Chapter 15 "Nitrogen"

"I have to bring him back…" Quiet is picking up Snake's unconscious body,

"No! Leave him around there, I need you for this!" He begins to open his eye,

"Qu Quiet?"

"Snake? I'm sorry…"

She's holding her lover in her arms,

"Snake, I'm sorry for this" she puts him leaning behind a metallic desk. As Quiet gets up Snake stops her by grabbing her arm.

"What's the delay, I need you here Eve!" the tired old voice shouts,

"No…Master he's awake!" Snake lets go of her arm,

"Eve?" Quiet steps back,

"My real name is Eve, Snake, I'm sorry I didn't tell you"

"I never asked, who is that yelling, his voice sounds familiar."

She looks back, struggling internally what to do; she looks at Snake again and decides to show him by helping him up from the floor.

When Snake takes a good look, he sees an elderly figure from behind sitting in a wheelchair, staring at the garden.

"You… Code Talker."

"Hmm..?" the elderly figure turns, it is indeed Code Talker, looking exactly the way he did 10 years ago.

"What's the meaning of this?"

"Snake… why look at you, you were supposed to die in that fortress of yours, and yet here you are, it was all because of me."

Snake stares at him in silence. "I had Eve here rescue you, so we could retrieve something very important..."

He then looks at Quiet while listening to Code Talker "She did all this under my orders, even she having the bed with you, it was all me"

"Master...no…it was all…"

"See Big Boss, we needed a fresh blood sample at first, and then after we found your blood was a match for Eve here. I ordered her to mate with you. You ever wonder how you got cured from your wounds after the fortress explosion? I injected some parasites in you so you could heal. Sure, your treatment wasn't as strong as Eve's here, but it was enough to make you a functional human being, it even rejuvenated you a bit, you never bothered to look at a mirror? You look exactly the way you did when I met you."

"Why did you do this?"

"For master's revenge…" says Quiet looking down in embarrassment. "Yes... revenge, it was because of that Skull Face."

"Skull Face? What did he do you this time?"

"He killed my entire people a few years after his death, he had left a squad in charge of tracking my village and executed them all down. It was the day I returned to my village after I asked you to discharge from your base, not wanting to work anymore on the parasites. You had two soldiers escort me down, when I arrived my village was in flames, I began to scream in agony. I sent out my parasites to search the place and all I saw was bloodied corpses. When I saw the xof patch on one dead soldier who had been stabbed in the chest, I realized it was Skull Face. When will this end, I thought? Skull Face follows us everywhere, he is the embodiment of revenge and he passed it on to me. Eve has it too, so, we are here to release ourselves from him. Feel free to join in, Adam…"

"Adam? What is it that you're going to do!?"

"I have managed to breed a special type of parasite, incredibly unique. This parasite will spurt out now from the ground, we will consume it, and then we will gather enough strength to satisfy our desire for revenge. Eve here will deliver my will! I managed to breed the parasite thanks to the help of the two of you."

"How…" asks Snake while looking at Quiet again, who would now could not afford to look at him back.

"For the parasite to grow, it needed a mate to consume with, Eve was the carrier, but she would not have any man to promote the growth of the parasite. She wanted you, Big Boss. Therefore, we waited for an opportune time to kidnap you and the Outer Heaven explosion made that possible. Even if you died, I could have still revived you. The parasite I put into you was compatible with Eve's but combability was not enough. For the consummation, it needed more strength."

"What do you mean Master?"

"Mating was not enough Eve, the parasites needed the hormones you two secreted from your intense emotions, most time achieved by mating, but sometimes it can be just achieved without it."

Quiet gasps in realization, and remembers what happened last night, when they embraced fully, the parasite inside her grew and consumed Snake's parasite that was still inside her.

"Now, I had Eve take out the parasite, put it here on the garden, she rinsed it with freshwater and ah it's about to spurt out now."

Snake takes a deep breath and then looks at Quiet, sporting a neutral stare that made her anxious. All she could think was the anger brewing inside him for what she had just done. She imagines him letting go of her and tell her it's over. For all the days that had transpired by, she was using him as a tool to achieve her and Code Talker's revenge.

Meanwhile, Snake was just recalling all that had happened ever since he woke up. Talking with her, working in the ruins, sleeping together in their bed. He looks at her, he sees the worried expression she's showing now. Somehow Snake could understand, for all that she had done. For what she did it for.

He remembers letting her be tortured, how his staff treated her. How hard must have been working with Skull Face. But now she was here, by his side. Snake remembers all the nights when he worked in Outer Heaven, staring at the full moon, alone. But now, feeling her hand holding him gently in his stomach, and the other in his back while he supported himself with her shoulder. He realizes it doesn't matter. Snake makes up his mind, pushes her back, and takes out his handgun, pointing at her.

Quiet closes her eyes, ready to receive her punishment.

"Bang!"

She hears the gunfire and someone falling to the floor but doesn't feel anything. Opening her eyes, the barrel of the gun was just a few inches to the right of her face. Snake aimed the gun at Code Talker, but a soldier came out of nowhere and took the shot for him.

"Let's finish this…" Says Snake while reloading his gun.

Quiet nods in agreement and the two face Code Talker who raises his hands.

"Oh my children, valiant efforts as they are, but you are too late, now bear witness to my greatest creation!" The ground beneath the trio begin to rumble.

The center of the garden starts to move, the root starts to grow, and then two leaves spurt out quickly and a pink colored fruit emerges.

"Snake is that an…"

"Apple?…"