Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!

Author's Note: Thank you for your patience everyone, I'm back in town with access to my computer! Here is the next chapter, I would call this one a filler :) Enjoy! :3

Mature Content Warning: Violence

"I can't stop this feeling,

Deep inside of me.

Girl, you just don'e realize,

What you do to me.

When you hold me,

In your arms so tight,

You let me know,

Everything's all right."

-Blue Swede

November 12, 1974: ?:?

Blood soaked into Lydia's skin the more she crawled through the dirt. Her ears ringing and echoing the sounds of multiple explosions, pops, whistles, screams…they all blended together as if the conundrum of chaos wanted to take over every sense still left in her body. Her arms and legs were digging further into the ground the more she crawled away.

But from what? What was driving her to go? Her heart beat was only ticking faster as Lydia's head turned behind her. "What are you crawling away from?" The voice was familiar, calming her ears from ahead. She shut her eyes in memory as her head turned to face the man who was standing before her. There was someone that came to mind, but not who she had received in return. A decapitated head fell into view. Blood splashing on her face. The foreign noises had returned, diverse and rapid as could be.

Her breath hitched, she wanted to throw up at the sight of the severed neck. Blood gushing from its exposed flesh. Before she could stand up, a strong pressure collapsed on her back. "I said, what are you crawling away from?" The voice was more agitated…different this time. The voice of a monster from the past. His snicker only struck her with the fear of a thousand men while she was crushed further into the ground.

She wanted to yell out…she couldn't speak. Her right hand reached for the head. Before her fingers could touch it it was picked up. Before her were familiar black boots with fancy engravings…almost filled in by the amount of dirt that was caked on them. The silver spurs rattled, dimming the other various sounds. "Hmmm. What do we have here, a trapped mouse?"

"Adam." The name fell from her lips before she could see him.

"What did you call me?" He was looking at the face of the head he held in his hands. "I don't see an Adam here. Do you?" He asked he head. He took it by it's hair and unveiled the face. Kaz. His lifeless eyes were rolled to the top of his head, his mouth hanging open with blood dripping out of every orifice that remained.

"No." Anger welled up within her, but she still couldn't move.

"Now why don't you sleep with your lover?" Adam underhanded the head so it collided with her face. "Do it." The next noise was a prominent bang that would surely be the end of her.

The moment Lydia's eyes shot open, her eyes focused on the time. 02:00. Lydia turned in her bed after sighing. Next to her was the sleeping Kaz, his back facing her. At least he's not beheaded. What kind of fucked up nightmare was that? Lydia quietly moved herself toward him and rested her forehead against his back, careful not to wake him up. His bare skin was cold, making her just want to roll all over him.

She wanted to go back to sleep, but she didn't want the dream to continue. She laid against him for what seemed like hours before she couldn't stand it anymore. I've gotta go somewhere. Lydia crawled slowly out of her bed. She dressed herself in her casual combat attire and stepped out of the room. She descended down the stairs until she was finally outside. The cool night-time air instantly gave her goosebumps. The deck was lit up by a few lights, but the moon trumped out all of them. Coffee was the first thing that flooded her mind once she inhaled the scent of the salty breeze. Coffee sounds damn good right now.

Lydia took a few steps out on deck until she caught a patrol in her peripherals. Still sluggish, Lydia made her way over to the three men that conjured together. "Good morning."

"Oh! Sub-C!" They were all startled. "It's 03:00 what are you doing up so early?!"

"Couldn't sleep." She responded, shrugging her shoulders. "I'm going to run to the mess hall and make some coffee. Any of you want some?"

"Nah I'll pass."

"I'm good."

"Are you guys crazy?" The man who initially spoke with her questioned the sanity of the other two. His code-name was etched as Dolphin. "Sub-C used to be a barista. It would be an insult to turn down her coffee!"

"Whoa, are you serious?! Really Sub-C?"

"Ummm…"

"We're sorry ma'am. We'll take a cup of coffee!"

"Whatever you say." Lydia shrugged, just letting them think for themselves. "Be right back." Lydia walked off toward the mess hall. After retrieving four black coffees, she returned to the deck with all four cups on a plastic tray. "Here you go."

"Thank you ma'am!"

"Ahh the warmness feels so good!"

"Warmness?"

"Don't mention it." Lydia smiled as the three men took their drinks. She placed the tray comfortable under her right armpit as she walked away from the group with her hot coffee in hand. She waltzed over to the edge of the platform that was closest to the housing and sat. She placed her coffee down next to her and let her legs hang off the edge. If someone wanted to get rid of me, now would be the perfect time. She shook her head and picked up her coffee.

"Sub-C?" A familiar voice called out from behind her. "It's odd to see you up this early." Raven.

"Raven." Lydia greeted. "Mornin'. You're not here to get rid of me, are you?" She joked.

"Not this time, although this would be the perfect opportunity. Mind if I join you?"

"No, go right ahead." Lydia nodded her head to the spot next to her as she returned her gaze to the dark ocean.

"Getting enough sleep?" Raven asked out of nowhere.

"Are you turning this into an appointment? I haven't had enough coffee for that yet."

"I just noticed the dark circles under your eyes and the paleness of your skin. That's all." He smiled to himself.

"Good observation, that's why you're the lead." Lydia took another sip of coffee. "How's that…uhh…Amanda? How's she doing?" Lydia changed the subject.

"She's healing fairly well, but it's a fight to get her to stay in her damn bed. Although, I have to say I admire her willingness to move forward and help out."

"She seemed very active." Lydia agreed. "I wonder what she can bring to the team once she's all better."

"Same. Her presence could peak up the morale of some of our men. No offense, but we like to see women around base."

"No, no, I get it." Lydia took a sip of her coffee. "You know Raven…Going back to the sleep thing..."

"Hm?"

Lydia took in a deep breath and continued to stare into the ocean. "I had one hell of a nightmare. It had people that hadn't been in my life for quite some time."

"PTSD shows its face in many forms." Raven nodded at Lydia's willingness to share. "You're not stuck in that dream and whoever was out to get you isn't out to get you now."

Lydia sighed. "Yeah. We have a lot at stake. It might just be for stress."

"No doubt. You should go back and get some rest." Raven sounded sincere.

"Not with coffee in my system." Lydia chuckled to herself, moving her grip in a circle so she could swirl the coffee contained in the cup.

"Alright. I've got to get back. I started early today because I knew Miss Amanda was going to be a handful." Raven stood up from his seated position. "Good luck."

After wishing her well he walked off to the medical platform. Lydia only sighed and looked back at the never-ending ocean. After eventually finishing her coffee, she found herself in the kill room the R&D team had finished the night before. It was built with a tactical simulator as well as a firing range; the perfect training area. With a pistol in hand, she fired away at the dull target stationed before her.

Lethal shot after lethal shot, the bullet holes all started to blend together. Something felt amiss. Was it because of the nightmare? Or was something else on her mind? As she wasted the bullets there was a ringing that penetrated her eardrums. Someone was giving her a call on her radio. Lydia placed the pistol down and received the transmission. "This is Matthews, over."

"Iris, good." It was Snake…it was nearly 06:00 and he didn't sound tired at all. "Listen, I'm going to be sending the team another member. He has vital information about the nukes and enemies we're dealing with. Once he arrives, be sure to give him a warm welcome."

"Got it."

"And one more thing. I got wind that there was an armored vehicle unit headed to increase security over to a lab I'm en route to. I need you to gather some men and head out there before they arrive."

"Got any intel where they're at?"

"They're about one-hundred miles west of Puerto del Alba. That's all I've got."

"I'll ask Paz about the area when I get the chance. I'll get right on it, you can count on me, Snake. Over and out."

"Over and out."

He was so simple to talk to. Nothing shook Snake, nothing at all. With the threat of World War III on their shoulders, it seemed he would be a little shaken by something…that just wasn't his character. Lydia stretched her arms and walked up the flight of stairs that led out of the kill room and onto the deck of mother-base. She assembled four men and briefed them of their future task. "The Boss needs us. Make sure we pack Morpho with everything we need." Lydia ordered out. "We cannot fail this mission."

"Yes ma'am!"

"Lydia!" The voice of Kaz rang out to her. "What's going on?" He jogged up and stood in front of her.

"Snake is sending me out on a mission. There's an armored vehicle unit headed to his next objective. It might compromise his efforts if it arrives." Lydia frowned. Kaz grabbed a hold of her right arm and pulled her close to him.

"Can I speak with you, alone?" He led her away fro the four men stationed to go until they were far enough to not be heard. "So you're just going to leave without telling me?"

"Welcome to my world." Lydia spoke back, with more attitude than she had intended. What was with that? She still must be feeling off from the nightmare. Or maybe the lack of sleep…maybe both?

"Welcome to…" Kaz let go of her arm. "Look Lydia, if this is about us then-"

"I didn't say it was about anything, Kaz. I'm doing my job."

"It's not just 'doing your job' to me, ok?" He half-snapped. He exhaled loudly then ran his right hand through his long hair. Lydia's heart nearly skipped a beat. "I don't know what I'm saying."

"I-I have to get ready." Lydia didn't know what to say either. She nearly bolted back to her living quarters. Once inside, she changed into a dark green garb with a brown harness. To her surprise, the door slid open after strapping on her harness.

"Hey." Kaz. Who else would it be? Lydia sighed once he stepped in the door and took her by her shoulders. He turned her around to face him. "I couldn't just let you leave like that." She wanted to say something, she just didn't know what. He removed one of his hands from her and moved his sunglasses to the top of his head. "Why don't you tell me what's going on in that head of yours, huh?"

Lydia huffed like a child, that made Kaz chuckle. "Kaz I gotta go, this mission is important."

"It can wait for two minutes." He pressed.

"Fine." Lydia sighed. "I had a nightmare. First one in a while. It wasn't a flashback…it was different."

"How?"

"You were in it." Lydia frowned. "You were in it, and your decapitated head was thrown in my face by Ocelot. Volgen…he pinned me down. I couldn't move. It was…"

"Hey, I'm here." Kaz pulled her into an embrace she didn't know she needed. "I'm not dead, those two aren't here and they're no threat. They're long gone, alright?" Lydia exhaled shakily.

"I can't believe this."

"I'm in one piece." Kaz pulled himself back and slipped his right hand under her chin. "Lydia, nothing like that is gonna happen to me. You hear me? I've got both my legs, both my arms, and a perfectly good dick you could come back to. I'm not going anywhere…and neither is my head."

"Good." Lydia sighed in relief. Kaz slightly tilted up her chin and dipped down, catching her lips with his own. She instantly gave in, shutting her eyes. Kaz parted from the soft kiss with a small smile running across his face. "Now I'll let you go. Keep your comms on."

"Yes sir." Lydia nodded. Kaz stood back from the doorway allowing her to walk out on her own. Kaz didn't follow her to her surprise. Lydia found her way to Morpho, waiting patiently for her arrival. The four other men were sitting inside as well. "Sorry about that guys. I'm here!"

"Welcome aboard ma'am!" Morpho called out from the pilot seat. "Strap on in and we'll head on out."

"You got it!" Lydia sat down and buckled herself in.

"This is Morpho, departing Mother-Base." Lydia sat back in her chair and sighed, looking at the other men who appeared equally as bored. "It'll be a few hours before we arrive, make yourselves comfortable. We're gonna fly in soft." Lydia held a thumbs up and rested the back of her head against the metal behind her. No telling what armored unit was making their way across the jungle...it was only a matter of time.