Muffled sounds was all Quint heard. She felt her body hanging by her arms. She was alive but everything was dulled and black. Nearly naked and bruised, the Haimirian agent tried twisting around in her spot, but her body barely moved. Blood drained from her arms, the best she could do was twitch. Screams pleas for mercy were so close. It was Flor, Harlaown and Eva.

"…Who is Zaporozhet's lapdog?" The Colonel furiously roared followed by a stumble of something heavy on the ground.

"How can you do this to him?"

"I know you gave that data to someone!" Cracking zaps of mana discharge and a collapse of a barrel drum echoed around. The sounds all meant that Quint was in a room of kinds. Maybe sound proof so the Colonel could get away without anybody knowing?

The man continued to laugh, clothes dragging against the ground followed by the beat of punches. And she knew that she was next. "… Peh, guess he's dead."

Footsteps clapped their way to her as she tensed up. Spit in her mouth gargled for a moment as she tried to swing to the side. Trapped and held suspended in the air by her arms.

"Now then… I hope you prove more entertaining than he did…"

Cold cracked hands glided across her skin as she did her best from squirming. A soldier was stoic even in the face of certain death but his hands felt alien. Small sharp pains as he exploded her, sides, abdomen and arms. His hands clipped to Quint's bra as he tore through the fabric and tossed it to the side.

"Hmm…" He grunted, feet pacing around her. "You have your experiences of scars. A full grown woman and a soldier. Heh. But not for long."

Quint cough up as she felt Chrono gut punch her. Another. And another. The man was relentless with every blow, just enough to keep in pain.

"What is your target?"

Another punch, rocking her against the binds.

"Is it the Fanzabastovka?"

Quint coughed blood from another hit, this time at her kidneys.

"Or maybe it's Al-Hazard?"

Pounding his fists in her stomach, she kept her silent.

"Answer me! Who is helping you?! Who let you in here?"

Finishing with a punch square in the chest, she heard him spit on the ground. "You're a tough one… But even you have your limits."

"And I am a very patient man…"

Passed out again, Chrono manically grinned as he threw the water from his bucket at his helpless victim. The black bag over her head puffed up again. Excellent. She was still alive.

Fingers curling as they snapped at the joints, mana discharge cracked between them as he threw out his hands at Quint. Icy build-up followed by discharging mana violently coursed her body as she screamed, muffed by the bag. He pulled his hand back as the shock and ice stopped.

"Now… Answer me! How much does the IIA know?" The woman shook her head as he shocked her again. From the corner, Ocelot watched winced a little.

"They're after Al-Hazard, aren't they?!"

He didn't even give her a time to react, blasting her with discharged streaks of mana and ice. Crackled frozen bits of her blood caked her body and healing wounds tore open again.

"Your real target is Al-Hazard, isn't it?!" Her leggings became wet as he chuckled. "Yes, yes. Let yourself go… That's what I want to see!"

The low clatter of boots against pavement echoed as door swooshed open as The Boss stepped, her eyes observing all of them. Looking back at Quint and Chrono, the brunette gave a flat frown.

"It's no use." She said, "She's not going to talk." Another person quietly entered the room, much to Ocelot's annoyance.

"She's been trained not to break." The Boss continued, ignoring her follower. "Trained by me."

Scowling, the Colonel returned his attention to Quint, his hands glowing white-blue. "Admit it! You're after the location of Al-Hazard!" Grappling her breast, the discharge erupted around her body, burning out bits of her hair as she screamed again. Eva looked for a moment, almost throwing up.

"The secret fund established by the Three Great Powers during the two World Wars! That's what you're looking for, isn't it?! One hundred billion dollars, divided up and hidden all over the world!"

Winding up, Chrono gut-punched her as she aimlessly swung in the air. "And you're looking for a record of where all that money is hidden, right?!"

The blonde Major turned back to her commanding officer, getting used to his torture techniques. There was something in his face that she never thought she would see. Fear. Fear of losing the thing that he cherished, maybe even more than Amy.

"No matter." Chrono grunted, cracking his neck to the side, "The funds are safely in my possession, in a hidden underground vault in Groznyj Grad."

Pushing her back like a punching bag, he stepped when Quint was just parallel to him, a super-charged punch to her face. Freezer-burnt flesh and burning hair fumed the air as they heard a small clink hit the floor. Crouching down, Chrono frowned as he turned the item in his fingers.

"A transmitter?" He turned to the lot of them. "Who's responsible for this?"

Oclet shrugged, her hands in the air as The Boss stepped forward. "I am."

"I planted it on her to keep track of her movements." She said plainly. Chrono blindly tossed the item behind him as Ocelot caught the small pill-shaped object.

"Why?" He demanded.

"So the Cobras could ambush her."

"If they knew where she was going to be, they wouldn't have gotten themselves slaughtered." He slowly turned away, shuffling. "It pains me to do this, Boss, but under the circumstances… I'm afraid I must ask you to show me some proof that you and her were not in collusion."

The Leader of the Cobras stepped towards him as he turned back and backpedalled. "You don't trust me, is that it?"

"Not that…" He defensively put his hand up. "But she is your apprentice."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Let's see… Cut out her eyes. I don't like those blue-green eyes of her. There's nothing more precious to a soldier than her eyes. You made her a soldier… And now you will unmake her."

The Boss lowered her head as Chrono triumphantly chuckled. "Yes… it will make for a touching display! She's all yours."

The Boss looked over at the other two as Chrono continued to his grandeur exposition. Ocelot looked back at Quint and closed her eyes. Eva shook her head, worried. Not like it would matter anyways.

Stepping towards her, the Boss drew out her combat knife as Quint's black bag rapidly swelled and contracted. Ripping the bag off, she leaned in to Quint's left eye as she panted. All her panic abruptly ended when Eva stepped forward and pulled The Boss's arm away.

"Stop!" She yelled as The Boss looked at her sharply.

"What is it Hayate?" Chrono frowned, seeing his little play suddenly halted.

"She's suffered enough…"

"Well, well…" Ocelot pushed off the wall, furrowing her brow. "Why are you protecting her?" The blonde Major leaned closer to, sniffled to Eva's immediate disgust.

"That smell…" She pulled her close and said, "Hayate… You're the spy!"

"Wh-what, what are you talking about?" She said defensively. Smiling, Ocelot groped her right breast as Eva immediately smacked her.

Chrono chuckled to himself. "Taking a fancy to her, eh Ocelot?"

The blonde rolled her eyes, and grunted. "I have no interest in this woman." Drawing her revolver, she checked the barrel. Still good.

"I want to test her." Spinning the chamber, she smirked. "I'll let this be the judge."

"Do as you like."

Up and down, up and down, Ocelot threw two more revolvers as she juggled them. Two in the air, she dry fired at Hayate. No bullet came but Eva winced. A few more passes and fire. Nothing yet.

Quint watched as she remembered which revolver it was. She's gonna fire it on the third one… I gotta..! Using the last bit of strength she had Quint swung herself back as Ocelot gripped the loaded revolver. She pushed her as her arm cocked back at her and fired.

The bullet missed. The muzzle flash didn't.

The burning fragments slashed into Quint's right eye as she screamed in agony. Burnt flesh and blood wavered in the room as everything in her right side felt numbed as she heard Eva's scream as she ran to the other side of the room.

Struggling in her binds, Quint helpless swung back and forth as she caught in the corner of her left eye, The Boss slapping Ocelot as she took away her revolver.

"Hmph. That was entertaining.." Chrono devilishly smiled as he headed for the exit. Her briefly turned to Eva and said, "Come. We're going to my room."

Seeing the Colonel leave, Ocelot holstered her revolver. She stepped towards Quint, finally having her body tire out from all the pain as she spun her behind and punched her shoulder. A small dripping bit of the Haimirian agent's blood squirted out.

"So you managed to survive the Colonel's torture…" She said, slowly clapping. "Watching this has made me realize something…"

"It's really not that bad." The Boss slowly turned to her, frowning. Almost disappointed-like.

"It's the ultimate form of expression." Grabbing her other revolver that dropped to the ground from her juggling, Ocelot looked at Eva, still crying from the sudden turn of events.

"You got lucky this time Hayate…" The familiar swirl of her revolver bounced around the room as she exited. Tired and nearly losing consciousness, Quint saw The Boss step into her view. The brunette lifted her arms and lazily flicked her hands at the blonde as she exited the room.

Maybe she was hallucinating. Or maybe she just haven't eaten anything as she saw the familiar cloaked figure from the stairwell, holding up a mini-chalkboard with the numbers: "144.75"

The Boss wasn't finished just yet. Pulling her confiscated revolver, she drew a small pill from her cloak and loaded it into it. Without a single flicker of emotion, she fired it into Quint's leg, barely registering a groan as blood poured out her new wound.

She pulled her close and whispered, "Run!"

The Boss exited as Eva looked around, making sure that nobody was nearby. Sucking up her tears, she whispered into Quint's ear. "I've prepared an escape. Head west from here. Pass underneath the connecting passageway and go north. You'll find an open manhole there."

"Y-you're…" The purple-haired mage breathed.

"Quiet! Go through the sewers and head north. The door at the end is unlocked. I've got your equipment. We'll meet up later."

Dropped back in her cell, Quint nursed her wounds as she checked the outside window that hung at the top of her cell. It was nearly evening as she looked at the fork that they had so graciously given her. Her entire body itched from the wounds as she moved her arms to scratch them. Paramedic would give her hell if she found out about this.

An unfamiliar hole and bump rubbed between her spine and back. It wasn't too deeply in and the wound was still fresh. Quint took her fork and gently slid it in between the bump and her skin, wiggling it until whatever it was popped out. She turned around until she saw the guard return leaning against the bars. "You've been pretty quiet you know that?"

"… Yeah?"

"Y-you know… What they teach in Shutra is that you Haimirians are capitalist dogs and stuff."

"And now?"

"W-well, I used to live in the States. Had a family too." The guard rattled a small tin. Guess it must have been dinner time.

"Must be lonely huh?" Quint sighed managing the strength to get up and get her food. Grabbing the tin, she opened it up. Just her luck. It looked even worse than Shutran rations. At least it was warm-ish.

Swallowing her taste buds, Quint took her fork and swiped her leftover blood off of it before eating.

"Kinda sucks right? Th-the food I mean…"

"It's… yeah, it's bad."

The guard shrugged and shook his head. "Yeah… Everybody complains about that."

Managing to swallow the goop, the guard continued to make some small talk. "Yeah… Had a wife and kid back there."

"What's your kid's name?"

"Tiida."

"Huh. Got a new ring to it."

"Th-thanks." He said sheepishly. "A-actually, my name's Tiida too." He pulled out a picture. What looked to be him without the mask and woman. A small family. "All the first born sons in my family are named Tiida."

Quint brief looked on the side of the picture. She saw some words as she discreetly shifted in her spot. The numbers from that ghost that appeared in the torture room were the same: 144.75.

"A whole clan of Tiida's."

The two chuckled as Quint returned to eating. What could those numbers mean?

"Why do we even have a Cold War anyways?" The guard named Tiida asked. "Our two countries used to be such good friends."

Leaning back on her bars, she reflected what The Boss told her, during the Virtuous Mission. One day's allies could be the next day's enemies. "Yeah, I hear ya…"

Tiida sighed, shrugging. "I just want to see my family again…" Fiddling with his fingers and comically checking around to see if it was just him, he withdrew a small silver case and handed it over to her. "Here. I filched them from your equipment while the Colonel wasn't looking."

Her face blush a little red. Her cigars. It'll be good for later. Taking the case, she stow it away in her pants. Her magic slowly started to return, but without a proper protecting for a Barrier Jacket, a shot or two would easily kill her.

"It's the least I could do."

"Don't suppose you could let me out here?"

"N-no, I can't do that…" He backed away. "H-hey, you aren't planning any funny business?" He raised his rifle. Safety was on and his hands keep it unsteady. "I-If you try that, I-i-I'll have to shoot!"

Finishing her meal, Quint tossed the tin to the bed and sighed. "Don't worry. I'm not."

Still patrolling the jail cell, Tiida yawned. Soon his shift will be over and he can head over for dinner. Hopefully they were serving something better than yesterday. The pirozhki seemed off. Looking through the small grated window, he sighed. The sun was deep red dipping over the metal buildings.

Pivoting and heading back, he looked back in the cell where the prisoner was and saw her on the ground. "H-holy..!" Tiida immediately opened the door and crouched down, checking for a pulse. Nothing.

"O-oh no, oh no! Harlaown is gonna kill me!" He panicked. Rifle to the side, he flipped Quint over. Died while her eyes were shut. What a cruel way to go. Standing back up, Tiida shook his head and removed the black mask. Light orange hair, trimmed for Shutran military standards.

All of sudden her eyes opened. Stunned, she flipped her legs up, kicking Tiida in the groin as he curled over in pain. Quint twisted her body on the ground, legs taking the young man from underneath him as he banged his head against the metal bars of her cell and fell unconscious.

The Haimirian agent spat out two pieces of a blue pill and sighed. "Sorry…" She said to him before leaving her cell.

Making her way into the sewers Quint heard a familiar ringing noise. It was her radio, still working after all that torture? Flipping the switch on, she said, "This is Snake."

"Snake?"

"Eva?"

"Yeah. You already in the sewers?"

"Just got down here."

"Uhh Snake?"

"Let me guess. There's a problem."

"The Colonel found out you escaped."

"Mehh, I figured he would eventually." She said, running down the concrete stairs.

"Yeah, but he's sealing off the underground as well."

"Damn it. So what do I do now?"

"Just keep running Snake."

The simple snap of Eva's transmitter turning off rushed through Quint's body. Run. Hurried, she jumped down into the water ditch, kicking up water as she dashed towards the light at the end. Shutran commands and attack dogs barked not too far away, she dug her feet into the ground, magic propelling her faster and faster away. The light shined from the tunnel as she looked at the distant trees. Water rushed out of the pipe as she realized what was going on.

Slamming her feet on the pipe, she nearly fell out of the pipe… And down into the gouge. The dogs howling and barking with the thundering boots behind her as Quint turned to face her opponents. Two regulars, three from the Ocelot Unit, four dogs and…

"Heh. Finally got you." Ocelot herself chuckled, twirling her revolver. Calmly, she stepped forwards beyond her guard. The dogs still barred their teeth and soldiers aimed their rifles. "Stand down. I've got this." Spinning her revolver's barrel around, she smirked. "I wanna relish this moment…"

Quint stared back, arms barely up in stance. There was no way she could fend Ocelot off. Even more, there was no way she'd survive with the rest of cronies behind her. Her last eye darted from corner to corner. Nothing. No escape.

Unless…

Steeling herself, leaned back towards the rushing waters. Realization and horror spread up the blonde's face when she realized what was going on. "SNAKE!" She barked, raising her gun and fired. No bullet as she cocked its trigger again. She fired and no spark.

The purple-haired mage shut her eye and plunged into the raging tides below. A fall of fifty feet into the water and… darkness.

Wandering… Wandering… A bog of silent and mist endlessly stretched. The water itself felt thick, like stomping through a tar pit. But Quint kept going, sometimes closing her eyes as she felt the skeletons of dead fish crackled and scatter as they touched her body. A lingering scent of flame passed her nose as she opened her eyes.

The forest before her was set ablaze, its trees blooming into sheets of broken metal and blood. A faint woman's voice echoed from all directions, calling out as Quint squinted eyes. Somehow, the echo sounded familiar… Like an old friend. A sudden tang of bladed feet skittered beyond the metal in low methodical steps. It was a hunter, making sure its prey couldn't escape. The bulbous blade rose over and sunk into the ground and the forest ablaze disappeared from before her eyes.

Her lungs and chest burned, something in her heart felt as if it was burrowing through her torso, threatening to burst at any moment. Struggling, Quint continued through the bog, hoping its pain would disappear.

A light splatter hit her brow as more fell from the skies. The sky itself turned a mellow grey color as the drips consolidated in one spot in front of her. First a hood, then its shoulders and finally its feet. Before her was a floating puppet-like body that unnaturally turned its body towards her. Smoldering coals of red rested where its eyes could be and strings of blonde hair trickled out of its shielded head.

"A-another Cobra…?" Quint asked as she raised her hands in a ready stance.

"… Once… perhaps… One of many sorrows…" The spectre nodded and raised a finger back. "Just as you... I am The Sorrow…"

Its voice lingered for a moment before pulling back its hood. Just as her name was, a melancholy woman floated above the water. Her face was slender, aged from weariness and wisdom. Yet she was not unbeautiful, a natural aura radiating from her as she floated down the water way, waving its finger for Quint to follow.

"The dead… have voices…" She continued, "Even if the living cannot hear them… For many… they are NOT silent…" Her left eye leaked blood, trailing down her pale cheek.

In the distance, Quint saw a lumbering figure. Thumping against the currents in the river, its body turned towards her. Th… The Pain..?! Swarms of hornets and bees littered The Pain's body, scattering as a gentle breeze rustled the trees. The ghost stared at her as she passed, grimacing as it nodded and disappeared behind her.

Next was The Fear, still grinning with out-stretched digits at her. The Sorrow looked almost… disapprovingly at her fallen comrade as the two passed again, leaving The Fear to the waters again.

The End was next, standing stoically at the side. Unlike the rest of The Cobras, the man saluted at Quint. He carried only a satisfied smile. The faint smell of autumn leaves came and went as they moved on to The Fury.

Even it her specter form, the smallest Cobra swung its booster-hammer in barely restrained resentment. Her twin tails violently swung in the water, splashing water in Quint's face as she too looked at the Haimirian mage. A scowl crossed her lips until they passed.

"Now do you see…? The very lives of those lost…" The Sorrow spoke once more.

"What will happen to them now?" Quint asked.

"That is… uncertain… The dead find their ways to invoke to the Living World… As do I…" She blinked. "Go back… And finish your mission… Just as The Boss did… Those two years ago…"

The purple-haired mage reached out. "W-wait..? What do you mean 'Those two years ago..'? Wh-what happened…?"

The Sorrow forlornly smiled. "Wake up soldier…"

"Huh…?"

.

.

.

.

.

.

WAKE UP!

Quint's eyes burst open, feeling the water in her lungs burn. The world was slime-coated, sitting at the bottom of a water reservoir. She choked, clawing her way back to the surface. Blood, guts and water flew up as she grabbed on the closest rock cropping and pulled herself out.

I… I could've died..! The mage caught her breathe and collapsed on the dirt behind her. She was safely in the forest. It was late morning by the look of the sun. "I can't believe it's only been a few days…" She groaned to herself. Longing for just a nap, Quint leaned back, feeling the faint grass on her neck. A low breeze that-

BZZP-! BZZZP-!

"It could've lasted longer…" She grunted to herself before flicking her radio transmitter on.

"Quint, are you there? We thought we lost you!" Gil gasped on the other side of the line. A line scuffling of chairs and papers barely passed in the background.

"B-barely… I'm back in the forest again…" She paused. "Major, was the-, there any Cobra in the unit named 'The Sorrow'?"

"The Sorrow? Yes, there was. A woman of uncanny abilities who fought along side The Boss. Records say she was a… psychic. More so than magic, but something other worldly. Speaking to the spirits of dead soldiers on the battlefield. It was her and The Boss that fought the Sankt Kaiser at one time."

"Did something happen to her not to long ago?"

"Yes, SIGINT would know more."

SIGINT's voice crackled back to life, his usual grandeur scientist tone subdued for some reason. "I thought you guys knew about this already." He started. "Two years she was confirmed Killed In Action by the Soviet government."

It matches her story. "Where did this happen?"

"Tselinoyarsk… Those cliffs where you were at. It was The Boss that killed her."

"The Boss?"

"The Boss was sent on a secret mission by the IIA to Tselinoyarsk where she met The Sorrow once more, who rejoined the Soviets after World War II. Records say that The Boss killed her herself and completed the mission."

"… what were these two..? Friends..? Best of friends..? Lovers..?"

"UUhh, Snake, you ok there?"

"Y-yes, yes, yes. I'm fine. I'm fiiine." Quint scratched her chin. "Guess I better find a way back to facility."

"Good woman." Gil chuckled. "Good hunting, Snake"