He had never realized how misty the air really was until the moon came out. The desert he was leaving felt chilly as well. This was odd, considering how humid it was during the past week. Ocelot was told many times to take off his scarf- but he insisted that he was always cold. Makes sense for a Russian to feel that way.

The soldier gave the outside another glance before sliding the steel door shut and heading toward his seat to view the day's missions. As he opened the iDroid, he scrolled through the list, only to find it empty. Also strange. This was his first mission, and he usually completes several different tasks, even if they involve catching a rare creature or rescuing captured Diamond Dog soldiers. If there ever was a time when all of his assignments would have been postponed, Kaz and Ocelot would've demanded to see him at once, but no one called him. He noticed that Quiet, who was sitting on his left in front of him, was starting to breath heavily and had her eyes closed- it was as if she was trying to ease herself from pain, yet no wounds were visible. She didn't appear to be in any serious distress, but it was starting to worry him.

Snake was about to ask her what was wrong until suddenly, a bright flash collided into the side of the chopper. There was a loud thud and the helicopter shook.

"All systems are down, Boss!" The pilot shouted over the loud buzzing. "Fuel is leaking out of the tank!"

"What happened, what hit us?" Venom tensed. After moving Quiet out of the way, he slid open the door, only to have it break off of the hinges and fall into the black ocean. Waving through the smoke, he noticed a huge hole right where the motor was. Flames crackled above him, consuming the propeller. She won't last another two minutes, he grunted.

"Boss, I see Mother Base! It's just up ahead!"

The soldier stepped back inside to take a glimpse through the window. Indeed, his base stood a few dozen meters away from him. Could they still make it?

"Inform the base that we're crashing," He ordered, turning around to gather his gear. He tossed Quiet her rifle and removed the pictures from the walls, tucking them into his pocket safely. By the time he was ready, he noticed no new instructions were ordered over the radio.

"Uh… Neither Commander Ocelot or Commander Miller are responding," the pilot said, unsure if this was now the time to panic or remain calm. Snake snatched the headphones and flipped the communication switch.

"Pequod to Control Room- can you hear me?"

There was no response.

"This is your commander, Big Boss. Respond immediately, the chopper has been ambushed." No one replied again. Furrowing his brows, he tossed the headgear to the side and quickly picked up a parachute bag.

"Boss…" the pilot began. "There is only two bags, yet there are three of us on this chopper."

"Quiet doesn't suffer from falling from heights. If we cannot reach the base in time, she'll hang onto me. She's light as a feather anyway." The pilot nodded and equipped the parachute.

Once everyone was ready, they waited until they were close enough toward the base. But as they drew nearer, more smoke had begun to fill the area and there was a loud alarm going off.

"We can't stay any longer, this will just have to do," The man coughed, waving his hand through the thickening air. "Jump!"

The helicopter shook from the sudden loss of weight. Its engine reached to a halt, stopping in midair before tilting backwards and colliding into the sea. The explosion emerged from the water, sending bits of shrapnel into the air, but not high enough to reach Snake. After pulling the string, he and Quiet (who was clinging on Venom like a cat on a tree) were gently supported by the wind. As they reached the floor of the platform, the parachute began to twist, sending them- into what could have a been a graceful landing- spiraling into the cold steel.

He coughed and began to stand, pulling out his knife to slash the tangling ropes. After he was free, he began to cut Quiet loose Brushing himself off afterward,the rest of the parachute was bundled into a cloth before being tossed aside.

"That was close, right-" As soon as he turned around, he noticed that there was one less person with him. "-soldier…?" Nothing remained.

Shit! The man rushed towards the edge of the platform and scanned the area below him, but all that he saw was the cruel, black sea that, for some reason, seemed to be awfully quiet tonight. He cursed to himself, there was no way the pilot could have failed to escape. They all jumped out at the same time!

Unless…

It had suddenly struck him that he remembered the chopper tilting backward, and the pilot leaped from the other side of him. His parachute must have gotten caught in the propeller…

Venom gave a moment of silence before turning to face the base, and it wasn't much to look at. All of the lights were off, even the ones that are used to show where Pequod would land. If it weren't for the moonlight, the base would've been one large silhouette. It was enough for him to see where he was going, but the mist still restricted it.

"Quiet," he began. "I'll go check out the control room. You check the medical platform to make sure no one has been hurt." Before the woman left, she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Be careful. No one has been responding lately and the lights are out. This could either mean we have been attacked or a storm came by here and shut everything down (even though the ground wasn't wet at all). Come back when you found something."

The woman nodded and left, disappearing into the dark background. Venom headed for the control room, pulling out a gun and attaching a suppressor. Can't have the whole base know he survived the helicopter crash, that is… if anyone was even alive to notice. Before he went up the steps, a low cry filled the air. Because it was so silent, the noise surrounded him. Was it one of his men? Surely not, the noise sounded too- beastlike. Whatever it was, it was starting to appear as if it were coming from the second floor. Actually, it sounded as if it were in the room he was heading in.

Readying his weapon, he slowly crept up the stairs and down the hallway. Indeed, the noise did get louder as he was nearing the door. However, as soon as he stood in front of it, the crying stopped. It knew he was there. Venom paused to listen closely. Maybe if he could hear how it breathed, moved- anything- he would be able to tell what was making that frightening noise. Carefully, he twisted the handle and slowly cracked open the door. But to his surprise, nails were scraping against the floor, and they were getting close. It was too late now.

He busted open the door and aimed his gun at the figure before him, which gave a loud bark.

"DD?" Snake paused, squinting his eyes, for the room was still dark.

The creature barked again and rammed its head into Venom's leg, sending the man to stumble backwards. It was DD all right.

"It is you," he breathed, ruffling the dog's head. A wave of relief flooded over him. At least someone was okay. But if he was here, then where was everyone else? But more importantly, what was that smell? The room reeked of a rotting meat smell and it was starting to make him feel a little sick.

The dog whined and rubbed his head on Snake's metal arm.

"Did you miss me?" the man said, giving an awkward smile. But DD wasn't trying to show affection, there was something attached to his collar. Snake noticed a rolled up note the handwriting looked rushed, as if whoever was writing it was in a hurry to get down as much information as possible:

IF YOU'RE HERE, PLAY THE TAPE THAT IS LABELED # 73

DO NOT LISTEN WITHOUT YOUR HEADPHONES. STAY SILENT AT ALL COSTS.

His suspicion rose even higher. Something was happening, and if he had to keep quiet, then someone dangerous must be lurking on this base. Only, the helicopter crash and the door made enough noise to attract anyone, so that meant that he was in trouble or- like how he had said before- everyone was dead. Deciding to not take any risks, he grabbed the tape and headed toward a corner where he could see the door. Playing the tape through his headset, he kept his aim at the door, making sure no one could come in. DD stood next to him and eyed the window. Feeling prepared, he pressed the play button.

"Shit! Everyone move, move move! Miller, supply the gas masks!"

"They're gone! The storage room has been raided! They must have taken it!"

"Well we can't just sit here waiting for everyone to fall dead! We're going to have to evacuate the-"

"No! I won't leave this base again!"

"Miller, we have no choi-"

"The medicinal platform is clear! Look, everyone is heading there!"

The tape played another recording that sounded as if it were cut. Parts sounded static.

"Boss… I'm not sure if you're going to get this… but….. There is some sort of… ambush going on. All of our communications… are down so you won't.. be able to contact us. If there is chance you come here and find a gas mask, wear it. I don't know wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-"

His heart jumped, then calmed down once he realized that the tape was twisted. He took it out and adjusted the film inside. He then put it back in the player before continuing.

"I don't know what's going on, but some of the men are falling to the floor. By the time you come back, the air might not be safe to breathe. I know what the note said, Boss, but you need to shoot up a flare so in case if any of us survive we'll be able to know you're okay. If we send a flare in response, it's safe to head on over. However- and listen to this closely- if we don't send one. That will assume that everyone didn't make it. I want you to attach some C4 to all of the connecting bridges and destroy them. This is important, no- this is crucial. Alright, Kaz is telling me to leave, so I hope that this message gets to you ASAP. What? Oh, shit… Nevermind, Boss, forget what I said! DO NOT GET-"

The tape was cut. Venom's body felt cold. He could tell all his blood from his face had drained. Before he could properly process what he had just heard, one thought was screaming in his head: Find the mask.

To his sudden surprise, a loud generator had begun to turn on. Then, all of the lights, even the radio, had their power restored. However, an even greater shock fill his body. He finally knew what caused the room to smell bad.

Surrounding him, bloody handprints were splattered all over the wall. Some dragged all the way to the floor, but that was it. Nothing led to the door way nor the window. A small part of him demanded to leave and never come back. It wasn't like he was scared of a little blood, but the scene reminded him of the time where he had to take out half of men by his own hand. Venom now realized that this situation was starting to hit him a lot harder than he had realized. His head began to spin, making him stumble into a cabinet and toppling it over. That was definitely the opposite of what he was told to do. After waiting a few moments to make sure that no one was near enough to investigate the sudden noise, Snake dug through what fell out of the cabinet.

A few jackets…

Boots…

A gasmask- was he lucky or what.

Adjusting the straps, the mask was secured tight on his face. DD was wagging his tail,and the sudden reminder struck him. He quickly pulled out the iDroid and selected the codec. He pressed the button.

"Quiet, can you hear me?" He grunted after no response. "Quiet, I need you back here ASAP, this is an an order!"

After hearing nothing again, Venom feared that she was captured… or killed by the gas Ocelot talked about.

This wasn't good. No communication, everyone was probably dead, and his base was most likely invaded.This wasn't what Big Boss would do, he wouldn't have allowed this in the first place, thought Venom, who was frantically darting his eyes around the room in hopes of finding a solution to this nightmare. First off, he was trying to figure out what Ocelot was trying to say. Do not get… "Do not get" what? There was something off…

His instructions were to use a flare. If no one responded, then he had to blow up the bridges, all of them. However, seeing that the power miraculously turned on, someone was still alive. Was it Quiet? If it was, then she should be safe if she was able to find the emergency generator and start it back means that there was no point in getting the flare. Of course, "do not get the flare". Considering how he needed a mask, the air must contain some sort of toxin that can react to a flare going off. The C4 would probably do the same. He didn't have to destroy the bridges now that he figured out what he has to do.

The mist grew thicker while on the bridge. WHat was going on? He noticed a silhouette of a person limping.

"Hello?" He called out. The figure did not respond, but continued to limp in his direction. Soon, the figure turned into two, then three, then six. Venom hesitated. They were all copying the same stance as the first. It was… unsettling. But before he could take a few paces back, the first figure soon appeared in his sight. It wasn't a survivor at all- but a puppet. SUddenly, he had realized that Ocelot's message wasn't about the flare after all- it was, "Do not get on the bridge."

"Son of a.." He trailed off, noticing that the ones behind it had begun to move a little faster. Normally, fighting these things would have been easy for him, but his actions were heavily restricted due to his current location. The bridge was directly above the water, which something the corpses cannot come into contact with, for the parasite within them would spread and infect the fish, soon infecting the people that eat it. Not even a drop of blood must hit the sea.

As the closest puppet lunged, venom pulled its arm and threw it over his shoulder before grabbing his knife and plunging it into the creature's eyes socket. The body stopped moving as he pulled the blade out, ready to pin down the next one. The smartest thing to do was to slowly come at one at a time. It would be quite difficult if two or three detected him.

Unfortunately for him, the next one was actually a group clumped together. Dammit, he hissed in his head. How am I going to get to one now?

Before he could come up with a plan, he heard growling coming from behind. Then, a flash of grey sped past his eye and into the horde of the corpses.

"DD, NO!" Venom tried to grab the dog by the tail, but he was too fast. In a second, a small squeal emerged from the group, followed by a loud splash.

"No…" The man whispered. "No… you bastards!" He lunged at the puppets, blasting bullets in random directions, splattering blood all over. Without thinking, he tossed every corpse off the bridge, which was something he was probably going to deeply regret later. But what did it matter- everyone was dead. He began to charged down the bridge, shouting at whoever was listening. He may have been heading straight into the cold hands of the reaper himself, but he didn't care. Nothing mattered anymore.

His fire quickly diminished as he stepped foot on the medical platform. The foul odor he experience inside the office room now seemed like a rose garden compared to what had lay before him. The steel was stained with crimson and a few bodies were found lying on the floor. Judging by the few number of corpses outside, everyone else must have been inside the building.

He had his gun at aim. He scouted the area in search for any clues before he would have to head inside. So far, all he noticed were trails of empty bullet shells and torn limbs. In his train of thought, he bumped into something heavy. It swung back and hit him again. He took a step back to see what was in his way.

The thing he ran into wasn't and object, but a body. It was limp and had a rope tied from its neck to the second floor railings. He noticed the other one next to it, which had suffered the same fate. Both were wrapped heavily in body bags and were strapped tightly with belts, leaving only their legs and feet exposed. It wasn't before long when he had noticed the cowboy boots on one body and an uneven lump on the other. His blood turned cold.

"No, that's impossible…" He backed away, denying what he had just saw.

"Excellent work, soldier."

Venom spun around. The man before him eyed the scene around him, looking overall impressed.

"What are you doing here," Venom hissed, aiming his gun at him. The other man gave no expression, only a blank stare.

"Your mission is over. I want you to come meet me at Zanzibar Land so we can discuss the next plan."

"Did you do this," Snake asked, nodding back. "All of this?"

He paused, brushing off his shoulder as if he had came straight from a duel. "I did."

"Why?" Venom spat back. "Why did you kill all of my men- you even killed Miller and Ocelot!"

"They did not understand."

"What did they not understand from you, Boss- or should I even consider calling you that title anymore." Before the other man could respond, Venom dove for a punch, but Big Boss quickly grabbed his wrist and jerked him forward before kneeing his face.

"Your mission- your purpose- is to be my phantom." He released his phantom, then jabbed his elbow on the man's back. "You are the decoy, the puppet. I stay in the shadows while the world has its eyes on you. Everyone, including Miller and Ocelot, had orders to support you until my base was to be completed." Venom was on the ground, coughing and spitting out blood from his gums. He felt a foot press down on his head, pushing his cheeks against the cool floor.

"Don't you get it?" Big Boss said. "You're nothing but a pawn created to obey my orders. You live and die my me. I created you…" he applied more weight into his foot, slowly adding more pressure into Venom's skull, "... and I can destroy you."

Venom grunted. "Go… to….hell."

The man scoffed before grabbing the soldier's hair and raising it up to face him. "Where do you think I come from," he replied. He jerked his his off to the side ad place his foot in front of him, sending Venom tumbling against the ground. He coughed more blood. Nothing came from his gut, but it certainly felt like it, especially with his jaw feeling like it could fall off at any second. He lay there, listening to his superior's footstep draw closer, slowly beginning to sound like a ticking clock. This was it, his mission was over. He had vowed to be forever loyal to Big Boss, only to be used and thrown away later like a cigar.

A click of a gun went off. Venom braced for the bullet and prepared to end his life.

Moments went by...

"Trick or treat."

Venom opened his eye. Big Boss didn't move. In fact… he was smiling.

"Here, you look like you could need some sugar to calm your heart down," The man handed Venom some candy. He eyed them warily.

"What is going on?"

"We just pranked you," said another man who emerged from the door next to him. The room he just left was filled with men bursting out laughing. Snake's face was red from a combination of embarrassment and rage. "To be honest," he continued, chuckling, "We thought we wouldn't be able to pull it off."

"Ocelot?" He asked, taking a quick glance at the hanging corpse behind him, then looking back. "How are you…?"

The Russian gave gave a proud smile and walked towards the two bodies. Pulling out a knife, he slashed the one that looked like him open, sand pouring out.

"Dummies," he said, "Both were our clothes sewn together and filled with sand to resemble a limp body. The heads are just coconuts with the bags over them.

Venom shook his head. "You're telling me that none of this was real? But the blood, those soldiers, and DD!"

"Those 'soldiers' you fought were real puppets. We collected them from camps and areas where we just found them wandering. "As for DD…"

Venom felt a nudge against his leg. He looked down, only to find his companion wagging his tail and barking happily.. Quiet was next to him, giving a shy smile and waving slightly. Was she in on this too?

"DD was trained to jump off the railing at a specific spot, and Quiet was practicing on catching him. Of course, if she wasn't able to catch him, he would be able to swim towards the base of a connector until he would be brought back up."

"Hold it." Venom shook his head. "Ocelot, I think I'm going to need you to explain everything."

"Alright, but let me tell the men to clean this all up, then we'll sit down and drink a few beers."

"So you see, this was actually Big Boss's idea," he began, opening the small fridge. "In the beginning, he wanted to invite you to celebrate Halloween with him."

"But isn't it just for kids?"

He handed the man his beer. Its crimson color reminded him of what he had saw, causing him to hand it back to the commander and recline in his chair.

Ocelot raised a brow before continuing. "That's what I told him, but he wanted to have his soldiers come to your base to meet up so that way the main mission would go more smoothly now that all bonds have been established. He wanted the invitation to be memorable, and what better way than to scare the shit out of you." He reached for his drawer and pulled out a few rubber spiders before setting them on his desk.

"While you were on your missions, the R&D team was able to create a small studio room for recording and adding effects to tapes. In fact, some of them had experience in film production and audio equipment. After the recordings were complete, we labeled them and began to train DD. We made him pretend to guard the doors and howl. The helicopter crash was staged too. The pilot was a professional swimmer, and the bag you gave him was a life vest. The helicopter was hit with a flare, but it was supposed to crash. The R & D team created a chopper was would slowly combust as soon as the pilot hit a button. All of the blood was just an aldehyde that emits the typical metallic scent that humans associate with blood."

Ocelot sat up and set his beer on his desk. "Now, what you did on the bridge…"

Venom grumbled. "I know, it was embarrassing."

"Not just that. What you did was overly beyond reckless. Luckily for you, only the parasites that killed our men couldn't be carried through water and air. The ones that came from the puppets die as soon as they are in contact with salt water, which is why Quiet couldn't stand the interrogation-"

"And why she was nervous," Venom finished. "She had to be over the ocean all this time. She was sacrificing her life for a prank that could have gone horribly wrong."

Ocelot shrugged. "Well, it had to be convincing. No point in throwing on bedsheets and hanging up rubber spiders."

"You could've at least had an emergency plan for if something did go wrong. Five lives were at stake, Ocelot- Quiet's, DD's, the pilot, Big Boss's, and mine. If we all died, your mission would have been over and all of this would have been for nothing."

The Russian chuckled. "Who knows what could have happened? But the thing was, no one was hurt. I believed in you." Snake scoffed, getting up from his chair. Before he could leave the office, Ocelot called him back.

"By the way, Big Boss wants to see you."

"Now?"

He nodded. "He wants you to meet him on the roof."

"So he can push me off?"

"He brought your favorite brand."

"...Monterrey?"

"Not like you smoke anything else."

"Fine." The man left the room, leaving the commander behind to deal with a desk covered with paperwork and rubber spiders.

Venom began to hear laughter and excitement from below as he traveled up the stairs. He had forgotten it was Halloween. He didn't even know soldiers celebrated a kids' holiday. He was even surprised with the way they acted. It was as if the men he knew vanished into the mist while children (normal children, mind you) ran out.

Once he finally reached the rooftop, he faced the man who wanted to see him. The mist had now disappeared, leaving the moon more visible than ever.

"You made it," He spoke. He was staring down at the tiny men who were cheering and dancing to classic Halloween music. "For a second, I thought you were beginning to slow down." He turned his head to catch a response, but only a cold glare was returned.

"I just came here to grab my cigar and leave. I don't feel like talking to you for a good long while." Big Boss raised his brows at the sudden spite that was spat in Snake's words. His name must have suited him after all.

The man motioned his doppelganger over. He handed him the cigar and lit it, soon lighting his own.

Venom slowly inhaled the intoxicating fume. His mind was reset and all of his muscles were relaxed. After a day like this, you never know how much a cigar can relieve you. Feeling in a much better mood, he decided to stay. After all, Big Boss did owe him an explanation.

"So what was it that you wanted to tell me," he asked, leaning on the rails and staring down at his men.

The other man gave a smirk, then pointed to where Snake was looking. "What do you see?"

Venom scoffed. "A bunch of idiots who act like they're kids."

"Try again."

"Boss-"

"Try again."

The man huffed and concentrated on the image. There was a large crowd of cheering soldiers. They were dancing, singing, and even threw candy at each other. It was as if they had never tasted the bitterness of war. It was almost heartwarming. But those were his men. The ones who stuck to him like dogs, loyal 'til the day they died. He felt a sudden spot in his chest warm up.

"Family," he said, smiling. "I see a family enjoying themselves."

Big Boss nodded. "But whose family is it?"

"Mine."

"No." he placed his hand on Venom's shoulder. "It's ours. Everything we have done, felt, shared… we all did it together." The two men both faced each other, giving a small smile.

Venom sighed. "Boss… About what you said... on the medical platform-"

"That was all an act."

He sneered, straightening up. "Was it really? What you said wasn't something one could take lightly of."

"But I was only half joking."

"What?"

"Soldiers weren't created to retain their own free will. Their job, their purpose, is to serve whoever gives the command. In other words- those who have money have power."

"'Pay a man enough, and he'll walk barefoot into Hell'," Snake said, repeating a quote he had once heard somewhere.

"Exactly."

Venom shook his head, "But what you said. "Being a pawn"... is that all a soldier's life is?"

Big Boss nodded, tossing away his cigar. "As a soldier, you only have two main goals: kill and pretend. You either fight for your country, or fight for the highest bidder."

"So that's what this base is made for. You want to run a major mercenary business."

The man chuckled. "Not exactly. Someone who I knew was…. a tool. Her role was to pretend to be the enemy and to be killed for it, and she agreed to do it. She gave her life and will for her country, and they took it away, because to them, she was indispensable. If she had survived, then another deadly mission would have been ordered for her to do. You keep on fighting until you die. That, is the purpose of a soldier."

Before Venom could object, Big Boss held up his hand. "But," he said, "I want to create a place where soldiers didn't have to fight for their country. No one can feel like a puppet anymore, we will feel like we are needed, that we are actually worth something."

"Every soldier is treated as family because everyone is special."

"See? You're already starting to sound like me."

"So that's your big plan, uniting the world through the military?"

"It's the only way politicians will listen."

Snake finished his cigar before dropping it to the ground. He saw Big Boss extend his hand and dropped something into Venom's. He eyed the object and smirked. "You know I can't stand taffy."

"Then I guess we'd better head downstairs and find some better options before Ocelot eats them all. Let's go, Big Boss. "

"Heh. You got it."