(I hope you're ready for this. I'm not, not at all. And I must warn you, this is an intense chapter and their is a lot of blood and a some gore.)
Miller:*Com* Boss, Major, we have an emergency. There's been another of the vocal cord parasites on the base. Several men are dead. It started in the Laboratory on the Quarantine Platform, where the radiation leak occurred. I'd only just deployed the Security Team... I've sent in a rescue team to help, but they haven't returned. Boss, Major, I need you on this. Come back to Mother Base ASAP."
--
The helicopter is landing on Mother Base and Alarms can be heard.
Mother Base, Seychelles Waters
Command Platform
Miller:*Com* "Here we go again... There's been another outbreak in the Laboratory - the Quarantine Platform. We sent a team to investigate and recover the survivors, but they haven't returned."
Snake gets up and opens the helicopter door. Miller and a few soldiers are standing nearby.
Miller:"Nothing on the radio, either."
Snake and Wolf hop out of the helicopter. Snake and Wolf walk over to Miller and the soldiers nearby stand at ready.
Miller:"We've got a backup team ready to go. Just give the order..."
Snake interrupts.
Snake:"We'll go." *He nods his head towards Wolf.* "Alone."
Snake turns around and Miller grabs his arm; his crutch falls.
Miller:"Boss, what are you-- There's no need for that."
Wolf bends down and picks up the crutch.
Snake:"We can't afford to lose anyone else."
Miller:"We have no idea what's going on in there!"
Wolf:"Exactly."
Snake:"Anyone still alive is at their breaking point. Last thing we need is another unit storming in."
Wolf gives Miller's crutch back to him.
Wolf:"No telling how they'd react."
Miller thinks for a few seconds then looks at the two.
Miller:"Fine. First off, check how much the infection has spread. Rescue comes next - after we know the situation. When you're ready to move. Just use the iDroid."
Miller limps away and the soldiers follow him. Wolf takes in a deep breath then after a few seconds she releases it.
She and Snake get back in the chopper and it flies off.
--------
Snake and Wolf are in the Chopper. Wolf is sitting under the gun rack with her eye closed and a phantom cigar in her mouth.
Mother Base, Seychelles Waters
Aerial Command Center
Miller:*Com* "We have no idea why the parasite has shown up again. I thought we took care of it. We need more information. Find out what's going on, Boss. Major."
----
Episode 43
SHINING LIGHTS, EVEN IN DEATH
------
Miller:*Com* "Boss, Major, Let's go over the situation again."
A Video begins to play
It shows the body cam of one of the rescue team members. They are inside the facility.
Miller:*Com "We've got another parasite outbreak in the Laboratory on the Quarantine Platform."
The soldier looks down at the blood trail on the floor and he heads over to his team.
A soldier gets up from looking at a dead scientist. The blood trail leads to him. There is another body by the stairs.
Soldier 1:"What is this?"
Soldier 2:"No idea."
The soldier with the cam gets closer to the dead scientist.
Soldier 1:"Damn it!"
Suddenly the dead scientist by the stairs starts to twitch and the soldier next to the scientist moves away.
Soldier 3:"What the...?!"
The doctor next to the cam soldier starts to twitch and he backs away.
Soldier 1:"Shit!"
Soldier 2:"Stay back!"
There is a zombified scientists standing behind soldier 3.
Soldier 1:"Watch out!"
The guy with the cam is attacked and the camera falls onto the floor and blood is on the screen. A body falls right in front of the camera and it turns off.
Video end
Miller:*Com*"We've sealed all the exits to keep it from spreading. No one's getting out."
------
Snake and Wolf are inside the chopper as it flies to the Quarantine Platform. Wolf doesn't have her M60 or her W.U S.Pistol with her. Only her assault rifle and Pistol.
Wolf is kneeling at the left door and she's looking out the window.
Miller:*Com* "One of the researchers inside managed to isolate the parasite behind the outbreak."
Wolf puts her left hand on the glass.
Miller:*Com* "He faxed over his findings; Code Talker's analyzing them now."
Discover the Truth behind the New Outbreak
Code Talker:*Com* "Why this new outbreak, despite our inoculation? This is still unclear. Introducing the Wolbachia to the infected, prevented symptoms during the last epidemic... The parasites lodge in the victim's throat, forming a mating pair, but the Wolbachia turns the male to female. Two females can neither copulate nor lay eggs."
Wolf looks at Snake; she has a calm face but Snake can see the fear in her eye.
Wolf is terrified currently; she hasn't felt such fear in a long time.
Miller:*Com* "That's why the rescue team went in with more Wolbachia. But the outbreak still isn't under control."
Wolf gets up and sits at the seats next to the right door.
Code Talker:"They should not be capable of laying eggs... Yet we have a new outbreak, and the Wolbachia have no effect... I pray this is not some new strain, If it is..."
Miller:*Com* "...Then someone may have brought it here. If there's a spy running around."
Code Talker:"For now, we must focus on discerning the outbreak mechanism. The cases show another alarming new development. It is now even more difficult to tell who is infected. The eggs propagate out of sight, no external symptoms. One who appears healthy, may be dying on the inside."
Wolf tightens her bandana around her left eye.
Miller:"What the hell happened in there...? Boss. Major. I still can't raise the rescue team I sent in. We'd know how to proceed if we just knew how to ID the symptoms."
Snake stands up and opens the left door; Wolf kneels behind him.
Miller:*Com* "Finding that out is part of both your job in there."
The helicopter gets to the landing pad and the two hop off and the helicopter flies away.
Miller:*Com* "Head for the quarantine tent."
Snake and Wolf walk towards the Quarantine Tent and along the way soldiers salute them.
They make it to the tunnel.
Miller:*Com* Hang on, Snake, Wolf."
They stop walking.
Miller:*Com* "We've just had a transmission from the inside. Here's the audio..."
The transmission plays and they hear heavy breathing.
????:"It all makes sense now. I...I win."
The transmission ends. Wolf looks at the building.
Snake:"Where's it coming from?"
Miller:*Com* "Unknown. It cut off before we could get a fix."
Wolf hears cawing and she looks up to the sky and sees a bunch of birds circling the building.
Miller:*Com* " 'It all makes sense.' Think he means the parasite?"
A couple of helicopters fly over head.
Miller:*Com* "No way to know, but right now that's all we've got. Hopefully he can tell us something."
Snake and Wolf enter the tent.
Miller:*Com* "We'll.... have to close the tent behind you two, Boss. Major."
Starring
Punished "Venom" Snake
Stalking "Maimed" Wolf
Miller:*Com* "Don't think the infection's airborne, but..."
Benedict "Kazuhira" Miller
Snake and Wolf make it to the entrance door to the facility and they put on masks.
Revolver "Shalashaska" Ocelot
Dr. "Huey" Emmerich
Old Diné "Code Talker"
The door opens.
Guest Starring
Diamond Dog Soldiers
Miller:*Com* "Find the source of that transmission, Boss. Major. Find our man."
Wolf:"You never know."
Snake and Wolf enter the facility and stop at the secondary door. The door behind them closes.
Wolf sniffs the air and she shakes her head and looks to Snake.
Wolf:"You smell that."
Snake sniffs the air.
Miller:*Com* "What is it?"
Snake takes a big sniff.
Snake:"Something sweet. I can smell it even through the mask."
Miller:*Com* "The rescue team reported that, too. Said it smelled like ripe fruit."
Code Talker:*Com* "We cannot allow the infection to spread. If anyone shows symptoms, you must put them out of their misery."
Wolf hands curl into fists.
Wolf:"That includes us."
Snake and Wolf walk through the secondary door and they enter the facility.
They see blood, knocked over equipment and bodies. They walk a little forward and see a couple bodies and a large pool of blood on the other side of a bunch of stretchers.
Miller:*Com* "Guess the parasites killed him. Don't touch him. he's covered in blood."
The two go through a door on the left and they find another body. They walk down the hall and they hear a few gunshots and a scream of pain.
iDroid:"Staff member has died."
A staff member runs out of the room holding an assault rifle and he spots the two.
Soldier:"Stay back!! Stay back!!"
He opens fires as he runs away; He misses the two.
18:00
They enter the room where the soldier ran out from and they spot a dead soldier with a mask.
Miller:*Com* "He's got a mask. He's with the rescue team. That guy from before...?"
Snake and Wolf head out of the room and back into the main hallway.
Some garbled noises play over the radio and then cuts out.
Miller:*Com* "Was that more of the message? We'll try to clean it up."
Snake and Wolf spot a researcher on the ground holding his throat.
Scientists:"H-help me.... Help me Boss... Help me Major... Help me..."
They walk up the stairs and see another researcher walking then suddenly blood bursts from his throat and he falls to the ground, dead.
iDroid:"Staff member has died."
Wolf's breath hitches for a second and the two walk into the main hallway and they see another dead body.
Another garbled transmission plays on the coms.
Miller:*Com* "Another transmission."
Snake and Wolf walk through the door. They hear a voice down the hall. Wolf looks to the right and sees a soldier sitting on the floor with his back against the wall; he's covered in blood and suffering.
Soldier:"Let me out of here..."
Snake and Wolf spot a soldier standing with his back to them. They walk into the room and the soldier hears them and he looks to the two.
Soldier:"Step aside, Boss, Major. I just want to go outside. I can't die in this hellhole. I'm not infected. I can't be, right? If I am..."
He drops his assault rifle and pulls out a pistol.
Soldier:"I don't want to go out like this."
The soldier aims the gun at his head and pulls the trigger.
iDroid:"Staff member has died."
Wolf's left hand begins to shake and she grabs it with her right prosthetic hand.
Snake and Wolf Walk out of the room and they head down the hall and find more bodies.
They get to the end of the hall and hear a voice in the room.
Soldier:"Hang in there. The Boss and The Major will come."
They enter the room and they see a soldier and a scientist hiding behind an overturned bed.
The soldier jumps when they enter the room and he aims his gun at the two, then lowers it.
Soldier:"Boss, Major. It's you..."
The two walk over to the overturned bed and see another researcher.
Miller:*Com* "He's wearing a mask. He's part of the rescue team. Looks like he's not the one who sent the message. I'd like to hear what he has to say, but you two need to keep going."
Soldier:"Sorry... I'll keep watch here. They opened fire on us when we entered. But I couldn't bring myself to shoot back. Like you said, Boss - never point a weapon at one of your own."
Snake and Wolf Exit the room and they enter the main hallway and find another suffering soldier at the bottom of the stairs. They head up the stairs and enter another hallway.
Wolf sees a scientist holding his throat.
Code Talker:*Com* "I have analyzed part of the data that was faxed out. It appears even those who barely spoke became symptomatic. This must be some kind of mutation."
Snake and Wolf go through a door and enter the hallway. They see a dead body in a room and they walk down the hall. They hear voices in the main hallway.
Soldier:"Get us out of here!"
Gunshots ring out
iDroid:"Staff Member has died."
Snake and Wolf enter the main hallway and they see a soldier propping himself up and he's holding a gun. A dead soldier is on the ground near him.
Soldier:"Help me, Boss. Help me, Major. I don't wanna die."
Snake and Wolf walk over to the stairs and head up them.
Snake and Wolf make it to an emergency room and Snake picks the lock and opens it.
They enter the room and they pull out their assault rifles and look around.
They see a researcher near the exit and they slowly walk over to him. The walk up a few steps and they kneel down to the researcher. He's wearing a pair of goggles and he's holding another pair.
The researcher looks up to the two.
Researcher:"Boss... Major...."
Snake:"What the hell happened?!"
The two notice a knife stuck in his stomach.
Researcher:"At least.... you two are okay."
He takes off the goggles.
Miller:*Com* "What's going on?"
Researcher:"I win... I'm no snail."
He takes a raspy breath and his head falls limp. Wolf checks his pulse and she looks to Snake and shakes her head.
Snake:"Damn it!"
Snake looks down and sees the two goggles and an iDroid.
Miller:*Com* "So he sent the transmission."
Wolf picks up one of the goggles and looks it over.
Miller:*Com* "Seems like he had a way of ID'ing who's symptomatic."
Snake picks up his pair and puts it on his belt. Wolf puts hers on the top of her head.
Miller:*Com* "But what was he trying to say...?"
Code Talker:*Com* "Snail.... yes, of course. It makes sense now. Do not let ANYONE showing symptoms get outside."
Snake and Wolf look outside and the nighttime sky.
Code Talker:*Com* "As infection progresses, it triggers an overwhelming urge to get out in the open. That's the parasite controlling them."
A few birds land on the railings outside the gate.
Code Talker:*Com* "Once outside the birds will feed on the infected bodies, spreading the parasite on land."
Something bangs on the door behind them and they turn around. They quickly stand up and aim their guns at the door. They walk down the steps and towards the door. They stop mid-way.
Code Talker:*Com* "The whole world will be infested!"
The door is kicked open and three infected soldiers walk in. They head towards the door and Snake and Wolf stop two of them but the third makes it past.
Miller:*Com* "No!"
Wolf shoots her soldier in the leg and pushes him to the ground; she quickly turns around and shoots the soldier near the gate in the leg and he falls down the steps.
More soldiers run into the room. A few of them grab Snake and Wolf, preventing them from stopping the others.
Wolf:"Snake!"
A few soldiers run past and they make it to the gate. They open the gate and Wolf growls.
She head butts one of the soldiers and punches the other. She hears three other gunshots. Wolf sees another soldier walk by and she shoots him in the head.
Snake and Wolf aim their guns at the soldiers getting out.
Miller:*Light 'em up!"
Snake and Wolf dive to the ground as a bomb lands on the platform outside. It explodes and causes a fire outside. One of the soldiers runs back inside, he's on fire and screaming in pain.
He falls to the ground dead and the soldiers outside burn to death. Snake and Wolf stand up and Wolf sees the DD emblem on the arm of a burning soldier.
Wolf's legs start to shake and she almost falls over. She hears footsteps behind her and she turns around and sees three more infected soldiers walk in.
Miller:*Com* "You have to shoot, Boss! Major!"
Wolf's hands begin to shake.
Miller:*Com* "We can't let them outside!"
Snake and Wolf aim their pistols at the three.
Miller:*Com* "Damn it! We can't allow any contagious individuals to leave! Shoot, Snake! Wolf!"
Wolf growls and she opens fires and kills two soldiers and Snake kills the third.
iDroid:"Staff members have died."
Wolf lowers her gun and she looks at the bodies. Snake puts a hand on her shoulder and pats.
Wolf takes a breath and they head through the door and down the stairs. They see two suffering soldiers.
Code Talker:*Com* "Do you two still have those goggles? If you see a glow in someone's throat, that means they are infected."
Snake and Wolf put on their goggles and they see glow in the two soldiers throats.
Miller:*Com* "They're infected. Kill them, Boss. Major. We can't save them now."
Wolf aims her gun at one of the soldiers and he puts his hands up from the light on her gun.
Soldier:"Why me... Why me....?"
Wolf looks away and open fire, killing the soldier. She hears another gunshot beside her.
iDroid:"Staff members have died."
Miller:*Com* "Men... I'm sorry."
Snake and Wolf go through a door and find an infected soldier in a room. Snake aims his gun and fires. Wolf sees his hand shaking.
iDroid:"Staff member has died."
Wolf goes down the hall and goes in a room and finds an infected researcher. She aims her gun down at him.
Researcher:"You're kidding... right?"
Wolf grits her teeth and she shoots the researcher in the head.
iDroid:"Staff member has died."
Huey:*Com*"Snake. Wolf, you two just... killed your own...!"
Wolf hears another gunshot down the hall.
iDroid:"Staff member has died."
Miller:*Com*"Emmerich? What the hell? Nobody asked for your opinion!"
Wolf meets back up with Snake in the main hallway. Snake is looking down at a dead body and he curls his hand into a fist.
Huey:*Com* "You expect me to just stand by and watch this?"
Snake and Wolf head down the stairs and the power goes out. Red light flash around the facility.
They see three soldiers and they aim their guns and open fire, killing them.
iDroid:"Staff members have died."
Wolf's breath hitches for a second and she coughs.
Wolf and SNake go through a door and into a hallway. Wolf goes into a room and it has a soldier and he's infected.
Soldier:"Kill me, Major. Kill me!"
Wolf aims her pistol and him, her arms shake and she looks away and grits her teeth.
Soldier:"Thank you..."
She fires.
iDroid:"Staff member has died."
Wolf lowers her gun and she feels something wet on her cheek. A gunshot goes off in the background.
iDroid:"Staff member has died."
Wolf brings her left hand up to her eye and she feels that she's crying. Wolf wipes her eyes and heads back out into the hallway.
She hears a few gunshots in the side rooms.
iDroid:"Staff members have died."
Soldier:"So you ARE here to kill us!!"
Wolf looks to the side and sees a soldier on the ground pull his gun out and shoot at Wolf. Wolf moves to the side and bullets fly past her and she shoots the soldier in the head.
iDroid:"Staff member has died."
Wolf ejects the magazine from her gun and she grabs it and throws it at the wall in anger. Wolf growls and reloads her gun.
Huey:*Com* "You're both insane, Snake!! Wolf!! He was one of your men!"
Wolf hears another gunshot in the side hallway.
iDroid:"Staff Member has died."
Huey:*Com* "You yourself said we're a family. Or was it all lies?!"
Snake comes out from the hallway and they both start heading down the stairs.
More scientists and soldiers are around and Snake and Wolf put them out of their misery. Wolf can barely stand up, her legs are shaking so much.
They come to a door and they hear voices inside.
Soldier 1:"Let go of me! I'm going outside!"
Soldier 2:"No! We're dead anyway!"
Snake unlocks the door and he and Wolf enter the room. They enter the room and soldiers we're holding each other back and they see Snake and Wolf.
Soldier 1:"Boss! Major!"
Soldier 2:"Major!"
Soldier 3:"Boss!"
Everyone gets up and they set their guns down.
Soldier 1:"Hey, let's let the Boss and Major decide."
Everyone salutes the two.
Soldier 4:"We live and die by your orders, Boss. Major."
Snake and Wolf move to the center of the room and everyone salutes the two.
Wolf looks around at each of them - tears fall from her eye.
Wolf:"Snake."
Snake's breath hitches.
Snake:"I know."
Wolf holds up her pistol and she salutes the men and so does Snake.
Wolf:"It's been an honor serving with you."
Soldier 1:"We're sorry we failed you, Major. Boss."
Snake:"You never fail us. You're all heros."
Soldier 2:"Thank you, Boss!"
Soldiers:"Thank you, Boss, Major. We're glad to have served with you!"
Wolf:"We'll never forget you!"
Snake and Wolf begin to shoot their men.
iDroid:"Staff Member has died."
Huey:*Com*"Shooting your own men..."
iDroid:"Staff member has died."
Huey:*Com* "That's not the Big Boss and The Major I knew!"
iDroid:"Staff Member has died."
iDroid:"Staff Member has died."
iDroid:"Staff Member has died."
iDroid:"Staff Member has died."
iDroid:"Staff Member has died."
iDroid:"Staff Member has died."
iDroid:"Staff Member has died."
Wolf's arms are shaking and she can barely see through her tears. Wolf yells and she throws her gun across the room and she falls to her knees.
Miller:*Com* "Hang on, Boss. Is he wearing a mask?"
Wolf looks up and wipes her tears and she sees Snake kneeling down to a soldier wearing a mask.
Miller:*Com* "He might not be infected. Examine him with those goggles."
Snake gets a good look and he's not infected. Snake picks him up and Wolf shakily gets off her knees.
Miller:*Com* "Carry the rescue team member to the exit. He's the only on not infected."
Snake and Wolf start to head to the exit.
Soldier:"Thank you...Boss... Major..."
They get back up stairs, walking past all the bodies and blood. They get to the exit door and Wolf walks up to the door.
Wolf:"Got a survivor. Unlock the door."
Soldier:"Wait. I... I don't think I made it after all."
Wolf's breaths gets caught in her throat.
Miller:*Com*"What?! You just checked him."
Code Talker:*Com* "Could it have progressed this quickly?"
Miller:*Com.* "Boss, Major, take another look at him with the goggles."
Snake sets the soldier down and they check him. There is a glow in his throat.
Wolf:*Disbelief.* "No...no..."
Code Talker:*Com* "He is infected..."
Miller:*Com* "I don't believe it."
Soldier:"Maybe it got in through my wounds."
He looks up to them.
Soldier:"They're waiting now. All of them."
Snake pulls his pictol out.
Soldier:"Do it."
The soldier holds his arms out, ready for death. Snake grits his teeth and he pulls the trigger.
iDroid:"STAFF MEMBER HAS DIED."
Miller:*Com* "I'm sorry, Boss...! Major...!"
Snake and Wolf go over to the door and they wait for it to open. Wolf's senses go numb; she doesn't even notice Snake walking back into the facility.
The door opens and many soldiers are waiting for her. Wolf just walks past them and many try to get her attention. She doesn't even acknowledge him.
Wolf walks out the tent and the view gets blinded by a light and Wolf walks out and we can now see that she's in Feral Form.
She's breathing heavy and her teeth have elongated and has blood dripping from them. The petal that used to be white is splattered with blood. Her prosthetic fingers have claws on the end of them. She's covered in blood.
Wolf walks to the edge of the platform and she falls to her knees. She looks up to the sky and closes her eye and then reopens it and she screams her sorrows to the nighttime sky.
A Blue Morpho butterfly lands next to Wolf.
Wolf:*Voice Over.* "They say you die twice. One time when you stop breathing and a second time, a bit later on, when somebody says your name for the last time. Those men - no Heroes that died in that facility, they... they will never be forgotten. Their names will be engraved into the hearts and minds of all DD soldiers."
-------
STARRING
Punished "Venom" Snake
Stalking "Maimed" Wolf
Revolver "Shalashaska" Ocelot
Benedict "Kazuhira" Miller
Dr. "Huey" Emmerich
Old Diné "Code Talker"
Diamond Dog Soldiers
--
Snake and Wolf standing in near a group of burning bodies. More caskets are behind them and DD soldiers are lined up behind the caskets. Ocelot is standing to the side.
Wolf leans her head onto Snake's right shoulder and she cries. Snake puts a hand on her back and rubs in circles.
Miller limps over to Snake and Wolf and stands beside them. He looks to the burning caskets then to Snake and Wolf.
Miller:"There's nothing we could have done for them. We're all grateful, Boss. Major."
Miller limps away and Snake and Wolf keep watching the bodies burn.
A few hours later, the sun is starting to rise. Snake and Wolf are staring out to the ocean on the helicopter pad. The DD soldiers, Ocelot and Miller are all behind them. So are urns of ashes from the bodies that were burned.
Huey walks to the front of the group and points to the two.
Huey:"It's both your faults. They're dead because of you two!"
Miller looks at him.
Miller:"What?!"
Snake:"He's right."
Wolf:"We killed them, with out own hands."
Huey:"They were on your side. I'm on your side! And you turned them all to ashes."
Wolf's left hand starts to shake and she grabs it.
Ocelot walks up to Huey and puts a hand on his shoulder; Huey and Ocelot takes steps back.
Miller limps over to Snake and Wolf.
Miller:"They wanted you to shoot. It was that, or be burned alive. C'mon. Let's get this over with."
Miller takes a few steps back and looks at a couple soldiers and nods. A soldier grabs an urn and the other grabs the flag. They walk over to the edge of the platform. Snake puts his hand out, stopping them.
Snake:"Wait!"
The soldiers turn to him and Wolf. Snake grabs the jar and looks at it. Then he and Wolf walk to the edge of the helipad and kneels down.
Snake opens the jar and he's about to pour the ashes but he stops. He brings the jar closer.
Snake:"I won't scatter your sorrow to the heartless sea. Snake puts his hand in the jar and gets some ashes on his finger then he puts the ashes on his tongue. Wolf does the same.
Snake:"We will always be with you."
Wolf:"Plant your roots in me."
Snake and Wolf stand up.
Snake puts his hand in the jar and grabs a handful of ashes and he puts them on his face. Wolf turns to Snake and he grabs more ashes and puts them on Wolf's face.
Snake looks down to the jar.
Snake:"I won't see you end as ashes."
Wolf closes her eye.
Wolf:"You're all diamonds."
Miller limps up behind them.
Wolf opens her eye and she holds back tears.
Miller:"We're not burying them at sea? What, then?"
Snake hands the jar back to the soldier and he and Wolf look to him
Snake:"We'll make diamonds from their ashes. Take them into battle with us."
Miller limps forward.
Miller:"A shining light to our brothers-in-arms. Even in death..."
Snake, Wolf and Miller look out to the ocean.
Snake:"We are Diamond Dogs."
Wolf:*Voice Over.* "They will never be forgotten. Nor will we."
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(I hope you guys liked the chapter. It emotionally exhausted me.)
04-06-2022
4400 words
