Playa del Alba, Costa Rica

05:17 AM, March 30th, 1984

A lone figure in a red hood with a white peace sign on his back stood in the rain, in front of the small, makeshift wooden cross that was buried in the sand, pictures nailed to it of soldiers and a beautiful girl with blonde hair. He looked up slight towards the sky, his mutilated and burned lower face becoming more visible.

Rain. It was always raining whenever he visited. Just like that day. The day so many of his friends died. The day she died. The water drops and the cold wind didn't bother him, especially with the hood he wore. But he often wondered if this was a message to him; their spirits crying over what happened. Or perhaps they were simply telling him that he simply wasn't welcome here, given what he had done; the sins he carried. Their blood was in his hands. Either way, he had no idea.

The man knelt down, placing the bouquet of white rain lilies he had brought before the cross. White lilies - the same flower he had given her almost 10 years ago when she got sick.

"Hey, Paz; hey, everyone. Sorry I haven't visited in a while…And that I am a few days late on the anniversary of…you know…" The man said, not being able to bring himself to finish the sentence. "…Been busy."

He reached his hand inwards towards his chest area, pulling the Walkman he always carried with him, and placed it next to the bouquet, clicking it softly. A serene voice started singing, followed by a cheerful song playing, as the figure lifted himself.

I love you; I hope these thoughts reach you

I'm sure one day it'll come true

Such feelings are too painful

Chico stared wistfully at the pictures of Paz and the MSF members as the song played. "Love Deterrence". His favorite song. It was the only time he could hear Paz's voice again without having to listen to those other tapes. The ones that reminded him of what happened. Of how he failed to protect Paz. How Paz and his compas were all dead because of him. All because he was weak. He hoped that, at the very least, the song could bring their souls some peace and joy. He owed them all that much.

As he looked at the pictures, Chico's mind recalled the memories of the past. Happier days in Mother Base, with MSF. Fishing, playing soccer, having parties, preparing for Peace Day…a day that never came. All because he screwed up. He wished so desperately he could go back to those days, to being who he used to be and to having them all around. But he couldn't. He couldn't bring any of them back, nor could he go back to the ones who were still here.

"Chico, growing up means choosing how you're gonna live your life."

That's what they both had told him. The two men who had come to play pivotal roles in defining the course of his life. Snake and Skull Face. One his friend; his idol. The other, the man who had taken everything from him. The memories of that day came flooding back to him. Getting the bomb out of Paz as she screamed and cried, seeing Mother Base go down in flames…how everything seemed to slow down as they reach out to Paz as she jumped from the helicopter, the flames and impact from the explosion of the second bomb still hitting them, sending the helicopter spiraling.

Chico lightly touched the lower half of his face, before tracing his fingers over what was left of his mouth. The flames and shrapnel of the explosion and crash had badly injured him. He could no longer feel anything in his lower face. The only sensation he would occasionally feel from time to time was pain, but according to the doctor who oversaw him when he woke up in the hospital, it was mostly psychological. Funny. Even when half of his face was dead, the feeling of pain still remained. Maybe he deserved it. No. He definitely did deserve it.

Chico had not seen Snake, Kaz, and the others in the hospital he was in. He wasn't even sure they were in the same hospital. All he knew was that by the time he had come to again, the lower half of his face was bandaged, and his feet had been amputated. Thankfully, he was able to get himself a pair of bionic feet that allowed him to walk again, even if it did take a while for him to get rehabilitated. During that time, all he could do was listen to tapes Skull Face had left for him, and the one Paz had left for him, as well as remember the words Snake told him when they first met.

"You have made me believe. That I will make it out of here…And that - no matter what happens - it will not be the end for me. Thank you, Chico."

"Chico, growing up means choosing how you're gonna live your life. To do the right thing, you sometimes have to leave the things you care about behind - parents, family, your homeland."

And that was exactly what he did. He chose how he was going to live his life, and it was going to be spent hunting down Cipher, Skull Face, XOF. He left everything he cared about behind to do so. Amanda, his compas, Nicaragua. Everything. He didn't want to lose anymore people. This was his war. And it was a battle he had to fight alone.

He had spent years training and gaining intel, any source of information he could get on the people he was hunting, even going to Africa in the process. He had apparently gained a bit of a superstitious reputation while he was there, hunting down soldiers associated with Cipher and XOF. Not that Chico really cared about the rumors. They were of no importance to him. The things that were of importance were the things he couldn't bring back.

"I got great news by the way." Chico said, his voice directed at the photo-ladden cross before him. "Rumor is that the Boss finally woke up. Snake is back. Maybe he'll be able to find and take down Skull Face."

As the song came close to a close, Chico focused on the picture of Paz on the cross, and remembered all the good times he had with her in particular - the two of them fishing together, cheering for her as she played soccer, spending time with her when she got sick. Even that night in Camp Omega. His lips were mostly gone and dead, but he still remembered the feeling of her kiss. She was trying to protect and comfort him. She did protect him. She saved him.

"Your sacrifice wasn't for nothing, Paz…But…I miss you."

Just then, faint, tiny sparkles of light caught Chico's eyes as they fluttered before him. He looked up, and saw a morpho butterfly before him, somehow successfully managing to fly in spite of the heavy downpour it faced. If he didn't know any better, he would say it was Paz's favorite animal, maybe aside from cats. And this morpho butterfly was strong, refusing to give into the storm, somehow still flying in spite of the heavy rain and cold wind.

But what did shock Chico was when the butterfly began flying his direction, slowly lowering himself before Chico, who almost automatically raised up his hand as the morpho landed on it.

"Paz…" Chico said to himself, as the butterfly lifted itself and, almost as if it understood him, flew to the cross for a brief moment, before retreating along the beach and into the forest.

For a moment Chico's gaze was stuck in the direction of the morpho, before he looked back down at the cross. Was that really her? Or a message she had sent to him? Maybe he was just imagining it. But he wanted to at least, even if only a bit, believe. He longed to see her face.

"…I better get going. Need to head back to Africa and check out my leads." Chico said as he picked up his Walkman, before giving one last look at the photos of all the people he fought for, especially Paz.

"Thank you for everything, Paz…I don't know if you're watching over me or not…But if you are, I hope you are at peace. And I want you to know that you will always be the Angel of Peace to me. And until the day comes when I can see you again, I hope I can make you, and this peace sign I carry on my back, proud."

"Peace." Chico said as he flashed the peace sign at the cross before turning around and walking away, unaware of the spirit of the angelic blonde girl behind him, her face adorned with a serene smile and a tender gaze that focused on him, as only one thought passed through her.

"You already have."