Act 3: Reality

Wayward Son (Part IV)

Venom Snake brought his non-mechanical hand to his mouth and whistled. The call resonated throughout the nearby forests and caught the attention of his white stallion, D-Horse.

In an instant, D-Horse came running up the secluded hill towards Venom Snake's location on the summit. As the stallion approached his master, Snake watched the runaway Chico through his . The Wayward Son was hurtling down the forest path on a motorcycle. He seemed to be heading straight towards Burevestnik Airbase outskirts - the location of the Spider Lady's last cache of intel.

A myriad of bright flares shot up from various points in Iturup Island, starting with Burevestnik. The rest of the Soviet outposts seemed to reply to Burevestnik's flares with flares of their own. It was a coded conversation written in lights.

By the time D-Horse reached Venom Snake's side, packs of Soviet motorcycle troopers were already pursuing Chico through the forest path.

"Six bikes with sidecars from behind - and twelve more coming from further ahead in Burevestnik…"

{(141.73) - "And who knows how many more are waiting in ambush. Iturup Island is their home turf - and that kid is on their sights."}

{(140.85) - "Chico is a tough kid - but he won't be able to do much with that many cc's of tranquilizer in his system. A few more darts should do him in - but you have to get him before the Soviets do. We're not using lethal rounds on Chico - but they will."}

Venom Snake hummed as kept his and mounted D-Horse. He checked every single one of his weapons and then took D-Horse's reins, saying,

"Don't worry. I'll bring Chico home."

[ENEMY TACTICS] Flare Communication Regimen

Since the majority of electronic communication in Iturup Island was rendered disabled, the Soviet garrisons will be communicating with each other by flares. Any garrison - or any soldier equipped with a flare gun - can initiate a conversation. Neutralize soldiers before they can launch flares in order to avoid an ALERT STATUS.

Additionally, the Command Post (CP) in Burevestnik Airbase will regularly launch flares to check the status of the other garrisons. If one of the garrisons fails to reply, then the CP will declare a search, starting a CAUTION STATUS. Other combinations of flares can have different results - so observe their patterns to discern the best path to proceed.

Snake rode D-Horse down the same path that Chico took down the minaret-like hill. D-Horse had to leap over a number of obstacles - fallen tree branches and a handful of treacherous cliffs. Then, as soon as they reached the flat, forest path, Snake spurred D-Horse to gallop at full speed.

The horned phantom had his right mechanical hand holding on D-Horse's reins while he held his M2000-NL with the non-mechanical left. Snake raised the rifle and looked through the scope on his left and only eye.

{(141.73) - "Boss - shooting a rifle on horseback while on the move is gonna be tough - especially since you only have one eye. You have to remember, you're not a passenger on a motorcycle sidecar this time around - not like when you were when you were taking on the Shagohod in Groznyj Grad."}

"Then why don't you come over here and ride D-Horse with me, Ocelot? Just like in Cyprus."

{(141.73) - "As much as I would like to do that, my hands are tied here setting up the FOB. Besides - I'm sure you'd prefer it if EVA was the one giving you a ride on her bike. Am I right?"}

"... it doesn't really matter to me."

{(141.73) - "In any case, you're going to have to keep riding D-Horse and fire your weapons all on your own. Nothing the legendary Big Boss can't handle, am I right? You'll be putting on a show for your 'fans' over at Langley."}

{(140.96) - "Hehehe - I'm looking forward to this too, Big Boss. Good luck!"}

"If you have time to chat, Spider Lady, then save the game for me."

{(140.96) - "But of course! Aaaand, done~!"}

{Game has been saved}

Venom Snake heaved a sigh and spurred D-Horse once more, gaining ground on the rearguard convoy of motorcycles chasing the Wayward Son.

{(140.96) - "By the way, Big Boss…"}

"... what is it now, Spider Lady?"

{(140.96) - "In the C-Ration that you got at my first hideout, there might be something that will help you in this battle."}

"In the C-Ration…?"

Snake slung his rifle over his shoulder for a moment and then fetched the CIA C-Ration, an unassuming tin can, from his pack. He opened the tin by the tab with his thumb and looked inside. One portion of it held a set of plastic-wrapped hardtack crackers paired with the infamous "Cheese Spread, Individual" packet. In the other portion, however was an accessory kit that held a number of pills.

One of those pills immediately caught Snake's eye.

"Pentazemin."

{(140.96) - "Yup~! You don't need me to tell you what that's for, do you?"}

"Heh… I know. Thanks."

{Support Item Acquired; Pentazemin (x1)}

[SUPPORT ITEMS] Pentazemin

A drug in the benzodiazepine family. Has anti-a͏̠̫͚̹̮n̰̙̘x̸͠͏͍͔̣i̶͏̳̱̮͔̮ȩ͙̗̜̲̙̤͙͍͞t҉̶̺̦͖̘͖y̕҉͔͓̭̯̬͕̱͕ͅ, anti-convulsive, and muscle relaxant properties and is also used as a sedative and h͈͍͙̘̥͟͟ͅý̶͓̰̯͖̘͜p͔̟̲̣͖͍͙ͅn̻̭̝͇̩̖̮̱͘o̵̤͙̯̪͉̙t̴̼̠̲͡í̬̮̣c͉̘̟̤̰͈̗̪̼͟͡͠. Binds with GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) receptors in the central n̴̷̡̢̹̖̼̘é̸̴͉̯͓̰̹̹͇̞̹̹͖̱̖̗̝̪̝͝͡r͏̷̯̭͓͙̝̺̮̦͇v̶҉̘̘͉̤̱̫̙̦̖͇͇̜͚̮o̷̙̤̻̜̳̠͔͘͝͠͝ừ̟̤̰̦̥͚̘̭̹̫͡s̢̹͔̹̤͓̼͓̖̣̻̥͡͠ͅ system, increasing the frequency of ion channel opening. This augments the efficacy of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA, resulting in the aforementioned effects. Some snipers use it to reduce body ṱ̱̞̫͎e̘̘n̗͍̻̦͙̩ͅs͉͈͕̯̝i̥͞o͏̠̭̱n̮͙͚̞̜͉ and prevent hand tͪͥ̋ͬ̆̂҉̸͞r̨͒͆͟ē̵̸̍͞m̡ͩ̊͊ͪ͒͐̌̈́̚͘ỏ́ͣr̈́̑ͯ͜sͯ͆͠͠ while aiming.

An ominous chill ran up Snake's spine as he pocketed the Pentazemin. For one reason or another, he couldn't help but feel like something was - wrong.

Then, he heard crackling noises of static on his earpiece. That static prompted him to ask,

"Kaz? Do you read me?"

{(140.85) - "Loud and clear, Boss. What's up?"}

"Ah… I don't really know. For a moment - I felt like… it's hard to explain…"

{(140.85) - "That's strange. Everything seems fine on our end - and nothing strange seems to be happening on Iturup, as far as our monitors can say."}

{(140.96) - "Actually, Mr. Miller - I sort of felt a chill too just now. Mr. Ocelot - you feel it too, don't you? An odd, sinking feeling - distortion, maybe?"}

{(141.73) - "I have no idea what the both of you are talking about. Focus on the mission, you two. We can talk about ghost stories once Boss brings Chico back to the FOB. Are we clear?"}

{(140.96) - "Y-yes, Mr. Ocelot."}

{(141.73) - "Good. Now, Boss - you're about to get within range of the motorbike troopers. Get them off of Chico's tail!"}

"Right…"

Snake reloaded his rifle with a fresh magazine of five tranquilizer rounds and then chambered a sixth by hand. As he did, he popped the Pentazemin pill into his mouth and swallowed it whole.

{Pentazemin (x1) used}

As soon as he did, a Snake felt an unusual clarity of mind. His rifle hand felt as steady as it was when he performed surgeries for MSF on the battlefield nine years ago.

With that steady hand, he pointed his rifle at the rider of the motorcycle closest to Chico and pulled the trigger. The crack of the rifle resonated through the forest and the tranquilizer dart struck the back of the rider's head, knocking him out right there and then.

The sleeping driver unconsciously drove his motorbike, its sidecar and his comrade into the brush. At that point, the rest of the motorcycle troopers realized they were no longer the hunters.

Snake kept holding onto the reins as he cocked the bolt of his rifle with his mechanical right hand. He then repeated the motions as he open fired upon the Soviet troops.

One. Two. Three. Then, four motorbike riders fell asleep and crashed their bikes and their passengers unceremoniously into the nearby brush.

The last biker elbowed his passenger to do something. This brought the passenger to open fire on Snake with his Skorpion submachine gun.

Venom Snake, however, guided D-Horse to dodge the inaccurate spray of shots and keep their distance from the biker.

Frustrated, the rider of the motorbike brought out a flare gun from its holster.

Before he could, however, Venom Snake got a bead on the rider and shot him like the other riders before him.

The last rider dropped his flare gun before he could pull the trigger and he unconsciously veered away from the woodland path.

All that was left now was Chico.

Venom Snake hastily reloaded his M2000-NL rifle with another magazine of five shots and chambered a sixth round again out of habit.

Then, he took aim.

When Snake looked through the scope, however, he saw that Chico's handling of the bike was faltering. He was on the verge of falling asleep, but his foot was still on the accelerator.

The woodland path was about to end and branch off into the main seaside road to Burevestnik Airbase. It ran alongside a steep cliff facing the sea. Powerful waves were crashing onto the shore, casting jets of mist skyward as well.

{(141.73) - "Boss! There's nothing but jagged rocks at the end of that cliff! That kid's gonna get himself killed!"}

"I know…! I'm working on it!"

Snake spurred D-Horse one last time and urged his steed to catch up to Chico. He had no choice but to ride alongside Chico's bike and then snatch him off of it.

His mechanical hand could handle it, Snake told himself. He just had to get close enough.

However - the distance between him and Chico just kept on growing. The Wayward Son kept drawing closer to the edge of the cliff.

"No… not like this!"

Just as Chico's bike neared the cliff, the outline of a lasso whipped out from behind the brush. The rope wrapped around Chico's body and then yanked him off of the speeding motorbike.

Chico landed down on his back, immobilized by the tranquilizers and the ropes that now bound him. All the while, his bike drove off the cliff and fell down into the jagged rocks below.

Seconds later, an explosion rocked the cliff from below, evaporating the salty ocean spray into steam.

Venom Snake's heart was racing as he watched the whole commotion - but at the very least Chico was safe.

The only question was - who threw the lasso that saved Chico?

Snake urged D-Horse to ride closer when an accurate pistol shot whizzed past the mercenary commander's cheek. That forced Snake to halt D-Horse and then hold his rifle with both hands.

The shot seemed to come from the brush at the end of the forest path - the same place where the lasso flew from. Snake pointed his rifle at the brush and demanded,

"Who are you!? Show yourself!"

At Snake's demand, a rider and her horse trotted from out of the brush and onto the road. Her outline was illuminated by the warm orange light that peeked through the canopy of deciduous trees of the forest.

The rider was a girl with short, coral-pink hair adorned with a cute red ribbon and she was wearing the grey raincoat that she and her companions wore during the skirmish at the village.

She had bright blue eyes that reflected the light of the setting sun. In one hand, she held the lasso that tied down Chico. In the other, she pointed her pistol - a Grizzly Mk. V - at Venom Snake.

{(140.96) - "Big Boss! That's one of the Writers of the Apocalypse!"}

A mellow smile formed on the rider's lips as she kept her aim on Snake. She spoke a strange language that Snake didn't understand.

"IldyaXRlcnMgb2YgdGhlIEFwb2NhbHlwc2UiPyBJcyB0aGF0IHdoYXQgc2hlJ3MgY2FsbGluZyB1cyBub3cuIEhvdyBydWRlIQ=="

Snake's brow furrowed as he lashed,

"What the hell…!?"

((140.96) - "She's speaking English, Big Boss - but it's encrypted in Base64!"}

"Huh!? What's she saying?"

{(140.96) - "Wait a sec - I need to run my ḑ͏͡e͘ć̕ò̵̀͠͝ḑ̶́͢͜i̕͡n̸͘͢͠g҉̢ ̀̀p̷̨̢͡ŕ̡͢o͏́́͢͠g̡̧͞͞r̶̡͡a̸͜m̵̷̷͘͢…"}

The Spider Lady's voice started becoming choppy over the radio, but Snake's iDroid managed to maintain the link.

Before the Spider Lady could run her program, however, the lasso-wielding rider continued,

"SXMgdGhpcyBlbmNyeXB0aW9uIHRvbyBtdWNoIGZvciB5b3U/ ? Fine - I'll speak decrypted for you to understand. My name is Sayori - the President of the Literature Club…"

This 'Sayori' girl set her lasso aside and unzipped her raincoat, revealing what appeared to be a school uniform of some sort. She dug her hand into the pocket of her uniform blazer and brought out a cassette tape, saying,

"But I guess, in this world, you can also call me 'Sunshine'. Ahehehe~."

To Be Continued

Author's Notes: Kyaa~~! Oh dear - my Sayori is so cute, isn't she? Cute and badass - that's why she became the club president after I… well… that's not important anymore. I could explain it for you if you wanted - but I might need a little while to do that.

Five stories, perhaps? Ahahaha~

In any case, I've got some messages from up above. It's not exactly for you, Snake - but you're the only way I have to talk to the audience after all!

A little bird told me that the author says he wanted to apologize for the delay. Apparently, school, work and irl stuff turned out to be much more challenging than he first thought. But he's committed to making this story work - okay?

That's all.

How did I find out about this?

Ahahaha~ well, that's a secret, Snake.

And remember - I'm the one asking the questions here, okay?

So then - tell me how you struggled against my dear "Sunshine".

(I should call her that next time~)