Prologue

"Outer Heaven self-destruct countdown, 10, 9…" "Good-Bye" a shadowy figure with a bandana whispers and disappears. He and I just fought here in one of the storage rooms in outer heaven. The room's walls are splattered with blood over, some of mine and of other soldiers; he killed on his way here. Most soldiers have escaped this place ever since he started to make a ruckus. The room is only lighted by the red emergency lightbulb spinning around.

As the 10 second countdown begins, I lay here, beaten, bloody and a blown-off right leg reminiscing about my lifetime as Venom Snake while smoking my last cigar. The beginning of it, the hospital, Afghanistan, Africa, Skull Face, running the desert with DD and her... After she was gone, at first I had a hard time to come to terms with it but eventually I forgot all about her. "8,7,6,5…" as I puff one more of my last cigar, I keep reminiscing about my short time with that woman, our adventures in the desert, the jungle and Diamond Dog's Mother Base.

We did not share words directly; we only spoke through our actions in the battlefield. I always felt at ease around her, ironically to feel that as she was originally sent to assassinate me. Perhaps at the time the language we shared was one of revenge… "4, 3..." However, that all changed after she left, because of Huey's actions, the Wolbachia mutation. The news of her departure shook me, but I could not exhibit any emotions. This is one of the prices you pay for being Big Boss, no time to feel. Just charge down the battlefield and always maintain this façade of a leader.

As the years carried on, my burden as Big Boss's shadow grew, all the people I betrayed, tortured and killed. All for a dream that will likely never come true, until today I never questioned why I was following orders. "You are Big Boss, I am too, carry that everywhere with you, thank you my friend". What I carried was the heavy burden of a man whom killed the person he loved most in this world and turned into a monster soon after. At first, I really did not mind being Big Boss, but as the years carried on I grew weary and tired. No longer, did I care for the fellow soldiers nor the dream of the monster; I was seeking release. Looking back, the time that mattered most to me, was the year tracking Skull Face. That year I saved the World from his revenge.

Nevertheless, I'm grateful now that now I have been discharged from service; I do not care what happens to the real Big Boss now. I lost my identity, my past and now I have no future. In this present here, my only regret is that I did not enjoy even at least a fraction of real life. Killing, endless killing, that's all my life had been. And now I am left with nothing…In my final moments, my short life is flashing before my eyes, how I wish to see her again…. ''Quiet'' I whisper. The cigar falls down from my mouth, "3, 2, 1…"

Venom Snake closes his eyes and the mighty fortress of Outer Heaven is destroyed along with the dreams of Big Boss.

Chapter 1 Q has come to

"He's waking up" a tired old voice can barely be heard "Snake…" whispers a female voice "Gah!" Snake screams in pain "Give him the small dosage, which should stabilize him" the tired old voice signals

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Snake opens his eyes… everything is blurry. He feels like he is lying on a bed. A shadowy figure approaches him, the silhouette of a woman, "Is this heaven?" He asks "Not quite" "Quiet?" "Yes" "Gah!" "No he's failing again, Snake, Snake!" Quiet yells as she holds Snake's body, trying to stabilize him. Despite her efforts, he passes out again.

One week later….

Quiet walks through the entrance to a wooden cabin carrying a bag. The inside of cabin, everything is made of wood. As she enters to her right side is a white colored refrigerator she recently acquired for her new houseguest, on top of it is a cassette radio she occasionally uses to listen to music, inside of it has a tape labeled "1984". To her left lies a light wooden rounded table with two chairs, and an electric lamp. As she steps in further she also has a small couch with a black bear fur on the beneath it, reaching to the small fireplace chimney. At the end lies a wooden double cot bed, centered placed facing the direction of the open door. In the bed Snake is sleeping, Quiet dressed him with a dark brown t-shirt and green leafed cargo pants, these are military fashioned clothes she collected over the years. She puts a bag containing fruits on her table. To the corner of the cabin left side of the bed lies two boxes of cigars Quiet stole from a truck, one box of cigarettes and on top of them are the clothes neatly folded. At the right side of the bed, there is a wooden drawer, with a gun and a glass of water on top of it, behind it is a wooden door that gives entrance to the small bathroom. Lastly, underneath the bed lies Quiet's two rifles, her treasured Brennan she always likes to polish almost every day and a normal one she uses to fend off predators.

When she puts the bag down, the noise wakes up Snake frightened. Gasping for air and his face is full of sweat. As he realizes where he his "Huh, I'm alive" he remarks as his breathing stabilizes "What.." He finds himself awake in the bed, looking to his surroundings. He sees the gun with the glass of water.

He keeps looking to his surroundings, lifting himself a little bit off from the bed. He sees the open door in front, and between it two opened windows, outside of it as a rock wall. "What is this place?" "You're no longer in Outer Heaven" he hears a female voice "Who is there!?" He quickly grabs the gun and points it to the source of the voice. When he begins to recognize the source of the voice, Snake's angry expression changes to one of genuine surprise, the grip on the gun loosens and so does his aim. "Long time no see Snake" "Quiet?" The forgotten female sniper, unusually still in her clothes from the year Snake had met her, holds a tray while looking at her long lost friend. Snake begins to feel dizzy and the grip on the handgun loosen completely, falling to the bed. "Snake, the treatment hasn't taken full effect with you, rest, we'll talk later"

3 days later…

"How do you feel?" Quiet asks as she straightens the bed's sheet "Thirsty, water…" "Here" "Why am I here, answer me!" Snake promptly grabs her arm, she gives him a serious stare but not threatening "Snake, you're in my house, in my bed, you nearly died in Outer Heaven and I rescued you, even tended to your wounds." "Wha.." Snake's grip on Quiets arm loosens "Then you really saved me?" "Yes, now get some rest." Quiet gently shrugs off his arms and settles it down on his chest.

Snake's throws his head back to the pillow, his mind now begins to drift, the desert, jungle and mother base all over again. He relives one incident that had occurred at Diamond Dogs Mother Base. "Hit the alarm!" shouts Snake as he tries to jump off to save Quiet. When Quiet appears from the chlorine infested floor, Snake grabs her and when he looks at her hand she hands him down a vial of parasite. "Take it."