Song: Dies irae - Animation OST: AHIH ASHR AHIH


Part 1

POV: Nunnally vi Britannia.

Nunnally could not sleep on this night. Sitting on her bed, contemplating the moonlight that permeates her window, she felt disturbed by a mysterious dream. It was vague, but... it was something akin to a nightmare, one that related to her brother, for whatever reason. It felt like a haze to think over, because she could not just recall the major details... except one...

Her brother died.

But why? But how?

She had no clue. Only that her brother died. Having a cellphone nearby, she would try to make contact with her brother. At this time, her brother was with Shirley Fenette at the moment. That fact alone strikes her as odd, since one, she is well and fully aware of how much Shirley has a big crush on her big brother. Though, on the downside, it seems that Lelouch wouldn't entertain such things, and focused more about her.

While Nunnally is touched by how much her brother cares for her, there were some times when she admittedly wanted to bonk his head and spend time with a girl other than her. She didn't really like how Lelouch would sacrifice his own happiness for her sake. And that's of course assuming that Lelouch would even answer Shirley's feelings. Lelouch wasn't just the type to simply answer the feelings of a woman. He seemed more focused and distant on other things, besides of course taking care of her.

Now though, much to his surprise, he's currently spending the night with Shirley, somewhere. Nunnally didn't know where exactly, her brother never really gave her the details. She hated to bother him at this time, but she needed to hear his voice. She felt something awful about the dream, and she needed some level of reassurance.

Before this, she had noticed that she had been crying, and could feel the pain in her heart, like it had been stabbed more than few times. Just the thought of her brother actually dying didn't sit well with her.

"...Nunnally," Her brother's voice was heard, concerned. "What's wrong?"

"...Umm, it's nothing, big brother," Nunnally smiled softly, reassured. "...I...I just wanted to hear your voice, that's all."

"What's wrong? Did something happen?" He asked.

"No, it's just...I...I had a bad dream," Nunnally explained.

"...What kind of bad dream? Can you describe it to me?" Strangely, there was a slightly long momentary pause, before Lelouch resumed asking, which Nunnally noticed with a frown.

"...Well, I don't...remember the details specifically, except...except...you...you died," Nunnally spoke softly, looking hesitant.

She could hear a slightly, soft gasp that was audible to her ears, before turning normal.

"...I see," Lelouch's tone was grim. "That's all that you know at least, regarding this strange dream."

"Hmm, that's all. I'm sorry that I'm bothering you with this," Nunnally apologized.

"It's fine, Nunnally," Lelouch reassured. "I'm actually glad that you told me. You can tell me anything that comes to your mind, and even your dreams. Nothing that you say to me would be insignificant, that I can promise."

"Big brother..." Nunnally smiled a little. "...Hmm, thank you for listening to my ramblings, big brother. Once again, I'm sorry to disturb your night with big sister."

"Big sister?" Lelouch asked, looking bewildered.

"You know, Shirley Fenette, the woman you're currently with, big brother," Nunnally spoke cheerfully, intending to jest on her brother's situation.

Much to Nunnally's surprise, however, Lelouch never reacted with befuddlement. Instead, he spoke with a firm seriousness. Did Nunnally detect a smile underneath that tone?

"Hmm. So you consider Shirley to be a big sister now?"

"...Umm, that was...a joke?" Nunnally spoke meekly, looking embarrassed.

"...Hmm, well, it's not like it's wrong to assume such a thing," Lelouch spoke with his own humor.

...Now that's, Nunnally thought with befuddlement. If she could open her eyes, she could blink at what she had just heard. "I never expected such a response from you, big brother."

"I had a lot of time to consider things," Lelouch spoke, though Nunnally couldn't help but detect a subtlety in that answer. "Now, is there anything else that you need?"

"No," Nunnally shakes her head. "Everything's fine here, big brother."

"Good," Lelouch said. "Now, if you need anything else, again, don't hesitate to talk to me. You can also count on Sayoko to handle whatever you need."

"Hmm, good night, big brother," Nunnally nodded.

Then the call hung up, leaving Nunnally to lie down and ponder about her conversations with Lelouch. That was not something she would have expected when talking to her big brother. A part of her was happy, but something strange made her scrunch her eyebrows. And, why did that drew her back into that unknown nightmare she had? Of her brother dying.


Part 2

POV: Big Boss and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

All of the MSF soldiers in Mother Base gathered throughout the central hall, just as ordered. Big Boss and Obi-Wan Kenobi could hear the various chatters from the MSF, ranging from confusion to wariness, because of the orange-marked clone troopers of the 212th gathered in the central hall.

"...Well, at least things are civilized so far," Kenobi remarked, arms crossed.

"For now at least," Big Boss explained. "But if we're going to work together on this, I would need to calm my soldiers down and dissipate their unnecessary worries."

"Well, the floor's all yours for introductions, old friend, since they are your men after all," Kenobi gestured with a good smile of humor.

Big Boss could only respond with a soft grunt as he made his way to the center stage.

"Hey, quiet down," one of the MSF soldiers said. "The Boss is about to speak up."

And Big Boss would begin his speech.

"Everyone," He spoke with authority, the kind that would make all of the soldiers stand in full attention. "I apologize for bringing all of you here on short notice. As you know, in light of this current situation, we are currently on another Earth, as confirmed by our top scientists and engineers. On this point, I would like to address the situation further by stating that we are not the only ones who are dealing with this situation. I would of course begin to reference the other soldiers who had come into this base, the ones with white armor and weapons that we do not recognize as our own."

Big Boss would begin to subtly gesture towards Kenobi, who nodded as he commanded with his own tone of authority.

"Men, take off your helmets!"

Then, obeying the command, the 212th Clone Troopers, including Commander Cody who was present in the meeting, would begin to remove their helmets, sending waves of shock and mutterings across the area.

"What you are all seeing," Big Boss continued as he quieted the audience. "Are what are called Clone Troopers, and they serve a galactic government known as the Republic. Like us, they are not from around here, but they came from another parallel universe, one where humanity was the dominant species of one galaxy, and that is where these men, and their general in command, both came from. They are currently dealing with a conflict of their own, known as the Clone Wars, which is a war against the Republic and a separatist faction known as the Confederacy of Independent Systems. I will leave the explanations of it further to High Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi. In case any of you are still questioning my association with him, I would confirm that yes, he and I are acquaintances, and how he and I met before all of this is something I would not disclose for the time being due to its complications. General, I will leave this to you."

"Thank you, Big Boss," Kenobi would bow his head respectfully as he walked towards the center stage. "Hello, everyone. I am High Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi of the Jedi Order and of the Republic. I will try to explain to all of you about the current situation, as well as what I and my men are doing, both before and at present..."

And Kenobi would begin his explanations. A summary of the Jedi Order, of the Galactic Republic, of the Clone Wars and the various issues involved with the war, of the First Contacts that the factions of the conflict have with extragalactic natives and governments, and others. Some of the MSF would be given a chance to raise their hands and ask questions, which Kenobi would provide adequate and satisfactory answers.

In the midst of this all, there was Kaz, who was observing all of this along with Eva.

"...An intergalactic conflict, huh," Kaz sported a grim look, with arms crossed. "And Boss says that he's met him before all of this. But...when was that? What is he not telling me about?"

"Big Boss is not the only one with secrets, Commander Miller. I do as well, and it's connected in some way to his secrets. Big Boss would explain to you alone of the fuller context of the situation later, Commander, and he will honor it, and I would be there to provide my input. I trust of course that there would no complaints on this," Eva spoke.

When Kaz heard her voice, it sent an instinctive urge for respect, for whatever reason. He recalled Big Boss telling him and all of the MSF personnel that, from now on, Eva is to be referred to as "Big Mama", and she would be one of his second-in-commands for the MSF, starting henceforth. Kaz was of course somewhat aware of how personal Big Boss's connections were with Eva, since they were both involved with Operation Snake Eater back in '64, hence that could have provided one factor for such an announcement.

But, as Kaz would notice, Eva carries this commanding presence wherever she goes, similar to Big Boss. When she gives an order, she would look at you in the eye, daring to challenge her orders. Naturally, all of the men would comply, either way.

"No, of course not," Kaz shakes his head. "I trust Big Boss with my life, especially in a confusing time such as this. But I would have to wonder. We are dealing with two separate issues, with two different worlds. One world has the few superpowered nations, Britannia most of all, vying for control over this planet. Britannia is already on the offensive in conquering various nations, ergo they have already taken over most of the planet. The European Union, the Chinese Federation, and a rare few are the only ones who are fighting back against this tide. And then, we are going to have to worry about the fact that we're potentially getting swept into another war, much bigger than even that."

"If it comforts you," Eva spoke firmly. "At least we would not have to deal with Cipher on top of the issues, as they do not hold any power here, nor in this Clone War conflict, never mind how irrelevant they may seem to be in the face of these uncertainties."

"There is that," Kaz agreed. "Before these people came along, Big Boss simply stated that the MSF was now being hired for something very important, and it wouldn't really be like all of those times before, hence why the entire Mother Base got sent to the middle of the ocean, just a few kilometers near Antarctica. I had raised some concerns about there being only a matter of time before the Holy Britannian Empire would find out about our base's current location, but Big Boss said..."

"I wouldn't worry too much about that for the time being, Kaz. If that person is involved in sending Mother Base here, as I would suspect, then that insight would probably be taken into account. Besides, based on current reports, it seems Britannia is mostly distracted with other problems."

"...Big Boss kept mentioning about that person, not an actual name, and said that he would be the "client" that the MSF is currently providing their services on. Big Boss prefers that that person's name be anonymous for now, as part of the deal. Having to deal with an anonymous client in this line of business is risky, if we're talking about normal situations. This?" Kaz indicated the entire scenario, including the appearance of a general with monk robes and advanced armored troopers, who are all clones bred from the same DNA. He could even see some of the MSF talking with the clones. "This is far from normal. I'm starting to suspect that our client isn't normal either."

"That would be one way of looking at it, Commander, though that's something we would need to expect as an inevitability. The supernatural are going to become a common, regular sight for the MSF to deal with in future debriefings and operations. But of course, it would not be the first time for me, or our world for that matter, to have dealt with such things," Eva explained.


Things in the base have become a lot more lively ever since the explanations that Big Boss and Obi-Wan had provided. Not lazing around, the 212th would begin to establish force field generators that would be installed in various parts of Mother Base just in case Britannia or anybody else gets any ideas of attacking them, along with technology that would allow the base to be cloaked. So, that's one problem settled. For now at least.

And regarding the base itself, Big Boss would notice that the current Mother Base is essentially a combination of two Mother Bases. One from the Caribbean and the other from Seychelles.

Big Boss could still recall the destruction of the first Mother Base, also called as Outer Heaven, at the hands of XOF and their commander, Skull Face. That would be the very moment when everything had ruptured for him. It accelerated the already darker path that he was now submerging himself into. Too many betrayals. Too many losses. The world, seemingly still hunting him down, despite saving the world over and over. No gratitude. Only a gun waiting to go off into his back.

Walking towards one of the bedrooms, Big Boss is accompanied by Kenobi, Eva, and Cody as they glance at the door that would see a man somewhere in his thirties that wore a regular jacket and glasses, simply watching over the body of a person, who looked young, somewhere around his twenties, with his bandana still on. He was being supported by medical life support, showing his heart beat.

The man with the glasses would notice them coming into the room.

"...Big Boss, Big Mama," He spoke softly, widening his eyes. The man still couldn't get over the shock that he's actually interacting with the man himself, though he looked oddly younger. Same could be said for Eva, who he recognizes as Big Mama, if a bit younger, and it was only because Eva told her who she really was, and explained to him about what had happened in Eastern Europe with Liquid Ocelot, in such clear detail that it couldn't be denied that this really is Big Mama.

The man was standing up.

"How is he, Otacon?" Big Boss asked, looking at the man resting on the bed.

"That...He's..." Otacon would make a conflicted expression, placing his hands to the bridges of his glasses. "He hasn't woken up. At least, not yet anyway. It's been four days since he's been sleeping like this. Nothing seems to be wrong with his vital signs. There's no trace of FOXDIE found anywhere in his system. It's like it was never really there. On top of him having managed to de-aged back into a younger body. I just can't fully explain it."

"Except only due to that person," Big Boss spoke grimly. "I may not be an expert in science, but there's nothing really scientific about this."

"The Force definitely works in mysterious ways, I should say," Kenobi spoke with a smile. "And I take it that's Solid Snake resting on that bed."

"Yes, my son," Big Boss nodded. "He's been like this for four days, and hasn't woken up since."

"Hmm, mind if I do something?" Kenobi proposed.

"Go ahead," Big Boss gestured his head, allowing Kenobi to do what is needed. This was something completely out of depth for the medical staff of the base, as well as for the scientists. Perhaps someone with magic space powers could allow for his son to wake up.

He would see Kenobi placing a hand on the sleeping man's forehead. He concentrates as he closes his eyes.

A few moments passed. And...

"...Ahh!"

Big Boss and Eva would instinctively go to the man who was now waking up.

"Easy there, Snake, deep breaths," Big Boss, with a firm grip and tone, reassures his son, Solid Snake, whose eyes would look in shock as he looks at all of the faces in the room.

"Snake," Otacon would be by his side, somewhere around the right side of the bed, accompanied by a man wearing a robe. Was he some kind of monk? Solid Snake would ask himself.

And...

"...Wait, wha," Snake was grimacing a bit, placing a hand on his forehead, memories flash back, right up to a cemetery, meeting with... "Big Boss...and Big Mama...and Otacon...what...what's happening here?"

"...It's," Big Boss would look at Eva, who was smiling a little, happy that their son was awake. "It's a very long story."

"Hmm...It seems you somehow recognize me, Snake, even though I look like this," Eva indicated her appearance.

"That...I'm not sure how, but...somehow...I don't get it. What's going on here?" Solid Snake would ask.

"Snake," Eva's expression turns serious, putting her hand to his. "David. What's the last thing you remember?"

"...I."

Solid Snake would try to wrack his memory of his last known memory. He recalled...finally succumbing to the effects of his advanced aging. He was dying. That was...That was good. The world would not be in danger due to FOXDIE being in his system. The era of the Patriots was finally over. They've won. The world would continue to move on. Everyone gets their happy ending. And as for Snake...he would simply die quietly, not as a snake, but as a man.

That's what Big Boss requested of him before he too passed away.

"...That was what I remembered," Solid Snake would explain, then he noticed Otacon crying a bit. Everyone else would notice too. "Otacon, are you crying?"

"N-N-No," The man took off his glasses, putting his hands to his eyes. "I'm...I'm not crying. Not at all."

Solid Snake grunts for a bit as he looks back at Big Boss. "Just what is going on here?"

"Well, you and Otacon are currently at Mother Base, somewhere a few clicks near Antarctica," Big Boss explained.

"Mother Base?" His eyebrows would scrunch a bit.


POV: Captain Fordo.

At around the same time, there was a new LAAT gunship that was landing towards the helipad. It was different from the rest. It had predator-shark-like designs and a blue-color scheme. And an ARC Trooper with red markings, Jaig eyes, and white armor would step out.

His name was ARC-77. Though most people would call him Captain Fordo. He was getting off from the gunship along with a few of the 212th Clones, and would be meeting up with someone by the name of Kazuhira Miller, who was standing there.

"Are you Sub-Commander Kazuhira Miller?" He would ask, with a professional, grim tone.

"I am," Kaz would nod. "And judging by your question, you must be Captain Fordo."

Fordo and Kaz would begin to walk around the base.

"Word around here is that you were considered to be one of the best of your kind," Kaz spoke with an interested expression.

"Just doing one's duty like any other clone," Fordo responded. "There is nothing that special."

"Your brothers seem to beg to differ," Kaz countered. "To me, based on the description, you seem to be like our equivalent of an elite spec op and one-man army, something that the leader of this base is also such."

"Big Boss, was it?" Fordo inquired. "I had heard of him from the general when we first came around here. But enough with the chit-chat, I suppose we should get down to how we are to handle whatever requires a full cooperation between our forces and yours."

"That's one way of putting it."

"Oh my goodness! This is amazing!"

Both Kaz and Fordo, with "!" reactions, would see a man with messy hair and a scientific lab coat, with glasses, admiring the large tanks with wheels that the LAATs were dropping, and making a T-shaped pose. "I could never expect such tanks to exist! The things I could do with this! OW!"

The clones and the MSF nearby winced a little. The man got hit in the back of the head by a woman with grey-silver hair and shades, speaking with an annoyed tone. "Control yourself, Huey, you're making yourself look like a complete fool."

"...Bu-But, look at this," Huey Emmerich would speak with an exasperated tone, gesturing at the tanks. "These things seem to almost resemble Peace Walker, it just doesn't have any legs to stand up on, nor looks obvious for target practice. This would definitely provide us with a blueprint regarding our research relating to Metal Gear."

"Metal Gear?" Fordo raised an eyebrow, looking at Kaz, who shrugged.

"That's apparently what our scientists and engineers have been studying about, though it's something that you probably wouldn't care too much about due to the disparities in our technologies," Kaz explained.

"Try me then," Fordo urged, asking for more explanations. "What would you know about this Metal Gear?"