Not too much say here. Update of the story you probably weren't hoping for, but hopefully pleased to see. Sorry about the slow update on "He Who Guards the Avengers". The next chapter is refusing to be written and I have less time to write thanks to a promotion at work. But it will be written! And it will be posted! Hopefully soon. Until next time!

Chapter 2

It was pain that slowly aroused Big Boss from unconsciousness. It was dull at first, distant, like a day-old bruise that's almost healed. But as he slowly began to wake up, it quickly became unbearable, like someone was beating his head with a hammer.

Groaning, he clutched his head with his right hand while his prosthetic left pushed him to his knees. Taking a few deep breaths and pressing where his head throbbed the hardest, it eventually subsided, returning to a dull ache he could easily ignore.

Shaking his head of any lingering pain, Big Boss forced his eyes open and looked around. To his shock, and everlasting relief, Mother Base looked to be in one piece. From the way everything had begun to creak and groan before the tear…the tear!

Big Boss' head shot up, looking for the tear in the sky, and was partially relieved to see nothing but clear skies, and partially horrified to see it was night. But it wasn't the fact that it was night that horrified him so, it was the moon; more specifically, it was the massive scar that crossed almost the entire width of the moon.

"What the hell?" he said to himself.

Shortly after tearing his eyes away from the scarred "moon", if it could be called that since it looked to be much bigger and closer than a moon should be, Big Boss started wandering Command Platform 1 looking for anyone else. It didn't take him long to find some of the staff that were stationed on this platform, with one problem; they were lying on the ground, immobile.

Fortunately, they were not dead, seemingly unconscious, like he must've been before he woke up. Big Boss winced, pitying them for the intense headache they had coming. After rousing a few awake and making sure they were alright, Big Boss moved through the rest of Command Platform 1.

As the hours passed, and night turned into day, most of Mother Base was awake and functional again. One by one, every soldier on Mother Base woke up, felt like the morning after shore leave, and then fought through the pain to salute their Boss.

Standing on the large open space of Command Platform 2, Big Boss, the recently found and recovered Ocelot and Miller, stood above a large crowd of their fellow soldiers, the rest packed onto the connecting bridges and the closest nearby platforms. They were all afraid, confused, and they were looking to their leaders for answers.

A raise of his prosthetic hand quietly ordered silence from the crowd below, and they all quickly obeyed.

Speaking through Mother Base's intercom system, Big Boss began. "I understand that you're all confused as to what happened. Some of you may even be afraid. I can't blame you for that. This is not something any of us could ever have been trained for. But we are Diamond Dogs, the best soldiers the world has to offer. Are we going to be reduced to a bunch of trembling greenhorns?!"

They all knew what the right answer to say was, but it was also their honest one. They were all taken in, trained, and fought under the Big Boss himself. There was no way they were going to let him down now.

"Sir, no, sir!" was the collective answer.

"Alright," he said. "We may have been knocked off our feet, but we're going to come up swinging. Until further notice, everyone return to your designated platform and resume your regular duties. In 12 hours, I want Mother Base to be at peak operating capacity. All platform commanders are expected to submit hourly progress reports to Miller until then. Ocelot will be taking volunteers to survey the platforms support struts. Dismissed."

Everyone that was present, and everyone elsewhere on base, saluted him before scurrying about, returning to their duties. AS the crowd dispersed, Big Boss turned to his two lieutenants to measure their state of mind. While they both were clearly pleased to see him taking charge in this uncertain time, he could see something else there.

"What?" he demanded.

Though they were startled, they knew he was calling them out on it.

Miller spoke first. "Just…amazed, by you and them. You're probably the only thing keeping them from falling apart and you barely seem…affected. We could be in purgatory for all we know. Hell, what we know could fit on a napkin."

"Well," Ocelot said, "we should start coming up with ideas on how to rectify that."

"You have any ideas?" Big Boss asked.

"A few, but they all rely on knowing where we are. A quick glance around and all I can tell you is that we're still in the middle of an ocean."

Letting out a deep breath of annoyance, Boss said, "Okay, we're just going to have to focus on the here and now until we can figure that out. Ocelot; get that team together and give me a report on the support struts ASAP. Miller; get to the Intel platform and get our satellite connections back online so we can have an idea of where we are. While you're there, also run a scan for any communications or transmissions sent in the area that aren't us."

"Got it, Boss." Miller said. "What'll you be doing?"

"Touring the base, keeping in view of the men. Morale's on a knife's edge and we need them to stay busy. I'll be heading to the Support Platform first. I want an inventory of everything we have, everything that made it."

"Understood. We'll get right on it." Miller and Ocelot saluted before leaving to fulfill their duties, leaving Big Boss alone to, for the hundredth time, ponder what the hell happened; what that tear was, what caused it, and where did it take them. Somehow, Big Boss knew they weren't where they were before, and he could only hope wherever they were now, was a little better than where they came from.

Shaking the sappy thoughts from his head, Big Boss headed to the Support Platform 1. Most of the jeeps and trucks designated safe for travel among Mother Base were in use, which left him with walking there. Not that he minded, it gave him time to think. As he walked along the mile-long bridge, Boss thought about the events that led up to this: Skull Face's defeat, Eli stealing Sahelanthropus…Quiet leaving.

Her words were imprinted in his mind, and the tape she left a constant burden he carried with him.

He had known who she was the whole time.

From the second he gotten a good up-close look at her defenseless form when they first confronted each other in Afghanistan, he knew who she was: the assassin sent to kill him back in that hospital in Cyprus. She strangled the nurse and the doctor who saved him, likely killed other innocent people in the hospital before reaching him, would have killed him without a second thought, and, if it weren't for Ishmael (the REAL Big Boss), she would've succeeded.

And yet, when he had her at his mercy, he couldn't pull the trigger. He didn't see an enemy in her, as much as he would've been right to. He saw a fellow soldier, taken advantage of and then discarded. He hadn't known Skull Face's plan for her then, but he knew she was now disposable to him. If she died by his hands or not, it likely would not have mattered in the long run to that monster.

So he tried to save her, take her home and prove to her that he wasn't whatever skull Face brainwashed her into believing. Over time, after saving each other's lives dozens of times in the field, they formed a bond. And somewhere along the way, when he wasn't paying attention, those feelings of trust turned into something…more.

But she was gone before he could muster up the courage to voice those feelings.

He could only hope now that she knew.

He was snapped out of his thoughts upon reaching the Support Platform. Men and women rushing back and forth, shouting numbers and supply types at each other, all trying to fulfill his orders to the best of their abilities.

His presence must not have been noticed yet; a group of nearby soldiers were huddled together around a crate of ammunition, idly taking stock but more embroiled in their conversation.

"What the hell do you think happened to us?"

"I've got no fucking idea!"

"Do you think we're dead? Are we in heaven?"

"Calm down, guys. The Boss is going to figure this out, you'll see. We'll be fine."

Smirking, he decided to have a little fun with them. Silently stepping up behind them, he said, "I'm going to do everything I can to figure this out." His words startled them, moving them to snap to attention. "But in order to do that, I'm going to need to know everything we have."

"Yes, Boss!" they collectively answered.

"So, don't you think I need to know how much ammunition is in that crate you're all crowded around?"

"Yes, Boss!" was their reply before scrambling to continue working, twice as hard now that they knew he was around.

Shaking his head in amusement, Big Boss continued on his way, looking for the Platform commander.

Though he appreciated their faith in him, privately, he wished they would give him less of it. He knew he was going to do everything he could to figure out what happened, they knew he would, but there was always the chance of failure. No matter how remote for someone like the Legendary Soldier, failure was not an unknown feeling. And this wasn't exactly a typical situation where a bit of recon could tell them how to fix everything.

For all he knew, they were on an alternate fantasy version of Earth.

The day was ending when Big Boss received the call. He was helping load a crate of fuel supplies onto a cargo truck when his earpiece crackled in his ear, signaling an incoming call. Hitting the side of the truck, which then sped off, Big Boss answered.

It was Miller. "Boss, we've got an update for you, but you're not going to like it."

"Just give it to me straight, Miller. Are we in hell?"

Silence reigned over the intercom as Miller seemed to process what he said. "Boss…was that a joke?" He could feel the disbelief in his voice.

Another few seconds of silence passed as Big Boss formulated a response. "Won't be trying that again. Anyway, what's the update?"

"We've been attempting to reconnect with our satellite system to try and get a fix on our location, but so far there have been no responses. Same deal with any messages we've sent out, radio or otherwise."

"Are we being jammed? Has our location been compromised?" Big Boss congratulated himself on keeping the alarm out of his voice.

'That's the thing, Boss. It doesn't look like it. Even if there was a jammer powerful enough to disrupt all communication going back and forth from Mother Base, there would at least be some kind of signal. Here, there isn't. In fact, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that there are no satellites, or anything else, out there that can receive it."

Silence stretched for several moments before Big Boss responded. "Shit."

"Yeah, shit. Anyway, with satellites out of the picture, at least until we can build and launch one, we had to come up with an alternative. Come back to the Command Platform 1 as soon as you can. The sooner we get things moving, the better."

"I'm on my way."

"A drone? That's what you came up with?"

"Well, it's better than nothing." Miller defended. "We need solid intelligence on our surroundings. For God's sake, we don't even have enough information to give an accurate weather report, Boss. Besides, there's no risk to any of our men here. We need to know as much as we can before we even think about sending anyone out again. For all we know there might not be any land within a hundred miles of us."

"Well, if that's the case, looks like both our jobs had some success." Ocelot said, entering the room with his usual confident gait.

"How do you mean?"

"Whatever that…thing was that brought us here, it didn't seem to touch the base itself. Actually, we didn't find any indication that we moved at all."

"How is that possible?"

"I don't know, but the support struts haven't been touched, we're firmly attached to the ocean floor, and if it was all built as well as I think it was, it'll be ten years before we even have to worry about reinforcement. Let's be thankful for small miracles."

Big Boss scoffed. "Small miracle, right. Anyway, Miller," the man straightened as he was being addressed, "how long would it take to get a UAV into the air and back with intel about our surrounding area."

"I'll have detailed images of the surrounding area, as well as the location of the nearest land mass, within 12 hours, Boss."

"Then you better get this plane up in the air ASAP, Miller." The man saluted and left to do so. "Ocelot, prep a chopper for immediate deployment. As soon as Miller gets some solid intel, I want to move on the nearest landmass and find out where the hell we are. But before you do that, make sure we're radio capable. No point going out there if we can't relay back what we learn."

"Understood. I'll get right on it. What'll you be doing in the meantime?"

"…Doing my role. After all, I am Big Boss, aren't I?"

"What the hell am I looking at, Miller?" Boss demanded to know.

"I would very much like to know the same thing, Miller." Ocelot chimed in.

"Alright, guys, I'm really not appreciating this two-pronged approach you're pulling here. This is what the drone brought back. It has the highest-quality lens camera we have, solar panels built into the upper part of the drone's chassis, so it charges during flight, and there was absolutely no jamming or tampering with the feed of any kind."

Upon receiving Miller's message that the drone had taken over two dozen high-resolution pictures of Mother Base and everything in a 50-mile radius of them, using three different kinds of high-resolution imaging technology including thermal. The results were being displayed through a projector onto a white wall. They were…informative, and they would've even admired their detail, if the trio weren't so busy being horrified by what they saw.

Before their…relocation, Mother Base was located off the coast of South Africa; roughly 2,700 miles from land. Far enough to be safe, but still close enough to not be completely cut off from the world.

That wasn't the case with where they found themselves situated now: in the middle of a body of water separating two different continents, one to the north and the other to the south. The body of water they were in the middle of was far too big to be any of the major rivers of the world they knew, too long to be a lake, and not big enough for a mediterranean sea like the similarly named Mediterranean.

"Well," Ocelot said as he examined one of the large-scale images the drone managed to capture, "I might not be an expert in geography, oh wait, I am. What the hell is that?"

"It's a part of the sea, flowing inland from a larger body to the east." Miller said. "If I remember my basic high school geometry, that's not part of any continent at any point in history."

Silence reigned as the implications set in. There wasn't anything to say that wasn't already flowing through the three men's minds: wherever they were, it likely wasn't Earth. At least, not the Earth they knew. And if that was true, this was a whole new ballgame.

"Now what?" Miller asked.

"Well, we can't simply decide to stay here on Mother Base for the rest of our lives." Ocelot said, pointing out the obvious. "We're not meant to be self-sustainable for long periods of time. Obviously, we've lost our supply lines, and with them, our monthly resupply of Mother Base. We've prepared for scenarios where we might be cut off for weeks at a time, but everything runs out eventually."

"Yeah. If the food supplies run out, we'll starve. If the water purification systems break, we'll die of dehydration. If we run out of fuel, Mother Base shuts down. If we run out of resources, daily operations, such as maintaining Mother Base in the face of the heartless ocean, stop. And if by some miracle none of that happens, eventually the men are going to get antsy. They're soldiers, every one of them. They need to feel useful; they need to be busy, but most importantly, they need to feel the earth under their feet every now and then. Mother Base is isolated for a reason, but it's a double-edged sword."

Snake scoffed. "Yeah. Who knew shore leave was actually important?" That got a chuckle out of the other two. "Alright, here's what we're going to do." He shuffled through the pile of images before placing the desired one on the projector. "According to the surveillance images, there are several densely populated areas along the coast to the south of us. But this area seems to be the densest."

Where he was pointed at was almost directly south of Mother Base, barely an hour's flight by chopper.

"It is situated along the coast," Ocelot said, coming up next to Big Boss to examine it more closely. "Could be a major city of some kind, or maybe even a capital. Might find someone of authority there, someone we can acquaint ourselves with."

Miller completed the trio, shuffling to the other side of Big Boss before the map. "Heh. One of the most powerful military factions of our world appearing before a people that hasn't even mastered electricity yet. We're the Romans, Snake, appearing before the barbarians for the first time."

Big Boss, or Venom Snake, smirked at the screen. "Hail, Caesar."

Since he had no idea what he was getting himself into, nor what he could possibly face in this strange new world, Venom Snake decided to play it safe with a loadout that would make any kind of fight quick and quiet.

On his hip would be his default assault rifle, an AM MRS-4 Grade 5, a weapon he constantly favored due to its incredible balance between range, accuracy, and easy use. While lacking a bit in stopping power, Big Boss had no intention of hunting for elephants.

Slung over his back was arguably one of Snake's most powerful conventional weapons: a Brennan LRS-46 Grade 10. Likely overkill for any ground forces but its proven ability to take down just about any armored target made it a valuable weapon. While Snake usually preferred to be quick and quiet with no sign he was ever there, which included not leaving dead bodies, he could not deny the value of this sniper rifle.

In a holster on his right hip was another weapon that had quickly grown to be one of his favorites: the WU Silent Pistol Grade 5; a manually-loaded tranquilizer gun with a built-in silencer that, while impractical as a combat weapon, proved to be one of his most reliable stealth tools.

And finally, Big Boss' bionic arm. Since the rescue of Smoking Gecko, AKA the defecting Soviet engineer who built his prosthesis, he had created a small arsenal of upgraded, more powerful variants. When he first got it, Big Boss was just happy to have an arm that worked. But after seeing the full potential of his Stun Arm and the Hand of Jehuty in action, well, it just made it a little easier to accept that he had lost his real one. For this mission, since he was venturing into unknown terrain, he decided to play it safe and selected his basic Bionic Arm.

With his weapons selected, it was time to choose the uniform. Recalling Miller's weather reports on the area, as well as the topographical images of the area they were aiming for, Big Boss settled on a set of Fatigues (NS), taking advantage of the camouflage designed to blend into greenery and sandy surfaces.

After zipping the suit on, strapping each weapon on its designated spot, and clipping his bag of Items and Support Weapons within reach on his back and making sure his Tools were secure on his body, Big Boss stood in his cabin on Mother Base in all his armored glory: a sight that has sent squads of the deadliest, most well-trained and armored soldiers from around his world running.

But as he stared at himself in his cabin's mirror, checking himself over one last time before venturing into the unknown, all Venom Snake could see was an imitation of the original: a stand-in for the show's true protagonist, a phantom of the real thing.

Thankfully, he was snapped out of his dark thoughts when a metallic tapping on his door was heard. "Snake?" he heard Miller's voice say through the door. "Chopper's prepped and ready to go."

Taking a deep breath and shaking the dark thoughts out of his head, Venom Snake nodded at nothing, steeling his nerves, and headed for the door.

As the two men headed for the elevator built because of Miller's handicap, he said, "Boss, you sure you want to go this alone?" Miller asked as he escorted him to the waiting chopper. "I'm positive I could find a few volunteers willing to venture into this new world with you."

"I have no doubt you could," Big Boss said as the two stepped off the elevator and turned for the helicopter pad. Adjusting the strap of the Brennan on his back, he said, "But it's too much as it is; everything that's happened. They need more time to adjust, to get used to everything. I want the Medical Team positive that the men will be ready for field work before we even think of sending them anywhere. The last thing we want is somebody dying in the field because they froze up. That's one of the reasons why I'm going alone; to get a feel for the world."

Just as they turned to corner to the helipad, Big Boss was surprised to see a small processional of his soldiers: lined up on either side of him at parade rest, creating a corridor leading directly to the helicopter. At the end of it, Ocelot stood waiting.

Though nothing changed about his outward appearance, internally, this little display meant the world to Big Boss, to Venom Snake. Even now, with everything that's happened, they still trusted him, they still respected him, and they were still willing to follow him to the gates of Hell itself. For someone dealing with personal struggles and an identity crisis, this was exactly what he needed, and he somehow felt Miller and Ocelot had something to do with it.

"They're all loyal to you, you know that, right?" Miller said as the two walked through the middle of the processional. "There's not a single man or woman on this base that wouldn't walk through fire if you ordered them to."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to something like that. The last thing I need on my conscious is sending our brothers and sisters off to die for nothing in a world that's not our own."

By the time those words left his mouth, the duo had reached the helicopter. It was only here that Big Boss noticed Ocelot geared up for the field, his favorite duster over his usual cowboy getup and he had an extra belt of ammunition for his revolvers tied opposite his usual one, forming a large "X" on his chest.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Miller demanded as they approached.

"Going out for groceries, Miller. Where do you think? You don't seriously think I'm going to let the Boss out there on his own, do you?" Ocelot said, a heavy amount of snark in his voice.

Sensing a fight brewing, Big Boss said, "Enough! Both of you! We have more important things to worry about." That shut the two up, though they still sent spiteful looks at one another.

"Well, if you're coming, then let's go." Snake said. "I want to reach land before nightfall."

"One more thing Boss." Miller said before he could get into the chopper. "We found someone huddled in a maintenance shaft on Command Platform 2. Looked like he was scared out of his mind because of the…relocation."

Concern in his voice, Big Boss asked, "Who is it?"

Rather than answer, Miller turned to the other end of the processional of soldiers and whistled. Barely a second later, the patter of familiar overeager footsteps could be heard approaching.

"Oh, no," the Legendary Soldier said with genuine dread in his voice. "It can't be…"

"It is," Ocelot confirmed after moving a safe distance to the side.

Bounding around the corner before charging straight down the processional toward its master was none other than DD himself. The large, grey wolf/dog hybrid with an eye patch did not stop for anything as it charged its master, determined to get the affectionate pets and rubs that were rightfully his.

Big Boss, for his part, managed not to instinctively raise a weapon, or even flinch, at the sight of the charging canine. At least until he was tackled hard enough by the flying furball that he landed on his back in the chopper. The next thing he knew, he was being attacked by a rough wet tongue and the smell of dog breath.

As Venom Snake fought off the attacks of the affectionate canine, the men and women watching were finding it difficult not to laugh at seeing their CO being unable to get a dog off him. Miller, for his part, managed to barely keep a smirk from escaping his face. Ocelot let out a chuckle before clicking his tongue to get DD's attention.

"DD, come." He ordered, fully expecting to be obeyed.

Ignoring the man who trained him, DD instead spared his master a further tongue lashing and jumped into the helicopter, taking up his usual seat just behind Pequod.

"DD," Ocelot repeated with a little more force, "come."

"He can come," Snake said. "He wants, needs to feel useful, and we might need him for scouting."

Turning to the crowd of soldiers who lined up at attention before him, Big Boss decided that something needed to be said.

"This isn't what any of you signed up for. I'm sure if I asked, many of you would say you joined Diamond Dogs to serve under me personally. Many of you have said as much in the past. But this is not what you had in mind. Nobody could fault anyone for panicking and deserting in these uncertain times. But you, everyone on Mother Base, has stood at your post and not fallen to fear. In my eyes, in my mind, you are the best soldiers a commanding officer could ask for. After everything we've accomplished, I have no doubt there is no obstacle, no challenge, we cannot overcome!"

The crowd of soldiers cheered, and Big Boss let them for a few seconds before raising his hand to silence them. "We made our mark on the world by proving ourselves as something greater than just another PF. We are Diamond Dogs, and we will be remembered!"

"Yeah!"

"We fight for you, Boss!"

"Nothing can stop us!"

"For Diamond Dogs!"

Big Boss raised his right arm in a fist and shouted, "For Diamond Dogs!"

"For Diamond Dogs!"

"For Diamond Dogs!"

"For Diamond Dogs!"

"You don't think the ending was a bit much?" Ocelot asked from his seat on the left group of seats on the helicopter.

The trio had departed Mother Base over an hour ago and not a word was passed between the two men, their pilot, nor their canine companion. Ocelot had spent his time, up until now, checking and rechecking his Tornado-6 revolvers. DD had taken up the seats opposite him and laid down for a quick nap.

Big Boss, from his spot in the center seat at the back of the helicopter, was going through various reports he had received since that morning but hadn't checked yet. Reports about the status of supplies at Mother Base, as well as estimates on how long until they run out of everything. The most optimistic gave them five months. The pessimistic…three.

"Maybe, maybe not," Big Boss said, looking up from his iDroid. "But it's like you always said, morale."

"Heh, yeah." Ocelot replied, twirling his one of his revolvers with a flourish before sliding it into place its holster.

"Three minutes to landfall, Boss!" Pequod called from the pilot's seat. "We're coming up on the shoreline. According to scans, about 3 kilometers south of the LZ is the targeted city."

"Make sure there's no one around us when we land," Ocelot ordered.

"Yes, sir!"

Two minutes and 39 seconds later, the helicopter reached the shore. Lowering itself close enough to drop off its passengers, blowing sand and various ocean debris away, the helicopter's left door slid open and Big Boss, Ocelot, and D-Dog dropped to the ground. Instinctively, the three readied themselves for anything; Big Boss bringing up his MRS, Ocelot readying his Tornado, and DD getting ready to pounce at a moment's notice.

"Good luck down there," Pequod called over the radio before lifting off. "Retreating to minimum safe distance, searching for secure LZ to land and conserve fuel."

"Roger, Pequod," Big Boss replied over the radio. "Stay safe."

"Yes, sir."

As the roar of the helicopter faded into the distance, the three outlanders kept their eyes trained on the tree-line ahead of them. Pequod had assured them the only signs of life nearby were various small animals, but this was still uncharted territory, literally.

After a few moments of silently staring down the trees, Big Boss quietly said, "Let's move out."

There were few things in life that truly surprised Flemeth anymore. When one lives as long as she has, genuine surprise becomes reserved for something truly unique and unexpected. Civil war? Yawn. Assassination of a king? Boring. The occasional… "visitor" she had in her cabin when her daughter became lacking in company? A little spice, but ultimately a moment's distraction.

But that day, when she felt the world change around her, it was something she had never felt before. Already interesting.

The following night she had a vision. They were not uncommon, but they were often vague and uninformative. This one wasn't.

An island made of metal secure in the middle of the sea.

An army of men and women, wielding weapons no nation today could ever hope to match.

And leading them, a man, or a demon, with a horn growing out of his head, whose appearance can change on a whim. A man not to be trusted, but who can save the world from the coming catastrophe.

The man in her vision was power, a kind she had never encountered, and she needed to know everything. And so, she had ventured out of her Wilds, leaving her latest daughter behind for the first time in her life. Arriving in her raven form, she perched on a high tree branch and waited. Her patience was well-rewarded in information on her quarry.

A distant whirring noise was what heralded his arrival. A noise she was certain no creature in the world made. Within seconds the source made itself known in the form of a flying metal construct. The various other lesser animal-life fled, but she remained, enraptured. A sliding door on its side opened and out came three individuals, two men and a dog.

The dog was of a breed she had never seen before, slightly larger than a mabari and a far different colored coat of fur. Where the average mabari is typically a various shade of brown or even black, this canine was grey on its back which lightened to white closer to its stomach. Also, where mabari were incredibly muscled, this one was lean but still powerful.

The first man she noticed wore a large brown coat over most of his body, so she could not discern his build nor what he was carrying on him. However, the way he was standing and the way his hands were placed, she assumed he was ready to draw a weapon at a moment's notice.

The third individual, the second man, was who she had really crossed Ferelden to see. Exactly as she had envisioned him, wielding several mechanical creations about his body, even his horn was exactly where she saw it. The demon had come into the world.

If she were in her human form, a smile would've broken out on her face.