Part Two

Chapter Twenty Six: Snake

Everyone had moved into the back of the cave, waiting in silence for what was perceived as a threat. Hidden behind rock formations that grew bigger as one moves deeper into the cave, they waited.

And waited.

Snake, who had been trained in the arts of stealth, wondered how long they would all keep this up. He could stand by for hours, but with a restless group mixed with the impulsive and the slow, only time would tell how long the silence would be kept.

"What are we going to do about the ship? If it's found, then whoever it is will know for sure that we are in this area!" Link whispered aloud.

"Keep the thoughts to yourself. Unless you plan on taking one for the team," Snake whispered more quietly to the Hylian.

On one side of the cave were Snake, Link, Samus, Pit, and Marth. On the other were Zelda, Peach, Ike, Fox, Falco, and Master Chief.

Everyone could hear the sound of a ship flying overhead and then landing. Some of them flinched in reaction to the approaching threat. Others seemed to hold their breath tighter.

Snake only gripped his 9 mm harder.

It wasn't long before the sound of someone approaching could be heard. And that's when all other sound disappeared, and the crumbling of leaves and the sifting of dirt from the feet of what was assumed was only one person was echoing in the cold air.

It was approaching, getting ever closer and closer.

Snake kept thinking to himself, wondering how the hell this person or thing knew they were over here. After all, it seemed rather immediate that their location was found.

"Hello?"

A voice called out. A human voice.

Everyone shot each other quick and confused glances. Should they respond? Was this a trick?

"Master Chief? I know you are here. Or at the least, just you. That Pelican Dropship doesn't hide anything…"

By now the voice was familiar. It had a very noticeable accent. One that was a mix of some kind of flashy action hero and the rasp of a man.

Snake, still preferring to wait to see the person, even as it was becoming increasingly darker, stood his ground. But Master Chief did otherwise.

The hulking seven foot tall man stepped out from behind his cover and began to walk towards the exit of the cave. Some hushed words were exchanged between the groups. Everyone wondered whether to stop the man or let him go out into the open.

"Douglas Falcon, I assume?" the Chief's voice spoke out, desiring of little bullshit.

At the mention of that name, everyone seemed to fall out from behind their hiding spots, surprised themselves that Captain Falcon was truly the person standing outside.

Snake, following behind Link, Samus, Pit, and Marth, moving out forward to where Master Chief was. The other group from the other side was doing the same.

"How did you know we were here?" Spartan 117 asked the Captain,

"Common sense. From what I experienced back at the League, I figured you'd all be in hiding and this cave wasn't too far from main ship," he explained.

"But how did you know what planet we were on?" Snake asked him. He figured that Samus had picked a place that was less traveled on, and shot her an inquisitive look because it seemed as though she was wrong.

Samus just shrugged and nodded her head.

"This might be a long story, if you really want to know how I got here," Falcon began.

"Tell us, we've got time," Ike stated.

"Alright, well…after departing from all of you before the major assembly at the League, I had proceeded to exit the entire place, to simply return to my System. Unforunately, getting past the elevator lobby didn't seem to be an option, as security guards of the League would not let me go-"

"Not let you go? How can that be? You are not a representative and therefore were not required to be there…" Peach cut in.

"Yep, that's true. And so I waited around and shot a few glances through open doors to listen in on Wolf's big announcement, thinking perhaps there was protocol that nobody could exit or enter. And it didn't take long for me to realize there was a larger conspiracy, when I saw SPC pirates manifesting out of thin air. And wouldn't you know, that before that massive winged terror flew through the dome, several representatives were being allowed to leave, escaping all the carnage?" he said, his voice becoming more angry.

"In the ensuing chaos, I tried to leave with these delegates that were permitted to. But I was blocked…again. I wasn't able to get through and escape until those space pirates began killing the guards, but at that point I had to defend myself from two separate entities," he finished.

"So," Snake began, knowing fully what was going on as he was accustomed to such trickery and deceit. "There was a protocol not allowing anyone to come or go. But that would depend on whose side you were on. Wolf obviously had the entire thing planned, and any delegate that was in cahoots with him was allowed to leave with the skin on their backs."

"But there was another side to this. Any delegate on Wolf's side who hadn't escaped yet, was on their own. And the security guards that were told to prevent who goes and stays were not made aware of the plan of the SPC coming in, and were thusly killed. This keeps Wolf's appearance as the good guy under attack, while keeping his friends on his side…" Snake explained to everyone.

"Yeah, pretty much," Falcon added, nodding his head.

"So what are we going to do? How are we going to outsmart Wolf and his cronies?" Pit asked, his wings fluttering in anxiety.

"It would be a good time to decide exactly that right now," Samus put in.

"Well now that we have two ships, we can split up into two teams, depending on what everyone needs to do," Master Chief said.

"Assuming that Captain Falcon is going to help us. I can remember you not wanting to get involved," Zelda said, turning to Falcon.

"Hey, I almost lost my head back there at the League. And I can obviously see the bigger picture now," Falcon paused, and crossed his arms.

"I'm in."

"Great, can we get back to sleep now?" Falco asked, yawning.

"Jeez man, it's like you never stop," Fox annoyingly remarked.

"Can't blame me for speaking my mind," the blue bird mumbled.

"What was that?" Fox quickly inquired.

"Look, I can't be the only one who can't keep their eyelids open!" he shamelessly admitted.

"I agree. We'd all be better off sleeping now. And if you can't do that, mull over your plans for tomorrow," Marth said, turning around and moving into the back of the cave.

Everyone else seemed to slowly follow, their eyes readjusting the dark shadows that slowly encompassed them. It would be a long night for some, sifting and repositioning themselves on the powdery brown dirt of the cave floor. And for the rest, they would find themselves resting comfortably in one spot, completely forgetting all the troubles at the moment for a simple and peaceful rest.

Snake moved around to the former fire pit and relit lightly to allow the warmth to help rest everyone. He then found a spot between Princess Zelda and a rock, leaning against and shutting his eyes.

- - - -

As the first light of the day began to break across the horizon and slowly brighten the cave, Snake's eyes gradually opened. Shifting his head to the side, he felt the knots in his neck and the pain in his back. He might have slept all night, but his muscles suggested otherwise.

With a refreshed mind and a weary body, he slowly began to stand up. Looking down at everyone, he saw the motionless bodies of sleeping comrades. All except for one.

"Zelda…" he murmured, wondering where she would have wandered off to so early. She had been acting rather closed off. Knowing that Rauru had died, it only made sense to Snake as to why she was.

Looking around to see if she was nearby, he also realized a missing Master Chief. So, he decided to break the morning with a cigarette and then look for the two. As he lit up the non filtered stick of tobacco, he felt the pain of his pupils as the eye muscles flexed to close them in the ever brightening daylight.

Stepping outside of the cave, he immediately saw Master Chief standing off the side, pressing a few buttons on his right arm.

"What's going on?" Snake asked, after they both nodded to each other.

"I'm checking to see if Cortana picked up on any other spacecraft in the sky while we slept. I'm hoping that Captain Falcon did not have anyone tailing him," the Spartan spoke.

"Right," Snake muttered, walking away.

"Oh, umm…have you seen-"

"Zelda?" Master Chief quickly said. He then pointed in the direction that the Hylian had wandered off to.

"Right," Snake murmured. He was glad to hear someone knew where she was. It wasn't imperative that he look for her, as his stomach was urging to be filled with food.

And beyond a grove of trees, there was a run off where the river by the Pelican was. Snake walked up towards it and looked into the water. He thought he saw some fish in it, but there was a darker blob of something moving around.

Leaning in closer, he tried to get a better look, wondering, partially hoping, that it was a big piece of meat waiting to be caught.

Reaching his left hand out to try and touch it, he was immediately shocked to see it submerge, splashing water all over his face and arms.

And it wasn't just it. Princess Zelda emerged from the river, with a wide eyed and scared expression upon her face. She was so alarmed by Snake's presence that she fell backwards into the water.

Snake fell backwards onto his rear on the grass.

"Snake!" Zelda shouted, coughing and clearing her throat.

"Zelda? What are you doing in the river?" he asked.

"Bathing…?" she remarked, as if it was obvious.

"With your clothes on…?"

Zelda smiled. "Ha, well, I figured something like this would happen."

"Oh…shucks…" Snake jokingly said.

He watched her get out of the water, with her royal gown draping heavily against her, weighed down by the water it had soaked up. With it clinging to her body, he realized how tiny she was. It seemed unusual. Was she just naturally skinny or were the times just wearing on her?

Zelda simply ignored his stares and began squeezing out the water from her clothes.

"So…" she began, glancing over at him and then quickly looking away as their eyes met.

"What are you going out here? Hungry?"

She walked over to him and sat down where he had fallen.

"Yeah. And I thought you were a big, hulking fish," he replied.

Zelda burst out in uncharacteristic laughter.

"Hehehe, I don't know whether that's a compliment or not," she brought her knees up to her chest and rested an elbow against them. Cupping a cheek in one hand, she turned towards him and smiled, still chuckling.

"I'm glad you still have a sense of humor through all of this," she told him.

"I really didn't mean to be funny," Snake added, with a half smile.

"Oh…hehehe," Zelda continued.

There was a long pause. Snake took in the sun and rested. He was still hungry but was waiting for the right moment to get up and look for food.

"Snake…?" Zelda broke the silence.

"Yeah?"

"Have you thought about what you are going to do when we leave this planet?"

"Yes. I know what I have to do. What about yourself?" he asked.

Zelda shrugged and bit her lower lip.

"I'm going back to Hylia," she said.

"What?" Snake blurted, alarmed by her decision. "You can't! It's overrun by the Flood. It wouldn't be safe for anyone!"

She nodded her head.

"I had a dream Snake. Last night I dreamt I was back on Hylia. But the place wasn't the same. Not at all. The fires were still burning and the moans and groans still echoed across the flames. But something out of the darkness gave me hope, believe it or not."

"What was it?" he inquired.

"It was a woman. Dark and unafraid, she crossed the fires that blocked me from entering the city surrounding my castle. Her arm reached out to me. But as it came nearer, and stretched unnaturally from her body, I realized it was gigantic. It then grabbed me."

"Then what?"

"And then I woke up."

"So what do you think it means?" Snake asked her.

"It means that I must return to Hylia," Zelda simply stated.

"How? How does that give you enough information to make such an insane decision to return to your home planet, because honestly, I don't get," Snake was getting irritated. He did not want Zelda to die or risk dying. A lot of what everyone did was for her. Her and Link.

"I can't explain it. You would have to have felt it and saw what I saw," she explained.

"But that's not good enough, Zelda. All of us are here to help you. Nevermind the fact that we all have an initiative on our own. I mean…I've felt that…we've all felt…I don't know…"

Snake, frustrated in his inability to speak eloquently, got up and began to walk away. He felt like he had perhaps said to much, gave away too much about himself. He had gotten worked up over nothing.

Why did he get so irritated at Zelda's decision…? He himself didn't fully know yet. And all he felt was complete stupidity for his previous actions.

"Hey, you two," a voice shouted out.

Coming towards Snake and Zelda was Ike.

"Everyone's up and we're all ready to come together for a plan," the swordsmen said.

When Zelda and Snake didn't immediately react, Ike became pissed.

"Come on, we're all ready as ever to leave this damn place," he angrily remarked.

Snake wondered what was making Ike snap. He had noticed that the man was acting strangely lately. He was strongly keeping to himself and wanting to be alone.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Author's Note: Alright, I have to admit. I got sick of people asking what the pairings were, so I jumped ahead in this shipping and added some SnakexZelda to the mix. So, there it is. Samus/Link and Snake/Zelda.

Case closed.

Oh, and maybe some Fox/Falco on a very close brotherly level. Or if people request it, I could make them closer than that. Anyway, they snap at each other like siblings. xD

So, doing Snake and Zelda is reinvigorating my desire to do this story. So it helps me. I love the two together. They mesh on an oddly comfortable level. And barely anyone else has written a developed romance of the two so that's why I am including it. )D

(leers at all the Link/Zelda fans)