Brotherhood

The moment of truth was near its advent.

Tenseness filled the air as the battleship Missouri sailed through the calm Pacific Ocean. The World War II relic's crew was in a state of fear and panic. Despite the encouraging words of Captain Mei Ling, the soldiers had little faith in their captain due to her lack of combat experience. They had even less faith in themselves, for they no longer had the Sons of the Patriots system, or SOP, to back them up, and considering they were going up against the best the PMCs had to offer, they were going to need it.

The only factor that gave the soldiers some degree of hope was the presence of the legendary soldier, Solid Snake. Though his body has aged significantly, his skills in the art of war have not waned in the slightest. He was still the same man who saved his nation during the Shadow Moses crisis, almost a decade ago.

Currently Snake was in the mission briefing room, where just minutes ago Mei Ling had explained the dangers that awaited them onboard Outer Haven. At his side was his bodyguard, Dante. The white haired half demon was hired by Snake's colleague, Hal Emmerich, to assist him in his mission. Although playing the role of bodyguard wasn't Dante's specialty, his sense of doing what was right compelled him to take the job.

Originally Snake wasn't too fond of having a bodyguard for it made him feel like he was being coddled and because of Otacon's choice of bodyguard. At first, Snake believed Dante was only some cocky, arrogant, punk who was only in it for the money and nothing more. Throughout the mission though, Snake's view of Dante changed considerably. The half demon had a sense of right and wrong, he was very mature when the time called for it, he was also quite funny and he served as a good companion, especially at times like now.

Old Snake let out a heavy sigh, the time was coming, soon he would face his brother, Liquid Ocelot, on board Outer Haven. He had always dreamt of this moment. The moment when he would come face to face with Liquid in a battle, in which the aftermath of it would greatly change the future. Could he defeat Liquid or would Liquid defeat him? Just the mere thought of the latter made him feel extremely pressured. No one on the Missouri actively told him that he needed to defeat Liquid, but he knew they were all counting on him to do so.

He reached into his pocket for a cigarette until he remembered he had given his last one away to Drebin's monkey, Little Gray. Snake just let out another sigh and grumbled to himself, "Damn ape". Dante overheard his friend's grumbling. "Hey, who are you calling an ape!?"

Snake snorted in response. "I'm not in the mood right now!"

Dante wasn't sold on Snake's reply. "What's wrong buddy?" He rose up from his seat and walked behind Snake. "What's the matter, is the tenseness getting to ya?" he said as he squeezed Snake's shoulders.

"I guess you can say that," Snake replied as he stared at his feet. He should be more straightforward with Dante; he might be able to help him with his problem. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, the old saying 'Talking to someone will make you feel better' played in his mind. "No, its not the tenseness, its this mission. I'm just a bit nervous about it".

The white haired half demon just waved it off. "Everything's gonna be fine Snake. We just go in there, find that GW thing, destroy it and then we celebrate with a big party that has pizza and party favors," he playfully reassured Snake in an attempt to brighten his disposition, "Well there's also that microwave room but I'm sure you'll get around it, hopefully".

Snake just shook his head. "You don't get it do you?" he asked the half demon, but not in a harsh way. Snake stared Dante straight in the eye meaning he was being serious, "I'm going to end up against him soon".

"Who's him?" Dante asked, now acting more mature.

"My brother...Liquid," the old soldier retorted in a dark tone.

"That old guy who tried to crush you with an entire warship back on Shadow Moses?" Snake nodded in reply. Back on Shadow Moses Island, Liquid had almost killed his brother with Outer Haven, if not for the efforts of Raiden, who held back Haven, and Dante, who pulled Snake away as Raiden was crushed.

"He's going to do everything in his power to try and stop us," Snake threw in, as his shoulders slumped, "I don't know if I can stop him; he's got an entire army to back him up, he's just as strong if not stronger than me, and he's a madman meaning he's going to use every trick in the book if it means I die and his victory his assured," the old soldier finished solemnly. Snake felt nauseous at the simple though of going up against Liquid.

Dante turned away from Snake, with his back facing the soldier, "Heh, you sound just like me," Snake gave his bodyguard a confused look. The half demon then turned around to face Snake, "Surprised that big tough ol Dante had dealt with the same thing you're dealing with now? Well don't be, I'm a brother too after all".

Snake quirked an eyebrow. "You have a brother?"

"Not have, had," Dante corrected his friend, "His name was Vergil. We were very close at one time, that was until he became obsessed with our heritage. He attempted to kill yours truly, but you can kind of guess what happened," Dante turned his head to Snake, who was listening intently to what he was saying, "I killed him. Its not like I wanted to but if I didn't, God only knows what could've happened," the half demon looked down at the floor upon finishing his story, "See you're not alone in this Snake, you've got someone who's familiar with your problem".

Snake stood up from his seat and put a hand on his friend's shoulder, "I never got to know Liquid, like how you got to know Vergil. The only memories I have with my brother is ones Where he attempted to kill me over our own heritage or ones reminding me how much he despises me. I'm lucky in a way," Dante gave Snake an incredulous look, but Snake continued, "What I mean is that I share no good memories with my brother nor do I hold any kinship ties with him, meaning when I go to face him I'll have no qualms about taking his life".

Dante smiled. "Y'know what Snake? We really aren't that different after all," he stepped in front of the old soldier, "I killed my evil bro, you're gonna kill yours. Your bro attempted to kill you over your heritage and so did mine. The four of us could actually be brothers and then you and I can be twins!" the half demon beamed happily.

Snake chuckled at Dante's idea, "We can't be twins because twins usually look similar".

Dante shook his finger at Snake. "Not always, we could be fraternal ones. Besides we don't look that different," Dante held out one of his white bangs, "Look we both have the same color hair and we are both strapping young men".

"Hey!" Snake punched Dante's arm in a playful manner.

Dante laughed as he grasped his arm where Snake hit him, "Relax, I'm just kidding. If you hit me again though I'm telling mommy".

Snake smiled at his companion, "Who are you going to tell, Meryl? Mei Ling? Otacon?" the two shared a laugh at the thought of Otacon being a mother. A loud siren sounded off, ruining the moment, "All personnel report to your stations immediately!" Mei Ling's voice boomed over the loud speaker.

Snake sighed deeply, his nervousness from earlier, about facing his brother returning. Dante patted the old soldier on the back, "Hey, I told you not to worry about this. You're gonna beat your bro, so don't worry".

The old soldier felt some of his stress fade away upon hearing Dante's assuring words. The half demon was right; there was nothing to worry about. He will try to- no, he will defeat Liquid. Old Snake and Dante then broke into a sprint and headed towards the catapults, where they were going to be launched onto Haven.

Snake turned to Dante before boarding his designated catapult, "Watch your back in there...brother".

Dante smirked. "You too, brother".

With that the catapults activated, launching the two brothers into the belly of the beast known as Outer Haven. They would defend each other like brothers, they would fight together as brothers, they would even die together as brothers.

They would win this battle as brothers.