[Serpent's slither]

[ophidious]

[Despite the warnings of not being where he thought he was when conversing with "Big Boss" earlier, Solid Snake was a soldier through and through. It was far too quiet, and the mercenary had been taught never to lower his guard no matter the situation. When a scenario maintained peace, it meant that he was at a greater risk of being subjected to an

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[liquilot]

[Oh look. Here's a Liquid Ocelot, sauntering by, minding his own business, seemingly unaware of the slithering serpent.]

[As he walks, he smokes a cigar, adding to the pungent scents that are flooding the young man's nostrils.]

[ophidious]

!

[Snake pressed himself back against the wall and slowly shifted down to his knees to maintain a crouching position. He fixed his gaze on the man ahead and set his jaw tightly.]

Liquid-!

[liquilot]

Not any more. That part of him that was in me is looong gone.

[He clenches his fist on the end of his robotic prosthetic arm.]

Get up, boy. Humbling yourself to me isn't needed. [But he likes it~]

[ophidious]

[Snake would not have believed it had Ocelot not opened his mouth to speak. He elevated his body to stand firm on both feet, looking him over with a grunt.]

You managed to control him, then.

[laa_takfi]

[The Ghost of Liquid Snake hovered behind him, leaning over to whisper against his ear.]

A little lost... BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRROTHER?!

[His voice rose sharply at the last word. Usually the Snakes could hear him surprisingly well even if they couldn't see him - although a surprising amount had been able to see him.]

[ophidious]

!

[The holstered weapon was immediately collected into Snake's hand as he spun on his heel and faced what he believed to be Liquid. He had heard his voice, but...]

[Impossible. This person before him was not Ocelot. Hell, he wasn't even a person. But the logical part of Snake's brain reinforced the fact that ghosts simply did not exist.]

[His hands trembled as he aimed his SOCOM at the shadowy figure.]

Is this supposed to be a joke?

[laa_takfi]

Oh, really, Brother...

[Oh, how splendid. The man could see him...]

This is no joke. From the looks of you, you're... from around the same time I am. Interesting. If you'd rather I found Ocelot and came back so you could have a more concrete image?

[ophidious]

[It was clear that the preposterous nature of this situation was adding to Snake's apprehension. He dared not to lower his weapon; his nightmares had replayed his Twin's voice over and over in his mind. The events of Shadow Moses were enough to reinforce the trauma he had been subjected to. Being part of Ocelot was a less than ideal situation, so to see Liquid here in this form was teetering him over the edge.]

How is this possible?

[ysobritish]

[GOOD LUCK TRANQUING THIS ONE. Don't worry, he's not hostile towards Snakes lately.

...

Much.]

...Brother?

[Well, this isn't the smiley one, and it doesn't look like the one that Brother called "his"...]

My, my, there do seem to be a slight few more of you lately. Unfortunately, the only map available has only a few areas on it. The Rooms change, rendering it useless.

[ophidious]

[Snake had little patience for games or being subjected to the winding explanations of how the Nexus works. Neither was he ready to accept that there were multiples or other worlds, as that clone had eluded to him.]

[He wraps his long fingers around his weapon and draws it from his holster to aim for Liquid's neck.]

You were a ghost. You, living like this... It's impossible.

[ysobritish]

[...A newcomer? Oh, how charming.]

Oh, for the love of...

[Strong fingers wrapped around the tranquilizer gun his father had given him, drawing it from the holster to aim at Solid's head.]

I'm alive. I came here from 2005. I'm not going to try to explain anything to you. Feel free to think you've gone insane if you'd rather accept that explanation.

[ophidious]

[Snake mirrored the stance, refusing to lower his weapon.]

I sent you to Hell where you belong.

[jackal_hunter]

[And here's yet another Liquid, because the Nexus is full of them these days.]

[This is the first Snake he's ever come across. His reaction is predictable.]

BRRRRROTHERRRRR!

[ophidious]

Liquid!

[Snake growled deep in his chest. He was already sick of seeing his smug bastard of a brother's face.]

[Due to his encounter with a clone, namely Big Boss, and two Liquid's before this one, his patience had waned. He aimed his weapon at this version of his duplicate and fired.]

[jackal_hunter]

[That dart got him in the shoulder.]

...

Really, brother? Really? Do you think that a bloody tranquilizer is going to stop me?

[He pulled it out and tossed it aside.]

Raise your fists, Snake! It's time to see what the perfect soldier is made of!

[Remember that silly dive-tackle that Liquid did on top of REX? Yeah. Here we go again.]

[ophidious]

[It took only a few seconds for Snake to slide his SOCOM into his holster. Not only were the visible implications obvious that Liquid was planning a brawl, but he could sense the adrenalin building between them both. He jerked aside to avoid the tackle, already aware of that tactic.]

Hnh!

[Snake lowered himself to his knees and extended a leg to whack it against the back of Liquid's knees, hoping to topple him over.]

[ophidious]

[Finally. A familiar face. One of which he was more fond of than those Brothers of his.]

... Otacon.

[ophidious]

Hnnh... To figure out what exactly is hiding in the rooms here.

I was told...

[He grunted and rubbed his face.] Sounds so unreal. Other worlds, behind all these doors. Don't wanna get lost.