A scene of blue and red twisting in a polychromatic cosmic dance played out before the Illusive Man's eyes. Despite his wealth, he rarely gave himself the opportunity to enjoy it, but this view, along with his whiskey and cigarettes, were the vices he allowed himself. The moment he had allocated himself for relaxation passed, and it was time to go to work.

The work of the Illusive Man was hardly the labor of any lesser man, his tireless effort was spent directing his considerable resources and monitoring his subordinates. He promoted based on ambition and drive, but that often meant they got into all sorts of mischief when they though he wasn't looking. But he was always looking, watching for the moment of their betrayal. His projects were too important to take his eyes away for more than a moment.

One such project was having difficulties, something about a saboteur putting their work back by months. That was inexcusable, he needed the results of that project perhaps more than any other. An alert popped up on his terminal, signaling the success of another project. Odd, he had expected this particular task to take far longer. Perhaps then, where one problem reared its head, a solution became apparent. The Illusive Man began the process of assigning staff from the Lazarus Project, Miranda and Taylor would certainly be necessary. He had planned for Shepard to take up this task, but as the time tables were turning out he needed to make an exception.

Perhaps Project Long Shadow would make up for how Lazarus had failed him…

His head was a murky bog of confused thoughts and half-recognized stimuli. Memories surfaced only to be overtaken by pain or discomfort or weariness. He felt himself slip into and out of consciousness constantly, to the point where it was difficult for him to recognize what was a dream and what was reality. It was the shaking that finally woke him.

Snake's eyes snapped open. He was able to see before he was able to process what he was seeing. A bleached white ceiling, typical of medical facilities the world over. His whole body was in pain, a blanket of soreness and screaming muscles.

"I'm reading patterns consistent with consciousness, he's awake!" A voice cried out from his left.

"Don't administer a sedative, I have something I want to tell him," A woman's voice before him spoke. Snake struggled to fully come to, but found it to be like trying to sprint through waist-high mud.

"Can you hear me?" Snake turned his head to the woman's voice. "Good. You're in good hands Snake, just relax and we'll take care of you. I want you to know that you did it, Big Boss accomplished his mission and you helped him do it."

Snake stopped struggling for a moment. Even if it was a lie, he couldn't help but find relief in hearing it said. Like words told to a dying man to help him pass easier, only these words were spoken to help a dead man live again. Such thoughts passed from Snake's mind as he slipped back into unconsciousness, his brief revival more impossible than even he thought it was.

First came the shaking. Then came the boom of an explosion. More shaking. Then Snake opened his eyes.

There was no haze this time, nothing keeping him from feeling the fullness of the pain in his body. He wasn't sure, but it seemed like it probably wasn't as bad as it had been the last time he was awake. As Snake tried to rise into an upright position, his abdominals flared up in pain. Snake grit his teeth as a memory came unbidden into his mind. His last moments, the cigar, his grief all came flooding into his head at once.

Putting a hand to his head, Snake pushed through the pain and rose, swinging his legs over the side of the table his body had rested on. It was a surgical table, his ailing mind told him. What kind of surgery could undo the damage Solid Snake had done to him? A giant hole in his gut, patched up like some kind of shoulder wound? That kind of medicine was only science fiction.

That thought came to haunt Snake as he looked around him. Whatever kind of medical facility this was, it was clearly far more advanced than any he had been in before. Holographic displays, medical scans shown on what appeared to be interactive wall-sized screens as well as a panoply of unrecognizable medical equipment and drugs. Despite the advanced technology around him, Snake was the only person in the room. Then he remembered the explosions that had stirred him.

Stricken with a mounting sense of deja-vu, Snake came to his feet, working through his pain to explore his surroundings. The drugs were labeled in English, so Snake looked for a painkiller to make moving around easier. The knowledge of the medic he had once been lingered, and he recognized some that wouldn't kill him or put him right to sleep. He tried to guess his weight based on how heavy he felt, but it seemed off from what was familiar. Was there more metal in his body than before? It was as he reached for the medications that he realized he had no left arm. That wasn't as much of a surprise as it was waking up after his nine-year coma, but it would make navigating a little harder without a prosthetic. Even after death his phantom pains, his loss still plagued him.

Using his one good arm, Snake wrangled open a bottle of the right medication and tapped out a few tablets. Taking the proper amount in his hand, Snake downed them dry. He'd take a stomach ache if it meant he could move around more comfortably. It was then he noticed a blinking light on a futuristic-looking terminal near the door.

Snake went over and touch the blinking box of light. "Ah good, you're up. How are you feeling Boss?" A familiar woman's voice came from the speakers in the room. Snake looked around for a moment, still disoriented from his unconsciousness.

"A bit of pain, but nothing I haven't worked through before. Who are you, and what's the situation?"

"Right to business, I appreciate that. This facility, the one dedicated to recovering and rebuilding you, is under attack by agents sent by the Systems Alliance. I believe they are here to make sure you do not recover."

"The Systems Alliance?"

"It would take too long to explain everything, just know that anyone in blue should be considered hostile. In fact, anyone you see should be considered hostile, at least until you can reach the security station I'm holed up in. I'll be running interference for you from here when I can, but you should hurry. The enemy has taken control of most of the facility and swept aside out security forces, so remember your stealth training, keep low and out of sight. Avoid their patrols, and take advantage of the fact that they don't know you're up and moving yet. Grab the omnitool from the footlocker to the right of the terminal and I'll upload a map leading you to me. Good luck, and be careful."

An Omnitool? There was a lot Snake wanted to ask, but the woman on the other line was clearly done talking. The terminal changed, indicating that she had terminated the communication from her end. Snake opened the footlocker, seeing a device that appeared to fit over his wrist. That must be the Omnitool the woman spoke of. Snake strapped the device over his arm and it activated automatically. There were a few options, with the map displayed prominently among them, as well as a means to close the display. It was surprisingly easy for the 1932-born man to handle this futuristic piece of technology, indicating the intuitive design of the device.

The path that presumably led to the security station the woman was hiding in was clearly marked, but likely would be dangerous to follow exactly. If they didn't already know where he was, then that woman was likely keeping them from using the security against him. That made this a lot easier, avoiding just soldiers was far easier than trying to do so while avoiding security cameras and automated defenses.

Dressing in nothing but a gown and an Omnitool, Snake creeped out of his room and into the corridor beyond. From what he had seen of the map, the facility he was in was not that large, but connected to other facilities to make a larger complex. The security station the woman called him from was out of the way of the intersecting corridors and tram lines, a measure to ensure that should such junctions fall security would not be compromised in the partitioned facilities.

The corridors were littered with closets and ventilation shafts. Frequently Snake ducked into one of these rooms to hide from passing patrols of Alliance Soldiers. While they were supposed to be looking for him, it seemed like they were more looking for his room, once they saw he had given the slip their searches would become more thorough.

Snake was hiding in one such closet, listening to a group of soldiers tromping by his hiding spot when his Omnitool lit up. An incoming communication from the same source as before. As he accepted the transmission, the woman's voice came out more quietly than before, "Snake, can you hear me? I've lowered the volume of our call in case you're actively hiding from the patrols. I've intercepted an enemy communication saying that they've found your room empty as well as orders to begin a reverse sweep through the facility. They'll be on the lookout for you now, so be careful," she warned.

"I appreciate the warning, Boss out."

He cut the transmission and stood out of his spot. He would need to hurry up before he was trapped, and that meant taking risks. This is where getting spotted became a far more likely scenario. However the pain had largely subsided by now and he was feeling a little more limber, so Snake felt confident that he would be able to get to the security booth.

Larger rooms connecting directly with other large rooms replaced the narrow halls, offering far more opportunities to hide and slip by enemies. Crouching low to the ground, Snake passed through several of these rooms and was halfway through another when the door he had come through opened suddenly. A group of Alliance soldiers began sweeping the room, Snake had the good sense enough to not pass openly though any room rather than risk being spotted in such a circumstance, but if he moved for the next door now they would certainly see him before he could escape. His best chance was to try and remain concealed and hope they pass by him.

They were being thorough, leaving few places unsearched. Snake had concealed himself within an empty storage crate after they had entered the room, and therein he waited, hoping that they were pressured enough to keep moving without opening up every crate they find. Suddenly their squad leader announced: "Squad three reports resistance in the eastern dome, we're moving out to support them." The sound of the door they had come through opening and then closing a few moments later echoed through the room. Snake let out a breath he'd been holding and quietly opened the crate.

His Omnitool lit up, another communication. "I had some of our people engage with a patrol elsewhere in the facility, it'll buy you time but not much. We're running out of time, so don't bother sneaking through every room, just run the rest of the way here."

"Copy that, Boss out."

With that, Snake ran to the door, opening it to reveal another large room. It should connect with the security station, the last room before it. It was designed with holding the security station in mind, the area in front of the door lead up through open ground up to exposed stairs. These stairs climbed up to a fortified position with plenty of heavy cover and what appeared to be some type of heavy weapon emplacement already set up, though it was not manned. Snake climbed the stairs, bypassed the weapon and made for the security station. He didn't see a knob, or even any sort of panel to access like the other doors he had seen up till now. He was about to knock when the door opened. Immediately in the doorway was a woman dressed in a white skin-tight suit of some sort, made up of hexagons. She was one of the most beautiful women Snake had seen, with raven-black hair and an almost artificially perfect face. Age and heartache of his own had dulled his reactions to such things.

The woman did not smile on seeing him, yet did seem satisfied that he had made it to her. "You're here, get in. We have to discuss how we're getting off this station," she curtly ordered.

"Wait, there are questions I need answered before I go any further. Who are you, where are we? Why are these soldiers after me?" Snake pressed. It was the most words he'd said since waking, and he winced at the soreness of his throat.

The woman narrowed her eyes, annoyed at Snake's refusal to comply. "We don't have time for twenty questions. I'll answer what I can in time, but for right now we have more pressing matters. We can escape from this station, there's a small hangar meant for a patrol craft that can get us out of here. Once I start the launch process, they are going to know where we are. It will take a few minutes to align everything properly and start the shuttle, and in that time some patrols will be get here. I need you to hold them off while I finish the process. I'd ask Agent Taylor to do it but…" she gestured behind her to a man with dark skin propped against the security terminal. He nodded to Snake in greeting, "Sorry, I can't do it myself. I got hit and Miranda won't let me go out there with you to fend them off."

The woman, Miranda, shoots him a glare at that and points at the emplacement behind Snake. "Take up that position, you should have good enough cover and enough ammunition to keep them off our backs."

Snake nodded to her, "Alright, but you are going to answer my questions once we're out of here."

Miranda nodded, "I'll answer what I can, now go!"

Snake stepped back out of the door and over towards the emplacement. It seemed very different from what he was used to, but once it activated and unfurled its controls, it's mechanics became obvious to him. Same as the machineguns mounted on the sides of Pequod for all intents and purposes.

It was only about thirty seconds until the door leading to the emplacement began sparking at its outline. They were cutting the door open, then they would probably try to follow up with a flash grenade so they could rush in without being suppressed. Snake was ready though, and covered his eye with his arm. The door was blown off its hinges and a grenade followed shortly after. When the soldiers came to rush in, they were shot to bloody pieces by the mounted gun above them.

Snake's ears were still ringing, but his eye worked well enough to keep anyone from getting into the room. From the door the soldiers had an awful angle on his emplacement, so the only way to press forward was to either keep throwing in flash grenades and hoping Snake would be blinded by one of them, or rush the stairs and hope at least one of them could get close enough to keep Snake from killing them.

Being rational and reasonable creatures, the soldiers promptly threw another flash grenade in, though due to the higher position Snake held it did little to affect his vision. Snake could hear them reporting, "-have a mounted gun, and we can't assault its position with what we have… Squad six had heavy weapons, right? Get them down here!"

Snake kept on the trigger, until he saw Miranda carrying Taylor on her shoulder while trying to flag him down out of the corner of his eye. He left the turret which ceased its endless barrage of firepower and ran into the security station over to Taylor's other side. Miranda slams on the terminal, sealing the door behind Snake. With both of them carrying Taylor, they hurried into the shuttle, a strange and boxy-looking craft with no visible wings or rotating blades. More fancy technology, thought Snake as Miranda left Taylor with him and ran into the front of the craft. Snake lowered Taylor into a seat and let him strap himself in while Snake followed his movements in the seat next to him.

The hangar sealed itself off from the station and opened its other door into the void of space. Snake felt a lurch as the shuttle lifted and shot out into the blackness of space, but remained strapped into his seat. Snake couldn't see what was going on, and thought that whatever gave this shuttle any lift sure made for a smooth flight.

Miranda's voice sounded from the front of the shuttle, "We're free and clear. These shuttles are rated for stealth, so we should avoid scans. If we continue to put distance between us and the station, it will be unlikely that they can find us. I'm taking us to a rendezvous point where we will be picked up by a larger Cerberus vessel."

Snake looked over towards the cockpit, where Miranda was coming out of. Taylor had unstrapped himself from his seat, so Snake did likewise. "We should have some time until then, right? I still have questions."

Miranda sat across from Snake, balancing her elbows on her knees while bringing her hands together, "Yes, I'm certain you have plenty of questions. I'm not at liberty to answer everything, but what I know I'm allowed to tell you I will."

Snake frowned at that. Secrets, already. It was like the false memories he had of working alongside Cipher. Still, any information at this point was crucial. The situation had clearly altered drastically from what he knew. "Those soldier, do they work with Cipher?"

Miranda laughed gently behind her hand. It was a gentle yet condescending act, but Snake wasn't sure she even meant it to be condescending. He was beginning to get the idea this Miranda thought a lot of herself. "Cipher had been gone for a long time now, Boss. These are soldiers of the Systems Alliance, the government that rules over most of humanity. They've been tracking you for a while now, a mole in our staff leaked information that we were trying to revive you. They didn't want you are anyone like you returning to the living right now, so they tried to kill you before you could come back. But they failed." She seemed satisfied about that. From what Snake saw and heard, the soldiers there were well-trained and equipped. Any security short of an abnormally well-armed PMC wasn't going to stop them. That she was able to get him out at all indicated her competence, maybe her arrogance was at least partly well earned.

"Okay, then what is going on? What happened to Outer Heaven, and how am I still alive?"

Miranda nods, a question she had an answer for, "Outer Heaven was destroyed in an explosion, but not before agents working for Cipher recovered you and put your body in cryogenic stasis. They planned to use you like they had used Big Boss when they help him. Only Cipher and the Patriots that ran them fell several years later, due to an incident involving Solid Snake and Revolver Ocelot."

Snake's eye widened in recognition. So that kid managed to do it, and Big Boss's plan worked out. If that was true, what was he doing still alive? "Wait, how long ago did this all happen? What year is it?"

Miranda straightened herself, as though bracing to deliver some strong news, "The year is 2185, mankind has spread to the stars. War didn't end with Cipher though, and that's why we still need legends like you Boss. To fight impossible battles, and win against impossible odds, just like you did in Diamond Dogs almost two-hundred years ago."

Snake sat back, his eye narrowing as he processed Miranda's words. It was far too outlandish to be a complete lie, but… "You can't be serious. Almost two-hundred have passed? You can't expect me to believe that."

"It's true, if it means anything more coming from me too," Taylor piped up from beside Snake.

Miranda rolled her eyes, annoyed by Snake's stubbornness. "If you won't believe what I tell you, why bother asking me anyway? Isn't the technology around you proof enough?"

Snake rubbed his chin with his good hand, weighing the evidence he'd seen against the outrageous this woman appeared to be making. It was true that their weapons and much of the facility had tech that didn't exist in his time, or at least was not nearly as widely available. Something about the all their weapons was different too, instead of regular bullet contrails they streaked in colours. A lot was different, but nearly two-hundred years worth of difference, it was hard to determine based on what he's seen alone.

"Well, it doesn't really matter if you believe me now. Once we get to the rendezvous point, my boss will have more than enough proof for you" Miranda sighed.

"Your boss?"

"Yes, a man known as the Illusive Man. He was the one that funded the project to bring you back. He has an offer for you and I'm bringing you to him so he can make it."

"The Illusive Man, huh? Must not be popular with your Systems Alliance."

Miranda chuckled, "You have no idea. They've been on his case for years, but he's been ten steps ahead everytime."

It reminded Snake of Cipher. A puppeteer working behind the scenes, manipulating everything to their own ends. How many soldiers had died for this mastermind's ambitions? The thought wiped any lingering positive thought from Snake's head. If this kind of person wanted Snake, no, Big Boss, then it wouldn't be to do good deeds. It's be to kill and to destroy.

That was a path and a life Snake had died from and left. He had lost everything so many times, how could he be so foolish as to walk it again? "Whatever your boss is offering, I'm not interested. The war apparently ended for me a long time ago, whatever he wants from me he's going to have to get somewhere else."

Miranda seemed nonplussed by Snake's flat-out rejection, "I have a good feeling you'll be interested in what he has to say. Just hear him out, he can't make you do what he wants and if you're so confident he can't get you to do what he wants, you can just walk away."

Snake doubted that anyone knowledgeable enough to find him and wealthy enough to restore him would waste all that time and influence by allowing him to walk away. At this point, with the situation as it was, there was nothing to do but see this Illusive Man.

"Alright. I'll see your boss, this Illusive Man. Maybe there's still a reason for an old demon like me to stick around," Snake grumbled. Honestly he doubted it, with everything he's lost it felt like he could never truly have anything ever again. The fires of Outer Heaven had burned away the last of his soul, the last vestige of purpose he held. At the time it had been a mercy, Snake had never believed in an afterlife but even a shred of hope in seeing Quiet and all the Diamond Dogs again was enough to warm his soul as he passed.

Miranda nodded, "We have a few hours until we reach the rendezvous point, I'm going to see to agent Taylor, and then you'll allow me to check you over, you weren't supposed to be up and about for another two weeks, much less trapiasing around a warzone."

Snake nodded dully and took off his gown, revealing the compression shorts that were the only other clothing he wore. Snake found himself dozing as Miranda finished with Taylor and began poking and prodding his scars, asking how he felt. He was sure he hadn't been ready for what he had demanded of his body, and now exhaustion was catching up with him.

When he next opened his eyes, Miranda was shaking him awake. Every soldier's talent for sleeping in any conditions had kicked in, but now it was time to move. The shuttle had docked with a larger ship, Snake did know anything about their typing or tonnage, but it was big enough to have its own hangar. On board this new ship, Snake was given a new body suit. Unlike his old sneaking suit, it was bulkier, with some type of metal plating. It's lightweight surprised Snake, but regardless how heavy it was something this big would be impossible to sneak around in. Along with the new suit Snake was given a jumpsuit to wear underneath it, along with a single outfit to wear outside of combat. Snake couldn't remember the last time he had worn anything other than his combat gear or military dress uniforms, so it was strange to be wearing a button down and suit-pants with loafers instead of combat boots.

The halls of this ship were not much different from the corridors and storage rooms of the station he had woken on, only bearing none of the scars of battle. Snake was kept from most people on board the ship at Miranda's insistence. Something about compartmentalization, Snake was too tired to pay much attention. He slept for most of that ship's journey as well, it felt as if his soul longed for the eternal rest of death once again, to never march into hell as he had done so many times before.

When next he woke, it was a bandaged Taylor that woke him. It was time to meet the man behind it all.