Outer Heaven on the Narrow Sea

by Kingofthings7929

In the wake of the deaths of its various members, Diamond Dogs and their Mother Base appear in the Narrow Sea as the Seven Kingdoms begin to rip themselves apart. With power unmatched by any in the Known World and plenty of work, will the Diamond Dogs at last find their Outer Heaven? Warning: Massive spoilers for The Phantom Pain. Pairings undecided at this point.

3. Chapter 3

The sun was rising over Westeros as Pequod's helicopter flew over the waters of Blackwater Bay. Inside, Snake sat smoking a cigar as D.D. slept on the floor, one of his hands at his ear. "Alright Snake, let's go over this again," Ocelot said over the radio. "The plan is to get into the city, find the king and ask for work."

Snake sighed, "Ocelot, the plan is a simple one."

"But how you act is not," Miller chimed in. "You're entering a culture you've never seen before with different rules and norms. You need to be ready for that."

"Fine, what do I need to know?"

The sound of rustling papers was heard over the radio. "Alright, we should start with methods of address. The king is referred to as 'Your Grace' according to the book you found. Otherwise, you'll be considered a commoner to these people so go with My Lord or My Lady depending on gender."

"You seem to know a lot about this, Kaz."

"I was interested in this stuff as a teenager. Just trying to dredge it all up."

"Right…" Snake replied, concerned about the information. "What else?"

"Ok, your best bet to meet the king is to see if he holds an open court. Otherwise, sneak in and find someone you can speak with. You know what to do there, its recon 101. You've done it a million times."

"Should I worry about D.D.?" Said wolf dog perked his head up, looking at Snake.

"Doubt it, one of the families that helped with putting the king in power has a 'direwolf', whatever that is, as their sigil."

"Like a mascot?"

"It has more to do with heraldry. Though this place's heraldry is a bit simpler than back home I think."

Snake nodded. "That all?"

"Pretty much," Kaz replied. "Just be deferential at all times and you'll be fine. You've seen clichéd peasants in movies right? Just do that."

Snake sighed. "Kaz, I can't pull off a cockney accent."

Grumbling came over the radio before Kaz replied. "Just call everyone my Lord or My Lady and bow to anyone in plate armor or nice clothes alright?"

"Fine. Seems simple enough."

Below the helicopter, the sea gave way to land as the chopper continued its journey. Out the window to Snake's right, a distant castle could be seen. Pequod turned and yelled back into the cabin. "We'll be landing soon Boss, should I turn on the speakers?"

Snake got to his feet and opened a door, strapping himself in before sitting on the edge of the floor, "No, let's keep it quiet for now." Pequod nodded as D.D. came over and sat next to Snake, waiting patiently. The helicopter finally began to slow and came to a stop, hovering over a clearing. Snake unstrapped himself before leaping off the chopper, landing in a crouch as D.D. followed, landing next to Snake. The choppers rotors spun up as Pequod gave his traditional "Be careful down there, Boss," before flying off, leaving man and dog alone in the grasslands north of Kings Landing. After a quick look around, Snake and D.D began the walk to the city.

The sun had just come up over the horizon, bathing the area in a warm orange light. The grass shimmered as a light breeze blew over the hills. Snake wasn't one to stop and admire natural beauty, more preferring things to be dark and unclear as to better shelter him. But even he had to admire the scenery, feeling reminiscent of the plains of Sub-Saharan Africa. He smiled at the memories as he walked, sneaking into camp after camp. The confusion on someone's face after seeing a buddy get pulled into the sky by a balloon before being tranquilized and joining said comrade. His expression grew dark as another, more disturbing though occurred to him. If he had come back, what if his enemies returned. Skull Face would be bad. Volgin even worse, unless of course he still only hated Big Boss in which case he'd just keel over again. Then there was the worst case scenario: Eli, or Liquid as he went by as an adult. Snake had seen what Liquid was capable of as an untrained boy. As a fully trained adult with experience he'd be even worse. And God help them all if the Third Boy showed up. If Ocelot was right, he only got more dangerous with age. And considering he worked with Mantis, as he was called when he got older, Mother Base's local gunslinger would know better than most.

Snake sighed and shook his head. It wasn't worth worrying about unless any of them showed up showed up. Otherwise, just focus on getting Mother Base what it needs. In front of the two, the walls and keep of King's Landing could be seen. Even from there, the stench was maddening. If not his iron will, Snake would've pinched his nose shut or, more likely, called for a goddamn gas mask. Snake grimaced but kept going. In front of the city gate there was a long line of shabbily dressed men women and children. Many of them had carts attached to animals while others simply wore packs. But, what they all had in common was the look of desperation, both on their faces and in their postures. Snake knew these people were refugees, he'd seen it countless times before in battlefields all over the world. Despite his pity for the poor souls, it was a good sign. Refugees meant war and war meant work the Diamond Dogs. He smiled as he walked into the crowds, sticking out like a sore thumb in his sneaking suit. There was chatter everywhere and Snake could hear whispers of a King Joffrey and war parties in something called the Riverlands burning and raiding villages, not that Snake knew what the Riverlands were of course.

Snake and D.D. slowly pushed their way to the front of the crowd, looking up at the massive gates before them. As Snake arrived, a horn could be heard and slowly, inexorably, the gates swung open and the refugees surged forth into the city. Snake followed the crowd for a bit before splitting off into an alleyway, D.D. at his heels.

The city smelled even worse inside than it did outside. It looked like an urban planner's worst nightmare, all narrow streets with all manners of refuse flowing freely in the streets. Snake could see people tossing chamber pots out the window at regular intervals. He sighed and made back into the main street he'd just left, looking at the large red castle, called the Red Keep if Ocelot's book was to be believed, looming over the city. If he was a king, chances are that's where he'd live. Snake turned and began the long walk towards the castle. As he got closer to the keep, he was joined by a few other people also walking towards the keep. All of them were talking about it apparently being the King's name day, whatever that was. Snake walked up to a group and tried to listen in. Tried being the keyword as the group stopped talking and stared at Snake's strange outfit and weapons silently before shifting away from him, grumbling about weird foreigners.

Snake ignored the peasants as they entered the Red Keep. Said peasants began to walk towards an arena like structure to one side of the yard, where various banners were hung and knights in armor stood. His radio came to life as Kaz called him. "Snake, I think there's a tournament today."

"Might want to consider entering it. Winning would help," Ocelot said in response.

"We need to keep a low profile," Snake whispered, ending the discussion as he walked towards the tournament grounds, his single eye scanning the area as he considered his options. From what he saw, the commoners were sitting on the other side of the jousting ground from the nobility. So, he could either A: Sit with the commoners and use his scope to eavesdrop on the nobles, allowing him to see them but risk not hearing everything or B: Slip under the nobility seating and listen in from there but give up a visual on them. Sight versus Sound then… he thought, pondering his options. Eventually deciding that sound gives more intel than sight, he went to crawl under the seating when he noticed an empty wooden crate with the top off. He walked over to it and looked it over for a moment before smiled and pulling it over himself like his cardboard box, creeping under the seating and sitting under his new box. D.D. laid down next to him, knowing that Snake was trying to hide from countless other sneaking missions with his master.

As if by magic, Kaz called him at that very moment, sighing. "Snake, did you find a box to hide under…"

Ocelot chimed in. "Are you that surprised, Miller?"

"Enough," Snake growled as above him he heard movement and a loud voice yell out. "Welcome one and all to today's tourney, held in honor of our great King Joffrey Baratheon, The First of His Name. Long may he reign!" Applause rang out across the tourney yard, muffled by Snake's box as two horses took up positions on the far ends. Snake raised his prosthetic hand and started punching a small slot in the box, finishing his work only to see the riders pass each other with no contact before swinging about, charging at each other again. This time though, contact was made and one of the knights as thrown from his horse with a mighty crash as the winner broke off his charge, hoisting his broken lance up in victory with his white cape flapping in the wind. Snake heard someone scoff above him as 2 other riders came out. One of the new jousters seemed comfortable with himself while the other, just a boy really, was struggling with his lance, barely keeping hold of it.

Snake watched as the inevitable came to pass with the boy getting thrown from his horse. Above him a condescending yell was heard. "We choose the wrong foe for you brother, he jousts worse than a quintain!" The boy laughed at his own joke, as yet two more knights rode out. Both of this pair seemed to know what they were doing but yet again Snake noticed an age gap between them, this time with one of the riders being considerably older than the other. He put a hand to his earpiece. "Kaz, weren't tournaments big events back in the day?"

Kaz responded. "Typically, yeah. Depended on who ran it if I had to guess. Why?"

"This one doesn't look like much and its being run by a king."

"He could be unpopular, who knows."

"He does sound bratty," Ocelot added.

Snake turned off his radio only to hear the brat above him scoff, "What a feeble show…" Snake looked out the slot in his box onto the tourney grounds to see another rider take his position but no one else. After a moment, Snake heard shuffling and turned his box, peering through the slot to see a half-naked knight trying and failing to pull himself onto his horse. He could tell just by how he moved the knight was very, very drunk. Eventually said drunk knight sat down on the ground, threw up his hands and cried out in a jovial voice, "I lose! Fetch me some wine!"

Above Snake, someone stood up and the bratty voice form earlier yelled out, "A cask from the cellars! I'll see him drowned in it!"

"Wait!" A new voice cried out, a young girl by the sound of it.

"What?!" The brat king responded, affronted at the girls forwardness apparently.

The girl went on, her voice much more timid now, "It's bad luck to kill a man on your name day, Your Grace."

The boy king scoffed before yet another voice, much deeper and raspier spoke up, "She's right. What a man sows on his name day, he reaps throughout the year."

The brat sat down and sighed. "Very well, I'll have him killed tomorrow then."

The girl spoke up again, her voice obviously trying to manipulate the boy, saying that "You should dress him in motley and make him your fool, Your Grace. He doesn't deserve a quick death." Snake knew she didn't believe what she said to the boy, but considering her, assumed, young age he was impressed at how steady her voice was.

The brat king fell for the girl's ploy hook line and sinker, saying, "Yes… What a prefect idea Lady Sansa. Very well, Ser Dollas Hollard, you are now my fool!"

The knight walked up to the royal platform and bowed low to the royals. "Thank you, your Grace. Thank you, my lady." He seemed to have sobered up at the threat of impending death before walking away, still stumbling slightly.

After a moment, yet another new voice could be heard, asking. "Your Grace, shall I call for a new opponent or move on to the next tilt."

"No, this tourney is over." The boy replied, voice dripping with disgust, "I'd have everyone killed if it wasn't my name day…"

A feminine sigh of relief could just barely be heard, most likely from this Sansa who'd intervened earlier. Another, younger voice spoke up, "But I was supposed to ride today!"

The boy king moved, most likely turning towards the younger voice, before replying. "I don't care, the tourney is over!"

"But Joffrey!" The younger voice replied, unintentionally giving Snake a name to put to the bratty voice of the king.

Another young feminine voice spoke up not Sansa but someone else, "Mother did say he could joust."

Joffrey mocked her, replying "Mother did say he could joust!" He continued, dropping the singsong tone. "What are you, a child?"

"Yes," The girl responded, matter of factly.

The raspier voice guffawed before saying, "She has a point, Your Grace."

"Fine," Joffrey said in a surly voice as he sat back down. Quick footsteps could be heard as Snake assumed that the boy had ran off. Sure enough, some minutes later a very young child with bright blond hair could be seen riding out onto the grounds, a lance under his arm as on the other side of the grounds a strange object was set up. It was a cross with one arm holding a flat piece of wood and the other holding a weighted bag, most likely filled with sand. The boy hoisted his lance and charged, striking the wooded piece only for the weight to swing around and hit his back, throwing the child from his horse.

Above him, Snake heard Joffrey started laughing loudly along with most of the crowd. Above him, he heard more footsteps as a young blond girl ran out to assist him, her sister perhaps? As the girl helped her brother up, above him he heard more conversation between Sansa and Joffrey with Sansa starting with. "Perhaps you should go out and tell Tommen he rode well, Your Grace."

Joffrey scoffed. "Being unseated is not riding well."

Above him fell silent as the laughter faded away. On the tourney grounds Snake saw Tommen, he assumed, trying to get back up onto his horse. But, the boy's attempt to go another round with the equipment was interrupted by the sound of the keep's gates opening yet again. The two children on the field turned and looked at the opening gates before yelling out, "Uncle!" and running off towards them.

Snake lifted his box slightly and turned it, just in time to see a strange band of men ride through the gates, some looking like the medieval peasants Snake had seen in various fantasy films while others looked more like Conan the Barbarian's less toned brothers. At the head of the group, rode a strange looking dwarf with black and blond hair. His forehead jutted out and a quick peek through his binoculars showed the dwarf had mismatched eyes, one green, one black. He dismounted to greet Tommen and his sister, sadly too far away for Snake to hear.

Snake stopped looking through the slot and picked up his box, moving down with D.D quietly walking next to him as they arrived at the edge of the seating, setting the box down as the dwarf waddled towards the seating. Then, another pair of children appeared, a blond kid dressed in red finery and an auburn haired girl in a dress. That must be Joffrey and Sansa, Snake guessed. Following them was a large man dressed in armor. The three's backs were to him so Snake couldn't see their faces but even from behind Joffrey reminded him a bit of Eli. But, where Eli felt dangerous, like he could and would kill you with his bare hands, Joffrey only felt unstable. Dangerous, but not like Eli had been.

From where Snake sat, he was still too far to listen in without the use of his binoculars. Luckily, the area was clear between him and the royals so he pulled out his scope and peered through his slot as he watched. Snake was lucky, as he'd gotten set up just in time to hear the dwarf greet Joffrey.

"Hello, Your Grace."

Joffrey crossed his arms. "I'm surprised to see you here, Uncle."

The large man behind the two kids, a bodyguard perhaps, scoffed. "We'd though you dead, Imp."

The dwarf smirked and went to respond before Tommen's sister, and most likely Joffrey's judging by hair color, smiled and said, "Thank the Seven he's alive!"

The dwarf's smirk turned into a more genuine smile as he nodded at the girl, "Thank you, Myrcella." He turned and looked at Joffrey and Sansa, bowing slightly. "My condolences for the death of your fathers."

Sansa didn't react to this, standing stock still. Joffrey, however, did react as he asked, "What are you talking about Uncle?"

The dwarf looked directly at Joffrey, "Your father died recently, King Robert. Remember?" His face was impassive but Snake's gut told him the dwarf was…disappointed? No, disgusted would be better.

The boy king responded. "Oh, him. Yes, it was very sad. A Boar killed him." His tone made it clear that he was anything but sad about it. Snake's eye narrowed. There was being a spoiled brat then there was being a psychopath.

"Is that what 'they' say?" The dwarf replied, crossing his arms.

At this point, Sansa spoke up, clasping her hands in front of her before saying. "I apologize for my mother's abduction of you, My Lord."

The dwarf's shrugged, "Many people are sorry for that. Some will be even sorrier. But I do thank you for that, My Lady."

He looked over at Joffrey. "So, where is my sweet sister?"

Joffrey shrugged. "With the Small Council, my brother has been captured, Riverrun is lost and Robb Stark has named himself a king."

The dwarf shrugged, "Many people are calling themselves kings these days."

Joffrey stiffened at this and replied, "I'm glad to see you alive Uncle. Do you have anything for my name day?"

"My wits."

"I'd prefer Robb Stark's head." Joffrey then turned and walked off with his siblings in tow. The king's bodyguard stopped and looked at the dwarf, saying "I'd watch your tongue if I were you." Despite the words, his tone made it clear he was warning the dwarf. Said dwarf nodded as the large man walked off, allowing Snake to get a view of his face at last, noticing the large burn scar across the side of his face.

As the brat king and his entourage walked off, Snake was left watching Sansa and the dwarf, both of whom seemed uncomfortable. Finally, Sansa broke the silence, "How did your arm get injured?"

The dwarf said, "A Northman hit me with a Morningstar."

"How did you escape?"

He smirked, "Fell of my horse." Sansa nodded at this then bowed her head, seemingly lost in thought.

The dwarf looked up at her. "Are you mourning for your father?"

Sansa jumped and quickly replied. "My father was a traitor and so is my mother and brother. My loyalty is to my love Joffrey."

The dwarf considered her for a moment then shook his head, smiling sadly. "My lady, you are like a deer surrounded by wolves."

Snake could barely hear Sansa's response but it sounded something like "Lions." The dwarf apparently heard it too as he took the girls hand and said. "Don't worry about me, My Lady. I'm only a little lion after all." With that, the dwarf released her hand and started walking towards the keep, his strange group following.

Over Snake's radio, Ocelot said, "She's under duress."

"Might be a hostage situation. Remember, she said her family are traitors." Kaz replied.

Ocelot nodded. "We could pull her out. It'd win the trust of the rebels."

"And if the royals turns on us?" Snake asked.

"Boss, this is a medieval culture. We're a state of the art 20th century force." Ocelot replied

"I hate to admit it, but he's right," Kaz said, "They have trebuchets, we have tanks and artillery."

"Boss, I say we extract the girl. She knows a lot about the current situation and we could use that." Said Ocelot.

Kaz ended the talk with, "Just treat her gently, ok?" And with that, the radio went dead. Under the now empty seating Snake lifted the box and began to examine the keep that the girl had walked into while he used the radio. From what he saw, the keep was surrounded by a moat filled with spikes with the only way in being through the drawbridge. Luckily for Snake, not only was the draw bridge down but only one person was guarding it. Whoever it was, was dressed in full plate armor with a white cloak. Except for his head, not an issue in the medieval world but Snake was an excellent shot. He smirked and pointed at the guard, looked at D.D. and said, "Bark", before slipping back under his box.

D.D. ran towards the guard and started barking at him. Said guard waved at the dog yelling for it to shoo. But, while he was distracted, Snake lifted his box and ran into his pistol range. Yet, D.D. kept barking after Snake was in place. He choose to use this, carefully pushing off the top of his box, sliding it back before creeping up and readying his pistol. Eventually, the guard drew his sword and D.D. ran off, making towards Snake who took now chances and squeezed the trigger. His aim was as good as ever as the guard stumbled and eventually fell asleep. Snake pulled the top back onto the box and stood up again, running into the keep.

The entry hall was massive, one of the biggest rooms he'd seen and, oddly enough was empty as the various nobles and servants left the hall to carry on their business. Near the back, Snake saw a head of long auburn hair heading into a hallway. There she is, Snake thought as he ran towards the hallway, relying on D.D., who was keeping pace next to him, to keep watch around him. He reached the door a good bit after Sansa had closed it and quietly slipped through it, peering through his slot into the hallway.

Ahead of him, a hallway not unlike the last castle he'd snuck into stretched out ahead of him. It was dark, tight and had plenty of alcoves to hide in should a guard come calling. Near the end of the hall, Snake saw a spiral staircase where he could barely hear footsteps echoing down to the hallway. Figuring that'd be his destination he began to move down the hallway. Unfortunately for him, this hallway was well traveled and many times Snake had to duck into a hallway with D.D. hiding behind his box. But, after some time he finally reached the spiral stairway. He pulled off his box before heading up the stairway, figuring it would be too clunky. The stairway in question was made the hallway he'd just left seem wide and open in comparison. D.D. was ahead of him, sniffing to make sure the way up was clear. Snake kept his pistol drawn, knowing that he'd have little to no time if someone was coming down the stairs. Eventually D.D. stopped in front of a wooden door, sniffing at it. Snake got down next to D.D. and pressed an ear to the door only to hear a soft crying. He reached for the door and slowly pushed it open, pistol at the ready. Inside, he heard shuffling as someone got to their feet and the same girls voice yell out. "Just a moment, please!" Snake looked inside to see Sansa standing in front of a mirror, adjusting her appearance as D.D. padded into the room, trotting up to her brazen as he pleased.

Sansa stopped and looked at the dog, smiling and crouching to pet him. "Oh, hello there. Where did you come from?" Snake stepped into the room and holstered his pistol, closing the door behind him as he looked at the girl. His attention was directed to D.D. constantly licking at Sansa's arms. She finally stopped petting D.D. and looked up to notice him, taking a step back and putting a hand to her chest. "Who are you?"

Snake took a step forward. "Snake. I'm here to get you out."

Sansa was breathing deeply now, obviously scared of him. Not that Snake blamed her, he wasn't the most inspiring sight, what with his eyepatch, scars and shrapnel horn. She looked at him. "Who are you working for? What do you want with me?!" She picked up a brush, apparently ready to throw it.

Snake was undaunted and took another step forward. "I'm not going to hurt you, calm down."

Sansa kept breathing hard, brandishing the brush. "Just leave me alone…" Down by her feet, D.D. nudged at her legs and whined.

Snake smiled reassuringly, or so he hoped. "He likes you."

Sansa looked down at the dog, noticing his missing eye. "Where's his eye?"

Snake shrugged, taking another step forward. "Don't know. He'd already lost it when I found him."

Sansa looked at him. "He's yours?"

"Yeah. Found him a while ago."

She nodded and looked at him, setting the brush down. "Are you really here to save me?"

Snake nodded once and she looked down, setting the brush down before continuing. "I'm sorry I panicked, Ser. I wasn't aware you were coming."

Snake sighed. "I'm not a knight, no need to call me Sir."

"What should I call you then?"

"… Call me Snake."

Sansa raised an eyebrow. "Snake? A rather strange name."

Snake rolled his eye. "A strange name for a strange man, now can we get going?"

Sansa clasped her hands. "Don't you have an escape route planned Se- Snake?"

Snake looked around the room. "Is there a way to the roof of this keep?"

"If we go back down into the keep, yes. But the guards will never let us through."

Snake smirked. "Didn't stop me." He walked over to the window and looked down. The tower was set into the side of the keep itself and below him Snake could see the roof of the keep. "Perfect." He looked down the tower itself, judging the distance to be around 8 feet from the window to the roof below. "Alright, we're getting out of here." He turned to face Sansa, who had been packing a few things up before looking up at him.

"How are we leaving, Ser?"

Snake ignored her calling him 'Ser' again to take a step back, lifting his silenced assault rifle before shooting out the window. "The roof. I'll need your help with this."

Sansa looked at the window. "Ser, the only way off the roof is to climb and the drop is too far to jump from here."

Snake shrugged. "I can deal with it, now help me."

Sansa looked at the door for a moment then nodded. "What do you need me to do?"

Snake turned to D.D. "First things first, D.D. come!" The dog left Sansa's side and trotted over to Snake, put his arms under the dogs belly and lifted him up before speaking to Sansa, "Alright, you see a little handle on the top of D.D.'s harness?" She nodded and walked over to the two as Snake went on. "I'm going to hold D.D. out the window and you're going to pull it."

"What?!" Sansa yelled. "He could be hurt!"

"He'll be fine, now help me out!" He walked over to the window and held D.D. out the window. Besides a quick whine D.D. seemed ok, apparently trusting his master. Sansa took a deep breath then walked over and pulled the handle, only to jump back in shock as a balloon quickly inflated, pulling D.D. into the air, who whined as he floated up into the clouds. Over Snake's comm he heard Kaz say, "Got it Snake, we'll pick him up. You gonna signal Pequod with a flare?"

Snake nodded before responding with a quick, "Yeah" as he pulled out a short length of rope, tying it to an outcropping above the window and letting the rope dangle in front of the window.

Sansa eyed the rope, eyes wide as she wrung her hands, "Is that how we're leaving?"

Snake nodded and grabbed the rope, his back to Sansa, "Get on my back."

She blinked but didn't move, "What?"

Snake sighed before growling, "Put your arms around my neck and legs around my waist!"

Sansa blushed. "Ser… I don't think that… I am betrothed…"

Snake sighed and looked at Sansa, "It's either you get on my back or I throw you over my shoulder, got it?"

Sansa crossed her arms. "Ser, I will not be taken like some wildling beyond the wall!"

Past the door, Snake heard footsteps tromping up the towers, "Damn, out of time." He stormed over and threw Sansa over his right shoulder. She yelped when he grabbed her and started struggling on his shoulder and yelling, "Put me down! Help!" Snake ignored her as he walked over to the rope, taking it in his left hand before stepping onto the window sill. Behind him the door flew open and knights stormed out just as Snake started repelling down the towers, using his left hand to grip the rope. With most people, they'd worry about rope burn and the grip not being strong enough. But Snake's left hand had neither issue due to being a prosthetic. After a quick slide down the rope, they had reached the roof. Snake immediately pulled off a flare and tossed it out onto the roof, watching it pop and spew green smoke into the air. He stepped back from the tower and shifted Sansa on his shoulders, placing her on his left shoulder, where she kept yelling for help, and draw his pistol with his right. Above him, he saw an armored figure look down at the pair. Snake raised his pistol and fired, nailing the knight in the forehead who then fell through the broken window, landing on his head with a sickening crunch. Over his shoulder, Sansa looked and screamed at the most likely dead knight who was bleeding profusely from the head.

Above him, more shouting could be heard and footsteps down the tower. By now Sansa was beating Snake's back to make him release her, struggling in his grip. Snake ignored Sansa's resistance before turning to the roof, where he noticed a wooden hatch on the ground. Figuring they'd come from there, he raised his pistol at the hatch and waited. The roof was quiet, the knights in the tower having long ran back into said tower. The silence was only broken by Sansa's screaming and thrashing over his shoulder.

"Put me down!" She cried, beating Snake's back.

Snake looked over his shoulder at her. "Will you run if I put you down?"

She paused and looked at him. "…No…"

Snake merely sighed and returned his attention to the hatch. "Right…" At that moment, the hatch flew open and a knight came up what Snake assumed was a ladder, crying out "Stop right there!" Snake cut the knight off with a tranq round to the head. The knight immediately fell back down the ladder, apparently knocking down other guards as he fell judging by the noise. Behind him, Snake heard the sounds of a helicopter slowly getting closer as he shot down another knight who climbed up the ladder, who again fell back down it. Then, yet another knight came up the ladder, this time wearing a helm. Snake didn't even bother with his pistol, instead dumping Sansa on the ground and raising his rifle, firing a quick burst into the knight's chest plate. Luckily, medieval plate wasn't built to stop 5.56 rounds and the knight crumpled to the ground. Behind him, Sansa crawled a bit away from Snake but didn't get up, instead watching as Snake gunned down another knight who came up the ladder. Snake dropped the rifle, letting it hang from its strap as he grabbed a grenade lobbing it down the hole before hefting his rifle again. Down the hole a loud bang was heard along with the cries of yet more guards most likely ripped apart by the grenade.

At last, the helicopter finally arrived, hovering over the roof as over Snake's radio he heard, "This is Pequod, have arrived at LZ!" Snake turned and looked down at Sansa who was still on the ground. "This is our ride, lets go." He knelt and grabbed her arm, pulling her to her feet. Sansa's eyes were on the chopper, wide and in shock. "Wh-wha…" she said as she looked at it.

Snake ignored her shock as he pulled her into the chopper, lifting her into the cabin before hoping up himself, strapping himself in and triggering the minigun just in time for two more guards to come up through the hatch. Sadly for them, they were met with Snake's minigun who tore the men to shreds with 2 quick bursts. Snake looked at the pilot, yelling out, "Go!" The helicopter's engines spun up as the chopper departed, Snake laying down fire all on the hatch until they were out of Kings Landing.

---

Snake got up from his spot at the side of the chopper and closed the door, turning to look at Sansa, who had sat down on one of the chairs, hugging her self and shaking. "What… what is this thing?"

Snake reached under a seat and pulled out a jacket, carefully putting it around her shoulders. "It's a helicopter. We use it for transport."

She looked out a window, out onto the landscape below them. "Are we… flying?"

Snake sat down before nodding. "Yeah, we are."

Sansa looked at Snake, eyes wide with fear and perhaps wonder? "Are you a sorcerer?"

He smiled at that. "No, just a man." He relaxed in his usual spot in the back of the cabin as Sansa pulled the jacket close around her.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"Mother Base."

"Where is that?"

"Out at sea. I think you call it the Narrow Sea?"

"Is it an island?"

Snake looked at Sansa. "It's a plant. An artificial island of sorts."

Sansa looked down. "And there?"

Snake shrugged. "We'll ask you some questions then take you where you want to go."

Sansa looked Snake in the eye. "And if I want to go home or see my mother?"

"Then we go there."

Sansa leaned back in her seat and sighed, mumbling to herself, "After you're done with me…"

Snake sighed. "We're not going to keep you for long. What we need to know are simple, who is who. It'll be a day at most, I promise."

Sansa looked at Snake, her gaze hard. "I've had plenty of promises, Ser."

Snake didn't reply to this, instead turning his gaze to her arms. "You're hurt."

Sansa furrowed her brow. "What?"

He pointed at her arms, still dark with dried dog saliva. "D.D. is trained to lick wounds. You're hurt."

Sansa looked at her arms and sighed before pulling her sleeves up to below her elbows, revealing multiple bruises along her arms. Snake got up off her seat, grabbing one of her forearms and looking it over. He was quiet for a time before asking, "Did he hit you?"

"No. He had men for that."

"Did they do anything else?"

Sansa looked out the window. "My virtue needed to be intact."

Snake nodded and released her forearm before moving back to his chair. "I'll have my men do a medical check up on you, make sure there are no issues."

Sansa looked at Snake. "You'd let men examine a woman?"

Snake shrugged. "I have female medical staff. They can do it." He looked up at the pilot. "When we arrive, set us down at the primary medical platform." The pilot nodded as the cabin fell silent yet again, with both passengers lost in their own thoughts.

---

After another hour, the pilot yelled back into the cabin, "Almost home Boss!" Sansa looked up as Snake nodded and walked over to the door, sliding it open before sitting down and strapping in, looking out at the wide expanse of Mother Base, rising out of the ocean. Sansa crept up behind him and sucked in a breath as she looked at Mother Base. "Wow…" she said, looking at the metal constructs.

Snake smiled. "Welcome to Mother Base, Sansa."

The helicopter flew towards the medical platform, hovering over the landing pad before setting down. There to greet them was a medical team with a stretcher and the familiar figure of Kazuhira Miller, waiting for Snake and Sansa to disembark. Snake leapt of the chopper as soon as it set down and turned, offering a hand to help Sansa down, who took it. Despite her situation, she looked for all the world like a noblewoman stepping off a carriage, despite her hair whipping from the helicopter's downdraft. Said chopper spun up and left as Kaz walked up to the two of them.

"So, this is Sansa?" Kaz said, looking down at the girl.

Snake nodded. Sansa's eyes were locked on the empty sleeve hanging from Kaz's left shoulder. He smiled when he noticed Sansa's gaze. "Not used to seeing this?"

Sansa's gaze immediately fell. "I apologize, Ser. I meant no offense."

Kaz kept smiling. "Relax, I don't mind. Got used to it a long time ago."

Sansa met Kaz's gaze and nodded before looking at the stretcher. "Who's that for, Ser?"

Kaz turned and looked at the stretcher. "You. It's standard procedure for anyone hurt. Even if it's minor." He looked at Snake who nodded before looking back at Sansa.

She met Kaz's gaze. "It's nothing, Ser. I'm quite alright."

Kaz walked up to her then raised his crutch to lightly tap the side of her arm. Despite herself, Sansa winced as he hit one of her bruises. "Just fine huh? We just want to look you over, make sure nothing's wrong."

Snake looked at Sansa before lightly resting a hand on her shoulder. "You'll be fine. Trust me."

Sansa met Snake's gaze before nodded and walking over to the stretcher, where one of the staff helped her onto it before the team wheeled her towards the main building.

Kaz walked up to Snake, "What do you think Boss?"

"Looked pretty minor, just some bruising. D.D. didn't sniff anything else."

"I meant mentally."

Snake sighed. "She's been traumatized, that's obvious. I doubt she'll trust anyone until we take her home."

Kaz sighed. "Right… Ocelot and I had some things we wanted to talk over with you. We can do that while they examine her."

Snake nodded. "Fine, we can talk with Sansa after our meeting." Kaz nodded as the two of them started walking towards the medical building. "Where are we meeting?"

Kaz shrugged. "Probably outside the examination room. Ocelot set something up to make sure we get as much intel out of her as we can."

Snake nodded as they entered the building, heading down a hallway before entering a side room. It reminded Snake of the room next to "Room 101" where interrogations where usually held. Unlike "Room 101" this room was occupied with recording equipment, two men sitting at desks with pens and paper and Ocelot, who was looking through the two-way mirror at the examination taking place in the main room. Kaz stepped into the room. "Ocelot, we were gonna talk with Snake?"

Ocelot turned to look at the two of them, "Right. Boss, Miller and I had some ideas for what we could here."

Kaz looked at Snake. "Remember our fuel issues? We may have a solution to that. What do you know about Ethanol?"

Snake shrugged. "It's fuel made from food right? Corn and stuff?"

Kaz nodded. "Yeah. Well, we've been working on a new kind of ethanol. We call it cellulosic ethanol."

Ocelot chimed in. "Most ethanol is made with sugar or starch based plant material. It's why it's not ideal for use since its made out of stuff we eat."

"But cellulosic ethanol can be made with any plant material, grass, wood, leaves, anything."

Snake crossed his arms. "What's your point? You want to make it using spare plant matter on Mother Base?"

Kaz shook his head. "I already gave the order to do that. My idea is to send teams out to harvest plant matter elsewhere."

Ocelot opened a folder and pulled out a copy of a hand drawn map. "More exactly, from where." He pointed at the eastern continent. "It's called the Dothraki Sea. It's basically a giant grassland. We plan to send in teams to harvest the grass for fuel. Ship it back here for processing."

Snake nodded. "Any down sides to this?"

"The Dothraki." Kaz answered. "Basically, a bunch of mounted archers. They wander the grasslands raiding settlements."

"Like the Mongols then?" Snake asked.

Ocelot smirked. "Pretty much. I figure we can use some of our armor to ward them off. Enough losses and they should withdraw."

Snake nodded. "Alright, set it up. Anything else."

Ocelot nodded. "Yup. I want to send out teams to gather Intel in both Westeros and Essos."

"Westeros?" Snake asked.

"It's the name of one of the continents here. Same with Essos."

Snake nodded. "Go on then."

Ocelot nodded. "I want to send teams out to gather intel on the ground. Go into towns and cities and ask questions, that sort of thing. They'll be in radio contact at all times so we can pull them out."

Kaz added in his two cents, "I think its too risky."

"No more risky than what we did in the past." Snake said. He looked at Ocelot and nodded. "Set it up. The more intel we have, the better."

Ocelot nodded before the three returned their attention to the examination, which was just wrapping up as one of the counselors sat next to Sansa asking her various questions. Ocelot looked at Snake. "Wanna hear them talk?" His hand went for a switch on the wall but Snake held up a hand, shaking his head. Ocelot nodded and lowered his hand, looking back out the two-way mirror at Sansa who was finishing up her talk with a counselor. Said counselor got to her feet and smiled at Sansa who smiled back before curtseying as the counselor left the room, walking into the observation room.

"You have a report?" Kaz asked.

"Yes sir." The counselor asked. "Physically, all she has are various bruises on her arms and torso. Mentally… she's scared out of her mind Commander. She hides it well but she is. Whoever goes in to talk with her should be exceedingly gentle with her. She's been through a lot."

Ocelot asked, "Any sign of Stockholm Syndrome?"

The counselor shook her head. "No, she has an extreme dislike of her captors, she called them Lannisters. No signs of that."

Kaz nodded. "Got it. Anything else?"

The counselor looked down at her notes. "Just one. Miss Stark seems to be fixated on courtesy and being a proper lady. My guess is that it's her way of coping with tense situations. Perhaps picked up from the environment she was extracted from."

Snake nodded, "That makes sense. When she was talking with Joffrey she went out of her way to be demure and dainty."

Ocelot snorted, "Considering how unstable that boy is, I can't blame her."

Kaz nodded. "It also explains how she acted when you landed. She looked like she was being helped out of a carriage for a ball, not out of a helicopter in a merc base."

"So she acts proper when she's afraid. Anything else?" Snake asked the counselor.

The counselor shook her head and Kaz looked at her. "Alright then, dismissed." The counselor saluted and walked out, leaving her notes in the room for the three of them to look over.

Ocelot leaned against the table and crossed his arms. "So, who's going in there?"

Kaz looked at Ocelot, "Anyone but you. She needs help, not you getting your kicks from her."

Ocelot rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't do my usual routine on her."

Snake held up a hand to forestall another argument. "Enough." He looked at Kaz. "Can you handle this?"

He nodded and Snake looked at Ocelot, "She knows Kaz. It might make her feel safer."

Ocelot shrugged. "I doubt she'll feel safe regardless, Boss. But alright, it's your call."

Snake looked at Kaz and nodded, who then limped out of the room. Ocelot then turned to the 2 other men in the room. "Get the recorders up and running and get ready to take notes."

Snake raised an eyebrow at this. "Notes and recordings?"

Ocelot shrugged as he flipped the switch on the wall, "To make sure we get as much intel as possible. The intel staff my note something the recorders miss and vis versa."

"Redundancy, I get it." In the examination room. Kaz had just limped inside and walked over to a chair, greeting Sansa. "Hello Miss Stark. How are you feeling?"

Sansa gave Kaz a charming smile, her hands on her lap, "I'm fine, My Lord. Thank you." She seemed the perfect, demure lady of course. Ocelot pressed the button on the room's mic. "Miller, let her keep her noble façade. It'll keep her calm."

Kaz nodded ever so slightly before slowly sitting down, struggling for a moment with his crutch before Sansa got up and took his hand, freezing up at her boldness. Kaz, however simply smiled at her, "Thanks, just stand still for a sec." He put his hand on her shoulder and finally sat down, letting go of her as he settled. Sansa simply curtseyed before returning to the bed, sitting daintily as Kaz cleared his throat. "So, you're a Stark right? The family in charge of the Northern Kingdom?"

After a moment, she replied, quickly though as if her life depended on it, "Yes, but it's rightfully the domain of his Grace King Joffrey."

Beside Snake, Ocelot mumbled something about her programing as Kaz nodded. "Alright, and who is the North's current leader, your father?"

Sansa swallowed before replying, "He was, until he was executed."

"What for?"

She looked down at her hands, "He was a traitor to the Realm. He tried to seize the Iron Throne for himself." Her tone was flat, as if repeating the words of another.

Kaz looked at Sansa a moment then sighed before going on, "I'm sorry, Miss Stark. I know what it's like to lose a father."

Sansa simply nodded, still looking at her hands. Kaz regarded her for a moment then reached up to remove his glasses before reaching out to gently pull her chin up, making her meet his gaze. Her eyes were glassy, clouded over from the tears welling up. Kaz gently said, "It's alright to cry, we've all lost something here." She blinked before choking out, "Your eyes…"

Kaz smiled sadly, "Cataracts, makes everything blurry. Nothing compared to everything else, really." Sansa's eyes looked to his empty sleeve at his right before a single tear ran down the side of her face. Kaz's hand caught it and wiped it off, "It's alright, you're safe here. Joffrey won't ever hurt you again."

Sansa sniffed once before beginning to cry in earnest, "I want to go home. To Winterfell."

Kaz nodded, "We'll take you home Sansa. I promise." He reached into his coat and pulled out a handkerchief before offering it to Sansa, who wiped off her face before replying, "I'm sorry, My Lord. I didn't mean to do that."

Kaz sat back, "Don't worry about it, Miss Stark. Now, can I ask you a favor?"

Sansa looked up at Kaz, setting the hankie down on the bed, "What?"

Kaz grinned, "Most of us have never been to Westeros before, you mind helping us out? All you'd need to do is just answer some questions. Its ok if you can't, you'll go home either way."

Sansa looked down at her hands as he considered the question. In the side room, Ocelot smirked, "I'll be damned, he played her like a Stradivarius."

Snake looked at Ocelot, "I wouldn't call it playing her. It was sincerity, I think. You know how he is with kids."

Ocelot snorted, "Got a point there, Boss. Either way, she'll help us."

In the examination room, Sansa looked up at Kaz and nodded, "Ok, I'll help you. On one condition."

Kaz smiled, "Alright, what is it?"

"You help my brother win the war."

Ocelot barked out a quick laugh, "Damn, she's better than I thought!"

Kaz smirked, "Alright, we can do that." He relaxed in his chair, "You're not a bad negotiator, you know."

Sansa smiled, a genuine smile, the first Snake had seen on her, "Thank you, My Lord."

Ocelot looked at Snake, "Boss, we can take it from here. Go clean up and get some rest. We can debrief you on your way to Winterfell."

Snake looked at the gunslinger, "You plan on taking her home then?"

Ocelot shrugged, "Why not? We'll get a reward and a way of getting more work. Nice and easy with her along. And we need the work."

Snake nodded, "When he's done with Sansa, have Kaz draw up a list of resources we may need."

"Right, see ya Boss." Snake turned and left the room, making for the outside.

---

By the time Snake finished the long walk to the command platform, night had fallen, the sky lit up with a red hue by the comet overhead. He stopped and looked up at it, having mostly ignored it most of the day due to various distractions. He'd seen another comet once, Halley's Comet according to Kaz. He smiled as the memories came flowing back. The men had been fascinated by the wisp of light in the sky. All through it's time near the Earth, Snake had seen his men standing outside in the dead of night, looking up. But this comet, whatever it was named, put Halley's to shame. It seemed to arc over half the sky.

Snake smirked as he remembered, it had been like the moon landing in '69. He'd been… he'd seen it at…

Snake growled as he put his left hand to his head, even now after a decade he struggled to remember his past life. His name was the hardest to remember, all he had was flashed of Vietnam, of growing up in a city in the 1950's… But those memories could very well just be Big Boss's. He sighed before lowering his arm as he felt a small hand on his shoulder. He looked up and turned, already knowing who it was.

And sure enough, there was Quiet, a concerned look on her face. Snake sighed, "I'm fine." She raised an eyebrow, challenging him. "I mean it, I'm alright." Quiet sighed and shook her head before striding past Snake, her hand trailing on his shoulder and down his arm before removing it as she walked out onto the platform. Snake's eyes were drawn to her butt for a moment before he regained his self-control and looked up at the back of her head. Quiet had stopped and was now looking up at the comet. Snake strode up next to her and looked at her expression. She had this look of awe as she looked up at the red light strewn across the sky. "Never seen one, have you?" Quiet blinked, then looked at Snake before shaking her head, looking back up at the comet.

Snake went on, "One came through in '86. The men stood around outside looking up at it every night." He looked up at the comet for a moment before going on, his voice barely audible, "Too bad you never got to see it." Quiet looked at Snake and gave a sad smile, opening her mouth to speak before stopping short, shutting her mouth and sighing, looking down at her feet. Snake smiled and rested his hand on her shoulder before giving voice to her thoughts, "I know, you're here now." She looked back up at Snake and grinned before both of them looked back up at the comet.

AN: Sorry it took so long to update guys, I blame Crusader Kings II. But, I finally got the damn thing up. First off, I know that the tourney part of this chapter will most likely not match up perfectly with the chapter in the book. Sorry, but I don't have the book on hand or the desire to get another copy to use. In all honesty, this story is gonna go off the rails FAST so the plot of the books will be derailed to the point that the books are useless plotwise. Also, I hope I got Sansa right. I figured at this stage she was clinging to her courtesies like a shield but hadn't learn how to manipulate people intentionally. Hopefully, I got her right but do feel free to let me know if I fucked up. Speaking of which...

Review answers! Got a lot here due to me not updating in forever (Again, sorry). I'm gonna have to focus on the long reviews for answers though short reviews that pique my interest will be answered as well. Here we go:

Guest 1: As for accepting the job, Snake had no intention of following her orders. He just took the book and left. As to the resources, your review did have me put some thought into the resources issue, thanks for that by the way, and I think I've figured out what the Diamond Dogs would need to operate without the infrastructure around them.

ww1990ww: Yeah, Harems are rarely well done. As to the fight comment, eh... on one hand if all of Westeros came together, they could probably find and sack Mother Base. And enough men would kill Snake. On the other hand, the medieval equivalent of a Tank was a Knight in Shining Armor. The Metal Gear equivalent of a tank is, well, a tank. So yeah.

Cryo Shot: Yeah, a romantic Snake is not. But, luckily Quiet is back so no need to figure out how to get Snake with someone else.

Riggnorok: Gonna try to replicate the Heroism system of the game by having Diamond Dogs gain fame as time goes on. Right now, they're pretty unknown. But, that will change my friend, that will change.

Tuan07: Yeah, I would love to have an editor or something. And yeah, I spend half the time reading up on lore and or listening to PP tapes before writing. It's annoying as hell sometimes...

Vinyl Scratch3: First off, love the name. Second off, well... hm... spoilers.

Sceonn: They made for Westeros without knowing it was there. But trust me, I'll be using Essos plenty. The travel time of GoT leaves a ton of time for the much, MUCH faster Diamond Dogs to find other work. And they will, oh they will.

Naosji: First off, tell me about it. This fandom needs more goddamn fanfics. As to the second review; if Big Boss had arrived with the Diamond Dogs, Outer Heaven would be priority 1, once he got his bearings. But Venom isn't Big Boss, so different priorities. Miller and Venom ran a merc band so they'd stick to it. Also, who's Vimesenthusiast?

AlternativeFutureFan27: You wanted a longer chapter, you got it mate. Hopefully I'll keep it up. As to the arm idea, I doubt there's enough Valyrian Steel to make a hand for Snake and sadly Ocelot and Miller can't replicate anything close, as Valyrian Steel is basically magical Damascus Steel which we can't recreate even now. And that's ignoring the magic. That being said, the arm might get a variant. I think the basic arms can take blows from swords and such. I'll see what happens, who knows.

Alright, that about does it guys. Hopefully my next update will come sooner but I'll try to have a similar chapter length for the next update. See you all later!