Metal Gear Solid Male Reader: The Full Story of Punished "Venom" Snake

Chapter 73: Familer face...

Venom Snake's POV

To clear my head after my last mission with Quiet... I decided to go out and travel around Afghanistan. I then see a soldier running around... it looked like a MSF member! I try to get him, but he runs away. I am able to tranquilize him and extract him.

Timeskip

I head back to the base. I shower to clean myself. I then head over to the medical platform. I look at Quiet's empty cell. I then decide to check out the new room that was constructed at the platform. I see a little girl inside reading a book. She had a scar on her stomach. It was... Paz?!

Paz: Snake?

I look at her shocked and confused.

Venom Snake: Paz...

Ocelot walks in.

Ocelot: That's right. It's her.

Venom Snake: What about the bomb...

Kaz limps in.

Kaz: We were able to remove the explosives. Both of them.

Paz drops her book and stands up scared.

Paz: Bomb?

Venom Snake: No, no, no. No, it's OK.

Paz: There's another in my...

I get a flashback of that day nine years ago. We were able to get both bombs out, and we exploded because a enemy chopper fired a missile at us.

Kaz: She hit the water hard, but somehow she managed to survive. Anyway, the shock triggered some kind of amnesia.

Paz: Snake, where is Professor Gálvez?

Venom Snake: You mean...

Kaz: Yeah, she still thinks it's 1974. She's got no memory of anything before that, either - Cipher, the KGB... nothing.

Ocelot: It looks to be a kind of dissociative disorder. Dissociative amnesia, where memories are blocked out to protect the mind, and dissociative identity disorder, where the whole personally changes. What we're seeing seems to be a combination of the two. She truly believes she's nothing more than a student living in 1974.

Paz: Peace Day was a lot of fun. I hope we can do it again!

Kaz: She doesn't respond to anything that conflicts with her internal timeline. Doctor's pretty sure she's not faking it. If she had her memory... Just think of what she could tell us about Cipher.

I see a photo of Kaz and Paz on the table. I pick it up.

Kaz: The photo is from that guy you brought back the other day - from the old crew. I thought it might jog her memory, but no luck... Anything else you can show her?

Paz: Do you have something to show me, Snake?

Kaz: I give up. She's all yours!

Ocelot and Kaz heads out of the room. I do have a picture from the old crew. I give it to Paz.

Paz: Gallo pinto! Amanda and I taught Céoile how to make it. She picked it up so fast. I was really surprised. I guess Parisiennes have cooking in the blood. Are Cécile and Amanda doing OK? I wonder why they haven't visited.

Venom Snake: They're doing fine...

Timeskip

I come back with another picture and I give it to Paz.

Paz: Remember Professor Gálvez on his instrument during Peace Day? "Wee-oooh, woooon..." Such a funny sound for a musical instrument. He said the Soviets invented it. Everyone sure seemed impressed. Music has no borders... The Professor taught me that. Where is Professor Gálvez, anyway?

Venom Snake: He's... fine...

Timeskip

I come back with another picture. I give it to Paz.

Paz: Oh, it's Nuke! He's so cute. I haven't seen him around lately. Where'd he get to? He is the official mascot of Mother Base, so he should show his face a little more. Want to know a secret? I saw Miller feeding Nuke when no one was looking.

I chuckle. Paz starts to make kissing noises.

Paz: Meow, meow. Come here, come kitty-kitty! Come here! Nuke? Nuke...?

Timeskip

I come back with another picture. I give it to Paz.

Paz: Who took this? Strangelove? Maybe when she rubbed that sunscreen on me. Uhhh... I'm trying not to remember it.

Venom Snake: It's okay.

Paz: But you know, despite her quirks, Dr. Strangelove is a good person. I wish she'd come and say hello...

Venom Snake: Yeah... me too...

Timeskip

Another picture. I give it to Paz.

Paz: This photo... it's from the other day, right? I like it a lot. I look kind of silly but, it's got a peaceful feel to it.

Venom Snake: It does...

Peace Day was a lot of fun. Everyone cheered at the end, even though I missed a few high notes... We should have more events like that, Snake.

Venom Snake: Of course... we're all waiting for you to get better...

Timeskip

Another trip for a picture, I give it to Paz.

Paz: Oh, somebody took this while we were fishing. That day, I figured out that it doesn't really matter if you catch a fish or not. Just waiting for a fish together can be the most fun of all! Oh yeah, Chico got all worked up and almost fell into the sea. When they do some fishing, tell me, OK?

Venom Snake: Yeah...

Paz then sighs.

Paz: I'm so tired...

She drops the picture.

Paz: I will just lie here a while...

Paz holds onto her head and lays down. She looks to be in pain. I feel so guilty... I couldn't help her those years ago...

Venom Snake: I'm so sorry... Paz...

I walk out of the room.