Title: Atonement
Rating: This chapter is G rated.
Chapter: 5
Feedback: Review or e-mail synth3sis@yahoo.co.uk
Notes: Another short chapter. I PROMISE that the next chapter will actually get to the mission. To be honest, I wrote myself into a corner with the last one and had to get out of it. Got some great ideas in the process, though, which will definitely make it in later. As always, feedback is loved, enjoyed, and kept for all time. I also must apologize for the delay in this chapter; I've been ill the past couple of days but I'm trying hard to get on with it now. I may not always be able to post a chapter a day, especially when they get longer, so please bear with me and don't stop reading!

Chapter Five.

"So, when are we going to start this organization? We're wasting time." Snake complained gruffly, pacing the small hospital room where Otacon was recovering. Leon had perched himself on the chair at Otacon's bedside. Snake was tired of this same image, day after day; he actually wanted to get some work done.

Leon put a cup to Otacon's lips, "Drink this," he said, "It'll make you feel better."

"What is it?" Snake asked, constantly suspicious of Leon's intentions.

Otacon shoved the cup away, spilling the contents onto the bed, "Stop it!" he yelled, "Just stop it! I'm sick of seeing you fighting!" He slumped back on the bed, embarrassed by his outburst. Leon looked down at his feet, not knowing what to say. Snake knew one of them had to go; and he didn't want it to be him. He wanted to talk to Otacon…

Otacon seemed to share the same wish, "Leon… could you go for a while?"

Leon withdrew from the scene, but not before he gave Snake a look filled with hatred. Snake ignored it, and sat down next to Otacon as the door slammed behind them, signaling Leon's departure.

"I'm sorry, Snake," Otacon said, "It's just… You feel it too, don't you? Leon's not been the same man since you came along. At first, I thought it was just jealousy of our friendship, but it's something more…"

"You lied to me," Snake said, "You didn't tell me he was the former engineer of the new Metal Gear! What's going on, Otacon… I need answers." Snake's voice was gruff and held threatening undertones that made Otacon lower his head.

Following a suspicion, Snake put his hand in front of Otacon's face and moved it upward, and saw Otacon's eyes following it. So he could see!

"When did this happen, and how much can you see?" Snake asked, his voice now impatient and angry that his friend had lied to him not once, but twice.

"I'm sorry…" Otacon said, his voice sad and low, "I wanted to delay your mission, while I found out what Leon was up to… I thought the best way of achieving that was to continue to feign blindness. I've screwed up, Snake, and I need your help…"

"I'm not here to solve your personal problems!" Snake replied gruffly, "I'm here to get rid of Metal Gear, and if that means I have to go on a mission with someone who is obviously a spy, I'll take that chance. Stop hiding in this bed and help, or stay away!"

"I can't stay away," Otacon said, "I still love him…"

Oh brother… Snake thought to himself, this isn't gonna be easy…

^*^

Three hours later, they were in a hotel room, planning out the anti-Metal Gear organization with their supposed spy. Otacon had discharged himself from the hospital saying he had partial vision, and they'd made a plan between them; they'd go along with Leon, go on the mission, and do the best they could despite the possible betrayal they faced. At the very least, Leon would lead them to Metal Gear; it would be their job to destroy it without being killed themselves. They both knew the job carried a lot of risk, but Otacon was desperate to know the truth about Leon, and Snake was anxious to get Metal Gear dealt with before it was mass-produced.

"So, do you have anyone else you wish to include in the organization? It seems a bit strange making an organization with three people," Leon said.

Otacon looked at Snake; he had someone in mind, too. He looked at Leon, and Leon gave him a reassuring smile.

"Yeah, there's a friend of mine called Mei-Ling – she created the Codec system and the Soliton radar system Snake uses on his missions," Otacon said, inwardly cursing himself for giving out unnecessary information. He needed to train himself not to trust Leon, but it was hard after having trusted him with so much of himself. The memories were painful now, and he found it hard to believe what he and Snake had been thinking. When Leon smiled, he felt like he'd betrayed Leon, not the other way around.

"Anyone else?" Leon asked.

"Well, there's a few people I know from the military who might like to help… if they're still alive," Snake suggested, "Apart from that, I think we should keep this operation small, in order to lower the chances of infiltration." He was even as he spoke the words, with just a little suspicious overtone to make it sound like he suspected Leon, but no more. Otacon was impressed by his show, but Snake felt like he was in a performance, and that Leon was pulling the strings.

"We'll have the mission ready in 2 days," Snake stated, "We're not waiting any longer than that for anybody. We've waited long enough for Otacon to recover, and can't afford to lose any more time."

"You got it, boss," Leon said, and Snake grunted. He hated being called "boss". Otacon, seeing the scowl on Snake's face, chuckled, and for a second it seemed like nothing was wrong.

Otacon wanted that second to last forever.

^*^

"Brief me one more time," Snake insisted. The mission was about to start, and he needed to absorb as much information as possible before he left.

"Well," Leon said, "The target is a base on a small island in the Pacific which is owned by a millionaire named Peter Steinberg. He is hosting the Metal Gear project on his island in return for a sizeable amount from the United States government, and hiring the best scientists around to work on it. The complex there was custom built to develop and manufacture Metal Gear and its components, and has high security fences. Furthermore, the soldiers are using a prototype microchip implant to increase their senses and make them one hundred percent loyal. This technique was secretly developed just a few years ago by DARPA, after seeing the problems soldiers faced in the second Gulf war."

"So why weren't you fitted with one?" Snake asked, hoping to make Leon squirm.

"I'm not military. I was a civilian scientist hired to work on the project. But it got too much… They expected us to do terrible things… I don't want to talk about it." Leon looked as though he'd been given a slap in the face, and for a second Snake wondered exactly what he was hiding.

"I'm going into this. I need to know what I face, Leon. Otacon's going to be there beside me, facing the same dangers. If you have something to say, spit it out." Snake hated using Otacon as blackmail, but he needed to know the truth, if it was possible to wean it out of Leon.

"The pilot of Metal Gear has to hold a certain genetic pattern to operate it. We made it that way so nobody can steal this Metal Gear. They…we… cloned perfect pilots, but most of them died rather quickly. So many… dead clones… dead people…" Leon shuddered, "I don't know what you'll find there now, it's been a while, but be careful."

Snake decided he'd heard enough and called an end to the final briefing. The idea of human clones freaked him out, due to his own past. He'd faced the Genome soldiers at Shadow Moses, but they were simply normal soldiers with enhanced senses to detect intruders. Human clones… more clones of Big Boss? Would there be more "family" to come out of the woodwork? Snake was tired of family reunions. Liquid had been quite enough for a lifetime.

As he packed his trusty SOCOM for the mission he saw Leon and Otacon kissing passionately, groping each other like it was the last time they'd meet. Otacon hadn't ended his relationship with Leon; it would only arouse suspicion if he did, and Snake knew that Otacon loved him, as much as he suspected him. Snake wondered whose side he would choose if it came down to it: his or Leon's?

The thought disturbed him long after he slept, bringing dark memories to the surface and giving him nightmares of losing the only person he could call "friend".