in the quiet loop. (solid snake x reader)

09 - fallen

The world was coming undone. He had seen too much death.

Snake stood frozen for a moment in chaos, the cold hum of Arsenal Gear vibrating beneath his feet. Everything moved too fast, but he couldn't tear his eyes from the spot where Olga had fallen. Her body crumpled to the floor beside Raiden's restrained form, her face stilled in the briefest flicker of maternal resolve.

She never got to see her child again. A quiet, brutal kind of grief settled over Snake like ash.

Snake stepped forward instinctively, eyes narrowing toward the man responsible, but before he could reach him, Fortune moved. Her railgun crackled as she stood between Snake, Raiden, and Solidus. Even Ocelot paused, his usual smugness replaced with a flash of uncertainty.

As if it were fate's cruel joke, proving herself to be Lady Luck, she collapsed.

The floor buckled under Snake's boots as Arsenal Gear roared to life with systems failing, sirens blaring, and steel groaning with inertia. In the midst of Fortune's quiet betrayal and Solidus's boiling confusion, Snake's ears caught a sudden, unsettling sound.

There was laughter, low at first. Then manic. It came from Ocelot, but this wasn't his voice anymore.

Snake turned just in time to see Ocelot's posture change. His stance was more feral now, more theatrical, like someone wearing a new skin for the first time. His right arm, now Liquid's arm, tensed unnaturally, fingers curling like claws before relaxing.

"Brothers..."

The voice hit Snake like ice water down his spine. Ocelot's head tilted back, grinning wildly as Liquid's voice rang through him.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

Liquid Ocelot turned toward the console and initiated the override. The hatch behind him began to open, revealing the massive figure of Metal Gear RAY waiting in the launch bay.

"Time for the final act." He leapt into the RAY's cockpit with a sickening laugh. "Let's see how far this snake can swim."

The launch engaged as steam hissed, and Metal Gear RAY plummeted into the ocean with a thunderous splash. Snake gritted his teeth as he broke the handcuffs of him, slipping through the hatch just before it sealed, racing down the maintenance corridor. There was no time to think.

He dove into the water seconds later, chasing after RAY's dive trail. It was hopeless, but he had to try. Salt water blinded him, pressure dragging him under. He swam deeper, teeth clenched, lungs burning, until he caught a glimpse of its metallic hull disappearing into the abyss.

Snake pulled the small magnetic tracker from his belt. He slapped it against the armor, then everything was water and silence and weight. His body couldn't keep up. His muscles ached, vision darkened, and the cold took hold.

A bright light broke through the dark above. A boat with a familiar voice shouting, "Snake! Hold on!"

Snake barely opened his eyes before Otacon pulled him up from the water, soaking and shivering but alive. The boat, the one you had started securing before everything fell apart, was roaring at full speed.

Otacon gripped the wheel with one hand and Snake's arm with the other, yelling over the storm. "Arsenal's on the move! We've got to get clear!"

Snake coughed seawater, catching his breath. "He's... gone. Liquid's in control."

Otacon's jaw tightened. "And her?"

Snake didn't have time to answer when the sudden force of water, pressure, and Arsenal's own momentum dragged him and Otacon down. For a moment, the world became weightless. Snake managed to steady the boat, just in time to see Arsenal pushing forward like a godless beast beneath the skyline.