Chapter Two

"What the..." Snake breathed as he found himself standing at the foot of a pathway. He looks around and sees no walls, no ceiling, nothing, just this pathway, twisting and turning through the nothing. As if out of nowhere a weak, near-dead voice all around him suddenly proclaimed:

"I've seen true evil. You Snake. You're just like the Boss...No, you're worse."

"Mantis?!" Snake looked around but saw nothing, only heard the remnants of an echo.

He felt an urge to start walking this path, as to why: he did not know. As he was about to place his foot on the path and take the first step he suddenly heard a booming voice:

"The path you walk on has no end. Each step you take is paved with the corpses of your enemies... Their souls will haunt you forever... you shall have no peace..."

"Raven...?!"

As Snake's foot lands on the path it suddenly begins shining brilliantly. Snake looks away and upon looking back he sees his foot resting on a pane of glass, under which a deceased Genome solider lies in full combat dress. His eyes are open, yet he is not breathing or moving. Snake looks down the path and sees the same sight all the way down. Countless bodies, lying as if in a coffin, shoulder to shoulder with other anonymous soldiers.

"What the...hell..." Snake utters as he exhales. He begins walking down the path. Suddenly he spins around to see the glass above the soldier he just passed to have vanished and the soldier sitting up, starring at him. The soldier's face was gaunt and lifeless, his eyes stare straight into Snake's and yet straight past him. The soldier's body does not rise out of the mass-coffin but simply turns and faces Snake.

"Snake...my life was taken by your hands...with your bare hands you killed me...my soul traveled here and for eternity it shall remain...and for that same eternity I shall make certain your soul suffers the same as mine!" The soldier proclaimed in a voice that matched his face: lifeless, unbreathing, speaking directly to Snake but sounding as if speaking to nobody at all.

At this Snake became petrified, he realized where he was, or at least what this was. These were the people he had killed. Those whom had died by his hands. The soldier started to try and get out of the coffin and Snake started walking backwards away from this. As he did the next soldier got up.

"Our blood shall forever be on your hands, our deaths always on your mind, and our souls sucking the life out of you day by day until the end of time!" The nameless soldier proclaimed in the same lifeless tone. Walking faster down the path Snake saw the soldiers he passed by doing the same as the first two.

"You can never escape your past, and you can never escape us!" Snake was now running down the path.

"Flight is futile! Your path of damnation goes on forever!" Running faster still.

"Your suffering shall never end! NEVER!" Sprinting faster than he ever knew he could.

Snake was then suddenly surprised, and even more frightened. He heard his own voice echoing all around him, encompassing him as if being mummified in it: "Killing is one of those things that gets easier the more you do it..."

"No! NO!! This can't be happening!!" Snake screamed as he ran down the path. The soldiers underneath him continued standing up as he passed them by. They did not give chase but simply stood up shrieking at him. Again his own voice as heard: "Besides, some people just need killing..."

"Oh God no!! No! Oh please, no" Snake implored, to whom he did not know. Maybe to himself, maybe to the dead all around him. Snake continued running down the path and still the dead rose from their graves and sent their damnation after him. He could see the different uniforms of all the different soldier he had killed. Those from Zanzibar, Outer Heaven, Shadow Moses and the Big Shell.

Upon looking down the path, Snake noticed a gap, and a temporary end to the soldiers underneath him, at the other end of the path more soldiers lay. It seemed as he could jump across it, but as he lunged and felt his feet leave the ground the gap widened and his hands barely caught hold of the ledge. He felt his fingers slipping, sweat started running down his hands, his fingers were getting slippery, he knew he couldn't hold on much longer. There was nothing underneath the path to grab onto with his legs, he vainly tried pulling himself up but only made his grip loosen even more. Finally he felt his grip go out completely and he felt himself fall through the never ending nothing of this space.

He fell for what seemed forever and then hit what felt like the ground with a heavy thud. He groped the ground, and then stood up. As he did so a brilliant light surrounded him. As his eyes adjusted to the light he saw where he was. He was in a cemetery, a small four grave cemetery. There was a grave in front of him, to his left, right and behind him. He approached the grave in front of him and saw the name engraved on it: Grey Fox.

"Fox..." Snake said to the fallen friend he knew lay beneath him.

As he got closer to the grave a hand was thrust up out of the ground. It was followed by and arm, shoulder head and then body. Snake realized who it was. It was Grey Fox standing in front of him. But Snake realized it wasn't. He was in the same lifeless state as the soldiers above.

"Now in front of you. I can finally die. After Zanzibar, I was taken from the battle neither truly alive nor truly dead... an undying shadow in the world of lights. But soon... soon. It will finally... end."

"Fox...not again..." Snake desperately pleaded with the ghost of his friend who stood before him.

Suddenly Grey Fox's body crumpled and fell to the ground limp. Snake rushed forward and caught it and lay it gently on the ground.

"Fox...no!" Snake screamed at the lifeless body. His body ached with sorrow at seeing his best friend die again before his eyes, and again not fulfilling his friend's last wish. Snake got up and went to another grave. As he read the name he collapsed on the ground with grief: Meryl Silverburgh.

"No...MERYL!! NO!!" Snake sobbed as he approached the grave. He knelt down and touched the ground above her body. "Why...why...?" He heard his own voice again;

"I gave into my fear. I gave into my pain. I sold your life to save my own... I'm a loser. I'm not the hero you thought I was. I'm nothing! Meryl, I'm sorry! Forgive me..." When he heard this he clenched his fists and smashed them into the ground.

"DAMN!!" He screamed. He looked up and on the other side of the grave he saw Meryl's dead body. "MERYL!" He ran over to it and picked up her head shoulders. Her head fell limp and he dropped her body and backed away. "It's my fault...all my fault..."

"... you might still be able to save her. You could enjoy one brief moment of love..." Liquid's voice echoed all around him. He looked behind him and saw him standing over the third grave.

"YOU! YOU BASTARD! THIS IS YOUR FAULT!" Snake screamed as his grief turned to pure hatred for the man standing in front of him. He lunged at Liquid who grabbed his arm threw him over the gravestone. Snake got up and again approached Liquid.

"So the Snake's finally come out of his hole? Are you ready now...my brother?"

"DAMN YOU!" Snake said as he threw a punch at Liquid. Liquid knocked Snake's fist to the side and lands a punch to his stomach. Snake recovers from this quickly, his rage cannot allow himself to feel pain. He lunges at Liquid and throws a kick towards Liquid's side. Liquid doesn't react fast enough and the kick knocks him to the ground. Snake approaches him and smashes his head to the ground with his elbow. Liquid gets up and approaches Snake. Liquid fakes a punch from the right and bring his left hand up towards Snake's jaw. Snake dodges this and brings his leg straight up into Liquid's elbow, the sound of bone breaking fills Snake's ears.

Now fighting with one arm, Liquid approaches Snake again. Snake goes to kick Liquid on his left side but at the last moment brings his right leg up, spins in the air and kicks the right side of Liquid's head, throwing him to the ground.

"You haven't lost your touch, I see..." Liquid says tauntingly to Snake. Snake then rushes forward, and almost collides with Liquid's fist. However, Snake manages to grab Liquid's forearm, flip him over his shoulder and send him flying into the stone above Liquid's grave, the sound of cracking of the bone in Liquid's other arm and cracking stone is heard. As Liquid rises and recovers from the throw, Snake walks towards him slowly. Liquid throws a kick at Snake. Snake catches Liquid's leg under his shoulder, turns slightly, locking it in place and then smashes his elbow into Liquid's knee, dislocating it and sending Liquid to the ground above his grave.

"This isn't over...As long as you live, I live as well... I'm you. I'm your shadow, Snake! You can never escape your shadow!!" As Liquid says this the ground begins to swallow him up and suck him down into the grave. Snake pants as he recovers from the unexpected battle. He then notices the fourth grave. He goes over to it, afraid to see who's name the stone bears. He sees it and can't fathom it: Solid Snake.

"No, not yet! There's too much I have to do." Despite his saying this the ground begins swallowing him the same way it did Liquid. His feet go cold as they enter the ground, then his shins and his knees. He tries to move his legs, but he can't feel them. It's as if they're simply not there. When he's neck deep in the ground he hears a familiar voice.

"Snake? Snake?! SNAAAAAKE!!!" It was distant, and drowned out, but he recognized it as Otacon's voice. "SNAKE! WAKE UP!!"

Snake jumped back to consciousness and found himself in his apartment. He had fallen asleep on the couch, the cigarette butts still smoking in the ashtray.

"LIQUID!! HE'S ALIVE!!" Snake screamed.

"What...? Otacon asked very much nervously.

"Huh?...No...Nothing...Never mind."

"Okay...I got a call from somebody, they need our help."

"Who is it this time?"

"An old friend of yours," Otacon said some what mysteriously, automatically getting Snake's attention.

"...friend...?" Snake asked immediately recalling his dream.

"Umm...yeah...Roy Campbell." Otacon said, wary of Snake's current disposition. "Something the matter?"

"Yeah, weirdest dream I've had in a long time." Snake said suddenly avoiding the subject. "Well...What does Roy need?"

"He needs you...right away." Otacon went along with the subject change.

"For...what...?" Snake inquired yet again.

"Come on, we've got to get to the Fort." Otacon said, referring to Fort Bragg. "Campbell's waiting there. He'll fill you in."

"Blackhawk...?" Snake asked as he heard the rotor-blades of the helicopter coming closer to them.

"Yeah, up to the roof." Otacon motioned.

"Well...lets go then." Snake said as he went to the door, he grabbed a card key on the way out and once outside the door he swiped the card through a panel and a red light turned on signifying the door was locked. They got to the roof and several soldiers got out of the helicopter to meet them, they then climbed in. They felt the blades begin spinning faster and the resulting lift as they gained altitude and set off in the direction of the Fort. "I have a bad feeling that path is gonna get a bit longer..."

"What?" Otacon asked apprehensively.

"Nothing...don't worry about it."