in the quiet loop. (solid snake x reader)

09 - fallen

A sickening crunch of metal stone as Arsenal slammed into the base of Federal Hall. The foundation of history cracked beneath the weight of engineered war. Smoke and dust bloomed into the air like mushroom clouds, choking the city in silence and disbelief. The archways shattered, walls broken apart. A part of the dome crumbled on impact.

Snake drifted in the water, stunned, watching as the monument to American democracy was eaten by the very machine built to defend it.

"Jesus..." he muttered, voice hoarse, lips numb from the cold.

He didn't feel the pain in his shoulder until he tried to move it. He groaned, catching himself on a floating chunk of debris, blinking the river from his lashes. Otacon exited the boat, taking a look at the now crumbled Federal Hall.

Outside, the statue of George Washington at the front of Federal Hall stood untouched, arms raised in welcome, as the wreckage of Arsenal Gear settled behind him, choking in smoke and iron. As if America's foundation cracked beneath the weight of what it had become.

The roar of distant sirens echoed across the river. Smoke from Arsenal's impact still curlef into the sky like fingers clawing at the past. Snake sat hunched over the wall, soaked and silent. Otacon was running scams on frequencies, intercepted signals, and any trace you might've left. He pulled satellite data, schematics from the Big Shell ruins, even old Patriot routing relays.

Otacon frowned, adjusting his glasses. "I've gone through everything multiple times. No heat signatures, no transmission bursts, not even a ping."

They both fell quiet, the only sound being the hum of engines and the flickering screen. Then, the codec rang, as Snake instinctively reached for his ear. He frowned when he saw the frequency was wrong.

The voice slithered in, smooth and synthetic, laced with that uncanny precision he knew too well.

"You're searching for something you've already lost, Snake," the AI colonel said coldly.

Snake's eyes narrowed. "You."

"You were always so tenacious."

Snake growled. "Where is she?"

A pause, long enough to crawl under his skin.

"Where she is... depends entirely on Raiden now. As does the fate of Olga Gurlukovich's child and Rosemary. All three are bound to the same outcome."

Snake's jaw clenched. "What outcome?"

"Victory over Solidus. Or death."

A cold spike ran down Snake's spine. Otacon looked at him, eyes wide.

"We wanted to see what kind of soldier could emerge from the simulation. Raiden must finish it. Or the assets... will be liquidated."

Just like that, the codec cut off. No trail. No trace. Not even a digital shadow. Snake stood still as the wind bit through his soaked gear. His fists trembled, not from cold, but from helplessness.

Otacon turned to him, voice small. "Now what?"

Snake exhaled, slow. Eyes on the chaos at the top of Federal Hall, on the wreckage of war and lies.

"We wait..." he said, defeated.

And in that moment, the strongest soldier alive could do nothing but hope.

----

Otacon's fingers danced across the keyboard, eyes locked to the flickering server logs he managed to extract from one of the corrupted Patriot backdoors. The data was fragmented, like bone shards after an explosion, but something was starting to take shape.