When the morning came Snake, Alex, Peach and Bayonetta got their gear and left for their mission; Find Deacon. This was Alex's first mission with the UR, and he wanted to make a good impression. He figured the best way to do that was to keep it cool and just do what he usually does.

"You know this is kind of odd for me." Alex admitted to the others.

"Why's that?" Peach questioned.

"This is the first time I've actually traveled with a group. I've traveled by myself for the past few years, so I'm not used to it."

"I know how you feel kid. I traveled on my own for seven years. Didn't start having friends tag along until a few months ago. It's a different feeling for sure, but you'll get used to it." Snake said.

"Yeah. But I gotta say, it feels good to have people to help you out."

"We're a team Alex. We've got each other's back!" Peach smiled.

"That's right! So don't go Lone Wolf on us, okay?" Bayo teased.

"You got it!"

"So Alex. What can you tell me about Deacon? You said a little bit about him during the meeting, but nothing specific. What's he like?" Snake asked.

"Oh he's something special, that's for sure. He's a real gentle giant. He's kind, wise, and noble. You'd never expect someone who looks so intimidating to be that way."

"Not to mention he's a Darknut." Snake added.

"He's a Darknut in name only. He ain't a mindless killer like the others. He even traded in his sword for a blunt wooden one so he doesn't kill challengers that use swords. Those nice traits aside, he's no softie. He's a beast in combat. He could crush other Darknuts in seconds. He's not just a swordsman like other Darknuts, he's an all-around fighter. Hand-to-hand, grappling, he'll give you a hell of a fight, and he'll probably win." Alex explained. "I haven't seen it myself, but I'm sure he has a way of countering guns and magic users."

"That's impressive." Bayonetta said.

"You said last night at the meeting that you believed if anyone would could beat him, it was me." Snake remembered.

"That's right."

"Why do you think that? This guy sounds like an unstoppable force. What makes me a good contender against him? I'm not super-human."

"I…couldn't tell you why honestly. There's just something about you that makes me think you can." Alex admitted.

"So you call it a hunch?" Peach asked.

"Yeah you could say that."

"You sure you're not super-human, Snake?" Bayonetta smirked.

"Yeah I'm pretty sure. I can't fire energy out of my hands or use arcane powers."

"Alright if you say so. But I think you've got some hidden super power you're not telling us about." Bayonetta joked.

"Think what you want. Let's keep moving." Snake ordered.

It took over a day's worth of traveling before they made it to Deacon's mountain. They trekked up the mountain and once they reached the top, finally saw the secluded warrior. He was standing tall, looking down the mountain as he meditated. Without turning around, he acknowledged their presence.

"Alex, it's good to see you again. And I see that you've brought friends this time."

"Good to see you too Deacon." Alex replied.

"I guess we should introduce ourselves. I'm…" Peach began.

"No need for that. I already know who you are, and I'm sure you've been told about me." Deacon said.

"Just how much do you know about us?" Bayonetta asked out of curiosity.

"Don't worry Bayonetta. Mostly just your names. I don't know your deepest secrets, or what you like to do on your personal time." He chuckled. "However I do know quite a bit about you, sir." He turned and pointed to Snake.

"Really? I'm not surprised. Everyone's seemed to have heard about me."

"I've heard many tales of great warriors in the wasteland. Some are outright false; many are partially true but exaggerated. But everything I've heard about you is true. You do live up to your legend."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Snake said. He then decided to get to the point. "I'm sure you know why we're here."

"Yes, I'm aware. You want answers."

"So, what are the rules?"

"Only one of you can fight me. Other than that it's a fight until one of us submits or is unable to continue fighting. You are allowed to use whatever weapons you wish." Deacon explained.

"I see. Alright then." Snake took the time to strip himself of his firearms. Though he was allowed to use them, he didn't feel they'd be appropriate in a sanctioned duel. He handed them to Alex. "Hold these for me."

"A man of guts and honor. I respect that." Deacon nodded. "Ready when you are."

Snake looked back to his teammates. They were nervous to see how this would turn out.

"Good luck Snake." Bayonetta said to him.

"Be careful. I know this isn't a death match, but we don't want you getting too injured." Peach advised.

"I'll do my best." Snake chuckled. "Still think I can do this, kid?" He asked Alex.

"I do."

"Alright. Let's see if you're hunch was right."

He turned and walked over to Deacon. The two were face to face, Deacon towering almost two feet taller than him. They both got into their fighting stance.

"I'm ready." Snake confirmed.

"Then we will begin." Deacon said and extended his hand out in a show of sportsmanship. Snake shook his hand and readied for battle.

"START!" Deacon shouted, signaling the beginning of the battle.

The Darknut threw the first strike, a left cross. Snake ducked under it and hit Deacon with two jabs to the midsection. Snake expected his hand to sting in pain after hitting the knight, but it turned out his armor was not metal, but leather. He threw a few more punches, each one blocked by Deacon. Deacon grabbed Snake and readied him for a throw, but Snake broke out of it just in time. Snake kicked at Deacon's chest, but the Darknut caught his foot and decked him with a hard punch. Snake was sent reeling back, and Deacon charged at him for another attack. Snake quickly utilized a CQC throw that put Deacon on the ground by using his own momentum against him.

"Very impressive." Deacon complimented.

Deacon got a wake-up attack on Snake, sweeping his leg with a hard kick. Deacon rolled away to safely return to his feet. Snake got up, only to get knocked back to the floor with a vicious shoulder tackle. He quickly rolled away from Deacon's attempted ground punch. Yet Deacon would not give Snake any breathing room, chasing him down with an aggressive offense. Snake got kicked in the gut and hit across the jaw with a right hook. Deacon attempted to head-butt Snake, but Snake countered with an uppercut to the chin. The punch dazed Deacon, and Snake put him in an arm bar submission hold. He continued putting pressure to weaken Deacon's right arm. Through sheer force, Deacon swung his arm to get Snake off, and then grabbed him and body slammed Snake.

Snake let out a shout of pain upon being slammed to the ground. Deacon lifted Snake back to his feet, only to deck him with a fierce right cross that put him back on the ground. Snake spat out a bit of blood. Deacon went to pick Snake up again, but Snake kicked his feet up and hit Deacon right on the cheek. Quickly getting up, Snake used a great amount of strength to CQC slam Deacon. Once the Darknut was grounded, Snake punched his face for extra damage. He went for another hit, but Deacon shoved him away. Deacon got back up and parried Snake's punch, and retaliated with an immensely powerful gut-punch, a move that was the decisive blow for many of his challenges.

Snake's eyes widened as he was struck in the gut, feeling the wind getting knocked out of him. Deacon stepped back after the punch, as if he was expecting it to be the final blow. His friends felt that was the case as well. But as much as his body begged him, he refused to collapse. Deacon looked perplexed, surprised that Snake hadn't fallen down yet. Then Snake caught him off guard with a dashing drop kick to the chest, knocking Deacon down.

"Incredible!" Deacon said as he got back up.

"What?" Snake asked.

"No one has ever kept fighting after that attack. And yet you still continue. What is it that drives you?"

"I've got my reasons."

The two went back to exchanging blows, neither one seeming to be able to get the upper hand on the other. Yet even in the middle of battle, Deacon continued to converse with Snake.

"When I look at you, I see a man that should be dead…yet survived because he said "No" to death." Deacon explained.

"Heh. If only it was that easy. Really I'd just chalk it up to luck." Snake replied.

Snake ducked under a few of Deacon's punches, and hit him with a reversal punch.

"I don't believe in concepts such as luck, and I know you don't either." Deacon said. "Luck doesn't explain how you, a human with no special powers, consistently overcomes odds stacked against him."

Deacon blocked Snake's kicks and countered with a punch.

"I never gave it much thought. I just did what I had to."

They kept fighting, with Snake continuing to give it his all.

"You've got a special gift; you know?"

"What's that?" Snake asked.

"An unbreakable will."

"What?"

"Your perseverance, it borders on inhuman. It might as well be your super power. You've been able to do what you've done because you refused to give up until you got the job done."

"I'm just a persistent bastard, that's all." Snake replied.

"Persistent is an understatement." Deacon chuckled. "I have a feeling that no matter how much I hurt you, you will refuse to submit."

Deacon struck Snake in the stomach and pushed him back.

"Yep."

"Then it seems the only way for me to win is to knock you out."

"Guess so." Snake replied.

The two had finalized their battle strategy.

For Deacon, getting Snake to tap out was out of the question. He could break both of Snake arms during the fight and the man would keep fighting. The only choice left to him to win the fight without killing Snake was to simply knock him unconscious, something easier said than done when it came to Snake.

For Snake, he looked at Deacon and knew that knocking Deacon out was not the viable way to win. Sure it's a possibility, but it would take forever. Deacon was bigger and stronger than him, not to mention he didn't have old age hampering his abilities. Trading blows was off the table, because if he did Deacon was going to be the one to win. However, if he couldn't beat Deacon with strikes, he could beat him with something else. Up to this point he hadn't been using CQC to its full extent. Striking was not what it was about. CQC gives Snake a multitude of throws and submission holds that were designed to work on the largest of opponents. If he could get Deacon into a good submission hold, he could get the Darknut to submit.

"Ready to continue?" Deacon asked.

"I'm ready." Snake confirmed.

The two went into their fighting stance and cautiously approached each other. Snake waited for Deacon to throw the first strike, but Deacon seemed to be doing the same. Realizing this, Snake threw a feint, causing Deacon to react with a counter kick. Snake caught his leg and performed a reversal, elbowing Deacon's knee and then pushing his leg away. Deacon began a combination of punches; Snake put his guard up and blocked them to the best of his ability. Eventually it got overwhelming and Snake's guard was broken, allowing Deacon to land a solid right cross to Snake's forehead. Snake was reeling back, and noticed there was now blood coming from that part of his head. But that didn't matter to him.

Snake's friends continued watching the fight, each very concerned about him. Especially after that last hit.

"C'mon Snake!" Alex said and tightened his fists. No matter how bad things were looking, the young wrestler still had faith that Snake could win this.

"He shouldn't be so hard-headed. If he gets injured, he needs to stop!" Bayonetta said.

"It's not going to happen." Peach replied. "I know Snake; he's not going to throw in the towel. He never does. I don't even think he knows how to quit."

Snake caught a punch from Deacon's left arm and reversed it into another arm-bar. This time he wasn't going to let Deacon shove him off. As soon as he felt Deacon about to break the hold, he let go and hit his arm with a powerful strike. The damage done to Deacon's arm was actually noticeable. He wasn't able to attack with as much power and finesse as he did before.

Deacon then did a feint attack with his right arm, tricking Snake into trying to catch it. He punished the mistake with a powerful kick to midsection. The hit stunned Snake long enough for Deacon to shove his boot right into Snake's face, instantly grounding him. Snake could feel himself losing consciousness, but he refused to let his body shut down. Slowly using all fours to pick himself back up, he surprised Deacon with a tackle, pinning the Darknut to the ground. Snake pressed his forearm against Deacon's throat, depriving him of oxygen. He was on Deacon for a good five seconds, but he could tell Deacon was about to break out of the chokehold. So Snake struck his elbow against Deacon's head and jumped off of him.

The battle had been going on for quite some time, 30 minutes in fact. Both Snake and Deacon could tell, their stamina had been drained significantly. But Snake knew that his body was more likely to give out first. He needed to end this now. He came up with a plan, though it was an incredibly risky one that could possibly result in him losing.

As Snake blocked Deacon's attacks, he purposely dropped his guard, acting as though he had lost all stamina. Deacon saw this as an opening, and hit Snake with his gut punch once again.

"SNAKE!" His friends all cried out, fearing the worst.

Just like the first time, Snake did not fall down. However, Deacon was not expecting him to.

"This time I'll finish the job." Deacon said and winded up for a haymaker.

"Perfect!" Snake thought. With a newfound burst of stamina, he rolled under Deacon's wild punch, positioning himself right behind Deacon. He jumped on Deacon's back and wrapped his arms around his head and throat to place him in a sleeper hold.

Deacon was shocked to have been outplayed like that. Now he found himself in a chokehold. He thrashed about in a desperate attempt to knock Snake off of him. Yet Snake stuck to him, wrapping his arms around the Darknut tighter by the second. A full minute went by, and Deacon was still trapped in the hold. The effects of oxygen deprivation started to kick in. His balance started to falter. He fell to one knee…then both knees…then on all fours. Finding himself close to passing out, Deacon yielded and tapped out, Snake releasing him from the hold immediately afterwards.

"He did it!" Peach cheered.

The two fighters laid on the ground exhausted, both of them gasping for air.

"That…was a good…match." Snake said between breaths.

"I've never seen someone fight the way you do." Deacon said.

"You mean CQC?" Snake asked.

"No. Just the way you approach battle. Not only do you use your fists, you use your mind as well; which can be just as dangerous." Deacon explained. "You show resilience, resolve, and no fear. This fight was a great honor."

"Yeah. I think I learned a few things from this." Snake agreed.

"I suppose you'd like to ask me some questions now." Deacon said.

"We'll do that in a bit. I think we should rest up, get these wounds taken care of first.