It was actually pretty interesting how immense the change in scenery had become. It seemed like just a minute ago Snake was surrounded by nothing but forestry and the next he was surrounded by nothing but a desert. He was now skittering about in the Kransogorje Mts, just before his meet up with EVA. He had just finished defeating The End and that battle was a bit of a drag. He was a bit tired and hungry, but there was no time to be wasting on things like that. Hah! I mean, it`s not like you need food to survive! P-shaw!

"It has to be at least 98 degrees out here. My god, this is going to take a while..." he whined.

It probably felt more like 100 since Snake was now wearing his jacket, which a certain someone was kind enough to part with. He was glad to have it back, but now he had wished he held off on it. All of his gear was only increasing the heat throughout his body. More so, his jacket smelled. It wasn`t a bad smell, but it sure got his blood pumping. The scent was soft and very feminine, just like his dear Kisa. And he felt foolish for feeling so, but he was trying to be very careful. He couldn`t afford to be crawling around on the ground and getting dirty. No-no, or else the aroma of her would undeniably wash away. This was his only piece of her he could take with him and he would make sure to keep it until the next time they met. Which he was looking forward to, because he was heading into her territory sooner or later(again, maybe sooner).

While Kisa was having a hard time coping with her feelings, Snake was perfectly fine with his. After their encounter last night, he realized that he liked her more than what was appropriate for the situation. The only thing was, he knew she didn`t like him back(oh, the irony). You know, with Ocelot being in his way and all. It pained him, but it probably was for the best. She is the enemy and she should stay the enemy; she can`t be anything more or things would become even more complicated. With all of these thoughts dancing around his noggin, Snake made it to the ruins in no time. Now he had to confront EVA.

Taking out his Mk22 and knife, he slowly made his way up the rusty stairs. He couldn`t help being too cautious, EVA was being helpful but there seemed to be more to this woman than meets the eye. For all Snake knew, this could have been a trap. As he progressed upwards, a sudden thud almost caused him to pull the trigger; luckily he stopped himself. As he reached the top he saw EVA, in almost all her glory. With her back towards him it was hard to tell if she was getting dressed or undressed. Snake approached her slowly and took his time glancing at her. After a few minutes of not noticing, he cleared his throat. Is getting hot in here or was that just him? EVA turned around and eyed him over.

"That was quick..." She said.

"You look tired; you should get some rest."

"I`m fine. It`s just that these two roles take a lot of my time. I don`t have much time to sleep."

"Hey, where`d you get those cuts?" Snake inquired, drastically changing the subject.

"The colonel..."

"Did he find out?"

"If he did, I`d be 6 feet underground. No... This is his 'hobby.' He`s a sadist; he takes pleasure in making people suffer. He`s nothing but scum..."

EVA turned around and looked to her feet in disgust. Snake eyed her back. Her pale skin was covered in all of these scars and it seemed a bit odd for a woman to bear these markings, but what`s he to say? He`s exactly like her only he`s gained his scars and she helplessly recieved them. He raised his hand in an attempt to graze his fingertips over them, but refrained. Snake wondered if they still hurt. EVA giggled.

"Are they that strange to you?"

"Mm, no. I`m the same way... scars all over."

"Can I see?" EVA said as she placed her hand on his shoulder. Snake quickly backed away.

"No."

He looked down to her abdomen and pointed to a spot just below her rib cage.

"Where did you get this one?"

"I got it after defecting to the SU."

"Hm, I don`t think so. It`s older than that. Code breaking is a desk job. Where`d you get this kind of scar?"

EVA sighed.

"You really wanna know? Well, that`s just too bad. A girl`s gotta have some secrets, you know."

Snake grumbled with dissatisfaction.

"Enough about that. You`ve got to get a move on. The Phase 2 trial of the Shagohod are about to start and it looks likes someone might be coming to ruin the party."

"Khruschev?"

"His forces are on their way here. The Colonel is gathering his own troops as well. If we don`t hurry up, security will be even tighter than it is now."

EVA rummaged through her belongings and handed Snake a small key.

"You`ll need this to open the underground tunnel. Once you`re in, just follow the tunnel to get into Groznyj Grad,"

Snake stuffed the key into his pocket.

"Here, take this aswell." EVA said, pulling out two bags of ramen.

"What`s that?"

"The food of the future. A well balanced meal for the space age." She handed the bags to him. "It`s nice to eat some real food every now and then."

Snake admired the bright packaging. It was covered with foreign characters and a picture of some noodles on it.

(Interesting...) he thought. (I bet Para-medic would know something about this.)

EVA smiled as she watched him check out the packaging. She approached him and placed a few fingers on his lips. Snake blinked and looked down towards her.

"I bet if I kissed you, you`d taste like a wild beast." She teased. Snake blushed and placed the food inside his backpack.

He changed the subject again by asking her the location of Sokolov. From what she was telling him, he is inside the weapons lab which is divided into 3 wings and Sokolov is in the west wing.

"West wing, got it."

"There`s just one problem..."

"Not again..."

"The west wing is guarded by the highest level of security. You need to be colonel class to get in."

"Colonel class?"

EVA handed Snake a photograph.

"Take a look at this. This is Major Ivan Raidenovitch Raikov. Pretend you`re him."

"And how do I do that?"

"Steal his clothes. You look similar to him, body wise, so no one will ever know the difference. Your face might be an issue, but I`m sure you`ll figure something out. He should be in the east wing somewhere."

Snake nodded.

"All right. I get that, but how am I supposed to escape once I get Sokolov out of there? Command said that you`d have something ready for me."

"And I do. 30 miles north of here is a lake which is where I`ve hidden a WIG."

"A WIG?"

"It`s a state-of-the-art ground effect vehicle."

"Ground effect vehicle? I can`t fly one of those."

"You can`t but I can."

"Taking off on a lake is not as easy at is looks. You`ve got to be more delicate..."

"Of course I am, you`ve seen how good I am with my bike. Haven`t you?"

Snake looked down towards her feet. Her boots were stained with dirt.

"Fine then. You take care of the escape and I`ll head for Gronyj Grad."

Snake turned around to make his leave when EVA grabbed him by the wrist.

"Wait. There`s something I`ve got to ask you."

"What?"

"What`s the story between you and The Boss?"

Snake hesitated.

"She was like a mother... and my master."

"And your lover?"

"...It went deeper than that."

"Deeper?"

Snake turned away.

"Half of my being belongs to her..."

EVA squinted her eyes at his change in demeanor.

"Do you love her?"

Snake shook his head.

"No, nothing like that."

"Okay then, do you hate her?"

"Egh, does it have to be one or the other - love or hate?"

EVA gradually decreased the distance between their bodies and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Between a man and a woman? Of course."

"Snake looked towards the ground.

"For 10 years we`ve lived and died together. Someone like you couldn`t even begin to understand."

"Hm, and you think you can kill her? After all you`ve been through together?"

Snake grunted and quickly looked back into her eyes. She took away her arms and stepped back.

"That`s your mission, isn`t it? Assassinating The Boss."

She walked around his grimace disposition. Snake remained silent and walked away in the other direction before stopping. EVA walked back up to him and place a hand on his shoulder.

"Snake, is there someone you like? Someone special?"

Suddenly the images of Kisa flashed through his mind. Of all the things to pop up, she had to be the first thing! He could have said 'yes,' but was he sure? Now that he was put on the spot, he began to rethink this whole ordeal through. Kisa was just another woman on the other side of things. Is it really worth falling for her? If anything, she might not even be alive after this mission is through. The Shagohod must be destroyed and if it can`t be done in the easiest way possible, then destroying the entire fortress would have to do. Even if that meant a few certain souls still being trapped inside its walls.

"No. I`m not very interesting in other people`s lives..."

"Oh? You were interested in The Boss."

"She was different."

EVA stood infront of him, gazing up into his features.

"Really? Well, how do you feel about me?"

"I should be asking you the same question."

"Me? I can fall in love - if it`s part of the mission."

EVA stepped back and unzipped her top, revealing her breasts.

"Even with you."

Snake gazed at her chest but quickly diverted his eyes away. He stood there as EVA began putting her hands around his neck. She kissed him on the lips but he did not respond. She gasped and asked what was wrong but he did not reply. Too many emotions and thoughts were scrambled about in his mind. She continued to kiss him, but to no avail; snake continued to be unresponsive. Without warning, a loud explosion caught the two off guard. Snake headed towards the door while EVA went and grabbed her suitcase, rushing outside. Snake ran and saw the large buildings and roadways that made up this gigantic fortress. This was only going to get harder from here on out. EVA packed everything up onto her bike and she readied herself to drive off.

"See you around, Snake. Take care." She said

"What about you?"

"I`ve got to get back and play my... other part."

"Will you be all right?"

"Not sure. Surprisingly, they`re not stupid and they already know that there`s a spy among them. Of course, there was no way youcouldn`t have gotten this far by yourself."

EVA strapped on her helmet and revved her engine. Snake stepped back and watched as she rode off into the distance alone. Snake bit his tongue in hopes that she`d be alright. Taking out his binoculars, he zoomed in on her as she got smaller and smaller. Then his attention diverted to a different scene unfolding before his eyes. He zoomed in to see Volgin punching the crap out of a barrel. He was being watched by Kisa. To Snake`s relief, she was doing fine. Although, he had hoped she stayed behind to rest for a bit longer. Nonetheless, she looked better than before, albiet a bit spooked. Volgin was going on a rampage and who knows who`d be his next target?

Kisa flinched everytime Volgin would jab his fist into the metal barrel. She wimpered for the person inside it and she gasped for the pain he must have been feeling. As punishment for being abset, Kisa was to spend the entire day with him. The day was almost over, but this was just the begining. Once night set, she would have to spend her evening alone with him in his room.

"My dear Kitten, watch as I add the finishing touches to this work of art."

Volgin strided towards her and placed a filthy hand on her cheek. Kisa mewled and watched as he turned around and shoved both fists into the barrel. It flew back and hit another stack of metal barrels, knocking them all over. The barrel Volgin was playing with flew into the air and his toy inside happened to slip out. The identitiy of this man: Granin. His face looked more like bloody mashed potatos and his limbs flopped around lifeless like a rag doll. Kisa placed both hands over her mouth to keep from crying out. Much to her relief, Ocelot was coming their way. Her eyes began to glisten with tears.

"Colonel. Did he talk?" The Major asked. Kisa ran up to him and place her arms around his neck. Ocelot ignored her for a moment as he was in conversation with someone else.

"No. He died before I could get it out of him."

Ocelot turned around to see Granin`s body sprawled out on the floor.

"So, he wasn`t the spy then?"

Volgin leaned over and grabbed Granin`s ankle. He removed the sole of his shoe and took out a small blinking device.

"Take a look at this."

"A transmitter..."

"Exactly. He was keeping someone informed of his location."

Ocelot approached the device, only to get a face full of sparks as Volgin used the electrical charges through his body to destroy it.

"Does this mean Granin was the spy?" Ocelot walked past Volgin to get a better look at the dead man.

"Perhaps he was being used by someone else."

"'Perhaps?!'" Ocelot said as he quickly turned back around. "This man was our comrade!"

"That may be true, but he is of no use to us now."

Enraged, Ocelot marched back up to Volgin.

"I don`t approve of your methods!"

Volgin stared him down. Kisa gasped.

"Ocelot, please..." She whimpered.

"Don`t approve? Hah! I don`t need your approval; I`m in command here."

Ocelot narrowed his eyes.

"And that nuclear shell..."

He turned away and returned to Kisa`s side.

"Still feeling sore about that? Bah, what are you going to do? Report it to the authorities? This is war, Major. A Cold War; fought with information and espionage. We must root out spies wherever they hide. It is kill or be killed. Potential threats must be weeded out. Your feelings are a menace to unity of our organization..." Volgin raises his fist. "Someone is guiding our enemy to us. Make no mistake, there is a spy among us."

Ocelot turned back around.

"But being suspicious of our own comrades-

"The C3 explosives have been stolen, Major."

Ocelot grunted.

"Hm, you think it was that American?"

"No, he couldn`t have made it to this fortress yet."

Ocelot place an arm around Kisa`s waist. Things were becoming more sensitive and he didn`t like it. What if Volgin began to put suspicion on Kisa? He would not hesitate to kill her if she did not say what he wanted. This thought worried him.

"If it`s not him, then... who?" He inquired.

The men`s conversation was interuppted by the sound of a horse neighing.

"I`d be careful about suspecting your own men." Spoke The Boss.

"Boss?"

The Boss and Tatiyana slowly walked towards the two men. Ocelot turned around to see Tatiyana. He looked at her in anger and questioned about where she`s been, but she did not answer.

"The Fear and The End have fallen." The Boss informed, tossing The Fear`s crossbow towards the ground. Ocelot bent over to pick it up and began twirling it around his fingers. Volgin growled and slammed his fist into a nearby barrel.

"That CIA dog...! How could the legendary Cobras be defeated so easily...?"

"He`s good." Ocelot said whilst shaking his head.

"Fallen for him?" Volgin questioned.

Ocelot stopped twirling the crossbow and looked back towards him.

"Don`t worry, I`ll take care of him." The Boss said as she mounted onto her horse.

"What is he after? It has to be more than just Sokolov."

"The Americans are trying to destroy the Shagohod and steal your inheritance... The Philosopher`s Legacy."

Volgin grunted and widend his eyes.

"No, The Legacy..."

"And they`re out to kill me as well." The Boss looked down towards the ground. "Colonel, tighten the security of this place. He`s on his way here, I know it. I`ll go get the Davy Crockett."

And with that she rode off, leaving the other behind to talk amongst themselves. At this point, Volgin had lost all patience and went about his way. Ocelot took Kisa`s hand and was about to leave aswell when he caught whiff of something. He looked back towards Tatiyana and approached her. He sniffed her neck and raised an eyebrow.

"Perfume..." he mumbled, tapping the side of his head. He directed the crossbow at her neck in one swift movement. Tatiyana gasped and held her breath.

"Ocelot! Stop this!" Kisa shouted.

Ocelot looked down to see her boots.

"Nice boots. Make sure to polish them up properly."

He returned to Kisa`s side only to get bopped upside the head from her.

"Ow! Hey!" He yelled.

Kisa pouted and dragged him away.

Snake watched as the two disappeared into one of the buildings. He grumbled, hoping that Kisa would have been alone, but what can ya do? He noticed the way she ran towards him when he popped up, the look in her eyes was something Snake was slightly envious about. He had wished that she would get the same look when she spoke with him. He then remembered that it shouldn`t matter how she looked at him. Things couldn`t progress more and he`d have to discard his feelings for her eventually. A small feeling in the pit of his stomach was thinking about what Para-medic had said. "Once the venom is inside you, it won`t be long until it consumes you entirely." Snake feared that she had already consumed him and all that was left was to steal his heart.

"Damnit, I`m wasting time..!" He grumbled. Shaking his head, he had to continue on with his mission. He replaced the binoculars and took out the key EVA had gave him.

(Into the tunnel and it`s a straight shot from there...) he pondered.

Getting back on his feet, Snake quickly made his way to the underground tunnel.

Sorry, this chapter was probably really boring. ;w;