[center][h3]Oops! Wrong Snake![/h3] Featuring: Venom Snake ([@DisturbedSpec]) & Captain Falcon ([@Double])

[b]Word Count:[/b] 5,588
[b]Exp:[/b] +6
[b]Rapport XP:[/b] +6[/center]


The Mercenary stood at the exit of the pool; beating his target to it as he drew his .45 to hold-up the emerging suited man, halting his escape. Before he could speak, however, a voice shouted from behind him toward the pool hall doors.

“Wait! Whatever this guy’s trying to pull on you, let me be the one to deal with him.” The Mercenary's body bladed to the right as he kept his .45 trained on the figure, stepping to the side to allow the men behind him to speak to the man called Mabuchi. As the men conversed, his suspicions were confirmed: his contact with this 'Consul-I' happened to be the sole cause of the mysterious cargo ship's arrival. The Mercenary's aim steeled onto Mabuchi, yet any perceived wane of composure was quickly quashed.

[i][color=1f66b2]”Snake?”[/color][/i]

That got the Mercenary's attention, involuntarily turning his head to look at the man. That name sounded familiar, so how did he know it? When the man finished speaking, the Mercenary glanced back at Mabuchi, still holding him at gunpoint. A pawn to this Consul's scheme, now reaping what he sowed with blood on his hands. The man made an offer to join him and assist his organization in stopping Moebius, perhaps even the Consuls themselves. He got all he needed out of the soaked mobster, yet now he had a new set of questions poised for the two men. The Mercenary eyed Mabuchi for a moment longer, before thumbing the safety on his pistol and holstering it. Even if Mabuchi was solely responsible for the attack on Mafia Town, killing him would be a waste of a bullet, and his failure was enough of a punishment. Turning toward the man, the Mercenary met his outstretched hand and gave a firm shake. If they needed people like him to help stop this approaching threat, he wasn't going to shirk at the request. 

"Where to?"

[hr]

When Captain Falcon met with the other Seekers in Bancho Sushi with Snake in tow, he of course had a little explaining to do. Not that that would be difficult. [color=1f66b2]”New recruit.”[/color] Cap explained with a thumb pointed in Snake’s direction. [color=1f66b2]”He’s someone I used to know from, well, the start of all this.”[/color] Cap added, trying not to say anything specific about Galeem since he already knew that wouldn’t work around someone who was still Gleaming. Not that this would make anything any clearer from Snake’s perspective. If anything it probably made him even more confused to have a total stranger treating him like an old friend.

He was right.This man- he had only seen him zipping around the lower levels of Mafia Town on his bike- winding between back alleys and performing insane acrobatics- too fast for any of the irritated Mafia guards to catch. Now he was claiming to know him as an ‘old friend’? He didn’t remember ever being introduced to him prior to today. Not to mention, the name he referred to him by: Snake. 

Distant echoes sounded, faint and nearly obscured in his mind against the backdrop of chittering seagulls and the gentle breeze of seawater air. Some were yells, others were short quips. By him? By who? Why was everything so familiar, yet alien all the same? This was where he was, wasn’t it? The more the man’s repetition of this name resonated through his head, the more familiar it seemed. [i]Why[/i]

[color=1f66b2]”Like I said, It’ll all make sense once we’re back on the ship.”[/color] Cap reassured Snake. Speaking of which, not long after this was when Sandalphon dropped down with a delivery for the Mercenary - a fulton device that the man would turn out to be rather familiar with using. Which was pretty convenient, since that meant it was something that wouldn’t need to be explained to him. When he was ready, Cap activated his own fulton and - just like time - passed out after feeling it yank him upward.

When the device was passed to him by Sandaphalon in her hasty introduction, little more than what resembled a safety harness with a parachute-style pack secured between the six harness straps, yet another tirade of scattered, blurred whispers assailed his mind. The familiarity of this device was second nature. Even as the other man mounted, secured and unceremoniously flung himself skyward, his own procedure was seconds behind; threading the harness through the attachment loops on his suit, synching them tight, and pulling the ripcord as he dangled like a marionette before ascending to the Heavens. He had no time to question it, yet as darkness overcame him, he continued to wonder just who this man was, and what he just signed himself up for.

The briefing commenced shortly after Snake came to, adjusting himself aboard the bizarre ‘ship’ that behaved more like a floating aircraft carrier, at least seeming to him. Everyone who had presumably arrived in the same manner as himself had long since dispersed, leaving himself, the man from before, the familiar-looking catwoman from the theater, and Sandaphalon, who had passed him a Fulton. The man listened in silence as she went into her speech, no doubt having done so minutes prior to his ascent to the Avenger, and within moments had even more questions swirling around his head- almost tempted to echo them out loud. The Avenger, a mobile base of operations? Amenities? Flying Fortress? [i]Just like..[/i]

The catlike woman mused aloud. The one thing the man noted her for why she was recognizable, was the near-incessant puns she made every other sentence. Now about his eye no less. Twice! The man’s ocean blue gaze narrowed to glare at her in slight irritation at her lack of decorum, but it was quickly brushed aside. It was something he had to live with, and if they were going to be working together, he [i]had[/i] to live with it. After the angel and the catwoman went their separate ways, just as he was going to explore himself, the familiar visage of the musclebound man from before had arrived into Deployment, and made a beeline straight for him. 

When Falcon  had awoken, he and everyone else were in the hangar aboard the Avenger. He could have dispersed and returned to his quarters, but instead he stuck around so that he could make good on his promise to Snake. Cap was a man of his word, after all. [color=1f66b2]”Welcome aboard the Avenger.”[/color] He said to Snake after he found him and made sure he woke up from being passed out. [color=1f66b2]”It’s a mobile aerial base. We can drop back down to the surface using those hellpods over there,”[/color] Cap said pointing over to where the devices in question were waiting. [color=1f66b2]”and you already know how we get back up here.”[/color]

As the man explained, he looked around to scrutinize every minute detail of Deployment. It was much like an aircraft hangar in its construction, albeit filled with a smattering of devices he’d never seen before. Illuminated terminals with lit keyboards, sliding hydraulic doors, the ceiling that, judging from the four equidistant lifting pistons across the four corners of the hangar, suggested that it was able to be lowered and raised to facilitate the deployment of vehicles and personnel to the (presumable) flight deck at the top. Considering his circumstance, he had taken a leap of faith in trusting this man after the chaos of the night, and now it was time to get some much needed explanation like he’d promised.

[color=f9ad81]”Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’ve never met you. How do you know that name?”[/color] His voice sounded rough, as gravelly and weathered as his expression, with a notable lisp to boot. He was puzzled, but didn’t give much emotion to his question as his nature was unusually reserved. There was a slight baritone growl of the Snake that Falcon swore he knew, yet this man seemed different. Not an imposter, no. Blazermate thought she knew him from somewhere, even commenting how he looked like a renown “action hero”- but Falcon knew his name. As the horned Mercenary scrutinized the man’s details up close, he at least hoped he didn’t sound too aggressive to the cobalt-clad figure who convinced his signage onto this odd task force.

[color=1f66b2]”Hmm, well…”[/color] Falcon said with a slight bit of hesitation in his tone. How could he even begin to explain? Well the simple fact was that there was no way to really explain, at least not while Snake was still gleaming. That meant that the most direct way for this to make sense was to… But should he really do that right here in Deployment? Might cause some unintentional collateral damage if he did. The best possible place to carry this out was no doubt going to be the training room. [color=1f66b2]”I was about to hit the gym to unwind a bit. If you’d care to come along I’ll be happy to tell you the whole story there while I do some workouts. Whaddya say?”[/color]

The Mercenary let out a low grumble as he reached up a hand to rub at the back of his neck. He really wasn’t feeling like physical conditioning right now, but he might as well accompany the man along on his endeavors. Why specifically they had to venture to the gym so that he could get more answers, he didn’t know. [color=f9ad81]“..Right, fine. Let’s go.”[/color]

With that, Cap led the way out of Deployment. They passed by one lift section that he explained to Snake would take them up to the Proving Ground where new weapons and machines could be properly tested, the Stockpile storage facility, Common Room, Laboratory and Living Quarters. They continued on a straight shot out Deployment via the far end door which would eventually take them to the lift section for the opposite. This was the lift they took, with Cap explaining that this lift could take them directly to Engineering and Cargo Bay, and further up would be the Stolen Moments Bar, Isolation Ward, and the Workshop. He decided to leave out explaining the Spirit Chamber for now, figuring it was best for him to process the big concepts one at a time, starting with getting de-storied first. He could learn about Spirits afterward and probably after he had a chance to sleep on all this and process it first.

But it was at the Workshop where the lift stopped and he and Snake entered. Inside was Tora, assuming the little guy hadn’t already gone to bed for the night, whom Cap offered a quick wave to as he took the Mercenary to a door on the far end of the room. Through it was the Training Center, situated between the Workshop and Laboratory. And as it turned out, it was actually more than just a gym. There was gym equipment in here, sure. But there was also a compact boxing ring for sparring and even a fully functioning firing range for target practice. [color=1f66b2]”Here we are! Pretty spiffy, eh?”[/color]

The Mercenary glanced around the ‘Training Center’, beneath his stoic nature impressed at the design of such a facility. It reminded him yet again of a room so familiar, yet blurred beneath the veil of fog that seemed to obscure what he already knew. After a moment of contemplation, he mused with a gravelly noise. “[color=f9ad81]“Whoever runs this ‘ship’ knows what they’re doing. Kudos to them.”[/color] The Mercenary had taken position on Falcon’s left, turning his head momentarily to meet his gaze. [color=f9ad81]“Suppose you’ll get to physical conditioning while I ask some questions, then? I’ll start. What’s your name, kid? And how do you know [i]me?[/i]”[/color] 

‘Snake’ spoke with an air of creeping suspicion now. That's why he was brought here, wasn’t it? He mentally chided himself for asking the others’ name so late, but he was sure the man would forgive his tardiness. Yet it was odd, how this man seemed to dance around his word choice before he spoke. He’d noticed the angel Sandalphalon doing the same earlier, back at the coastal eatery before he was brought to the ship. It wasn’t like he didn’t trust the man or the members of his organization, he just didn’t know them well enough, and their caged nature he observed while they interacted with him erred him on the side of caution.

Kid? He couldn’t even remember the last time anyone had called him a kid. But he answered nevertheless. [color=1f66b2]”Captain Falcon.”[/color] Cap then grew eerily quiet, not exactly thrilled about what he was about to do. But there was no other way. [color=1f66b2]”I’m sorry about this.”[/color] He muttered just before, without any kind of warning, his body twisted and winded up into a high spinning kick aimed squarely at the Mercenary’s head. Cap himself was fairly superhuman, and Robert Garcia’s spirit had added an edge of expertise into his martial arts strikes. So the kick was swift, hard, and precise. Essentially designed to stun a target and leave them open to a follow up strike. But Cap had no way of knowing that this single kick would end up dealing way more damage than he thought it would as it connected with the Mercenary’s head and, most critically, his “horn”.

The Mercenary’s suspicions had been confirmed at Falcon’s murmur. Microseconds of minute movement made the horned man instinctively tense; only able to bring his arms to form a crossguard over his chest- but his reactions seemed much slower, much more delayed compared to Falcon’s stunning speed. He’d merely braced to block his chest, but that wasn’t what his opponent was aiming for. Falcon’s leg extended diagonally upward, and for a brief moment, the Mercenary’s grizzled expression, grimaced into a scowl of sudden combat, showed [i]fear.[/i] 

The carbide-titanium ‘horn’ that was mounted into the upper right front of his head was kicked; barely a budge from the structure itself, but it was what was contained within that rattled around in his brain. A starburst of color erupted across his field of view; with flashes of red-and-white dominating the edges of his peripheral vision as every color seemed to take a monotone hue. Snake’s head snapped back, mouth contorted in silent agony as every muscle tensed. Within the next second, he was on the floor. No sound came from the downed man as he lay sprawled out across the floor, and should Falcon have approached him, he would see the unmistakable golden ‘glint’ of Galeem’s effects shining brightly within his singular blue eye. However, Snake was far from being out of the fight. Little by little, his condition stabilized. Through the jerky movements of his muscles returning to functionality, his hands flailed, clenching and unclenching into fists as his arms began to reach over to his holstered guns. Impressively, and alarmingly, it seemed as though the Mercenary was fighting against his own seizure to kill his newly acquired target. Whether this was a byproduct of Galeem’s influence was unknown.

A stunned Captain Falcon stared for a moment. [color=1f66b2]”W-What?”[/color] He stammered, unable to comprehend why a single opening kick like that could leave the Mercenary like this. He was just trying to weaken him a bit, not outright kill him! [color=1f66b2]”I’m sorry! It wasn’t supposed to be that hard! Hang in there!”[/color] He said, putting his gloved hand over his chest and practically scrambling to produce a pink Friend Heart as a result. [color=1f66b2]”This’ll fix you back up and make you remember everything, I swear!”[/color] Cap vowed as he knelt down and shoved the Friend Heart he had produced into the writhing Mercenary.

[color=f9ad81]“G-UhA!”[/color] A strangled croak came from the horned man as his muscles tensed, then finally relented as he went lax against the ground. The pinprick of ‘glint’ that constituted Galeem’s influence lit with a single bright spark, then died out into the air above Snake’s eye. His eye was now wide open, locked into place and staring at a nondescript point at the ceiling above him. If not for his steadying respirations, he would’ve assumed to be dead. Yet something else was happening. A deluge of memories flooded into his mind. The color of the world faded into negatives of their contrast as he lay on the floor.

[i]Snake blinked, and for another moment, he was in his helicopter. Paz lay on a combat stretcher, screaming in agony as a bomb was wrenched from her abdomen by the Medic close by. Then, a frantic transmission from Miller. XOF attacked Mother Base in a sudden ambush while he was rescuing Paz and Chico- the base was scrambling to evacuate. Time dilated; moving from scene to scene as Snake screamed in rage, holding a MSF soldier who had been shot in the head seconds earlier; one-handing his rifle and firing into the group of XOF soldiers as he climbed back into the Helicopter at Kaz's plea. Then, back to Paz- as she wearily stood up, the helicopter door still open, and dove backward out into the open waters below to save them from a secondarily implanted bomb. Snake let out an anguished cry, as the Medic positioned himself to shield the man from the coming explosion. "NO!" A flash of orange-white light, heat, and darkness followed.[/i]

[color=f9ad81]“P-Paz… Chico.. XOF..”[/color] The Mercenary muttered, barely above a whisper.

[i]The hospital in Cyprus… he survived the  attack on Mother Base, awakening from a nine year coma. The Assassin, strangling him mercilessly before being attacked by another patient. The man lit her on fire as she screamed, falling out the hospital window as the patient introduced himself as Ishmael. They made their escape as the hospital came under siege by a towering Man on Fire, and a levitating figure in a gasmask. Stealing an ambulance, they made their hasty escape- only to be thrown off the road as the patient was killed; sending their vehicle crashing into a ravine. When he came too, he saw his former rival and old friend Revolver Ocelot, riding atop none other than the Boss’s horse. The Russian cowpoke caught him up to speed in the time he had missed. The formation of PF’s across the world, the disbandment of FOX, the rise of the Cold War…The attackers. XOF. The rogue CIA detachment that had succeeded in destroying Mother Base, succeeded in killing Paz and Chico. 

He’d make them all pay. He was going to rebuild Mother Base. Bring The Legend back to life. 

He just had to find Kaz.[/i]

[color=f9ad81]“Ocelot..”[/color] Snake whispered, his eye twitching as more memories assailed his mind relentlessly.

[i]Snake was standing on the Medical platform, having just stepped off the Blackhawk with his arm wrapped around his injured friend Kazuhira Miller. The man had just been rescued from his Soviet captors, missing an arm and a leg as he leaned into Snake for support. Delirious, dehydrated, wounded in body and spirit.

‘The world calls for wetwork, and we answer. No greater good. No just cause.’

‘Kaz..’ Snake said. The man needed rest; he was in no state to launch into another one of his tirades. Kazuhira Miller turned to Snake, sweat glistening off his ashen pale face as his aviators darkened from the sun's blinding light. Snake felt the man's arm tighten around the broad length of his back. ‘Cipher sent us to Hell.. but we're going even deeper.’ Kaz growled.

‘I know... I'm already a demon.’ Snake responded. Something in his mind tugged at him; calling to question the nature of that statement. Maybe to Diamond Dogs, to Cipher, Skull Face, XOF, even that bastard Huey... but not here. Not here. Heaven had no place for people like him, either. Was this Purgatory?[/i]

[color=f9ad81]“Kaz..”[/color] The man said, voice barely a rumble. 

[i]The PF they’d formed was no longer MSF. Diamond Dogs, it was decided. Everything was coming back. D-Horse, D-Walker, the wolf pup, rescued from the Afghanistan mountains and named DD. Every single one an invaluable companion he’d bonded to, yet there was one who left the greatest impression on him- even though she nearly killed him the first time they met. Her.[/i]

[i]The XOF Assassin sent to kill him in the hospital, somehow surviving and then hunting and killing Soviet patrols under the Afghanistan moonlight. He defeated her after a long and grueling duel, and captured her to bring her into the fold of Mother Base. Initially escaping the Aerial Command Center just as it left the ground, it was later proven feigned as she watched him under her organic cloak; coming to aid when the helicopter had been strafed by a jet sent by XOF. A single shot from her sniper rifle two miles away inside a moving helicopter had found its mark as the fighter jet came around for another pass; the plane losing altitude and plummeting into the ocean below. ‘Quiet’ was the name the Soviets gave to her due to her silent nature- it was a perfect addition to the ragtag nomenclature that constituted the Diamond Dogs. He preferred to work alone in the field, yet her sniper support became invaluable during their various missions together. Despite Miller’s protests, Snake vowed to take personal responsibility for her should she betray them, but it never happened. The guards antagonized her at first; degrading her with venomous whispers and defacing the entrance to her cell on the Medical platform with scribbled messages such as ‘freak’, ‘witch’, ‘mutant’, and ‘monster’. Every night after his rounds on base, Snake stopped by the Medical platform to see her. Every night, he’d scowl at the defaced sign and scratch it out with his knife, much to the chagrin of the guard on watch. Every night, he would make that guard leave his post, and go visit Quiet to sit with her in their shared silence. Their fate was bound by lives lived not of their own volition, and that commonality, he believed, was what made them so close.[/i]

Yet that peace off the battlefield was never destined to last.

Mother Base was besieged by an invisible enemy; a parasite that activated through a person’s native language. It started with Kikongo speakers at first, then transferred with the virulence of a virus across the rest of Mother Base’s staff and soldiers. Snake’s only hope of a cure rested within the creator of the Parasite- an elderly Navajo man, embittered by the “civilization” of his people at the hands of the Americans. Code Talker’s cure was a double-edged sword; ridding him and his men of the Parasite’s effects, yet rendering them completely infertile. It was a price he was willing to pay without hesitation.

97 soldiers and staff died under his watch by the time the dust had settled. For six hours, he stood in the rain as the fallen were cremated into ash on a separate platform from Mother Base; their draped caskets ferrying orange embers out to sea as the rest burned away. Even after everyone left, She never did. His revenge was fueled twofold, but nothing would compare to the mistake that was rescuing Huey Emmerich.

[color=f9ad81]”Ngh… Quiet… Huey…”[/color] Snake growled out the latter’s name, his single eye becoming more erratic in movement as his brow twitched.

[i]That man was the cause and the effect. A frail egghead with an annoying cadence and shrewd and cowardly demeanor. The sole executioner of the Peace Walker project utilized by Hot Coldman during his operation in Costa Rica. That man cost him everything, and Snake had the naivety to let him into Diamond Dogs. It was innocuous at first, full of apology for previous transgressions. Working with the Soviets, working with Skull Face- Snake should have known he was a Cipher plant all along. Yet, he took him in. Under the guise of building Battle Gear, Diamond Dogs’ own personal Metal Gear for their combat operations, he purposefully mutated the neutralized Parasite and caused a second Outbreak.[/i]

[i]The blood he shed that day was his own. He watched his staff, frenzied, attacking each other and him. The men and women he’d personally visit across each and every platform, getting to learn them as soldiers, as comrades- their inspirations, their ambitions, their ticks and quirks. Some resigned to their fate. Some cowarded. A group of them stood at attention, humming a song in solidarity as they were killed at his hand. Not even the last survivor made it; exhibiting symptoms just as he was preparing to leave the airlock with him in his arms. By the time he had left, Snake was covered in blood as he ripped off his mask, dropping to his knees and releasing a guttural howl of rage and anguish.[/i]

[i]Just as quickly as it began, it ended. The memory of those lost would live on as diamonds from their ashes. When Huey was discovered to have caused the second Outbreak, he was not killed for his traitorous act. Snake decided to let him go, and let him rot in his failure. Just like Mabuchi, he would let judgment be passed onto those unworthy of a bullet.[/i]

[i]With Skull Face dead and Mother Base in shambles, the last of his legacy crumbled when, just mere days after he received the diamond-pressed remains of Amber Fox implanted in the wrist of his bionic arm, Spicy Cockatiel knocked furiously at his quarters. The fiery-haired recruit had been startled by something fierce, only able to say ‘outside!’ The Mercenary rushed out of his quarters, only to be on the receiving end of an atomic flash of light. Sundering metal, rippling waves, and the world had quite literally fallen out from under him. Yet he was not plunged into the icy depths. He’d arrived at the shoreline of that colorful town, with no memory of what had happened before. It was as if he'd lived two lives within one body. He was Big Boss, and he was.. Someone else. Someone he didn’t know, and made no effort to know. He was himself. Now? …Now he wasn’t sure again. His legacy was ruined. His comrades were killed horribly. His companions had been dissolved into the blinding lumination. It was as if he’d been saved from death, only to be damned to a meaningless existence.[/i]

No. No, that wasn’t true. Moebius, the Consul- whatever their motives had been before, now he was certain that there had to be some link to the disaster that had upended his life. Wherever that ended, he was determined to get back home, and get back to his company.

[color=1f66b2]”Okay, great! You remember me now, right Snake?”[/color] Cap asked. [color=1f66b2]”The brawls, Supspace, Galeem… you remember all that stuff now?”[/color]

A cough was the only response that Falcon received as Snake’s body spasmed; the man groaning as he pushed himself upright. Galeem.. That had to be the thing that caused the flash. As for brawls and Supspace, Falcon was speaking a foreign language to him at that. He never met the man prior to today, and the Captain had introduced himself before decking him flat on the floor. There was only one time anyone had called him Snake, and that was Revolver Ocelot as he was catching him up to speed. Naked Snake was gone, and Venom Snake had taken his place. A new name for a new era. That’s who he was. Venom Snake. He was Big Boss, but that was reserved for his Diamond Dogs- the people who knew him. Still, it didn’t explain how Falcon knew his codename. The man groaned again, releasing another cough as he glared bitterly at the Captain for a moment, standing to his feet. [color=f9ad81]“Hope you had a damn good reason for doing that, Falcon. You -khe- could’ve just told me there was another Snake.”[/color]

[color=1f66b2]”What do you mean, ‘another Snake’?”[/color] Falcon inquired, genuinely confused now. [color=1f66b2]”There’s only one Solid Snake, and that’s [i]you[/i]...”[/color] He said while pointing a gloved finger at Venom Snake, [color=1f66b2]”...Right?”[/color] All of a sudden Cap was feeling like he may have made a big mistake. He was so sure that this guy was the same Solid Snake that he knew. But even after being de-storied, this Snake was still acting like Cap was a complete stranger. [color=1f66b2]”I don’t get it. You have his hair, his beard. You’re carrying similar weapons, your voice is even the same! Solid Snake was with us when we went into Subspace, and was there when Galeem first showed up! That’s why I was so keen to get you on board and recruit you! How could you [i]not[/i] be Solid Snake?”[/color]

[i]Well, shit…[/i] 

[color=f9ad81]“Solid..?”[/color] Venom echoed, his tone indicating he still had no memory of this ‘other’ Snake. Perhaps he’d have to differentiate himself after all. [color=f9ad81]“Alright, so there’s a Solid Snake..” [/color] Venom mused. [color=f9ad81]“I was given the name Venom Snake by my friend Revolver Ocelot after being caught up when I came out of a coma, but.. I guess it never caught on. Diamond Dogs personnel addressed me as Boss- it was a title I gained after I had to, well, kill my mentor unwillingly. Big Boss, specifically. That clarify things?”[/color] Snake asked. Truthfully, he wasn’t expecting anything he said to Falcon to make any sense. Reflecting on it made his shoulders shake with a slight laugh; this situation was getting ridiculous. He composed himself with a sigh. [color=f9ad81]”Galeem- if that’s the thing that brought all of us here, is responsible for our predicament. I have no idea how it showed up, or why I’m here. We’ve never met before now, Captain. If I’m that similar to this Solid Snake you’re talking about, I’d be intrigued to meet him.”[/color]

[color=1f66b2]”Not really, no.”[/color] Cap said in regards to any of this being clarified. [color=1f66b2]”But I obviously got the wrong man. I just don’t get it…”[/color] Falcon stared at Venom Snake as if scrutinizing his every detail. [color=1f66b2]”I swear it’s like I’m looking right at him.”[/color] But then Cap shook it off. What’s done was done, there was no going back now. And it sounded like Venom was also pretty clueless on what Galeem’s deal was as well. For that, at least, they were both on the same page. [color=1f66b2]”Honestly? None of us can say for certain how Galeem showed up, or why. Or even what Galeem really is, for that matter. I’ve heard some of the others refer to it as some kind of God or false God, but… that’s all just speculation on their part. All we know is that Galeem created this world somehow, and from what we understand, the Consuls - Moebius, are tied to it somehow. They have these monsters throughout the world, big special ones they call ‘Guardians’. Killing those Guardians weakens Galeem’s hold on the world, and has the additional effect of releasing some kind of pulse that can undo Galeem’s influence on people like I did for you, only these pulses do it en masse for the surrounding area the Guardian was in when it was killed.”[/color]

[color=f9ad81]”Hmh.” [/color] Venom Snake grumbled, pressing past the Captain’s speculation- that would be another issue for another time. [color=f9ad81]“Sounds like this thing just wanted to make us its toys. If the Guardians and Consuls act like tethers to Galeem’s hold, wouldn’t killing one attract its attention? Has your organization killed any so far?[/color] Snake inquired. He knew it was impossible to go his own way without first learning of the broader situation at large- and what its consequences would bring if this task force had taken direct action previously. His ability to command was all but lost, and gathering intel to help assist this group was all he could do until they were summoned again.

[color=1f66b2]”A handful of Guardians are dead, yes.”[/color] Cap answered, then added. [color=1f66b2]”And at least two Consuls are dead as well. Possibly a third, but that one is not confirmed.”[/color] He thought about it some more and figured it was pertinent to further explain, [color=1f66b2]”There’s one Consul for every letter in the Alphabet I believe. So if only two of those 26 are confirmed dead, that may be why Galeem hasn’t yet paid direct attention to us. Although the Consuls themselves have begun trying to crack down on us, hence why my group was laying low in Mafia Town. As well as a couple other groups of us laying low in other locations too.”[/color] Then he yawned and gave a stretch of his arms, [color=1f66b2]”Come to think of it, you don’t have a room yet, do you? Guess we’d better head up to the Living Quarters and find you one.”[/color]

The Mercenary bobbed his head in understanding. The Consuls, the Guardians- each was a direct link to Galeem itself, and it would be nothing short of a full campaign to ensure they were all neutralized. He couldn’t even begin to comprehend the scale of things, and as they were currently, this task force was but a drop in a vast ocean of worlds, environments, beings, and whoever and whatever else resided in this bizarre conglomeration. A noble undertaking to be sure, yet it was one that Snake obliged to support. Otherwise, he reasoned, there was nothing to go back to.

 With his questions satisfied for the time being, the man took in a deep breath as the evening’s events began to translate into fatigued muscles and aching joints. Fighting the urge to yawn himself, Snake nodded to the Captain’s question; answering with a gesture of his head toward the exit. [color=f9ad81]“Lead the way. And… thanks, for earlier.”[/color]