Link was up early the next morning as always. It was his job to make sure that the soldiers got up early as well. They didn't have alarm clocks or even a morning rooster, but he was the next best thing. He also was recently tasked with making sure that Snake wakes up, as his short vacation here had Zelda deem him a VIP of sort.

This is Snake's last day. Zelda will be pissed if I don't make it a good one.

Link slowly opened the door to Snake's room.

"Alright Snake, time to…" Link paused as he saw that Snake was not in his bed. Not only that, but all of his belongings were out of the room as well. The bed was neatly made too, and on top of the bed was a letter.

Did he really…

Link picked up the letter and opened it. It was Snake's handwriting, and he wrote…

Link,

I'm sorry. I know I was supposed to stay another day but I just got too impatient. I feel that the sooner I get this over with the better. Tell Peach and Zelda that I'm very sorry. I hope you understand.

-Snake

Link wasn't very upset with Snake's decision surprisingly. Though he wasn't thrilled about it, and he knew that the two ladies would not feel the same as he did. He knew how Snake was. He would make these choices that seemed insensitive and rude and sometimes made him look heartless, but Link knew that he made these choices because he believed that it was the right thing to do. It was one of the things he respected about the man. He prayed in hopes for Snake's safety during his journey. Then he dreaded having to break the news to the princess.

Snake was trekking through the wastes, back into this endeavor that felt routine to him. He looked at the map given to him by Link that had the locations of all the Hylian outposts that had intel teams posted at each one.

There! The closest one is just a couple miles north. Maybe they'll have some information for me.

Mapping where he needed to go in his head, he put the map back in his bag.

It's strange. Years ago I remember things were chaotic out here. Now things seem more peaceful. Sure there are always going to be bandits but…everything seems to be a lot tamer than when I last traveled here. The world seems to have recovered significantly after seven years. This survivor-man mentality that I have now…is it really appropriate anymore? Do I needed to loosen up a little bit?

It was something that rarely occurred. Snake was questioning his cynical view of the world. It wouldn't last long, as Snake pulled himself together, smacking his palm against his forehead.

What the fuck am I saying?! Of course it's necessary! Look at what's going on right now. I'm trying to get a bounty off my head! I'm being hunted! Maybe other people can afford to relax a little but not me. If I drop my guard, I'm dead. That's how it's always been. Just focus on the task at hand, I can question these moral dilemmas when this is over.

It was a long walk, but Snake made it to the first outpost, where he was greeted by three Hylian soldiers.

"Ah! Hello Sir! Glad to see that you made it here safely." One of the soldiers said.

"Hey I'm not your commanding officer. You can just call me Snake." He laughed.

"Oh…right! Good to see you Snake. Hey guys! Snake's here!" He called to the other guards. They came and shook hands with him.

"Any trouble on the way here?"

"No nothing to report. So what's going on here?" Snake asked.

"Well, due to the nature of this assignment, Captain Link believes that we should start using these…advanced communication technology. I believe it is called a…radio." The soldier said and pointed to their Ham radio.

"That's a smart choice. The speed of which you can share intel with other outposts is important."

"Agreed…but…"

"But what?"

"I…don't know how to get it working. I originally had a sheet that told me how to work it, but I lost it." The soldier admitted.

"Well it looks like you have it powered on and everything. All you need is the frequency that the others are using."

"Right…that was on the info sheet as well though."

"Damn." Snake muttered. "Hang on I'll think of something."
As Snake pondered in his thoughts, something sprang into mind.

Wait a minute! My codec! Don't I still have that? Let's see…Yes! I do have it! I haven't had to use this thing in years.

Snake stood there in silence, with the others not sure as to what he was doing. It looked as if he was just standing there with his hand to his ear, but he was actually tuning his codec to different frequencies, seeing if he could pick up Hylian radio chatter. After going through different frequencies, he finally picked something up.

"Outpost 87! This is control. Do you copy? Outpost 87! Come in!"

"Got it!" Snake cheered. He went over to the Radio and dialed it to the frequency he was on. Sure enough, the voice came through their radio.

"You did it!" The guard celebrated. He picked up the mic and responded. "This is Outpost 87. We read you control."

"What the hell took you so long to answer?" The voice asked.

"Sorry we had a little complications with the radio."

"Whatever. Has Snake arrived there yet?"

"This is Snake. I've arrived at the outpost." Snake responded via codec.

"Woah! How did you respond without the radio?" A soldier asked.

"It's my codec. It's basically a radio that's implanted in my ear."

"That's incredible. Now hold on a second Snake. Captain Link wants to speak with you."

"Ah shit…" he moaned.

"Snake you son of a bitch!" Link yelled over the radio.

"Nice to hear from you too."

"Seriously? You just had to get up and leave out of nowhere?"

"Link, I said in my letter…"

"I know…I know. I understand why you did it. Just wish you would have told me at least. Instead the task of breaking the news to Zelda and Peach was given to me in a split second." Link said calming down.

"Sorry about that. How did they take it?"

"They understood your reasons. Of course they weren't very happy with it, but they understood. Don't be surprised if you get slapped in the face when you get back."

"I won't." Snake laughed.

"So with this codec of yours…since it's basically a radio that's always with you, then we should be able to contact you wherever you are out there, right?"

"Pretty much."

"Good. However I don't want you standing by on this frequency. Otherwise you'll be hearing conversations from every out post out there. Let's set you up on a different frequency."

"Got it."

Snake and Link adjusted their radios and went to a different channel.

"Alright, now if we ever need to let you know something we'll tell you on this frequency."

"Are you sure about all this Link?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm being hunted. By providing me with any kind of help you're putting your people in danger. They may come after you." Snake explained his concerns.

"I'm well aware of that Snake, but we're still doing this. I can't just have you wandering out there without any support. Like it or not we're backing you up." Link responded.

"Alright then. I guess I can't stop you. So what can these outpost do for me?"

"They're scouts. They've always been good at providing us with intel. This time around they'll be focusing on any information regarding the people hunting you. There's usually four people at each outpost. One of them is the scout."

"There's only three here."

"Right, well the fourth guy isn't there because he's still out on the field. Scouts usually report back to the outpost around this time. Just wait for him to come back. Hopefully he'll have information for you. Otherwise if you need to stock up on anything, go ahead."

"Got it. Snake out." He said before ending the call. Snake walked over to the soldiers.

"Thank you for the help with the radio, Snake!" The radioman said.

"Yeah, no problem. Listen, Link said something about there being four of you. One of them being a scout."

"Ah yes! That would be Ashley. She should be back here an-"

"I'm back!" a female voice shouted.

"Uh never mind. That's her."

Snake went to meet Ashley as she came closer.

"Oh! Didn't know we had a visitor. You must be Solid Snake, right?" She asked.

"That's right. And you must be Ashley the scout." He replied.

"That's correct sir. Pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise ma'am." Snake said and shook her hand.

"Ashley, how'd the reconnaissance go? Get any good info." One of the soldiers asked.

"As a matter of fact I did. A very good amount too."

"Is that right? Where were you?" Snake asked.

"I was traveling in a settlement called New Altea. I was disguised and hoping to listen in on conversations that might relate to you, and then record them with this." She explained and took out her tape recorded.

"Altea? That's was the name of Marth's kingdom."

"That's right. And before you ask, I haven't seen any signs of him or the other Fire Emblem fighters."

"I see…"

"So what did you find out?" A soldier asked.

"I know that you must of pissed off whoever's after you really good. Not only are they trying to assassinate you, but they're also trying to assassinate your reputation."

"What?"

"PSCs were patrolling around the settlement, and they were handing these flyers out." Ashley pulled out said flyer and handed it to Snake. Snake took a look at the paper. It had a sketch drawing of him, a good looking one at that, and it read. It was a "wanted" poster, offering a reward for any information regarding the whereabouts of him.

"PSCs you said?"

"Yeah. Private Security Companies." One of the soldiers answered. "The offer protection to different settlements in exchange for payment. They act as police for that settlement in a sense. But they don't give a damn about protecting anyone. They're crooked mercenary bastards that only care for their own interests."

"Yeah. I've heard rumors that they stage bandit attacks on settlements in order to make the people believe that they need protection." The radio man said.

"Anyway, they were handing these out as well as questioning people on the street if they've seen you." Ashley continued.

"What would the PSCs want with Snake? They don't do assassinations."

"I think I know what it is." Snake said. "They've gotta be working for whoever wants me dead. They must want information on me so they can relay it to the hitmen. Why they're trying to brand me as a criminal I don't know. It wouldn't be the first time that's happened to me."

"They're trying to slander you're name but the people aren't buying it." Ashley told him, causing Snake to look puzzled. "Listen to the tape." She said and played the tape.

Sounds of footsteps

"You! Citizen! Come over here!" An officer ordered.

"Yeah what!? Come to harass me and my customers again?" An audibly annoyed man asked.

"Just calm down sir. We just want to ask you something."

"And what's that?"

"Have you seen this man and do you know his whereabouts?"

Sound of unrolling a paper

"Whoa! Isn't this The Nomad?" the man sounded excited.

"That is one of the names he's been called yes. Have you seen him?"

"I remember him!"

"So you have seen him! Where is he!?" The guard asked sounding like he was in a rush.

"Whoa! Calm down! Jeez. I saw him almost two years ago."

"Damn it!" The guards cursed.

"I remember that day though. Me and my family were getting mugged by a large group of bandits. The leader told me that if I let them take our stuff he would spare us…but he lied. And just as he was about to kill us, the Nomad appeared and killed those sons of bitches. He handed me the supplies they were going to steal from us, and he gave me a gun. Then he told me "Stay safe." Before taking off. If he hadn't shown up, me, my wife, and my son and daughter would be dead. That man's a hero."

"A hero? I don't know who's been giving you that propaganda, because that is far from the truth. That man is a criminal! He is a murderer!"

"A murderer? He's the one that kills murderers!" The man retorted.

"No! That man is dangerous. He is not your ally. He is a terrorist."

"You're joking right! A terrorist? Ridiculous."

"Believe what you will citizen, but we better not hear you spreading these lies to the people."

"Like I need to. Everybody here knows the Nomad is a hero. He makes us feel safe, something you mercenary bastards have never been able to do!" The citizen shouted.

Footsteps of the citizen, Sound of a door opening

"What the hell happened?" A female asked.

"They were asking about the Nomad."

"Huh? Did you say the Nomad?" A man asked followed by the sound of others being curious.

"Yeah. Those PSCs are looking for him. Trying to tell me he's a criminal, a terrorist."

People in the background began laughing

"That's bullshit! That man's just about saved everyone here's lives in some way."

"That's what I was saying. The guy's a legend. We all owe him our lives."

"And that's where the tape ends." Ashley said. "How's it feel to know that you're the legendary hero of the wastelands?" She teased. Although Snake was not amused.

"Legends never really are a good thing. I'm just becoming a name to exploit."

"Oh come now! The people aren't going to buy a word of that smear campaign they're doing." A soldier said.

"Maybe so…" Snake said not ruling out the possibility. "Anyway, thanks for the intel." He got up and went to his bag and started loading up on weapons. Heavy weapons at that.

"Uh…so what are you going to do now?" Ashley asked.

"Looks like I may need to get more of their attention. Even if I might risk exposing myself."

"How are you going to do that?"

"There's a slave camp not too far from here. I went there to save Peach, but I promised I'd go back."

"You think you can save all those slaves alone?" A soldier asked in awe.

"It's not impossible. Anyway, keep yourselves safe." Snake waved goodbye as he took off with a M60 in his hands.