Snake was the only one on his 'side' who dared to fight on the war torn minefield. There were gaping craters everywhere, but many mines still remained. Snake thought grimly about his 'side.' They were supposedly the good guys, but who were the good guys? The people that fight the bad guys? Who chooses the sides though? Both sides figured that they were the good guys.

Snake continued to walk the path, his lone wolf figure silhouetted against the fog of war that happens after every battle. The actual battlefield never changes, merely the number who die and how fast they die.

He walked carefully, avoiding all of the inch or so long nubs that pointed out of the ground, they indicated a landmine. He crossed across the plain, laughing quietly to himself. Everyone he knew that was his combat buddy bragged about how brave they were, how they would run into any field of fire. Yet, here he was, all alone, the only one who dared to take the dangerous shortcut.

He continued his meticulous stroll for several more minutes until he noticed a lone figure walking against him. He squinted, but the gun smoke hid the other soldier's features.

He knew that it was an enemy because no one on his side would have the balls to do anything that involved the words 'mine' and 'field.'

He crouched low, that did almost nothing, as it was a flat plain, but he did it anyway, out of sheer habit.

He continued his delicate dance amongst the mines. He could have pulled out his gun and blasted a few shots at the culprit, but one bad bullet and he was dead. Plus there was just something that told him not too. He knew damn well that he could have killed this assailant with one bullet, but…instinct was the only word, instinct told him not to shoot. He did pull out a small K-BAR knife, though, and walked silently towards the perpetrator.

Meryl hadn't noticed the foe until he had noticed her. She scolded herself silently, telling herself that she should have seen him faster. Should have seen whoever it was from a farther distance. She took out her M4A1 automatic rifle, and was going to shoot when she stopped. Her body screamed at her to shoot, just to pull the trigger, but something stopped her. The only logical explanation was that she thought that a bullet might ricochet off something and hit a mine, but she knew that that wasn't true. Her instinct told her not to. So, she didn't. Instead, she pulled out a knife, and walked toward the enemy.

Snake continued walking toward the enemy until they were about ten yards away. They both stopped, and the foe seemed to be staring at him. Neither could tell what the other person's face actually looked like, they both had hoods on.

Snake was the first to talk. "Seems like I ain't the only dumbass." His voice was computer filtered.
Though he couldn't tell, but would later say that he could sense it, he knew the other person was smiling.

It appeared that the enemy had the same technology, as its voice was filtered too. "No guns." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

Snake nodded regardless, and tossed his rifle into a nearby crater. He then took out his SOCOM pistol and tossed it in as well. Most people carried a third, and sometimes even a fourth gun—usually in their boots, but Snake only carried two. He figured that if anyone could dodge two clips of ammo, then he deserved to die. No one he had ever faced had withstood more than half a clip of his M4.

His enemy mimicked his actions. For a long time, which felt like a millennium to both, they did nothing. They just stood observing each other's fighting stances. Snake noticed something familiar in his enemy's stance, but thought nothing of it. Snake was the first to strike, jumping up, and landing dangerously amuck the mines.

Meryl hadn't expected such a quick attack and was forced to dodge; not just the blade but the ground as well. She had had good reflexes, but training had brought them to their full extent. But, even with her natural ability, she still had a hard time between the attacker and the mines. She got a hair's breadth away from a mine, but quickly recovered.

They painted a furious picture, both relentless when they attacked. Snake would almost get a stab in, only to have to get back on his toes again.

As they danced their vicious dance, the wind began to pick up.

It began slowly but surely, and after twenty minutes of their fighting, Meryl's hood came down.

Snake stopped fighting. Meryl was startled by the sudden halt to the battle that she almost stumbled onto a landmine. Snake reached out and grabbed her. "Meryl?" he asked.

Her hair had grown longer, and was a slightly different color, but other than that, she was the same.

"Is it really you?" he asked, more nervous by her presence than the fact that they were surrounded by landmines.

Her eyes narrowed. "How do you know my name?"

Slowly, Snake reached up to his hood. He wasn't sure if he wanted to do this, but he had to. He grasped his hood, and with one final sigh, pulled it down.

Her expression changed momentarily, to one of sadness and sorrow. It quickly returned to her perpetual frown. "What are you doing here?" she asked coldly.

He looked down at his boots. He knew it was dangerous to take his eyes off an opponent, but he knew that Meryl wouldn't attack him. "Fighting." His reply was simple, yet it seemed to echo in her head. That was the only thing he was good at.

"Why did you leave?" she asked.

After Shadow Moses, they had had one night together, but Meryl had awoken to an empty bed. No note, nothing.

Snake sighed heavily. "Why?" He laughed bitterly. "I was sure you would have figured it out. "I left 'cause I'm Solid-fucking-Snake. I didn't want to get you hurt. They didn't know that you were involved, but they knew I was. If you were with me, they'd kill you."

"Do you really think that I cared about that? I love—"

"Don't say it Meryl. DON'T FUCKING SAY IT!"

"I LOVE YOU!"

"Don't. 'Cause I don't love you. Goodbye Meryl." He started to walk away.

Meryl watched him go for a few seconds—which felt like an eternity to her, before chasing after him. "DON'T LEAVE LIKE THAT!"
Snake turned around. He looked at Meryl. He looked down at the ground in front of her. He saw a twig that she didn't. He saw her trip over it, and land right on a mine. He saw the look in her eyes as she landed on the mine.

His eyes widened, but he knew that there was nothing he could do. Instinct took over, and he jumped a few feet away.

Meryl knew she was going to die as soon as he tripped on the stick. But she needed Snake to know. Snake needed to know. She yelled out, "You have a son Sna—" before she was blown to oblivion.