//mission 2// [video/action] the truth hurts

[cardboard_boss]

[The MID snaps on accidentally to show Ahab, or Venom Snake as some might know him, punching the living daylights out of a punch bag in the Rec Room. He's smashing the bag with such force that the metal hook is near straining with each smack of his good and prosthetic arm. He's angry. So damn angry. After his friends had told him the truth, he'd retreated back to his room after consuming large amounts of whiskey. He'd then come to the Rec Room to try and release some of his emotion.

They lied. Well he lied. Zero. His friends had told him the truth about himself just a day or two ago and it still stang deeply. He needed this alone time to contemplate things. Was he just a decoy all that time to bide the real Big Boss time? Or had his life not been a waste? After all, he had helped found Diamond Dogs with Kaz and Ocelot. They had killed Skull Face and near defeated Cipher. He had found and rescued the sniper known as Quiet. On top of that he had found a canine friend in the form of DD the dog.

So much was going through Ahab's mind, as he slammed his good fist into the punch bag, sweat beading along his forehead. He wasn't wearing his top half Moira uniform, as he was too damn hot for that. Just punching. More punching until he near yelled out at the top of his lungs. Surely, someone would hear that, right?]

....

Comments

audio;

[niffin]

Not that we don't all appreciate the view, but your comm's on. So unless this is like. The next workout tape sensation...

[cardboard_boss]

[For a moment Snake didn't acknowledge the voice coming from the MID. Only after a few punches did he hear the small girl's voice.]

Huh? Sorry. Didn't think this thing was on.

[niffin]

Cool. So. Now you know.

[ A pause. That's a lot of yelling for a standard workout sesh. ]

Are you like...okay?

[ Nailed it. ]

[cardboard_boss]

[He had half a mind to turn the damn thing off and ignore the rest of the ship. This was his private time so why should he share? Yet, she seemed concerned about him and he wasn't that cold-hearted just to shut her off.]

Not really, no. Just found out I've been lied to and I'm not the man I thought I was.

[audio;]

[trap_factory]

[Hm? Someone seems irritated]

You are planning on apologizing to anyone who catches this video and has motion sickness, right? What with the speed you're going at that bag.

Aah, slow down! You're going to give someone a headache! Hahaha~!

[in the background, the sound of footsteps against metal as Prometheus makes his way through the halls. It wouldn't hurt to drop by an say hello in person, now would it? He did face to face conversations so much better anyway]

[cardboard_boss]

[Ahab registered the voice but didn't reply until he had dealt the punch bag a few more hefty punches. It was then he heard the metallic footsteps behind him. Turning around Ahab narrowed his eyes at the robotic man.]

Didn't think anyone else could hear me.

action;

[trap_factory]

[Prometheus isn't immediately recognisable as a robot. Sure he had the standard mark of a Reploid and between the headphone like earpieces and exposed neck components but those were easily missed to the unaware... But considering he's been here a month and has made no attempt to hide, it was probably just a matter of time before people recognized his mechanical nature on sight]

Hear you? Might want to turn off that MID if you didn't intend for people to hear you. You must have been going at it if you managed to jostle the device hard enough to turn it on in the middle of that riveting training session.

Speaking of... [he steps into the Rec Room properly but doesn't move to approach Venom yet. Instead, he's looking at their surroundings, like it's the first time he's been in the room even though he's visited once or twice before] That roar was quite something. Though seeing you now? Not really the sort of guy who would get so worked up over something like whales and a communications hang-up.

[he stops and turns his head to consider the older(?) man]

Unless I've misjudged you? Still seems a little over the top for even the most dedicated of environmentalists.

[cardboard_boss]

I didn't know this thing was on.

[He looked over at the strange looking man and frowned. Who else had heard him beating the crap out of the punch bag? Now, he just felt embarrassed more than anything else.]

Let's just say I've got a lot on my mind at the moment.

[trap_factory]

[it's kinda interesting, seeing a man as old as Venom looking sheepish. Very subtle... But not nearly as blank as Pandora]

This ship is just full of surprises, isn't it? First finding yourself in space for seemingly no reason at all, being given a random assignment and then whatever mysterious goings-on around the ship itself. I doubt anyone would blame you for taking it out on something... No, I think they'd be more annoyed by the impromptu video.

...

That was an interesting style though. Can't say I've ever seen it before... But I guess most people where I'm from have eschewed hand to hand combat.

[cardboard_boss]

Yeah, you could say that. [Surprises? Yeah. Some nasty ones.]

Huh. I was just punching the living crap out of the punch bag. Not so much a style. [Just anger. Pure anger at being lied to. It hurt. Damn, it hurt.]

Sorry, you got to see this.

[trap_factory]

No, you've had training. Muscle memory doesn't let you forget it just because you've got some steam to blow off... [strangely insightful, but then he adds;] But I'm sure if we were playing a strength game, you would have blown the machine sky high with that performance!

[he's strangely cheerful about this. He walks over to the abused punching bag as he talks...]

I'm not so thin skinned that seeing someone beating the daylights out of some poor inanimate object would be upsetting. [and punctuates the quip about poor inanimate object with some well timed taps against said item]

Feel like taking it a little easier and having a spar instead? [he laughs] Probably not going to be much of a challenge; I haven't fought hand to hand in forever.

action

[yer_pretty_good]

[Since it was clear Venom was in the rec room, Ocelot left work to head there. He was on the clock, but this loosely qualified as work, in his opinion. After all, he was a 'therapist'.

When he entered the rec room and walked toward Snake, his spurs chimed softly to announce him. He was dressed in his Moira uniform, though it had the added touches of his red scarf and the boots.]

You sure you wanna punch that instead of me?

[Venom must realize that Ocelot had a lot to do with what happened to him.]

[cardboard_boss]

[Ahab didn't even need to turn around when he heard those spurs jingling towards him. Ocelot. So, had he come to admit that he had lied? Or perhaps atone for Zero's actions somehow? Even so, Ahab still felt angry and sad that his close friend had kept Big Boss a secret from him. It was him who had pulled the real Big Boss from the wreckage, leaving him to be picked up sometime later on horseback.

He turned slowly, wiping sweat from his brow. There was no warm smile this time.]

No. You're not Zero.

[He swallowed hard and could taste iron in his mouth. Blood? Maybe he had bitten his tongue in the punching rage.]

How long had you known I wasn't the real Big Boss?

huge mgsv spoilers

[yer_pretty_good]

[Ocelot could either lie again to him or he could come clean. With what was already known, it seemed pointless to keep the rest of the secrets. Except, he just hoped the man wouldn't hate him and push him away after what Ocelot was about to say because it was pretty bad.]

From the start. When you and Big Boss were brought to that hospital, Zero contacted me with a plan to have you take the place of Big Boss.

[He took a few steps closer, taking the risk.]

I used my hypnotism technique on you to make you into him. I then hypnotized myself to forget it all so I, too, would believe you were the real Big Boss until a later date when I would remember what really happened.

[So in many ways, what happened was equally on Ocelot.]

Re: yeah sorry. this thread is pretty spoliery

[cardboard_boss]

[Venom just closed his eyes and clenched his fists once more. It hurt. Hearing it come out of his close friend's mouth was probably better than one from someone he didn't know. Yet, it pained him that Ocelot had lied to him all this time. He had pretended that the man he knew was Big Boss. Snake sighed deeply and went to wipe his face with a towel.]

You must be pretty damn good with that hypnotism.

[Yeah, he was angry and upset but he still trusted Ocelot and found it in his heart to make a little light of the situation. It was tough. He could have just pounded Ocelot into a pulp and then felt bad for doing so. He wouldn't do that anyway. The man had told the truth even though he'd lied all that time.]

Wonder what would happen if you forgot you hypnotised yourself, huh? [A curious prospect. Snake walked over to Ocelot and placed one hand on his shoulder, squeezing slightly. The look in his eye wasn't hate. It wasn't rage. But the look was of a man wanting to forgive.]

I forgive you, Ocelot. I'd be a fool to be angry at you forever. You were just doing Zero's work. Nothing else. A pretty damn good job at that.

[Ahab didn't remove his hand but kept it there whilst looking at the cowboy.]

Re: yeah sorry. this thread is pretty spoliery

[yer_pretty_good]

[Technically he's not really pretending if even he doesn't know, right? But that's all semantics.]

I've been mastering it for almost twenty years.

[So yes, he was a good hypnotist. When Snake put his hand on his shoulder, that eased some of Ocelot's worries. He knew Snake meant it when he gave his forgiveness. Since they'll be working together for many years to come, it is better if they have a positive relationship.]

I did it for Big Boss. It isn't fair you got caught in the cross-fire. But you stepped in front of Big Boss and shielded his body with your own on that helicopter because just like me, you would do anything to protect him. What you did was as brave a thing as any man could ever do.

[cardboard_boss]

Yeah. I can see that you've mastered it pretty damn well. [He gave his comrade a playful punch to his arm and sighed. What a mess. Zero was a selfish bastard to use his friends in a chess game such as this. Ocelot was the main player while he and Kaz were kept in the dark. The man had to pay somehow.]

I don't remember much about before the coma. It's all fuzzy. [Truth be told he did have nightmares about the crash in his dreams but couldn't piece the pieces together well. It seemed like it happened such a long time ago.]

Nightmares. I had those soon after I woke up from my coma. Dreaming I was another man. [Fate perhaps?]

[yer_pretty_good]

[Ocelot feels sympathy for him. It's not just that Venom is a tool to save Big Boss. He's grown attached to the man. It's kind of hard not to.]

Those memories aren't gone, they're just repressed, but sometimes they surface. Dreams are the easiest way for that to happen, or if something suddenly serves as a reminder, like a sight or a scent.

[He shrugs slightly.]

Now that you know the truth, what do you mean to do? Are you going to stay with the Diamond Dogs and be Big Boss?

[cardboard_boss]

Diamond Dogs needs me. I can't just walk away now and leave all those men to suffer a fate of losing their leader. They look up to me and I respect them. [He was a soldier and a soldier didn't abandon his post no matter what.]

Big Boss is part of me now. It's more of a title than a person anyway.

[yer_pretty_good]

[Ocelot nods at that.]

You're right. The title is what draws men in, but your leadership, how you care about your men, is why they stay.

[cardboard_boss]

Yeah. I want to be my own man aside from the name. Ahab. I'm still discovering what kind of man I really am. Who was Ahab? What sort of man was he? I want to find that out and you're helping me to do that.

[yer_pretty_good]

You know...

[He's not even sure if he should suggest it.]

It's possible to try and bring your old self back to the surface through additional hypnotism techniques.

[But is that something he'd want? Would it just make life harder for him?]

[cardboard_boss]

To be honest I'm not sure. [He sighed. He'd like to be someone other than a clone of Big Boss but what? He was bred for war and that was all he ever knew. If he got changed here what would he be like back at Diamond Dogs?]

I'm Big Boss to Diamond Dogs. The men believe in the man I am at the moment. I think I'd rather it stay that way.

[yer_pretty_good]

[Ocelot smiles a little, since he was hoping Snake would say that. He reaches to place a hand on the man's shoulder and give it an affectionate squeeze.]

You're an amazing man, Ahab. Not a lot of people would make that choice.

[He's thinking of the men before himself. Ocelot knows he always does that, and that's the reason why the men respect him and are loyal to him.]

Thank you.

[cardboard_boss]

[He smiled at the squeeze and clapped Ocelot on the back.]

I'm just the man I've always been. There for the men who need me most. [Was he talking just about the soldiers at Mother Base or maybe those closer to his heart? You work that one out, Ocelot.]

Without men like you I'd be lost right now.

[yer_pretty_good]

We're all here for you. Anything you need, Boss.

[Him, Miller, all the Diamond Dogs.]

audio

[notyoursupergirl]

Okay, who's ass do I need to kick.

[cardboard_boss]

[Venom took a break from punching to listen to the girl's voice. Kara? He recognised her tone of voice.]

Kara? What? It's fine. Don't worry about it.

[notyoursupergirl]

Bullshit. What happened?

[cardboard_boss]

[You really want to know?]

It's complicated. Easy to tell you that I found out the truth about myself from my friends. My whole life has been a lie since I woke up from my coma nine years ago.

[notyoursupergirl]

Oh.

[ Kind of like what happened to her, but... She's not gonna say that. ]

That really sucks. ...You want me to punch somebody for you?

[cardboard_boss]

You don't need to punch anyone for me. This is my fight and I have to deal with it alone.

[Sorry, Kara.]

[notyoursupergirl]

You totally don't, but okay.

Don't hurt yourself, you're all old and brittle, something might break.

[cardboard_boss]

Old and brittle, huh?

[He chuckled at that.] I'm still a soldier and can take a lot thrown at me.

[notyoursupergirl]

You're super manly and strong okay, got it, but you know. Don't go getting hurt while you're catching stuff being thrown at you.

[ She's being literal to hide the fact she's worried, okay. ]

Because you so old and brittle.