Snake was dead set on storming into that slave camp. He was armed to the teeth. Pistol, Assault Rifle, Sniper rifle, Explosives, you name it. Even the smallest of weapons, like his combat knife were at the ready. But as he marched through the valley he spotted something out of the corner of his left eye. He looked towards that direction and saw what seemed to be people moving. It was very far away so he couldn't make out what he was seeing. He pulled out his binoculars and confirmed that it was indeed a traveling group of people. Not a group per say, it was actually a slave caravan. Six slaves were being forced to move forward by eight slavers. Their hands were bound by handcuffs. From the looks of it the slaves seemed to have been recently purchased, judging by how they were not very far away from the slave camp and they were moving away from it. Among the slaves there was one that caught Snake's eye. A young woman with long blue hair. It wasn't the color of her hair that made her stand out though, it was her face, her eyes. They were the eyes of a fighter, a no-nonsense warrior. She absolutely loathed the situation she was in, and she didn't plan on staying in it for long. Snake could tell by the ferocity in her eyes that she was planning something. Soon enough, she stopped moving, refusing to take another step. The slavers looked puzzled by her action, and then grew angry.
"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing? Move your ass!" One of the slavers ordered. The woman refused to obey.
"What's the matter are you fucking deaf? Start walking!" Another one yelled. Again, she did nothing. The slavers definitely had a short temper, as one moved towards her and roughly grabbed her shoulder.
"You better cut this shit right-"
The man did not finish his sentence, and it turned out to be his last. The woman had pulled out a hidden dagger and slit the man's throat. The other slavers were momentarily stunned at what happened before the leader brought them back to reality.
"Stop her! Now!" He ordered. His goons took out baseball bats and began to combat the woman. They were all carrying guns, so they could easily stop her with one shot, but Snake deduced that he wanted his property alive. This woman was definitely a warrior. She was fast and agile, dodging the man blunt weapons that they were attacking her with. She ended up killing two more men with that knife. If the fight were to continue, Snake believed that woman would have killed them all. But the slave owner had grown impatient, possibly even afraid, and shot her in the leg to stop her. The goons began striking her while she was down.
Damn cowards
"She's too dangerous to keep. Go ahead and kill her. Make an example of her in front of the others." The leader commanded referring to the other slaves. Snake took this as his que to take action and pulled out his sniper rifle. A goon pulled out his pistol and aimed for the woman's head. A gunshot went off, but not from his gun. Snake beat him to the trigger, putting a hole right in his head.
"SNIPER!" A goon yelled. They frantically ran about, abandoning their boss. The sought cover but they were in an open field. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. One by one, Snake picked off the slavers with one bullet. Only the slave owner remained, and he tried to make his escape, running away while shooting wildly in Snake's general direction. Snake took a shot but missed his intended target. He meant to hit him in the head, but ended up hitting him in the kneecap. He may not be dead, but he wasn't going to be going anywhere, as he was screaming in agony. He wished he would've been hit in the head. Snake began walking towards the caravan. When he arrived, he saw seven terrified slaves, the woman who fought back looking quite injured, and the slave owner writhing in pain. The man looked at Snake in horror.
"It's you! T-t-the demon!"
"Whatever, give me the keys."
"What? Keys?"
"Yes, the keys for the cuffs you have on these people. Give them to me."
"Ok! Here!" The man panicked and tossed Snake the keys. Snake went to the seven slaves paralyzed with fear.
"Don't worry, I'm going to get you all out of here." He said and released them of their bonds. "Just stay put for now. Got it?" He asked to which the nodded in agreement. He then walked over to the injured woman and uncuffed her.
"You're really gonna kill me for a bunch of slaves?" The slave owner yelled.
"I'm not going to kill you." He replied. He then grabbed the man and dragged him over to the blue haired woman. "Her on the other hand, I can't guarantee anything." He said and handed her the dagger she had used. She looked up to Snake, who grinned and nodded his head. She nodded back, expressing her gratitude without any need for words.
"The world is a better place without people like you! I have no regrets for doing this!" She said and then thrusted the blade straight into his heart, leaving it in for a few seconds, and then violently pulling it out. And with that, there was one less slaver in the world.
"We're going to have to patch up that injury before you go anywhere." Snake said to the woman.
"You know how to?" She asked.
"Well I'm no surgeon, but I can do first aid no problem. Stitching up a bullet wound shouldn't be too hard. The bullet went straight through as well. That'll make things a whole lot easier."
"Alright. Go ahead."
Snake began going through his medical supplies.
"Those meat heads gave you a few cuts and bruises as well. Nothing that this can't fix. Here, eat this." He said and handed her a special tomato.
"A Maxim Tomato? I haven't had one of these in a while."
"It's great miracle medicine. It'll heal basic injuries, but something like this needs to be handled the old fashioned way."
The woman ate the tomato as Snake continued treating the wound. There was brief silence between them.
"I'm…my name is Lucina by the way." Lucina said.
"Good to meet you." Snake replied.
"I take it that you're the "Nomad" that everyone's talking about?"
"It seems like I've got a dozen of aliases that I didn't even know about. But yeah, Nomad is one of them."
"Can you tell me your real name?" She asked.
"It's Snake. Solid Snake. And even that's an alias."
"Snake? Where have I heard that name before?" She thought to herself.
"Are you a tactician?" He asked.
"What are you talking about?" She replied, confused by the question that came out of nowhere.
"Don't play dumb. I was really impressed with your escape attempt. There's no way that was a heat of the moment attack. You had been planning that in advance. You even knew about the possibility of getting shot but you took the risk. Am I right?"
Lucina looked awfully impressed. "Well damn aren't you perceptive. Yes I had been planning that, but I wouldn't call myself a tactician. I had a friend that was one though, a great one at that. Maybe his skills rubbed off on me."
"All I can say is…you're pretty good." Snake echoed the phrase of an old rival.
"All right I closed the wound. Can you walk?"
Lucina attempted to stand up, but her legs gave in and she almost fell to the ground before Snake caught her. "Damn! Sorry, I guess that beating took more energy out of me than I thought."
"Don't worry. I'll get you and the others to a safety." He assured as he put her arm over his head to help her walk. He then turned on his codec and called Link.
"Snake? What is it?" Link asked.
"Link, I've got a group of civilians here. They were being taken by slavers so I helped them out."
"Really? You took on an entire slave caravan yourself?"
"I can't take all the credit. One of them attempted to escape and took a couple out. Her name's Lucina."
"Are you serious?!" Link said sounding joyful.
"Uh yeah…do you know her or something?"
"Yeah she was one of the newcomers for the fourth tournament!"
"Guess that explains how she's a great fighter. Anyway, she's got a minor injury, and I need to get her and the others to safety. Can you send a rescue team to come and pick them up?"
"Of course. Where do you want to meet up?"
"Go to that same cave that you found Peach and I. We'll take shelter there until then."
"Alright Snake. Consider it done."
"Thanks."
-Call End-
"So Link and Peach…they're still alive?" Lucina asked.
"Zelda is too."
"I'm glad to hear that. It's been so long since I've seen them."
"Yeah. Up until a few days ago I hadn't seen any of them since the incident."
"Where do you know them from?"
"I was in the third tournament. Met them during that time."
"So that's why I've heard your name before. I remember some of the veterans talking about you. I was hoping I'd get to meet someday, just..."
"Not under these shitty circumstances right?" Snake finished her sentence for her.
"Yeah that's about right. But I guess beggars can't be choosers." She laughed.
Snake walked to the other civilians and got their attention.
"Alright everyone listen up. I'm going escort you all into the care of the Hylians. We're going to meet up with a rescue party. It's a bit of a walk, so grab as many supplies you can carry from that slave caravan before we go. Understood?" He asked to which they all confirmed.
"Snake?" Lucina asked.
"What is it?"
"Just…thank you." She smiled. He smiled back to her.
"All right, let's get moving."
A few hours of traveling, they had made it to the cave without any trouble.
"All everybody, we're here. Let's set up camp." Snake ordered.
"I know how to set up a fire. This spot good sir?" A male Waddle Dee asked.
"Perfect. Get right on it."
"Do we need a tent?" A woman asked.
"No, the cave can provide us with shelter. Though if you want, you can use a sleeping bag or anything that'll make you more comfortable. We're going to be staying here until the search party comes, might take until the morning."
After the fire was set, Snake and Lucina sat next to each other against the wall of the cave.
"So how's the leg feeling?"
"Better, thanks. I owe you one." Lucina answered.
"Maybe I'll hold you to that Lucina." He chuckled. "So tell me, how did they manage to get you? Must've needed an elite force, cause you come off as someone who'd rather die than be taken alive."
Lucina laughed hearing that. "Believe me, if I had gotten the chance to fight my attackers, they would of needed to bring a lot of body bags."
"I don't doubt it. So I take it that they got the jump on you."
"That's right. But there's no way they just got that lucky. They found my hideout. Somebody must've sold me out."
"Sold you out? So you were on the run? What for?"
"I work for a group dedicate to eliminating slavery in the wasteland. Of course there are people who disagreed with our cause, and want to put a stop to our actions. A bounty was placed on me. One of the people I trusted was probably given a good deal to give my location to the bounty hunters. I'm not sure who it was yet, but that bastard will pay!" She swore to herself.
"Why did they take you alive? I would think that it be better for them if you were just killed right there."
"I'm still trying to figure that out too. I guess it doesn't matter right now. At least I'm alive." She said. "Now I've got a question for you." Lucina began.
"Really? What would that be?" Snake wondered.
"What were you doing before you came across us? I don't think you found us on purpose. It was a coincidence, am I right?"
"You are right. I was actually heading to the slave camp that you and the others were sold from. And when the rescue team gets you all to safety, I'm going back."
"What are you planning?"
"I'll go in, free the slaves, kill anyone who tries to stop me, then blow the place to hell." He put simply.
"That place is a fortress! There's no way you can do that all by yourself!" Lucina doubted.
"I can…because I don't see any other choice." Snake affirmed, standing by his decision. Lucina looked at the older man. She could see that his mind had been made, and no one could say anything that would change his mind.
"Alright, I guess I can't stop you. Just try not to get yourself killed, cause then you'll never be able to get that favor out of me. Got it Snake?" She joked.
"Alright. I'll do my best." He grinned.
Morning had come, and along with it was the Hylian rescue team. Link himself was personally leading the team. He was excited to hear Lucina was alive, so wanted to lead to team to see her himself. Snake handed Lucina and the refugees into the rescue team's care. As they were getting ready to head out, Link walked over to Snake to have a conversation.
"You have a good reunion?" Snake asked.
"Sure did. Still can't believe you found her."
"More like I stumbled onto her."
"Must've been fate." Link said.
"I don't believe in fate. It was just a coincidence. I'm glad it happened though."
"Anyway, thanks again Snake." Link paused for a moment before facing Snake again. "Listen, I heard about what you're planning on doing next."
"I'm not trying to make it a secret."
"I know it's just…are you sure you don't want backup?"
"I'm sure. If there's anything I want you to do for me, is be ready to have some of your men rescue the people I manage to free."
"Can do. By the way, Zelda is in talks with Murphy from Koopa Keep. Looks like that idea of yours may come to pass. If you make it back, I'll give you an update."
Snake nodded to Link and the two shook hands. Afterwards the two parted ways, with Snake making his way back to the slave camp.
After a days-long journey, Snake returned to the slave camp. He stood on a hill overlooking the fortress. Snake checked his arsenal, making sure every weapon was in perfect condition. He scouted the layout and made mental notes to himself. The preparations were complete, Snake was ready to move in. Pulling his pistol out of his holster, he took a step forward into enemy territory. A battle was about to begin.
"Who Dares, Wins."