The guard escorted Snake to a small cabin in the city. The guard motioned for him to go in. Entering the shack, Snake sees the back of a pretty large Koopa. He turned around and took a look at Snake.
"Yep. You definitely are Solid Snake."
"You know who I am?" Snake asked.
"I've been around for a while. I was around during the third tournament and watched you compete there. That's how I know your name."
"Well I don't know yours." Snake remarked.
"Oh I'm sorry. The name's Murphy. I'm the sheriff around here. I'm also the mayor when I need to be."
"I see. So what do want from me?"
"As I understand it, you have the pendants of Katy's family, correct?"
Snake nodded in response.
"Would you please hand them to me?" The Sheriff requested and extended his hand. Snake reached into his back pocket and pulled out the pendants, dropping them in the hands of the sheriff.
"I also got everything they collected before they died in this bag." Snake said and put the bag on the ground.
"I'm glad you picked these up. Without these history would've forgotten their names." Murphy pondered.
"Names don't really mean a whole lot anymore." Snake cynically stated.
"There's some truth to that. You would know a lot about that given the amount of names you've earned."
"What are you talking about?"
"You haven't heard? In these seven years after the end of the world you haven't heard the titles you've been given by bandits and villagers?"
Snake shook his head in response.
"To some you're called The Hidden, The Hero of the Wastes, and The Lone Warrior. Many of these people applaud you for your slaying of several villainous groups such as bandits, raiders, monsters and slavers. But to your enemies, you're called The One Horned Devil, a man who knows only how to kill, and some simply think that you're death itself."
"Whatever. If people want to make me out to be some heroic legend or the boogeyman, I don't care. I do what I do with my best interest in mind. Not for anyone else."
"And I understand that completely. It's a mentality that is often necessary to survive out there. But that brings me to this question. Why did you save Katy?" Murphy asked. Snake was taken back by this question. It wasn't so much surprising that he asked the question, but it was because Snake did not have a very clear answer to that question.
"Did you do it with the intention of doing what you thought was right, or did you do it because you somehow thought that you would get a reward out of it?"
Moments of silence went by, not a word came out of Snake's mouth, who looked like he was struggling to find an answer.
"Look I don't care what your reason was. I won't be angry or anything, I'm just interested in what your answer.
"This is going to sound like bullshit…" He began. "but I honestly don't know. I just, decided to do it. I operate on instinct and I guess instinct told me to save that kid. That probably makes no sense does it?"
Murphy let out a friendly chuckle. "Actually no. I can understand that." He said. "Maybe since you've saved so many people on your missions it just became second nature to you."
Snake was surprised that he had no problem with that answer. "Maybe you're right." He said.
"Alright you've given me answers, so it's only polite that I return the favor. You got any questions for me?" The sheriff asked.
"Actually yeah. I've heard of this place but I don't know anything about it other than the name. Can you tell me about it?"
"You bet. Follow me. I'll give you a tour."
Snake and Murphy left the shack and began walking and talking in the settlement.
"When the Final Smash destroyed most of the world, it also killed Bowser in the process. After that, a lot of Koopas were confused, didn't know what to do."
"Why is that?" Snake asked.
"Bowser was in charge for most of the people here's lives. He was their king, and he was always giving them orders so that he could get one step closer to getting in Princess Peach's pants."
"I don't want to think about that…"
"Well you get the idea. All these people knew was following orders. They weren't allowed to do anything else because Bowser scared them. So when Bowser died, those orders died with him. And then Koopas just had no idea of what to do because they never thought about life without Bowser."
"What about you?"
"Not all Koopas chose to follow Bowser's regime. I was one of them. I got to travel the world, go on adventures and see just what life had in store. Then the world ended, and I saw all these clueless Koopas just wandering the wasteland. A lot of them were getting killed because they didn't know anything about survival. I may not have lived with them most of my life, but in the end the Koopas are my family. So I rounded as many of them as I could up into a little settlement and showed them the ways of life. Gave them a new purpose." Murphy reflected.
"Seems like you've done a pretty good job." Snake said.
"I appreciate it." Murphy chuckled. "So that's my story. I've settled down from the life of a wasteland wanderer. You're still going at it though. So how's life of being survivor man?"
"Well I'm sure you know from experience that it never gets boring. Though that's not to say it's a life of glory. You see interesting things, experience interesting events, but you never forget that death is always behind your shoulder."
"I can relate to that. Though is there anything else you hope to accomplish out there? Any goals?"
Snake pondered on the question. Again it was a first for him.
"Well I know that before the Final Battle, some of the other fighters that didn't get corrupted fled town before things got blown to hell. I'm hoping someday that I'll run into one of them. If they're still alive that is."
"I'm sure that there are some still alive. I've heard some reports that might suggest that be the case."
"Is that so? Go on."
"Well there have been sightings of Hylians going on patrol routes. One report stated that among them was a man wielding a sword in a green tunic. I'm sure I don't need to tell you who that is."
"Of course not. Anything else?"
"Well there's also been sightings of Toads searching for supplies. If they do have a settlement somewhere then I know only one person that could be in charge of the Toads. Other than that I'm afraid I've got nothing else for you."
"That's fine. That's actually pretty helpful more than anything. I appreciate it."
"Glad I could help." Murphy said before moving on to another subject. "Now knowing that you're kind of a drifter, I'm assuming that you'll be leaving soon, right?"
"Yeah that's what I had in mind." Snake confirmed. "It's not like I don't like your town, it's just how I am."
"No need to explain your reasoning to me. I'd just thought that since you did a good thing for my people, I should return the favor. I want you to have this." Murphy then put a bag in front of Snake.
"These are the supplies that Katy's family picked up." Snake said upon examination. "These belong to your people."
"Yes but I'm sure that Katy's family would agree with me that you should be rewarded with them for saving her life. Also, here's a personal present from me."
Murphy pulled out a polished .44 Magnum Revolver and handed it to Snake.
"Wow! This thing sure is a beauty." Snake said admiring the handgun's craftmenship.
"It's a favorite of mine. I think it's something that would greatly aid any wasteland traveler."
Snake could remember old Revolver Ocelot going on a tangent about how great revolvers are. Though they could be annoying at times, he was always right. He then opened the cylinder to check the guns ammo.
It's got six bullets. More than enough to kill anything that moves.
"And with that, I say goodbye and wish you luck on your travels. It's been a pleasure." The Koopa smiled.
"Likewise Murphy." He said and shook the sheriff's hand.
Having been settled back in her home, Katy went outside looking for Snake late at night. She couldn't see him anywhere in town, so she went to see Murphy, who told her that he had just left. She made it to the front gate but was unable to catch Snake in time, and only saw him from the back, heading into the wasteland. Though she didn't get to say goodbye, she would always remember the lone warrior that saved her from certain death.
Snake sat by the campfire he just built, pondering about the "reports" Murphy told him about regarding the possible location of some of the other fighters. From what he was told, he figured Link and Princess Peach are very likely to still be alive. And though it might be a bit of a stretch, he figured that if Link was alive commanding patrols, then Princess Zelda may still be alive. Though he began thinking to himself what exactly he was hoping to accomplish by reuniting with the other fighters. What would he even say to them? It's been seven years. He's now in his fifties and has grey hair, so would they even recognize him? He never really had a lot of "friends" throughout his life, but there were a good amount of fighters from the Smash tournaments that sure did grow on him. He never would have thought that someone like him and Princess Peach would become friends. He was a cynical, jaded old soldier with a history of bloodshed. She was very much like the typical "fairy tale" princess. She was kind, caring and only saw the good in others. She was the polar opposite of him. They saw the world through two very different perspectives, yet they got along very well. Snake just could not deny that there was some kind of friendship that he shared with some of the other fighters. It's been so long since he felt that feeling. The feeling of having friends and hanging out with those friends. Instead, he had spent these seven years doing his best to isolate himself from the rest of the world.
Damn it! Why am I thinking about this so damn much?!
What was supposed to be a simple supply run has turned into something much different. Now he began to question what his motive were for the past seven years. It was very simple, his motive was to survive. But for what? Survive in hopes of finding a better future? No! You can't just hope that a better future will come along. You have to go out and try to make that future yourself. That was the whole purpose of him and Otacon's activities in their group Philanthropy. He would fight for a future where there was no Metal Gears to threaten the world. Back then he felt like what he was doing meant something. Now he feels like his very existence is one without meaning. Then he thought about his most recent events with Katy. When he saved her, he felt like he a sense of meaning. Maybe that's why he just decided to rescue her even when his survivalist mentality said otherwise. As he sat there, near a fire in the middle of the wasteland, he wondered what he would do next. All he knew is that whatever was to come next wouldn't be boring.