//all your demons inside come crashing through

[liquidouroboros]

[So much for a good mood.]

[An injured Liquid sat on a couch in the first floor lobby, doubled over with one hand supporting his head andthe other holding a lit cigarette. He had been so proud of himself for finally defeating Father...but now Snake's words echoed in his head like an endless loop. He was wrong. He had to be. Liquid had done the

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[vestri_vires]

...Liquid?

[Otacon, wearing the sunglasses that his Liquid usually wore, could see just fine in the pitch-black gloom. He could tell straight away that something was terribly, horribly wrong with the man. He approached slowly, his soft footsteps echoing in the silent hall.]

What's wrong?

[liquidouroboros]

Nothing. I'm bloody fantastic. I should be, at least.

[He took off the night vision goggles and dropped them carelessly on the table, running a hand through his hair.]

[vestri_vires]

[Without thinking, he knelt down in front of him so he could stare up into his eyes.]

Liquid. James. I can tell there's something wrong. What happened?

[liquidouroboros]

...nothing.

[He glanced away, scowling.

[vestri_vires]

...don't give me that. Please, James. I may not be "your" Otacon, since you tend to think of us as separate people, but I can tell something's wrong. And it worries me.

[Lifting his hands, he turned Liquid's head to face him slowly, framing it with his hands.]

James, love... please. Don't shut me out.

[liquidouroboros]

...

[He leaned his forehead lightly against Otacon's, closing his eyes.]

I don't want to talk about it, Hal.

[vestri_vires]

...alright. Then I won't try to force you to.

[Instead, he just lifts his hands from the sides of Liquid's head to cradle the back of it loosely.]

Just tell me... is there anything I can do to help?

[liquidouroboros]

...say I'm capable of doing something worthy of notice. Tell me I did the right thing with the resistance.

...tell me that I'm more than just a murderer.

[vestri_vires]

[Shock flickered over his face. Who on earth would have told him such a thing?]

Of course you're more than a murderer, James! You're the best person in this place!

[There was indignation in his voice, but he tried to tone it down once he noticed it.]

After all you've done, for anyone to say otherwise... that's unnacceptable! You did the right thing! You're a good person, James, and you always try to do the right thing even if it's painful for you... nobody has the right to say otherwise. Not after all you've done.

[liquidouroboros]

...I defeated Father, Otacon.

[His tone was flat, lacking any of the confidence that sentence would have held mere hours before.]

I finally defeated him, and yet now I'm not sure it means anything at all.

[vestri_vires]

But... that's great, James! You finally did it... and it wasn't as if you went after him for your own reasons, either. You went after him because he was a tyrant who needed to be dealt with!

[His fingers lightly massaged the base of Liquid's scalp soothingly. Seeing Liquid like this was honestly painful. He mentally cursed whoever had said those things to him.]

[liquidouroboros]

[He relaxed slowly, eyes still closed as he rested a hand against Otacon's shoulder.]

...

[vestri_vires]

[Since it seemed to be calming him, he kept lightly massaging with his fingers.]

You should be proud, James. I certainly am. I'm so proud of you... you did well.

[liquidouroboros]

...did I? Or did I simply provide a temporary solution to a permanent problem?

[vestri_vires]

None of us can be sure of how the future goes. You played your part, as was expected of you. If it's a temporary reprieve, then you know you're capable of doing it again if you have to. If one solution fails, move onto the next. There has to be a backup strategy in play for if the first strategy fails. But whether temporary or permanent, the fact remains that you still did it. You still stopped him, and now it's out of your hands. Whatever happens after this is up to the rest, not to you. If it fails from here, that's their fault, not yours.

[liquidouroboros]

...

[He took a breath and sighed, putting out his cigarette.]

There is a version of Snake around the age of my older self. Bitter, irritating...and yet I trusted him. He was like an actual brother to me, until today. I just had quite an argument with him; he told me off for gloating, claimed killing one's enemies on the battlefield was nothing to be proud of.

Typical of the favored child, really. He could never understand the true gravity of this victory. He'll never understand anything about why I've done all I've done in my life.