All characters take place after MGS4, so there are a lot of spoilers including one big one. I don't own any of this.

Forgive Him

By Marie Nomad

Meryl felt anxious and yet peaceful as she stood in line to the sushi bar. She was getting married tomorrow. Mei Ling offered to take her out, but she wouldn't do it. Meryl wasn't the type to do things a typical woman would do. All she wanted to do was to reflect on her last day of being single over a cup of sake and a fabulous plate of sushi.

Meryl saw an old man sitting at a table with a motorcycle helmet across from him. He had a plate with a diverse assortment of sushi in front of him. He wore a thick pair of sunglasses, and he seemed familiar. She couldn't put her finger on it. The strange old man got out a smaller motorcycle helmet and put it in front of him. "We are finally having our sushi, Eva." He whispered.

The seats next to him were vacant, so she walked up beside him. "May I take this seat?"

The old man nodded his consent.

"Thanks." She sat down. The sushi chef looked at her expectantly. "I would like smoked salmon, squid, and tuna."

"Hai."

The old man sampled the sushi in front of him, and he looked confused. Something about him just reminded her of Snake and the way he reacted to anything that wasn't related to battle. "I had eaten raw tuna, and this doesn't taste much like it." The old man commented beside her.

"It was prepared. It's not like grabbing the fish and eating it raw."

"Ah."

Meryl got her food and started to eat as she kept on staring at him. This nagging feeling won't go away, and finally, she decided to ask the question. "Have we met before?"

The old man looked amused. "Are you hitting on me?"

"NO!" Meryl was annoyed. How could this idiot mistake a genuine question for flirting? She hadn't spoken to strangers who are not green collared for years, but civilians have some sense of the mood. "I mean, I'm engaged to get married."

"Ah, so you are looking for one last shot before finding commitment. I don't blame you." He just smirked at him looking like too much like Old Snake.

"That's not it!" Meryl snapped. He had the same dumb sense of humor as Snake, but it wasn't Snake. Was there another clone? The world just can't handle another Snake. "Just a minute." Meryl got out her cell phone and called Otacon. "Hal?"

"Yes, Meryl?"

"Is… Dave with you?"

"Of course he is. Why?"

"Nothing." Meryl hung up and stared at the old man. He had the beard, and the hair, and that lingering smell of smoke that Snake had but different. Could he be Big Boss? She shook her head. No, Big Boss sightings had become as prevalent as Elvis sightings used to be. Of course, having multiple clones made the sightings more likely.

"Is something wrong?" The old man asked. "You don't have to afraid to sleep with me. I'm sterile."

The woman wanted to bang her head on the table. Was this guy still thinking she was hitting on him? "NO! I'm Meryl. What's your name?"

"John."

"Ah." Meryl nodded. That was a too common name. She had at least two Johns in her squad at once. There was Raiden whose name was 'Jack' which was 'John.' Maybe it was just a coincidence or just some weird 'Big Boss' cosplayer.

"I know where you know me from."

"You do?"

"Yes, you dated my son, David Pliskin, in Alaska."

Meryl's face paled. David Pliskin was Snake's alias that he used in Alaska. She reached for her piece and whispered as low as she could. "Who are you?"

The old man grabbed her and whispered back. "Big Boss. Don't worry; I won't hurt you." He glanced around at the near empty restaurant. "We're going to a booth." He gestured to a booth. Meryl nodded. Big Boss was fast; he had taught Snake everything he knew. If the stories are real, and there's no doubt that they are, he could kill her faster than she could get her gun out.

The two went to a booth, and Big Boss put the motorcycle helmet to the side. He reached into his pocket and got out a small box. He pressed it, and a faint hum filled the air. "We should have some privacy. This device will keep people from overhearing us. So, feel free to talk."

"How the hell can you be alive?! You died at the Volta and Zanzibarland and Outer Heaven!"

"It's a little complicated."

"Tell me, old man," Meryl growled pushing her anxiety down. She couldn't let him see any weaknesses.

"At the Volta, I was replaced by Solidius. He was the perfect clone of me, even missing an eye. Eva played her role perfectly." Big Boss smiled as he placed his hand on the helmet. "She always puts everything in her work. Maybe, she saw Solidus as a son to her. Who knows."

"Zanzibarland?"

"I was alive barely and held prisoner. A doctor saved me after the Patriots fell and put me back together using Liquid and Solidus' bodies. The convenient thing about having clones, fresh body parts." He saw Meryl just fuming at him. "It wasn't my idea to use them."

"And Outer Heaven? How did you do it? How did you survive being killed by Snake and then the entire place blowing up? Not even you can be that tough."

"I had a body double. No, he was me. I was him. He was a soldier who was implanted with my personality and my memories while I was in a coma."

She started to rub her head. "Forget it! I'm still recovering from losing SOP. Are you going to continue what Liquid did?"

"The Patriots are no more; I have one small thing I have to do and leave forever."

"What is this 'one small thing'? Because, if it's wrong, we will stop you."

Big Boss just gazed down as he stroked the helmet gently. "I have nothing left in this world. My foes are defeated. All of my allies are gone. The one connection I have left in this world is Solid Snake."

"I thought you hate Snake. He didn't know you were his father until he killed you or your double or your clone. Do you have any idea what it's like to kill the closest thing to family you had?"

"I know what that was like." Big Boss sighed as he rubbed the missing eye under his sunglasses. "I didn't hate him. I hated what he was. He and his brothers were copies of me, created against my will. I believed they were monsters."

"Snake's not a monster. He's a man. He… he…." Meryl started to cry. He was only a few years older than she, and he was dying of old age. It wasn't fair. He never had a chance to be truly happy.

"I know about his shortened lifespan. That was another reason I tried to kill him early. The End, he was over a hundred years old, and yet he desired to die on a battlefield against me. It was better to die in a flash of glory rather than just to wither away as a cut rose. I tried to delay it by getting him to quit that nasty habit of smoking cigarettes." He paused as he got out a cigar and lit it.

"And cigars are different?"

"These are healthier." Meryl shook her head. As Big Boss smoked his cigar, she smiled slightly. She knew that this man is not Snake, but at the same time, he seems to resemble him in so many ways. "What?"

"You look like Snake when you smoked. I know that smoking a cigar is different, but you have the same expression he did. Sorry."

"No. I should expect comparisons between Snake and me. He was my son, after all. You look like your father."

Meryl tensed up. "I don't want to talk about him."

"Why not?"

She glared at him, and he sighed. Women had always been an enigma to him. "Why don't we talk about something else?"

"Whose helmet is that?"

Big Boss held up the helmet as if to help it greet Meryl. "This was Eva's, Snake's mother. Have you met her?"

"Not really," Meryl confessed. She heard a lot about 'Big Mama,' but she never met her. She vaguely remembered seeing Snake cradling her dead body.

"She was sweet and seductive. She was the type that would do flips on a motorcycle and yet make you feel so warm." Big Boss closed his eye as he put his cheek on the helmet. He looked alone.

"Were you… married?"

"No. We were both soldiers; born and raised to fight. I don't know why Eva wanted to betray me and take part in such a disturbing experiment. I suppose that she wanted to make sure that some part of me goes on. I don't know."

Meryl wanted to slap him. "It's because she wanted to have your children. Maybe she wanted to be your wife and have a family with you. Now I know why Snake's so stupid." Meryl spat. Big Boss just looked down even more solemn. Her face lightened. He was cloned against his will. If someone had decided to make copies of her, she would have every right to be angry too. "If she was willing to die for you, maybe she still loved you."

"I know." Big Boss put his hand on the helmet and gently rubbed it. "I still love her, even after all this time. I only wish that I could see her again."

"I'm sure you will." Meryl took his free hand.

"In the afterlife. So, who is this man that you prefer over my son?"

"His name is Johnny. He worked with me in my unit. He… he's not the best soldier. In fact, lots of times, I knocked him around, but he kept on being loyal to me. He was a man first and a soldier second. He… he makes me feel normal."

"So, you love him?"

"Yeah. Snake… Snake's great. He will always have a place in my heart but Johnny's… he's special. I didn't notice it until SOP failed and he looked different to me. Even at his worse, I just cared for him. He's sweet to me. He's goofy and weird, but I could relax around him."

"Sounds like your father. He was a man first and a soldier second. Maybe that's why he outlived everyone."

"You're still alive, but I guess that you are ri-" Meryl glared at the old man again. "YOU TRICKED ME!"

"Well, espionage was my specialty."

"Grrrr… You are so damn twisted."

"You should see me when I was in Zanzibarland. I did stuff that was a little crazy."

"Oh really."

"I installed squeaky sand and poisonous hamsters."

Meryl blinked. "Poisonous hamsters."

"Well, they were rat/hamster hybrids, but they are deadly things, they will kill you in one bite."

"Okay…" Meryl paused as she thought about Johnny and Campbell. Now that Big Boss mentioned it, they are somewhat similar. "Why do you think that Campbell is like Johnny?"

"I knew him when we were young. He… he wasn't the best hand to hand fighter, but he was smart. He had a good heart. Even in the later days, he loved you like a daughter, which is funny since it turns out that you are his daughter."

"He… he loved me."

"Of course. Roy had pictures of you. He talked about you constantly. You grew up to be one hot woman."

"I…" Meryl felt like turning red. This man was nothing like the legends or how Snake described him. He wasn't insane or the type to walk on water. He seemed very human. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. You can't hold this grudge forever. Keeping a grudge, not willing to listen to the other side, it could destroy you worse than a nuclear bomb or a metal gear. It eats at you, twists you inside out. Try to give your father a second chance. Maybe he has a good reason for doing the things he did."

"I don't know. Maybe. It was easier pretending that he was just my uncle."

"Time is finite. Sometimes, the ones you care about would be here one day and the second..." Big Boss closed his eye. "You woke up alone winning the war but feeling nothing from it."

"What about you? Snake's still alive. You and Snake can still have some bonding time that doesn't involve guns or fighting or metal gears."

"I suppose that I am a little nervous." Big Boss confessed.

"Nervous?! The Legendary Big Boss nervous about meeting his son?!" Meryl joked.

"The last time I saw him, I tried to kill him. I don't know how he would react. In his condition, he might have a heart attack before I have one."

"Huh?"

"Never mind."

"Let's make a deal. I will go ahead and try to give Campbell one more chance if you try to make good with Snake."

"Maybe I should. It's a deal then." Big Boss shook Meryl's hand and then took it to his lips. He gave her hand a light kiss.

"Hey!" She snatched her hand back. "Will you stop hitting on me? Especially in front of her." She gestured to the helmet.

"Just a friendly gesture. Nothing more."

"Okay, just try to watch it, or I will poke your other eye out."

Big Boss just smirked and got out his money. "I have to go. I have something to do." He paused as he reached into his pocket and gave Meryl a small pager. "Here."

"An old-fashioned pager?"

"It's connected to my nanomachine network." Big Boss took off his sunglasses and then his strapless eye patch to reveal a small machine. "This is a nano micro-bomb. It tracks my brainwaves and heartbeat, the second that both stop, it will release a chemical that destroys my body and leaves nothing behind. Hence, no more clones."

"No more Snakes."

"Yes. That pager will beep and show the place and date of my death as well as the cause."

Meryl stared at the pager. "Why are you giving this to me?"

"You would probably search the world for me any other way. I'm irresistible."

"More like scary but thanks. It was an honor to meet you. I can see why Snake's so amazing."

"Thanks. It was an honor to meet you too."

"If you want, you can come to my wedding tomorrow. Knowing Snake, he won't be there, but he would blab to Campbell, and he would show up. You can talk to him."

"I… I have the stuff to do, and my name is 'John.'"

"Right. Well, goodbye, John." Meryl put down her money and walked away.

XXX

Meryl took a break from the festivities. The wedding went on without a hitch except for Drebin's unexpected arrival. He didn't bring guns and ammo but flowers and wine. Campbell came, and he walked her down the aisle. She wasn't sure how her relationship was with him, but she didn't want to end on bad terms like Snake's family. Snake didn't come, and part of her was relieved. She didn't know how to break it to him that Big Boss was still alive. No one else knew, but she will let them know.

All of a sudden, she heard a beep. Meryl quickly got out the pager and gasped.

Termination:

Time: 1900 hrs

Coordinates: 04512547

Cause of death: Foxdie virus

"Looks like you held up your part of the bargain, Big Boss."

The End