in the quiet loop. (solid snake x reader)

06 - something warm... yet cold

"I need you to hold this," you told Hal firmly, guiding his hand. "Keep steady pressure. She's in shock. We don't have much time."

Footsteps echoed in the distance. Raiden appeared in the doorway, his face pale, armor scratched from whatever skirmish he had gone through.

"I've got it," Raiden said, handing Snake the disc.

Without a word, Snake stepped past you, sliding the worm cluster into the computer. The terminal blinked to life with Emma's program already running lines of code, beginning to interface with the system. A digital virus, like a modern-day FOXDIE.

Emma lay on her side, wrapped in the emergency blanket you'd draped over her. Her skin was pale, almost translucent under the cold fluorescent lights. Her breathing was shallow, barely there, but her fingers moved weakly as if trying to hold on to the last thread of consciousness. Though you had done everything you could to patch the wound, administered stabilizers, her breathing remained shallow, her strength slipping by the second.

You watched from a short distance, hands still stained from patching her up. Snake stood beside the computer terminal, eyes locked on the lines of code running across the screen. While Hal never left his sister's side as his hand clutched hers gently, knuckles white with strain.

"H...Hal?" Emma whispered, her eyelashes fluttered. Weak, trembling fingers barely curled around the fabric of Hal's coat.

His breath hitched. "I'm here."

He bent over her, forehead brushing her temple. His glasses slid down the bridge of his nose, eyes wet but focused only on her. Then the screen across the room suddenly flared with red, an error tone piercing the quiet tension. Snake's head snapped toward the monitor.

Hal looked up, alarm overtaking the heartbreak in his expression. "An antibody agent?!"

"Damn," Snake swore under his breath. "The connection's been cut!"

Raiden stepped closer, brow furrowed. "Is the virus upload complete?"

Snake tapped a key, reading the frozen data stream. "I don't think so. The count's stopped at 90%," his eyes flicked to Hal. "Otacon?"

Hal barely looked up. "I don't think Emma made any mistakes."

You turned toward him, catching the change in his tone.

"A portion of the worm cluster might've been altered... after the disc left Emma's hands."

Raiden's brows furrowed. "By the Patriots?"

"Will the virus still work?" Snake's tone was low and tense.

Hal didn't answer right away. His gaze flicked between Emma's face and the frozen data, between what he feared losing and what they were fighting for. "I have no idea..."

The room went quiet, except for Emma's faint breaths and the hum of the stalled system. You didn't need to say anything. All of you knew the weight of what hung in that pause. The battle against the Patriots was still uncertain, and so was the fate of the girl in Hal's arms.

Emma stirred faintly in Hal's arms again, her fingers twitching against the sleeve of his coat. Her voice came out cracked, thin as thread.

"Hal... is... is everything alright...?"

Hal's throat tightened. He turned his head, seeking some kind of answer from Snake, but Snake gave the smallest shake of his head. Just reassurance, the kind that spared her from worry in her last moments.

Hal swallowed hard. "Uh... it's alright. Everything's alright."

Emma smiled faintly, the tension in her brows softening as she took in the words like a lullaby. "Good... At least, I... I won't be adding... another page to our family's dark... history..."