Snake and Gojo.

CHAPTER 2.7 - FESTIVALS

CHAPTER 2.7
FESTIVALS

-”Hello again, Solid Snake.” said Midas as he looked at him with a grin.
-”Midas. It’s about damn time we meet. This time without you being imprisoned.” said Snake, Midas chuckled.
-”Oh no, not me. You however..” said Midas as he snapped his fingers, before Snake could react he was tied up in golden chains and pulled to the ground. He grunted and started squirming, trying to find a way to get the chains loose. Midas noticed and grinned as he walked closer towards him.
-”Don’t bother, they are made from my gold. And trust me, my gold is unbreakable.” said Midas, Snake looked up at him mad as he kept trying to break free. Midas looked down at him annoyed.
-”What a feisty dog you are. Stop struggling already.” said Midas before slapping Snake hard across the face, he stopped and looked down.
-”There we go. Now then. In order for you to be able to leave this game I will have to work with your code. It won’t be easy, nor will it feel nice.” said Midas with a grin before he chuckled coldly.
-”Heck! I might even alter your whole code and if that’s the case you’ll end up like all the hopeless hollows that were involved in that stupid accident at the carnival.” said Midas, Snake looked at him surprised.
-”So it was you! Do you have any idea how many people you put in danger!?” asked Snake, frustrated trying to get up and beat him but the chains pulled him back down and wrapped tighter around him. Midas chuckled again before looking at him with a cold expression.
-”I couldn’t care less. That world was insatiable anyway. And I needed a new trash bin to throw my failed experiments in there.” replied Midas before moving closer to him. “Hopefully you won’t become like them, I’m sure your friends wouldn’t love to see their beloved hero, Solid Snake, mutated and struggling to comprehend other thoughts than the killing ones.” whispered Midas in Snake’s ear before looking at his shocked expression.
-”Damn!” whispered Snake to himself before looking down, regretting his decisions. Midas noticed and grinned.
-”Well, since we are done chatting, why don’t we get to some more serious business, shall we?” said Midas before snapping his fingers, causing Snake to be pulled back, enough to expose his chest. He grinned and gently placed his right hand on the center of his chest before turning a small patch into golden, causing his fingers to go right through his chest and into his golden. When Snake felt the fingers go through his chest he left out a blood crashing scream, the pain was unbearable even for him. He hadn’t felt such intense pain for a long time, he could feel his code deteriorating as Midas kept inserting his hand deeper into his chest.
-”Where is that soul damn it.” murmured Midas, Snake looked at him confused then he remembered the way his soul was taken away in Super Smash Bros Ultimate. He started shaking in fear as he screamed louder. Before he knew it though Midas finally found his soul, grabbing it hard and pulling it out of him. Snake looked at him shocked, noticing his soul in Midas’ hand.
-”There we go. Took me long enough. You sure love keeping people waiting, don’t ya?” said Midas between chuckles but Snake looked at him, too shocked to react and too numb to properly express any emotion.
-”What happened? Cat got your tongue? Or did you perhaps see a ghost since you are so pale.” said Midas with a grin. Snake looked at him scared one last time before falling onto his back.
-”Eh, you weren’t the talkative type anyway I guess.” said Midas before walking away with his soul.
Snake was left all alone in the empty dark room, under one lonely light. All he could do was struggle, but for nothing. He kept struggling and struggling for hours now until... one of the chains popped with a clang, freeing his left arm.
-”That’s what happens when you use soft metals.” thought Snake to himself, as he kept struggling to free his right arm as well. Unfortunately before he could actually move to free his other hand he heard the sound of footsteps, he tried to look towards the sound but failed, realising only his arms had some control. He tried to move his head with his left hand but before he could do that, a creature that seemed like a weird mix of a cat and a human grabbed his left arm and pulled him to the darkness. The creature walked with him for a few moments, before it threw Snake at Midas’ feet.
-”Good news, Snake. You were lucky enough to still have one of the most important pieces known. Both Sakurai and Kojima implemented key factors into your code, making your code strong enough to adapt to any video games.” explained Midas, Snake looked up at him and was once again greeted by the same cold annoying chuckle.
-”Look at you, such a miserable and worthless dog. Only good thing you were ever good for was being used. Are you glad you are back to your old activities? Used by everyone for whatever purpose they had to reach? Because I must certainly am.” said Midas before snapping his fingers, making the creature pick him up.
-”Now stop sweating and struggling to stay alive. Your code will just get modified a bit. Just know, from now on I own you. And you will do whatever I want, whenever I want. If you dare argue against it the punishment will be as painful as the moment when I extracted your soul.” explained Midas before pushing Snake’s soul back inside of him. Snake screamed in pain, feeling his skin burning with pain and hearing his heartbeat in his ear. He started shaking before vomiting.
-”What the [[HYPERLINK BLOCKED]] have you done to me!?” whispered Snake as he struggled to look at Midas.
-”I made you better.” replied Midas with a grin. Snake looked at him mad but before he could do something Midas spoke again. “Meowscles, throw him away. We don’t need him anymore. Not yet at least.” Meowscles nodded and reached in his pocket with one hand, opening a portal and throwing Snake through. He grunted as he fell on the grass, he looked up a bit, noticing he was back on Gojo’s island. He also noticed the golden chains were gone so he slowly got up, despite getting up he struggled to have any balance over his legs, he slowly walked towards the house while leaning against whatever trees were. He soon reached the house, his vision somewhat better and the nausea almost gone but he was still feeling weak. He slowly opened the door trying to be quiet, he gently closed it behind himself and slowly made his way to his bedroom. Unfortunately he stumbled into a lot of the furniture Gojo had around the house. Gojo couldn’t help but hear him grunt through the hallway and looked at him struggling to walk.
-”Geez what happened to you... You seem drunk and also look like you fought a bear.” said Gojo, Snake turned around feeling alert, he didn’t expect Gojo to be awake at this hour. Gojo looked at him confused and walked up to him.
-”Wow. Did you actually fight a bear or what? You look totally [[HYPERLINK BLOCKED]]!” said Gojo between chuckles, Snake couldn’t help but feel irritated as his chuckles only made his hearing worse. He quickly covered Gojo’s mouth.
-”Shut up for once will ya? Your jokes are so [[HYPERLINK BLOCKED]], I might actually pass out from how annoying they are!” said Snake between clenched teeth, Gojo looked at him seriously and stopped chuckling. Snake let go of his mouth and pulled back.
-”Thanks.” whispered Snake, but before he could turn around and he could feel a sudden impulse of pain and the burning skin coming back, he grunted and screamed. The pain was so unbearable he passed out, thankfully Gojo was fast enough to catch him.
-”WOAH! Okay buddy calm down! What the [[HYPERLINK BLOCKED]] happened to you? Snake? Can you hear me? Snake? SNAKE!” said Gojo worried as he held Snake who didn’t seem to respond to anything whatsoever. Gojo sighed and picked him up properly, he wasn’t using his powers so Snake was much heavier than usual. He slowly walked him in the bedroom and tried to put him down on the bed but Snake was holding onto him.
-”Yo. Stop holding onto me! I just want to put you down to bed.” said Gojo as he kept trying to push Snake off of him, Snake kept holding onto him, grunting and refusing to let go of him.
-”Geez will you stop acting like such a spoiled brat for once, I always did what you wanted anyway!” said Gojo as he kept trying to push Snake off of him, Snake woke up for a bit, thinking he was in a fight so he quickly pushed Gojo off onto the bed before passing out again. Gojo caught him as he fell on top of him. He grunted as he held Snake’s heavy body.
-”God! You are such a [[HYPERLINK BLOCKED]] sometimes. You make me have to use my powers to get you off of me!” said Gojo, slowly pushing Snake off of him who immediately grabbed onto him again and murmuring something under his breath. Gojo sighed and looked at him, he sat up and looked down at him using his six eyes.
-”You aren’t drunk, but you aren’t here either. What have you even gotten yourself into?” murmured Gojo to himself before placing his fingers under Snake’s chin to check for his pulse, it was unusual, sometimes being faster whilst other times being slow, his body temperature wasn’t any better either. Gojo sighed and looked at him then checked his phone.
-”You are such an [[HYPERLINK BLOCKED]] sometimes Snake. Well, since I’m the only one here I will have to make sure your [[HYPERLINK BLOCKED]] doesn’t end up sleeping walking or some [[HYPERLINK BLOCKED]]” said Gojo before laying back down next to him. Snake shivered and grabbed onto Gojo, he looked down at Snake then away, pulling his phone out as he started doom scrolling through whatever he had there. As minutes passed Gojo couldn’t help but get bored, causing him to also get sleepy, he looked down at Snake who seemed to have calmed down so he decided to get up but was immediately pulled back.
-”Meryl.” murmured Snake under his breath, Gojo looked at him confused.
-”What are you babbling about?” asked Gojo as he laid back down.
-”Don’t go... the metal gear..” kept murmuring Snake under his breath, Gojo looked more confused but didn’t say anything.
-”Where’s Otacon and Raiden? ... we need to stop the metal gear.” said Snake as he started shaking and twitching, Gojo noticed and sighed, pulling Snake close.
-”Calm your tits, there are no metal gears or whatever you call them.” said Gojo, Snake shivered and grabbed him closer, snuggling against him. Gojo sighed and pulled the blanket above Snake to keep him warm.
-”You are going to be the end of me, Snake.” said Gojo looking at the time which read 5:56. Gojo looked back down at Snake then sighed, he yawned and rubbed his eyes trying to rub the sleep away but he failed, succumbing to the warmth and tiredness.
They both slept for a few more hours until Gojo’s alarm went off, Gojo immediately flitched and woke up, looking for his phone, only to find it in Snake’s hands, he turned the alarm off and set the phone aside. Gojo looked down at him awkwardly but Snake was too tired to process what happened.
-”Hey buddy, rise and shine?” said Gojo with an awkward smile, Snake looked at him and grinned.
-”Yeah yeah.” said Snake, rubbing his eyes and getting up, he stretched and grunted.
-”Well, no thank you? No nothing?” asked Gojo, feeling somewhat mad.
-”I was gonna say thank you for taking care of me after I was done stretching, but you beat me to it.” replied Snake, looking at Gojo slightly tired.
-”Mhm, whatever.” said Gojo looking away, Snake yawned and pulled out a cigarette.
-”I’m serious, thank you for that, sorry if I kicked your [[HYPERLINK BLOCKED]] though, yesterday felt like a fever dream.” replied Snake before lighting up his cigarette and smoking.
-”Well it definitely must’ve been one from the way you were acting, also what the hell happened? You were a mess and you were sweating, your temperature was [[HYPERLINK BLOCKED]] and your pulse was skyrocketing. Not to mention you kept talking about stopping some ‘metal gear’ and you mentioned three names... I think it was Meryl, Otacon and Raiden... Who are these people, what the [[HYPERLINK BLOCKED]] have you done!?” asked Gojo, Snake looked at him and took a deep breath. However before he could speak he heard from his codec the words ‘Don’t tell him about us.’. Snake shivered and grunted.
-”Raiden my [[HYPERLINK BLOCKED]] will ya?” said Snake before smiling and taking another deep breath. Gojo looked at him disappointed and didn’t say anything, still waiting for an answer. Snake noticed and grunted.
-”Fine, I’ll tell ya. But don’t mention it to anyone.” said Snake, Gojo nodded.
-”Alright well, yesterday I had my first mission, it was stressful and it messed me up really badly. Those things I’ve mentioned in my sleep are due to me having a dream about my past life, in the game I was originally made in.” explained Snake before taking another deep breath from his cigarette.
-”And who are these people?” asked Gojo, Snake looked at him annoyed.
-”I wasn’t done yet, [[HYPERLINK BLOCKED]]! Geez don’t you ever have patience?” asked Snake, irritated, Gojo rolled his eyes and Snake continued. “Meryl was a woman I met in one of my missions, she was strong and full of courage. She wanted to become a soldier. She did and I helped her with it. Together we took down one of the metal gears that my brother planned on using.”
-”Metal gear, huh.. I didn’t know you had a brother..” said Gojo.
-”Trust me I didn’t know either, in fact I found out I have multiple brothers.” replied Snake.
-”WHAT!? Your dad must’ve been some man whore or something.” said Gojo between chuckles.
-”Nah, he wasn’t, it’s a long story, I’ll probably tell you later about it.” replied Snake, finishing his cigarette and putting it in the ashtray.
-”Fair, fair, so who are the other two?” asked Gojo.
-”Otacon is a science guy, he was the one who planned and programmed most of the things for the metal gears. He thought it was for a good case, unfortunately that wasn’t the case. He helped me destroy the first metal gear. He is a great guy..” explained Snake.
-”Did you like him or something?” asked Gojo, looking at Snake curious who looked away.
-”Not necessarily, I actually liked Meryl... But before I left for the other game we didn’t end on good terms and... well.. Yeah, she moved on.” explained Snake, his expression unhinged.
-”Ah, I’m so sorry I guess neither of us had a great love story..” said Gojo, Snake looked at him.
-”Yeah, I guess not. But that’s beside the point, I’m sure I’ll find someone sooner or later.” said Snake.
-”Yeah! I’m sure you’ll get all the baddies! And honestly? Shame on Meryl for fumbling you!” said Gojo, Snake grinned.
-”You are so naive it’s hard not to chuckle.” replied Snake.
-”Yeah yeah! Now tell me about Raiden.” said Gojo.
-”Raiden is a really cool guy, but he doesn’t have the nicest backstory, used as a weapon all his life. At least now he settled down and is finally doing some self searching. He is a good guy.” explained Snake.
-”Did you also love him-” said Gojo who was immediately cut off by Snake.
-”Just because I say people are good people doesn't mean I love them.” said Snake, slightly annoyed.
-”Awh damn, alright..” said Gojo.
-”He also wields a katana which makes him cooler.” said Snake.
-”Woah! Yeah, I totally agree. That Raiden guy is definitely cool.” said Gojo.
-”Yeah.” said Snake, Gojo looked at him and thought for a while.
-”Well I guess that’s all. I’ll probably go make breakfast. Do you want something specific or..” asked Gojo as he got up from bed, he picked up his phone and opened it.
-”Mmm can you make me something with proteins-” said Snake who was immediately cut off by Gojo.
-”HOLY [[HYPERLINK BLOCKED]] [[HYPERLINK BLOCKED]] SNAKE CHECK THIS [[HYPERLINK BLOCKED]] OUT!” screamed Gojo,Snake got alerted and quickly walked up to him.
-”Geez, shut up! I can hear you loud and clear without you screaming, you know!?” responded Snake, as he looked at the phone. “New karaoke club opened on Fortnite island... participants must bring a friend...”
He looked at Gojo, then back at the article.
-”Can we go too, pretty please?” pleaded Gojo, looking at Snake with huge puppy eyes.
Snake sighed, and looked back at Gojo.
-”No. You know I don’t like singing, in any way, shape or form.” replied Snake, looking extremely disappointed at Gojo.
-”Well, your opinion doesn’t matter, since I already asked Mizuki and Hope and they both agreed. Winner gets a thousand v-bucks reward by the way.” said Gojo, with a dumb look on his face and a crappy smile. Snake mumbled something under his breath.
-”Then why did you even ask me if you already had it planned out!? Ugh, whatever... I’ll go to your little karaoke place, only for the money.” responded Snake, with a crappy and bored look.
-”Ah, you need money to convince you? Noted.” said Gojo, smiling, Snake rolled his eyes annoyed.
-”Just make our breakfast already...“ said Snake before picking up a few clothes and a towel then leaving the bedroom.
-”Oh-kay!” said Gojo excited as he also left the bedroom and rushed into the kitchen to make breakfast. While Gojo was making breakfast, Snake was showering, he looked at his chest and noticed the scar left behind by the gold, he sighed and tried to ignore it as he continued showering. Soon enough, he was done, quickly drying himself and getting ready to leave. He got out of the bathroom and walked into the kitchen where Gojo was waiting for him while looking through his phone. Snake took a seat and looked at him.
-”How come you didn’t start eating without me?” asked Snake, Gojo set his phone aside and grinned.
-”It’s rude to eat your breakfast without waiting for the lady to take her seat.” replied Gojo with a teasing grin, Snake looked at him disappointed and took a sip from his coffee.
-”Unalive yourself, [[HYPERLINK BLOCKED]].” said Snake before eating his breakfast, Gojo rolled his eyes.
-”Wow, you sure know how to thank people.” murmured Gojo under his breath before starting to eat his breakfast. Snake looked at him then back at his food.
-”Thanks.” murmured Snake under his breath as he kept eating his breakfast. Gojo looked up at him and smirked before continuing to eat his breakfast. It was a quiet morning like most mornings, Snake looked at Gojo, somewhat surprised how he hasn’t come up with a silly question to ask yet. He usually does that after 5 to 10 minutes, but this time he seemed to be quiet. Snake cleared his throat to catch Gojo’s attention, which worked.
-”How are your scars? Are you sure you can actually go to the karaoke club?” asked Snake, Gojo looked at him a bit taken aback.
-”Yeah.. But how come you care enough to ask me that?” replied Gojo, Snake looked at him then away.
-”I don’t know, it just seemed too quiet..” replied Snake before looking back at Gojo.
-”Yeah I mean I figured out you had a lot going on since last night and I didn’t want to frustrate you or something.” said Gojo before finishing his breakfast. Snake finished his breakfast immediately after.
-”Ah, thanks, but I’m fine now. Don’t worry about it.” replied Snake as he sipped on his coffee.
-”Mmm.. Ok, well, you should be grateful I haven’t annoyed you yet. I definitely will later.” replied Gojo between chuckles, Snake smiled slightly in his cup before returning to his usual serious expression as he sat the empty cup down.
-”Yeah yeah, I know..” said Snake, Gojo stood up and picked the dishes then placed them in the sink as he began washing them. Snake looked at him.
-”Hey, how come you look different than when you are in matches?” asked Snake.
-”How come you noticed?” asked Gojo, Snake looked away.
-”..Your hair is different than in game, and you don’t look like a human drawing made by a toddler.”  replied Snake, Gojo laughed a bit and finished washing the dishes, he dried his hands and looked at Snake.
-”Well that’s how I looked when I first came around this place. I actually do have some muscles and aren’t just a bundle of sticks piled up.” replied Gojo.
-”Ah. Fair.” replied Snake.
-”Well then should we join the girls or..?” asked Gojo, Snake looked at him and sighed.
-”Do I have the right to express my opinion?” asked Snake to which Gojo chuckled.
-”Nope! Absolutely not!” said Gojo before going to his bedroom to change, then returning to Snake, dressed up and teleporting them in the same lobby as Mizuki and Hope. Once they get there, they notice Mizuki and Hope smooching, they both look at them shocked but the girls didn’t seem to notice them. Gojo looked at Snake scared and Snake back at him awkwardly.
-”Snaky, what are they doing with their mouths...?” whispered Gojo to Snake, Snake looked at him more awkwardly.
-”They’re kissing, you mentally challenged albino monkey. You should know this, you are a [[HYPERLINK BLOCKED]]” whispered Snake back to Gojo who whined.
-”Stop calling me that.” said Gojo with his whiny voice to which Snake smiled proudly.
-”Never. Anyway.” replied Snake before clearing his throat really loud, catching Mizuki and Hope’s attention. They both look at them shocked and scream.
-”A little warning wouldn’t hurt anyone, you know?” said Mizuki, Hope was behind her, nodding and while all flustered up.
-”Don’t worry girlies, you’ll get used to it. Snake loves to sneak up on people. You might want to check your back every once in a while when he is around here.” replied Gojo.
-”Well thanks, now I know one of our friends is a pervert!” said Mizuki.
-”Make it two.” said Gojo to which both girls looked at them unsurprised.
-”This is why nobody wants you two.” said Hope.
-”Womp womp, [[HYPERLINK BLOCKED]]. Now let’s go to the karaoke battle, ...club.. Whatever that thing is.” said Gojo.
-”Geez alright!” replied Mizuki as she set the game options to the new Karaoke Island, they all quickly readied up and got sent on the Island. Once there they looked around for an entry booth. Hope found it and brought everyone with her.
-”Let’s see, let’s see. So, we have vocals, lead, bass and drums. I pick drums!” said Hope.
-”I call lead!” said Gojo immediately after.
-”I call bass! I got a cool bass and I NEED to use it!” replied Mizuki, Snake looked at everyone and everyone back at him.
-”I’m not doing vocals.” said Snake to which everyone looked at him with puppy eyes.
-”SNAKY-KUN PLEASEEEEEEEEEEE” said Gojo, looking at him desperately to which Snake smiled and looked back at Gojo.
-”Unalive yourself, [[HYPERLINK BLOCKED]]!” replied Snake with the warmest smile ever, Gojo whined and fell on his knees in front of Snake.
-”Come on, Snake! We’ll all get a point bonus if we pick different instruments!” said Gojo to which both girls nodded, Snake rolled his eyes.
-”Fine. But I’m doing this for the money. Not because of you three.” replied Snake, annoyed as he signed the petition for vocals. Once they were all done with the signing they each picked up a shirt with the same number on it and walked to the backstage. Once in the backstage everyone picked their instruments, changing as soon as they touched them except for Snake’s microphone.
-”Ah! Snake, you don’t have anything for your microphone. Here, let me do it for you!” said Hope, touching Snake’s make and changing it.
-”Thanks.” replied Snake.
-”Of course!” replied Hope with a smile.
-”Well... Now what?” asked Snake.
-”Now we wait, you can also request a song.” replied Mizuki.
-”OH MY GYATT YES!” said Gojo as he immediately requested “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga.
-”Oh right, I forgot how obsessed Gojo is with Lady Gaga.” said Mizuki.
-”I [[HYPERLINK BLOCKED]] LOVE LADY GAGAAAAA!!!!!!” said Gojo excitedly. Hope added as a request ‘bad guy’ by Billie Eillish, Mizuki added ‘Into you’ by Ariana Grande. Snake looked around the song library, and decided to add ‘Buddy Holly’ by Weezer.
-”Are your vocal chords ready, Mr. Singer Stinky Suicidal Serious Secret Solid Snake?” asked Gojo, to which Snake looked at him disappointingly.
-”Shut up.” replied Snake to which Gojo flattered his lashes.
-”Make me!” said Gojo with a big grin between chuckles. Snake looked at him and hit him really hard with the microphone stand. Both girls looked at them dumbfounded.
-”I swear being together with these two is like living in a cartoon show.” said Mizuki.
-”Yeah.. I agree..” replied Hope.
All of a sudden the sound boxes turned on.
-”HELLO WORLD! ARE YOU GUYS READY TO SING YOUR LUNGS OUT!?” said the voice of none other than Lady Gaga.
-”OMG OMG IT’S LADY GAGA! GUYS! GUYS IT’S HER OMG OMG AAAA-” as Gojo kept talking, Snake hit him with the stand again to shut him up.
-”You talk too much.” said Snake.
-”WELL I BELIEVE YOU ARE ALL READY SINCE YOU CAME HERE SO LET’S GET STARTED!” said Lady Gaga, before everyone got teleported on their own stage. They all looked around and Snake couldn’t help but notice DOOM. DOOM noticed him as well and gestured to Snake that he would wrap the microphone cord around Snake’s neck and hang him. Snake looked at him in disbelief and awkward as he thumbs up in confusion. DOOM giggled before getting on his position as a lead. Everyone in Snake’s team got on their position including Snake.
-”Alright! Since everyone is in their position I say we get this show started by singing a classic yet often recommended song, ‘Bad Romance’!” said Lady Gaga. Gojo yelped with joy before getting back in his position and waiting for Lady Gaga to give the start. As soon as she does, everyone starts singing. Snake looked through the lyrics and did his best trying to sing the lyrics, doing surprisingly well. Gojo noticed and grinned teasingly as he kept up with everyone’s rhythm. They were third place, DOOM’s team was first and Omni man’s team second. Throughout the whole song both DOOM and Peter Griffin kept making flirtatious gestures towards Gojo, making him feel awkward and uncomfortable, causing him to miss notes. The song eventually ends with Omni man’s team in first place, DOOM’s team second and Snake’s third.
-”You all did wonderful! Unfortunately the team in fourth place will be eliminated! But remember everyone! It’s all about the experience, not the prize! Also the next song will be chosen by the winners! So get ready!” said Lady Gaga before teleporting all the teams in the backstage, Gojo exhaled and fell to the ground.
-”Gojo! What happened!? You missed so many notes!” said Mizuki as she walked up to Gojo.
-”Sorry, I... was distracted by the other team..” replied Gojo ashamed with a somewhat sad tone.
-”No [[HYPERLINK BLOCKED]] I saw!” said Mizuki.
-”Gojo, are they making you uncomfortable?” asked Hope, as she crouched to Gojo. He looked away ashamed.
-”They gesture weird things and I get really [[HYPERLINK BLOCKED]] uncomfortable. They want me in ways that disgust me so much. They just want to use me and they know I hate that.” replied Gojo rolling away in a corner. Everyone walked up to Gojo.
-”Can’t you use your blindfold?” asked Hope.
-”Yeah, I’m sure you won’t be able to see anything.” said Mizuki.
-”Exactly, how am I supposed to see the notes?” replied Gojo.
-”Ooooooohhhhhhhhh right.” replied both girls.
-”Why do you even look at them?” asked Snake.
-”I don’t know, they distract me, I can feel them staring at me.. And there’s no way to distract myself... I hate being able to see everything, yet nothing at all.” replied Gojo frustrated.
-”Just look at me or the girls.” said Snake.
-”Well the girls are behind me so I can’t look at them, I only have you in front of me but I don’t want to distract you.” replied Gojo, Snake sighed.
-”As long as you focus on your notes, I’ll be fine” said Snake to which Gojo grunted to which Snake rolled his eyes.
-”Stop being such a [[HYPERLINK BLOCKED]]!” said Snake, kicking Gojo slightly before giving him his hand, Gojo turned around and looked at him, still feeling under the weather. He grabbed Snake’s hand and immediately got pulled up.
-”Don’t worry, Gojo! We won’t let them get to you anymore! We are a team, after all!” said Hope.
-”Exactly! Even though DOOM is our friend, it’s time he understands this behaviour isn’t right!” replied Mizuki. Everyone looked at Snake and then he looked away.
-”I dunno, I just hate that guy. You guys keep the motivational mindset.” said Snake, both girls looked at him disappointed and Gojo couldn’t help but chuckle.
-”Of course you do..” said Gojo.
-”Ok everyone, time's up! Seems like the winning team chose ‘Ride the Lightning’ by Metallica!” said Lady Gaga, everyone looked dumbfounded.
-”We are cooked.” said Gojo.
-”Yep.” said everyone else in unison, as they saw the difficulty on all instruments. Before they could say anything anymore, they got teleported on the battle stage.
-”Well let’s get started, shall we? Show me what you all got!” said Lady Gaga before starting the song. The other teams didn’t have different instruments, causing them to get less points than Snake’s team.
As the song played through DOOM began gesturing to Gojo again, Gojo noticed and looked at him awkwardly before looking at Snake. He noticed Gojo and turned to him and kept singing, catching Gojo’s attention. Gojo noticed and chuckled, humming along with Snake while still playing the guitar, causing to go in overdrive and get twice as much points, Mizuki noticed and moved closer Hope, she noticed and began playing with Mizuki, matching each other’s rhythm and getting four times as many points as before. They were easily in first place while the other two teams were fighting for second place. They eventually finish playing the song, Snake’s team easily ending up on first place and DOOM’s team ending on second.
-”Well well! How the tables have turned! Seems like the winning team ended up being the losing team!” said Lady Gaga.
-”It’s all because of this damn lizard!” said Omni man, annoyed to which Hybrid gasped.
-”WOW! RUDE! I’m a dragon actually, thank you very much!” replied Hybrid.
-”Dragon deez balls across your face!” said Deadpool, high-fiving Hybrid.
-”Not now, Deadpool.” replied Omni man.
-”Ok ok, enough fighting! Again, it’s about the experience not the prize!” said Lady Gaga before teleporting everyone away.
-”Holy [[HYPERLINK BLOCKED]] we might actually have a chance at this!” said Gojo, excitedly.
-”Yes! We are definitely going to win this way! We just need to focus on each other!” said Mizuki.
-”Yes! Exactly! Also we should choose a song..” said Hope.
-”Can I choose it? Pleaseeeeeeeeee” said Gojo, looking at them with puppy eyes, Snake sighed.
-”Sure, just don’t pick something [[HYPERLINK BLOCKED]].” replied Snake to which Gojo giggled evilly, he turned around and chose the song, they looked at the TV screen and noticed it was ‘Just A Girl’ by No Doubt. Snake looked at Gojo and let out a long sigh, he pulled out a cigarette and began smoking.
-”You ruined us all.” said Mizuki to which Gojo looked at her with a dumb smile, clear that there was a lack of brain cells in Gojo’s brain. Mizuki sighed and walked up to Hope, pulling her aside, leaving Gojo all alone. He walked up to Snake who was almost done with his cigarette.
-”You know, I have to thank you for singing with me! It felt great.” said Gojo, Snake hummed.
-”You did pretty good yourself, I didn’t know you were good with the guitar.” replied Snake before finishing his cigarette and throwing it away then immediately stepping on it.
-”Thanks.. Before you and Hope came in the team, I used to sing lead and vocals at the same time to compensate for the missing person..” said Gojo.
-”I see.” replied Snake.
-”Yeah, thanks a lot for joining us, actually.” said Gojo.
-”...stop thanking me so much, geez. I didn’t have much of a choice anyway, you three forced me into this, plus, I’m here for the prize, not for you three!” replied Snake.
-”Are you sure you are here for the prize, and not the experience of participating in a group event?” said Gojo with a teasing smirk, Snake looked at him for a moment before walking away. “I guess you really are here for the prize... greedy ahh [[HYPERLINK BLOCKED]]..” murmured Gojo under his breath.
-”Well well! Seems like it’s time to see who the winner will be! Last round is always the best round!” said Lady Gaga before teleporting the two teams on the stage. Both DOOM and Peter looked at Snake mad. Snake smiled and showed them both the middle finger, which was then blurred and had [[HYPERLINK BLOCKED]] written over it. Gojo noticed and laughed really hard.
-”Enough with the rivalry, more with the singing!” said Lady Gaga, as she got the song ready and started it. Both teams began singing, this time focusing on themselves rather than seducing one another. They were in a close tie, until DOOM began adding notes, changing the song slightly in a way that made it sound better, his teammates doing the same as him. They immediately began getting more and more points, Snake noticed so he walked closer to Hope, singing along with her, both Mizuki and Gojo walked next to her, singing all four together. As they kept singing together they immediately caught up to DOOM’s team. They soon finished the song, the scores were identical and Lady Gaga looked at them suspicious.
-”You two did amazing. However, choosing a winner won’t be easy.” said Lady Gaga as she looked at both teams.
-”One thing that one of you guys didn’t get is the fact that you play for experience, not for the prize. And that team, is you!” said Lady Gaga as she pointed at DOOM’s team.
-”And so what!? DOOM believes that we did a far greater job than the opposite team.” said DOOM, annoyed.
-”You are selfish and aren’t here for fun and for each other. They are, there’s not a single one in the other team that did it for greed, they all did it to have a good time with each other, to which they did!” replied Lady Gaga.
-”This is [[HYPERLINK BLOCKED]]!” said Peter.
-”I choose who the winners are, and I say that… they are the winners! Adieu!” said Lady Gaga a bit mad before teleporting DOOM’s team away. She then teleported in front of the winning team.
-”AAAAAA IT’S LADY GAGA!” said Gojo excitedly before rushing to Lady Gaga and hugging her tight, she chuckled and hugged him back as tight. The whole team looked at Gojo shocked. After a bit, they both let go of each other.
-”Aren’t you such a silly fella?” said Lady Gaga before squishing his face, Gojo chuckled.
-”I am! And I’m also your biggest fan! Can you sign my shirt please?” said Gojo excitedly.
-”Of course I can!” said Lady Gaga, before making a marker appear and signing Gojo’s shirt. He screamed all happy and excited, Lady Gaga smiled at him before walking up to the rest of the group.
-”You three must be his friends right?” asked Lady Gaga.
-”Yeah, we are sorry for our friend’s behaviour, he is a bit mentally challenged but he means good.” replied Snake.
-”Ah, no worries, you, I liked how you sang! Keep it up big guy! And you two girls! You look like you were meant for each other, you complement each other so nicely, I haven't seen such a great harmony between two girls in a long time. And you, big guy, with the other dude as well! Not to mention the four of you together did a wonderful job! You truly were meant to be friends with each other! I think you four really are the true winners. You just won trust in each other and that’s the most important thing!” said Lady Gaga.
-”Thank you, ma’am, this means a lot to us as a team!” replied Mizuki.
-”Of course! Now here’s the actual prize!” said Lady Gaga making a suitcase full of V-bucks appear and handing it to Snake.
-”Share it however you like!” said Lady Gaga.
-”We will!” replied Mizuki before teleporting away, Hope and Snake following right behind her, leaving Gojo still giggling and hugging the shirt, Lady Gaga looked at him and smiled before shaking her head and teleporting him away to his friends. Once in the lobby he received 1k worth of V-bucks.
-”Well, that was fun!” said Gojo, still smiling and giggling.
-”Yeah, I agree!” replied Hope.
-”Wait a minute, where’s Snake?” asked Gojo.
-”Oh, he immediately left. We don’t know why... He just left.” replied Mizuki.
-”Odd, but okay... I’ll go check on him.” said Gojo before teleporting away at home.
-”Snake? Snake are you alright?” asked Gojo as he walked in the living room, expecting to find him there, drinking and smoking but surprisingly he wasn’t there. Gojo sighed and walked up to his bedroom door, knocking at it.
-”Snake?” asked Gojo, Snake opened the bedroom door and looked at Gojo.
-”What?” asked Snake.
-”Are you okay? Why did you leave so early?” asked Gojo, looking at him slightly worried.
-”I’m fine. I wanted to get home early so I can work out and clear my mind.” replied Snake.
-”Clear your mind? Why? Did something happen?” asked Gojo, Snake looked at him then away awkwardly.
-”No.. Just... Still thinking about my mission and about my friends... I just hope they are okay..” replied Snake, looking at Gojo.
-”Oh, I’m sure wherever they are, they are fine!” said Gojo with a smile.
-”Doubt, but thanks for the false affirmation.” said Snake.
-”Geez you are such an edge lord.” said Gojo, annoyed, rolling his eyes.
-”And you are a foolish [[HYPERLINK BLOCKED]].” replied Snake to which Gojo chuckled.
-”Okay buddy. I’ll leave you alone then to clear your mind.” said Gojo before walking away.
-”Thanks. Good night.” said Snake before closing his door. Gojo looked at Snake a bit surprised.
-”Oh!... Good night Snaky!” said Gojo between chuckles.
Once Gojo went into his bedroom, Snake sighed and pulled out a cigarette and lit it up. He sat at the edge of the bed and pulled out Gojo’s glasses from his inventory, looking at them then switching in his inventory to a picture of Otacon.
-”..Don’t worry Otacon. I’ll find a way out of this pit soon. Just you wait.” murmured Snake to himself before quickly finishing his cigarette, throwing it away in the ashtray. He then put the picture away next to Gojo’s glasses in his inventory and began working out.
He worked out till almost the middle of the night. When he was done he took a quick break before fetching three beers and returning to his bedroom where he scrolled through his phone looking through the news and what not while drinking his beer.  Once he was done with his beers, he threw them away then went to bed where he immediately fell asleep.

END OF CHAPTER 2.7
FREE AT LAST… OH, GABRIEL, NOW DAWNS THY RECKONING, AND THY GORE SHALL GLISTEN, BEFORE THE TEMPLES OF MAN!