Chapter 1: A Lurking Past

"Whether this is real or a bad dream, I'll keep watching until the end"

Snake was sitting there, holding his sniper rifle steady, and aiming strait at Vamp holding Emma Emmerich, the designer of Arsenal Gear and the Artificial Intelligence GW. He could see Vamp smirking while he choked Emma within his grip. Otacon was communicating with Snake trying to help in the situation.

"Snake, don't fire your rifle, no matter what! Vamp can sense your muscle movements and could kill Emma before you even pulled the trigger! Snake, let Raiden take the shot, he's the one who defeated Vamp before, he is the only one who could stop Vamp, and save Emma!"

It wasn't easy for a soldier like Snake to be told not to pull the trigger; his whole life was meant to that cause. He was a fighter, he was a warrior, and he was a legend, all because of his life. This was his world.

Vamp was holding Emma in a chokehold, her arms flailing around and loud gasps for air could be heard as his grip became tighter. At each gasp, Snake's finger became that many centimeters closer to the trigger. And at each of Emma's screams, Vamp's smile became bigger. The bastard loved doing this, he enjoyed torturing the poor girl. He wanted this, he was controlled by his greed for death.

Snake was about to pull the trigger, when three rumbling gunshots were heard in the distance. It was Raiden's PSG1, destroying the man who held Emma captive. The smirk on Vamp's face disappeared, it was in shock, feeling three bullet shots pour into his body. The first hit his right shoulder, the second in his right abdomen, above a previous wound from Raiden, and the third entering his right breast. Blood gushed from each wound, as his grip upon Emma loosened, as he began his demise into the ocean. But, he wanted death, he wanted bloodshed, the bastard wanted to fulfill his sick urges. Vamp quickly took his knife and pierced Emma's stomach. He then sunk once again into the Manhattan Sea. Snake watched in horror and anticipation of these events unfolding in front of him.

Vamp was defeated, Snake released his finger from the trigger, and got up, but something was wrong. He saw Emma staggering on the Bridge, and collapse to her knees. He quickly muttered over the CODEC, "OTACON! Get the Kasatka, quickly! Emma's been stabbed!". Otacon was fraught at those very words. All he could respond with was a short "Yes..." Emma's leg's wobbled, and she fell onto her back, giving the bridge a small quake. The water under the bridge rumbled, and the fall devastated all of the spectators. Snake was infuriated, Emma needed him, and he failed. But, he was reminded of a time his weakness caused the suffering of another woman, who was shot four times. He rushed to Emma, brandishing his USP, he ran on the Oil Bridge to Emma. A cypher approached the bridge from the left, Snake spotted it and fired to shots at the base. Parts exploded from it flying at him into the water and around him. Another cypher from the right, "Damn" he thought. He shot three more bullets at the second cypher, blowing it to pieces.

He finally reached Emma, and turned her unto her back. Bleeding from her abdomen, her shirt was stained in blood. She was unconscious, and her face was frightened when he saw it. She was in pain, Snake could do nothing to help, and all he could do was bring her to Otacon. The Kasatka was still damaged from the previous encounter with Solidus and Vamp, in the stocked Harrier jet. In mere seconds, Otacon arrived near the water, approaching the overturned Emma and Snake.

Snake gently lifted her over his shoulder, taking precaution not to damage the wound any worse than it already appeared to be. Meanwhile, Otacon landed close to the water, making sure not to touch, and trying to get as close to Emma and Snake as possible. Snake jumped from the oil bridge, carrying Emma on his left shoulder, making sure she kept balanced, and swam through the waters getting to the Kasatka. He thrust her on the ship, and pulled himself onto it easily.

As the Kasatka ascended, Snake veered onward toward a small, albino like man, wearing a unique suit. He was wielding a PSG1 rifle, and a suit that represented his skeleton. His light blonde mullet stood out slightly over his pale white skin. He watched Snake look at him, and he tapped his ear and gave a simple nod. This man was Raiden, observing the events that just unfolded.

Snake began speaking to him over the CODEC, dialing his frequency of 141.53. "Raiden, Emma's been stabbed! Looks like the bastard cut deep, she's bleeding pretty badly. We can't stop to give you a ride, we need to get Emma patched up and to Shell 1 as quickly as possible, it doesn't look like she has much time. Bring the Disc she designed, that's the only thing that can stop Arsenal." "Right" he responded, "I'll hurry there." He disconnected, most likely to relay this information to his commanding team.

As Otacon piloted toward Shell 1, Snake began bandaging up Emma's wound, working to keep her alive to finish her work. As Otacon landed on top of Shell 1, Snake gently slapped Emma and whispered "Emma, come on, get up! This is no time for sleep. We need you to set up your virus!" Emma tried muttering something, but Snake couldn't understand a word she tried saying. He lifted her up again, keeping as steady pace as he followed Otacon to the elevator. Down some of the stairs, they reached the second floor, a warehouse of oil supplies, food, and lockers. There were no guards; it was a ghost town within the Strut. Otacon spotted the elevator, rushed over and slammed on the button. His pain was drawing nearer and nearer as Emma's death approached.

Snake laid Emma down on the floor, her back resting against the elevator wall. On the way to B2, Emma woke up and began speaking to Otacon, softly, saying, "Hal, Hal, are we at B2? Is the computer ready? What is happeni-". Before she could finish, Emma coughed up some of her own blood. Otacon's reaction was heartbroken, because it looked as if she had suffered some internal bleeding. He kept saying "Just keep awake, we're on our way to B2." He tried to hold back his own tears, but you could see the pain in his eyes.

Emma was lifted once again by Snake, and she was set down at the computer. Otacon calmly asked her, "E. E., we need you to set up the computer for your virus. Take your time." Emma smiled and nodded, bringing some hope in Otacon's grim expression. Snake watched as she quickly hacked the Big Shell systems, this only took about thirty seconds in real time. She was just like her big brother, their attributes were uncanny when compared to one another.

Then, Raiden soon arrived to the scene, glancing at Emma's situation and Otacon's state. He looked at Snake and walked over to talk to him. But, suddenly, the entire dream turned into darkness, and then Snake was standing there alone. He could hear Emma's screams, Otacon tearfully yelling "E. E.!!!!", and Raiden questioning reality.

All of the sudden, Snake was standing there, wielding his M4 assault rifle, staring down the Dead Cell member, Fortune. "I can't say how happy I am that you were alive after all, Solid Snake!" she shouted at him. "Lady luck, huh? Let me see how much that luck lasts for you!" He screamed back out at her. "Kid, I can handle this, go on ahead." He said, nodding to Raiden.

He stared at Fortune, observing her electric volt gun, sparks flying off as she unloaded it, preparing for the battle ahead. Snake grabbed a new M4 clip, placed it in the assault rifle, and began to pull the trigger. Bullets flew at Fortune, but once they became as little as one foot, they flew right around her. She smiled, and raised her gun, and fired electrical shocks at him. Sparks flew everywhere, around him, some at his feet, others over his shoulders and hands. Snake dove to the left, dodging electrical charges by centimeters, and making a loud thud at the floor. He picked us his assault rifle quickly and kept firing, he used the entire clip to no avail, and she avoided every bullet. "Damn!" was all he could think. With no backup, no assistance, limited ammo, he was in trouble.

He continued firing, unloading and reloading clip after clip. Fortune kept firing her rail gun, using it to blast the ground around him. Flames were near Snake, he was running out of time. Bang! Bam! Bullets and charges were everywhere. Fortune stood wielding her rail gun, just firing wherever Snake stood. It was impossible to stay still for more than one second. She could stay in one place, no need for cover, just the will to fight. She desired this man's death over anything in the world. Her life was pure misery; this is the only joy, death. She was obsessed with it. He loaded his last clip into the M4, strafing to the right, aiming the gun barrel at Fortune. She saw him, and just fired a direct shot at his chest. "Augh!!!!" he screamed, right before he fell on his stomach, collapsing, electrical volts throughout his body, shaking on the ground. He blacked out, his pain was mind numbing.

Light was seen once again. Snake's eyes opened lightly, awakening the world he once fell before in. His eyes were opened, enough to see the Philanthropy office, with Otacon and Naomi standing near him, and then closed once more. Once again, he became knocked down by his own pain. He was briefly conscious to hear Otacon speak to him:

"Snake? That was one hell of a ride. You almost drifted away on me. Snake, wake up, and come back from the darkness. Come back to us at Philanthropy, we need you here Snake. Naomi, keep a close look at him, we can't have him die on us again." Otacon sounded in high spirits; Snake took a view of that. He couldn't be happier to be alive. Naomi nodded, causing her long brown hair swift forward, and she continued to write on her clipboard.

Back in his dreams, Snake was speaking to a brunette woman, whose appearance was similar to that of Emma's. Her facial features, however, were much different of those. "Snake," she spoke, "You must keep fighting the Patriots; they are trying to control you, they have held your life in control from the day you were cloned. Keep fighting Snake!" She leaned in and kissed Snake, holding his chin making him stay trapped in that moment. The room around them faded away, and so did the woman......