"Ok DD, we can do this," Midoriya muttered, attempting to hype himself up. DD simply licked his hand before the dog went silent, awaiting orders. Midoriya took one last breath to calm his nerves. His watch ticked away, and he waited for it to reach the predetermined time. With only a few minutes left, he carefully checked his equipment. His Burkov with tranq rounds and his taser. Then the exercise started.

He moved quickly, sticking to the low parts of Mother Base's Base Development platforms. They looped around the majority of the platform, allowing him to slip by unseen. Once on the other side, he ducked behind a low wall as DD alerted him of a guard. He peeked over barely and waited for the guard to pass. When he didn't Midoriya aimed with his Burkov and pulled the trigger. The round hit the guard dead on, knocking him out instantly.

With him dealt with Midoriya picked up DD and hooked him onto his sneaking suit. With DD then secured, he began climbing up an industrial pipe. He made it to the top, finding the area void of guards. Not wasting time, he unhooked DD and started crawling to the platform's bridge. DD, meanwhile, watched the surrounding area. Every few seconds he would silently nudge Midoriya, alerting him of some nearby guard.

He had made it farther this time, arriving at the central platform. Were this past Midoriya, he would have celebrated, but that had cost him. Slowly he made his way around, sticking to the platform's outskirts. Unseen, he watched the surrounding area. Except for one, the only four guards were mostly stuck on the ground floor. The final guard stood on a wide elevated platform next to Midoriya's target.

Taking note of this fact, Midoriya found another industrial pipe he could climb. He hooked DD up again and made his ascent. Halfway up, he stopped as two guards began passing down below. Remaining as quiet as possible, he clung to the pipe with what strength he had.

"Anything?" one guard asked.

"Nothing, I could have sworn I saw something," the second replied, the pair beginning to walk away. Carefully, Midoriya continued forward, all the while he could still hear the guards.

"CP this is Delta one, I found someone unconscious. Possible intruder present."

He tried to remain calm as he reached the top of the pipe, and climbed over the railing.

"This is CP, understood. All fireteams be on alert."

On the other side, he saw the guard on the elevated platform beginning to move away. The guard was heading towards to ladder, giving him a brief few moments to move. Midoriya stuck low to the ground, checking over his shoulders every few seconds. He could see it, his objective. The door opened as he arrived, and he leapt inside. A wide smile graced his face as he heard the alarm sound at the exercise's end.

Grizzly had never expected this to be his role in the MSF. Evacuating a radioactive zone in Nigeria, was something heroic, truly heroic. But did he ever think he would have to do it? No. It was never a possibility in his mind that something like this would happen. Yet here he was, with his newly assigned squad watching as trucks of refugees drove off. There were hundreds of them, and all were surrounded by miles of people walking on foot.

And as the LATV went forward the worse the sight became. The people walked by charred and burnt. Bits of flesh dangled off men and women, showing off exposed bones and ligaments. It was horrifying for him to see, as he tried his best to keep his lunch down. He never expected to encounter this as a hero. He was stirred from his thoughts by Eagle putting a hand on his shoulder.

"You good rookie? Can't have you dying on us." Eagle said.

"Uh… yeah, I'm good," Grizzly replied, looking away from the window.

"Good," Ape started, "we're almost there."

He heard the rustling of clothing as the other soldiers did a last-minute check of their equipment. They turned on the Geiger counter and found it working before inspecting their HAZMAT suits for holes. Grizzly felt the LATV come to a stop then, and the soldiers began filing out. He soon followed, finding they were in a small village. The majority of it was scorched rubble, but a few houses survived.

"Mammoth, Owl, you check the left side. Eagle, Iguana, you check the right. Grizzly, you're with me." Ape ordered, the soldiers quickly getting to work. They spread out over the area, with the two approaching the first house. Its roof had been ripped off but the house was still relatively intact. From the outside Grizzly found a window. Looking in he couldn't see the inside clearly, but he could have sworn someone was inside.

"Found anyone?" Ape asked him, as he walked away from a different house.

"Possibly sergeant," Grizzly replied. Ape came close then, looking into the window himself. He stepped away then, before heading to the house's door. Carefully Ape opened the door, with Ape following behind him. With flashlights in hand, they searched the area. The first few rooms were empty before Grizzly entered a storage closet. Inside he found the corpse of a child, the parent nowhere to be found.

He tried to look away, but he couldn't. His eyes were fixated on the body, examining its burns and exposed muscle. No part of it was recognizable as a human, were it not for a burnt doll fused to its body. The heat melted the fabric and flesh together. Grizzly just couldn't look away. He didn't realize it but his hands started shaking. His entire body soon followed as he tried to wrench his eyes away.

He wanted to run. He couldn't deal with this. He never thought this is what he would deal with as a hero. He couldn't think, his breathing sped up and his hands began to sweat. He couldn't do this. He couldn't do this. He couldn't do this. He couldn't do this.

"Private! Pull yourself together!"

He felt the hands of Ape shaking him out of his stupor. Grizzly looked over at him, the fear and anxiety still present on his face.

"I can't do this," Grizzly told him, finally stepping away from the body. He wanted to get as far away from it as possible. Close the closet door and pretend he never saw it.

"I'm afraid that's not an option," Ape replied, before picking up the body. Radioactive dust fell off it, as he carried it away.

"I can't say I don't understand. I've had my moments like this, back in the jungles of Venezuela."

Ape walked over to the door, Grizzly hesitantly following him. Once outside he kept going forward, heading back to the LATV.

"It's a hard life what we deal with. And it never gets any easier."

He placed the body carefully on the ground, before searching the LATV for something. Ape found it quickly, pulling out a body bag. With careful tenderness, he and Grizzly slowly put the corpse into it.

"The enemy adapts, finds new and better ways to kill off innocent people, to kill us. But we knew this when we joined. I'm pretty sure you knew this as well, just not the extent of it. Some can handle it, others can't. And that's fine, the life of a soldier isn't for everyone. But right now? Right now you're needed." Ape told him, looking him dead in the eye.

"The moment this is over you can hand in your resignation and go home. But right now you have to put on a strong face. Right now we've got thousands counting on us, with no one else coming to help. The people here are depending on you and me rookie. "

With the body taken care of, Ape stood back up. Then he started walking back into the village, still looking at Grizzly.

"And I don't know about you, but I'm not about to disappoint them. The question is, are you?"

Grizzly could only think over the question as Ape walked farther away. He had joined the MSF because he felt that being a hero, wasn't doing enough. It was all autographs and interviews. But he never expected this. Grizzly was terrified, how could he help in all of this? It was too big, too cataclysmic. He thought it would be street crime and murderers. But… that seemed inconsequential now as he reflected on the sergeant's words.

No one else was coming. No heroes, no one. Whether Grizzly wanted to admit it or not, they were all that was available. Reluctantly he began to follow the man, heading back into the village.

"As promised, one nuke free of charge." the Tyrant stated, the bomb being moved into a cargo plane. Dozens of straps covered it, holding it in place once it was fully inside. Night Owl simply smiled as everything was ready to go.

"I hope you know he's coming for you." Night Owl told him, looking back at the man.

"Snake can try, if he fails, he fails. If he succeeds, he succeeds. As long as I get my fight, then everything's fine." the Tyrant replied, as he leisurely sat down in a lawn chair. Night Owl stood off to the side, as the Tyrant then offered him a drink which he gratefully accepted.

"Well, it has been fun." Night Owl spoke calmly, taking a quick sip from his drink.

"That it has." the Tyrant agreed, drinking from his own. It was odd, he couldn't help but feel as if this was the end of an era. The HPSC's image of power and authority shattered by a few bombs. An end to heroics in not but a few short hours. It was odd. And he couldn't help but drink to the thought.

"Sir!" a militant exclaimed, rushing over to him. Night Owl looked over curiously, as the Tyrant addressed the man.

"What is it?"

"An unidentified military force has been spotted in Nigeria," the militant explained, "They're entering the contamination zone."

"HPSC?" the Tyrant asked, looking over at Night Owl.

"Snake. Seems someone decided to pick up the heroes' slack." Night Owl muttered.

"Well then, can't make it too easy for them now can I?" the Tyrant began before pulling over a nearby map, "reroute nearby forces into the area."

"Yes sir!"

Snake checked over his equipment one last time, approaching the helicopter solemnly.

"You sure you should go alone?" Nagant asked him, following closely.

"I am, we need you down in Nigeria," Snake replied, examining the silencer on his pistol. Finding it satisfactory, he put it away.

"Well then," Nagant started, giving him a small salute, "Good luck out there Boss."

Snake returned it, before sitting down in the helicopter. Pequod took off quickly then, wasting no time. They only had thirty-six hours left, and Snake couldn't help but reflect on this. The sheer number of times a crisis like this had arisen. It was strange to think about, how many times he had to do this song and dance. But that was his life, and it's what the title of Big Boss brought him.

Eventually, he'd arrived at his destination. It was a few miles from the main silo, with Snake having to advance the rest of the way on foot. Soon enough his foot touched the ground, sinking slightly into the wet mud of the jungle. All manner of creatures were heard around him. They hid in the trees, in the bushes, in the mud. Yet they did nothing as Snake walked forward.

He moved quickly, cutting down what plants blocked his way. It was an odd elegance, with brutal efficiency as he went. No one was around for miles, no one except Snake, and the jungle. It let thoughts fester, of older memories. Of things, he had come to realize over the years. He cut past another bunch of bushes, scaring off what creatures hid inside.

Snake had realized something, he'd been wrong. For all those years of attempting to fulfill the Boss's legacy, he'd been wrong. So was Zero, and so was everyone who had attempted to fulfill it before. For the Boss didn't want a nation of mercenaries or a worldwide government. She wanted people to decide for themselves. She wanted a world where allies didn't have to kill each other for the whims of someone else.

It had taken several things, for Snake to realize it, but only one mattered. It was this world, that made him realize. One engulfed in a false peace, created by a man unaware of the rest of the world. One where soldiers had been removed and all but eliminated. And Snake knew this couldn't have been what the Boss wanted. This wasn't peace, this was complacency, this was ignorance, and this was a lie.

And it made Snake realize, soldiers did have a place for a world in peace. After all this world was proof of what happened without them. That was what a soldier was with peace. Someone who protected and maintained it. To fight so no one else had to. It was fitting. Those like Snake who only knew how to fight, did it so no one else had to. It's what these heroes were supposed to do but didn't.

At least not all of them. Those that did were left motionless, lost, and unsure of if they were doing anything meaningful. But that was their role, a soldier's and a hero's role. They were to protect the people's ability to choose for themselves. To fight off those that wanted to take it away. That was a soldier's role, and it bugged Snake that it had taken him so long to figure out.

But that didn't matter now. No, because now? Now he was going to fulfill the Boss's legacy. Her real legacy. And it starts, with the Tyrant's end.