EPILOGUE:

PHOENIX

Seven months later…

On a beach in Southeast Queensland, Australia, two people lay side by side on towels laid out on the sand. One was a young man with a messy shock of black hair, wearing broadshorts. The other was a woman, a little older perhaps, with blonde hair and a gorgeous figure, wearing a skimpy bikini. "You had me worried, you know," the woman said. "I'm not happy with what you did, Harry."

"I know, I know. But I was the infiltration expert in Liquid's FoxHOUND before they disbanded it," the man said. "And frankly, if you came with me, you would have killed one of the targets, Yasmin."

"That wasn't the point, Harry! I thought you were going behind my back to see another woman!" Yasmin snapped. "Though I have to admit, bringing someone like him back…I can't believe that you're even considering helping him."

"The Sorrow and the Boss told me that he deserves one last chance, if only to correct the mistakes he made," Harry said. "Don't get me wrong, I don't like it anyway. He was too much like Dumbledore…though Dumbledore at least meant well. But…according to Ocelot, as well as the Sorrow, he regretted what he had done, in the end. Anyway, I thought you'd be grateful, considering who else I managed to recover."

"Yes…I mean, I remember you telling me he was still alive, and scarcely believing it, but…it is another thing to see the reality. And at least Liquid was good for something. I think we shouldn't have let Ocelot go, though."

"He's got his own plans to deal with the Patriots. He warned us that we'd be enemies. Though selling the secrets of Metal Gear REX to every state, country and corporation is pretty bad. Actually, the Shadow Moses crew and Hermione wanted to come here to talk to us. And considering they're amongst the few to know where we live now…"

Yasmin Potter, the woman formerly known as Sniper Wolf, nodded. They had gotten married in a private ceremony in Australia shortly after Shadow Moses. Some of Harry's old friends had been invited. She had gotten to meet the Weasleys, Hermione, Neville, and Luna, along with Professor McGonagall and Rubeus Hagrid. She had caused a mixed reaction, with Hermione recognising Yasmin as Sniper Wolf, from Nastasha Romanenko's exposé In the Darkness of Shadow Moses. Snake, much to his discomfort, and Harry, albeit under his codename of Thaumaturge Griffin, had become heroes in the public eye. Romanenko, who had been one of the consultants helping Snake during the Shadow Moses incident, was now a member of Harry's own organisation.

Hermione had actually kept quiet about things: neither she nor Harry didn't want it all over Magical Britain that Harry Potter had had yet another adventure, saving the world from a deluded madman, and that Yasmin had been one of the terrorists. Instead, she stuck to Harry's story, which had most of the truth, that Yasmin was a former special forces sniper. They did introduce Solid Snake, who went by the name of David Smith. Hermione had to resist from fangirling out. Even before Shadow Moses, she knew a little about Solid Snake. Her relationship with Ron had gone sour since Harry left, but when she was introduced to Hal Emmerich, she found herself with a kindred spirit.

Snake hadn't been so lucky in love. His relationship with Meryl didn't go well, though they parted on amicable enough terms. Certainly amicable enough that they were willing to work together, and were friends. Oddly enough, after Naomi Hunter was released from prison, having her charges dropped after a period, she and Snake were getting along well.

And what of Harry and Yasmin? Along with Raven, Nastasha Romanenko, and EVA, they formed a small PMC. They were mostly involved with troubleshooting and the like, security details and consultancy jobs. And Harry had the inspiration for the name of it from an old friend who turned up unexpectedly.

Fawkes had disappeared after flying away from Dumbledore's funeral, singing a lament. Not long after Shadow Moses, Fawkes unexpectedly turned up on Harry and Yasmin's doorstep. Well, windowsill. Long story short, Fawkes was now bound to the two of them. It was then decided that their new PMC would be called Phoenix. Not just in Fawkes' honour, but also to symbolise the rebirth of those who had gone through Shadow Moses and come out alive. Where they would strive to prevent their pasts from defining them too much. That they had risen from the ashes anew.

They had gotten a few small jobs here and there. Nothing big, and frankly, it was Harry's fortune that was sustaining the company. Then again, it could sustain Phoenix for the rest of their lives.

Their headquarters was in Queensland, in an expensive beachside mansion that was now their home, as well as headquarters. It was hidden by the Fidelius, with Harry being the Secret Keeper. Aside from the members of Phoenix, only Hermione, Snake, Meryl, Hal, Naomi, and Campbell knew where they were.

"Do you regret joining FoxHOUND?" Yasmin asked.

"I only regret not stopping Liquid sooner," Harry said quietly. "I don't regret joining it because not only did I stop him, but more importantly, I got to meet you. The Sorrow told me, if I hadn't joined FoxHOUND, if I hadn't forged a bond with you…you might have died. You didn't deserve that. You're a truly beautiful woman, Yasmin, inside and out."

Yasmin chuckled, rolling onto him, straddling him. "Flattery will get you nowhere, Harry."

Harry laughed as Yasmin kissed him. "Hey, we'd better save this stuff for the bedroom. Raven can see through Disillusionment Charms, and we haven't got the Cloak here."

"What a shame," she purred.

Sometime later, they were back in the mansion, and having dressed, had entered the makeshift infirmary, the bulky muscled form of Raven sitting next to a pair of forms in bed, EVA hovering nearby. Fawkes was perched at the end of one of the beds, while Nastasha looked on, an e-cigarette in her hand. "How's the process going, Raven?"

Raven nodded. "Phoenix tears are the closest thing to a panacea in this world, a true miracle cure," the giant shaman said. "They are healing well. The only thing it won't heal is the ravages of time and tide. Harry, is this wise?"

"Probably not, but I wasn't known for my wise decisions," Harry said blithely. "At the very least, one side or another will get closure. On the other hand, though, we might have two of our best allies back."

"I can understand bringing him back," EVA said, indicating one of the forms, "but him? You know what he did, Harry! It's thanks to him that the world is in this mess now."

"Yes, but he regretted that in the end, according to the Sorrow, and Ocelot. Maybe he can help us stop what he started. If not…well, maybe it's time for him to pass on. You can do that if you want, EVA."

"…EVA?" rasped a voice. It came from one of the bedridden men. An ancient man, perhaps ninety or more, with only a barest wisp of hair left on his now bald head, making him resemble some oversized baby. Oxygen was delivered through a nasal cannula. His eyes, one marred by a scar over it, flickered open, showing intelligence for the first time in over two decades. Confused and clouded intelligence, but intelligence all the same. "EVA…is that you?"

"Yes, it is. You got old, Zero," EVA said quietly.

A bitter laugh emerged from the old man, once known as Major Zero, born David Oh. "I feel old. But…I haven't thought so clearly…in such a long time…how…how did it happen?"

"Phoenix tears," Harry said. "They can heal almost any injury, poison, or sickness. They were certainly able to purge the parasites Skull Face infected you with."

Zero's rheumy eyes looked over at Harry. "I don't believe I know you. Or that Phoenixes exist. You have me at a disadvantage, Mr…?"

"Harry Potter. You wouldn't know me."

Zero scoffed. "Actually…I do. I knew of you, in the dying days of my infection. I knew of Magical Britain. One of the last things I saw before the vegetative state consumed my consciousness was you being heralded as the Boy Who Lived. You've grown. Why did you heal me?"

"Because your creations are getting out of control, Major Zero," Harry said.

"Call me Cipher." Zero looked over at EVA. "What of the others?"

"SIGINT and Para-Medic are dead. Ocelot is a fugitive, as am I. And Jack?" She indicated the bed next to Zero.

Zero, gingerly, looked over to the next bed, to the bearded old man with one eye (the other covered by a medical eyepatch), sleeping peacefully. "Jack…" he murmured sadly.

"Your AIs put him into a coma and used him as an ID system for their own uses," EVA said coldly.

"And Ahab? Venom Snake?" Zero asked.

"Dead," Harry said. "At the hands of one of the products of Les Enfants Terrible."

"David…he was the one I took the most interest in," Zero said, guessing correctly. Then, something occurred to him. "What do you mean, my creations are getting out of control?"

"Just that. The Patriots, the ones you had Strangelove build, are tightening their grip on the world, and especially America," EVA said. "They are diverging further and further away from your will, not to mention that of the Boss."

"EVA…" rasped another voice. It came from the man in the bed next to Zero's. The man called by many names, like Jack, John Doe, Naked Snake, Saladin, Ishmael…and Big Boss. His eye slid over from EVA, to Yasmin. "…Yasmin? You've grown…" His eye then went over to Raven. "Raven…" And then, he saw Zero. "Major…" His rasping voice became an angry growl.

"Don't strain yourself, Saladin," Yasmin said quietly. "You've only just come out of a coma, just like Zero did. You're safe."

After a moment, Big Boss asked, "…How long have I been under?"

"Six years," Harry said.

After a moment, Big Boss chuckled weakly. "Didn't get to break my own record that time. I thought…I thought I was dead, after my son…set me on fire."

"You'll get to catch up with him later," Harry said quietly. "He's coming here later today, along with Huey Emmerich's son and Campbell's daughter. Oh, and Frank Jaeger's sister."

"Naomi? Ah. Who are you?"

"I'm Harry Potter. You wouldn't know me, or my codename, Thaumaturge Griffin. But it's an honour to meet you, Big Boss. Your mentor told me much about you, spoke highly of you."

"The Boss?!" Big Boss demanded.

"He is able to speak with the dead, like the Sorrow," Yasmin explained.

"Oh. I see. So, the next generation is meeting, huh? And why is that?"

"I think they're planning something, and want us in on it," Nastasha said. "And after what Emmerich hinted at, I think I know what it is…"

On the front lawn of the headquarters of Phoenix, a quintet materialised, clinging to a piece of rope. "I'll never get used to that," a dark-haired man with intense features said in a rasping growl of a voice.

"All magical transport is pretty rough," agreed a bushy-haired young woman. She then turned to a thin young man with glasses. "Are you okay, Hal?"

"I'm fine, Hermione."

Then, came the familiar figures of Harry and Yasmin walking out of the house. "Hey!" Harry yelled. "Sorry it's not all of us, but we've got a couple of houseguests. Raven's trying to make sure they don't kill each other. Or that EVA doesn't kill one of them. How are you guys?"

"A bit shaken thanks to this Portkey thing," Naomi Hunter said. "But we'll survive."

Meryl nodded. "And what do you mean, houseguests?"

"Well, let's just say that David's got someone to talk to," Harry said.

David, aka the man known as Solid Snake, raised an eyebrow. "Well, sounds like quite the story. But we're here on fairly important business, as you know."

"Well, what business is that?" Yasmin asked.

"We'll discuss the full details later," Hermione said. "The thing is, though, Ocelot's actions have ensured a proliferation of Metal Gear REX knockoffs across the world. Hal had the idea of trying to stop it. I mean, he helped build it, based on Granin's old designs."

"I feel responsible," Emmerich said. "And I want to leave a better future to humanity. I pitched this idea to Hermione and Snake, and, well, we've decided to create our own NGO, dedicated to raising awareness of the dangers of Metal Gear, as well as act against any nation creating one, either by exposing them, or, if necessary, destroying them. We felt we needed some more people in our organisation, though, and we decided to turn to Phoenix for help."

"We've even got a name," Meryl said. "Hal here was the one who thought of it. A name to show we're trying to help humanity, present and future."

"And what name is that?" Yasmin asked.

Emmerich then said one word. And Harry had to admit, it was a pretty good name. One that showed it was trying to work for the benefit of humanity. It felt like history was being made when Emmerich made that announcement. A word that might change the world forever, and hopefully, for the better.

"Philanthropy."

EPILOGUE ANNOTATIONS:

And here you have it, the end of Broken Tools. Yes, I've done some rather unusual ships. Meryl will get her own pairing in the sequel, if and when it is written. I thought, in a way, Snake and Naomi would make a better couple, after that whole business with Jaeger is cleared up. And given that I have shipped Otacon with Hermione (yes, I know that's out of the blue, but it occurred to me, and I thought it a good idea), it helps free things up. And I thought, Snake and Naomi, given that they're both broken souls, might do better to help each other. It's partly thanks to Harry's testimony that Naomi's out of prison, and not working (for the most part, anyway) under Ocelot.

And yes, Major Zero and Big Boss are back! I've got big plans for both of them, especially Major Zero, who will, if and when I come around to doing the sequel, will redeem himself in a big way. This sequel will start derailing the canon of the Metal Gear games post-Shadow Moses in a big way. Phoenix is going to start taking the fight to the Patriots, and the events of Metal Gear Solid 2, or at least the Big Shell incident, may not even happen. We'll see how the story goes if I do the sequel.

Anyway, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed Broken Tools.

No numbered annotations.