The far wall was the only exception, instead boasting several computers and a large bookshelf shoved to one corner.

It was there he saw Code Talker flipping through a particularly thick volume as white smoke rose from his pipe.

"Boss, you're here. Good." Code Talker said, looking up from his book as Snake made his way across the room.

"Miller said you found something?" Snake questioned

"Perhaps." the Navajo said, snapping his book shut before replacing it on the shelf and wheeling himself over to one of the computers, Snake following close behind. A few clicks caused several graphs pop up on the screen. They appeared to detail the life cycle of several different strains of vocal cord parasites

"I have been looking into what we discussed. Normally, larva will find their way to the lungs after activation of the mating pair. This leads to the lungs being damaged and eventually the death of the host, as you already know." After a brief pull from his pipe Code Talker continued, "Using samples and data gathered from the first two outbreaks, I have been able to compare infection rates between healthy and damaged lung tissue."

The old man brought up another set of graphs.

"In general, healthy tissue has the ability to support a relatively large amount of parasitic larva before symptoms even begin to appear. The number of parasites supported by damaged lung tissue on the other hand, is severely reduced due to lack of available nutrients."

"So someone like Quiet, whose lungs are burnt…" Snake trailed off, leaving the unasked question in the air.

Code Talker nodded, seemingly pleased that he was following along.

"With how badly her lungs are burnt, it would be almost impossible for any larva to survive. Combine this with the fact that she breathes through her skin and she is at almost no risk of dying from the parasite herself."

Snake felt a wave of relief wash over him. He had hoped she would be alright, but to hear it confirmed removed a large weight from his shoulders. The thought of her dying alone in the desert of Afghanistan had filled him with an almost overwhelming sense of sadness and guilt. His relief was short-lived, however.

"That does not mean she is not dangerous." Code Talker informed him.

"What do you mean?" Snake asked

"Even though she may not feel its effects she is still a carrier. The mating pair is active, the offspring present simply die from lack of proper nutrients before they reach maturity." The Navajo explained "Given the opportunity they could spread just as quickly and easily as any other strain. But, assuming she does not interact with others, the parasite should remain isolated."

"Is there any way to stop it?"

"That is why I asked to speak with you. While studying her medical files I came across something very interesting." Code Talker motioned to several files that lay open on the desk "You know that Quiet carries a mutated strain of "the one that covers"? That it was specifically designed by Skull Face to help her heal and gives her the abilities she now possesses?"

Snake nodded "What about it?"

"Based on her situation I believed that the Wolbachia could be used to stop the vocal parasite from further larva production, as it normally would. The only complication that I could foresee was how it would affect the other parasites present in her body. Because of this, I decided to the best way to observe what would happen would be to introduce a sample of Quiets mutated strand to the Wolbachia and see how they would react to each other."

"What happened?" Snake questioned, dreading the answer that might come. It would be just his luck that the universe would be cruel. That she would be alive, breathing, but forced into a life of solitude because she had saved him.

"The Wolbachia were mutated. I am unsure how or why, but various scans have confirmed a change in their genetic makeup. Thankfully, it seems that its ability to infect and change the vocal cord parasite has remained unaffected."

"So the Wolbachia will cure her?" Snake asked

"There is always a risk, and I would prefer to gather more data, but yes." Code Talker said "There is no reason why the Wolbachia should not work as before, even in Quiet's case."

Snake sighed "Now all that's left is actually finding her."

"The Dine is resourceful" Code talker admitted, "but I doubt that she would stray too far, especially when she did not willingly leave."

"What makes you say that?"

"You would know the answer better than I." Code Talker said, "In any case, we now know the treatment will help her, which is good news. I will continue to study the mutated strains, perhaps I can learn more about how "the one that covers" managed to affect the Wolbachia in such a way."

"Right." Snake nodded his assent "Thank you."

Snake was sincerely grateful to the man. Not only had he saved the lives of countless Diamond Dogs by providing a treatment for the parasite during the first outbreak, he had proved to be an invaluable source of information, and had now just given Snake a renewed sense of hope and determination.

"Of course child, think nothing of it." The old man gave him a small smiled, looking more like an elderly grandfather than the parasitic expert that he was.

Snake left the laboratory, his shoulders lighter and mind focused. He would tell Ocelot to have the Intel team widen their search area and to send out a few more scouting party. They would find her.