Author's Notes: The next two chapters will have two points of view other than one like the last chapters. I hope it won't take too longer but I think they will be longer than the other chapters so expect it to take a while. I also want to appreciate the support I'm getting for this story by Andi Mack. Thanks also to people who are reading my story. I really appreciate it.

One Step Closer

Before answering his codec, Snake crawled a little bit more to make sure no one outside saw him. He put his index finger on his right earlobe.

Campbell showed up on the monitor with a look of distress, "Snake, you're not going to believe this. They just shot down our two F-16s… with a Hind D. Then we got a message from Liquid: if we do something like that again, they will launch the nuke."

Images of the Hind D flying over his head and the blonde hair man piloting the carrier copter flashed in his mind, "A Hind shooting down two F-16s? How can two fast as lightning jets be taken down by a slow, bulky, infantry carrier?"

The vent was getting a little darker as Snake had to choose which way to go. Looking to his left side, light shined through the darkness. It could be an opening but he checked the other side to see if it could a better path. There was no light. He saw three small, gray, plump rats searching around the dumpy, black walls with their twitching, pink noses.

Trying the left, Snake crept slowly towards the light. Turning to the side, the light was shining through a metal chain shaft. He saw the green legs of guards with their heads looking toward the green tank in front of them.

"Hey," one of the guards whistled, "did you know that our boss kept the woman alive?"

"Really," the guard seemed appalled, "I thought he was going to execute her."

"Don't tell the boss this but the security door on the 2nd floor is broken."

"What? Did you call to get it fixed?"

"Of course," the guard was offended, "I'm not Johnny!"

"Don't remind me."

"What's with that guy? He's always going to the bathroom."

"Guess what? He's guarding both the women and the Darpa Chief in basement one of the ventilation shaft."

The guard shouted, 'What! We're guarding a tank while he is watching two beautiful women. We get no breaks at all."

"Hey, he is not that bad. Johnny is in the running for the elite course. His abilities are pretty good."

"When he isn't on the go," the guard stretched his arms, "I'm getting back to patrol."

Snake backed up from the dead end and crawled toward the rats that didn't seem to know where to go.

Again, the codec rung in his ears as a face from the past filled the monitor.

"Snake, this is McDonell Miller. It's been a long time," a guy wearing sunglasses and a ponytail for his long hair smiled slyly in the monitor of the codec.

Snake couldn't believe his eyes, "Master, what are you doing here?"

"I quit being a drill instructor and moved to Alaska for some peace and quiet. I'm in retirement just like you. Once in a while, I help train some of the Alaskan scouts."

"Passing on your skills to next generation, huh?"

Master Miller beamed at his old student, "Campbell told me about the situation here. I thought I could be of some use."

Snake honestly trusted Miller, "There's no one I would rather have in a foxhole than you."

Miller was someone you can rely on. He taught him survival, booby-trapping, and many other tactics that helped in the past. His attitude was honest and trustworthy. Miller was too honest to betray his unit or his students. He never let personal feelings or emotions hinder him like one person he used to know. Someone in the past he really hated and wanted to erase the man's haunting existence from his mind.

Suddenly, images of Zanzibar Land and Outer Heaven came into his head. A burnt corpse and bloody bodies in agony floored his mind terribly. Snake's icy eyes squinted to suppressed the horror images he tried so hard to forget. His face, in a few seconds, finally went back into bitter coldness as the emotions from those memories vaporized.

"I know lots about surviving in harsh environments and I have been in Alaska longer than you. So call me if you have questions about the flora or fauna out here. My frequency is 141.80."

"Those mice in front of you are Alaskan field mice. Don't worry they won't bite you. Wild field mice don't have a thick layer of fat, but they can still survive the bitter winters here without hibernating. They dig tunnels under the snow and that's where they stay warm."

"Survival specialists, huh. I should learn from them."

"But there's a dark side too. Sometimes the males will kill and eat offspring that's not their own."

"To ensure the survival of their own genes, right?"

"Yeah, pretty brilliant program, huh," Miller cackled but he retain his posture, "but if you follow the mice, they may lead you to an opening out of the vents. Follow the mice."

As Snake moved closer to the mice, they scurried hastily to get away from his path. The pink feet of the mice tapped the flimsy, brittle metal of the vent in a frenzy. Their furry behinds were shaking in fear as Snake continued to follow them.

The field mice turned left at a corner of light, "An opening."

Snake saw the mice exit out of the vent going separate directions in the brightly, huge room. His body was back in a standing position as he looked at his surroundings.

One great tank of puke green stood on in front of him. As he sidestepped to his left, another tank laid sideways near the cargo elevator. Their shell launchers and turrets were disassembled probably to keep accidents from happening. Snake went to the tank that was up in front when he saw a green uniform soldier wearing a black balaclava walk across the elevator patrolling.

"Snake, use that elevator. The guard said that the Darpa Chief was being held in the 1st basement floor of the ventilation shaft, right," Campbell reminded him.

Using the radar system made by Mei Ling, he could only see two guards in the range of the Solition.

"In China, they say: "Rashness brings success to few, misfortune to many," Mei Ling's cute face showed up on his codec, "Snake, go forward when it's safe, but retreat when there's danger. You'll just have to play it by ear depending on the circumstances.

Nodding, Snake was keeping his back on the tank as he slid towards the elevator silently. As his body reached the end of the tank, he ran to the elevator controls. He pushed the button which had a bold, black arrow pointing down.

The guards were near the vent that he got out from. They couldn't see him as they had their backs turned. Humming filled the elevator doors as the elevator itself came up. A chime dinged as the doors swiftly opened. Snake stepped inside the cargo elevator and push the button labeled "B1". The doors closed as he was one step closer to his objective.