"Who are you?" Snake demands, keeping his pistol at the ready. She sees that it's the tranquilizer gun and starts to calm down. "Storm." she answers in her cool, monotone voice. Her eyes shift to Raiden as Naomi presses on the gaping wound in his chest. Snake notices and raises the gun a little higher to get her attention.
"Why were you following me?" he growls "I wasn't following you. I was following him." she answers, nodding her head at Raiden. "Why?" she thinks silently for a moment as she realizes that all these years, she had no idea why she was following him.
Snake sees this realization as her eyes widen slightly. He lowers his gun and she lowers her hands from above her head.
Everyone is silent for a while until Otacon speaks up "Oh! Where are our manners? I'm Otacon, this is Naomi, Snake, and uh....well, I guess you already know Raiden." Storm just nods in their direction and kneels beside Raiden.
"She said 'Thank you'." Storm says, seemingly out of nowhere "What?" Otacon asks "Laughing Octopus. She told me to tell Snake that she said 'Thank you'." she explains. "You were there?" Snake asks. She nods without making eye contact. Everyone is silent for the rest of the trip.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once they're on the Nomad they lay Raiden on a table in a cramped cabin full of computers, crates, and chickens. A little, blonde girl, about seven or eight years old comes down the stairs with a plate full of burnt eggs.
"H-hi, Uncle Hal. Hi, Snake." she greets them "Hello, Sunny," Otacon replies kindly while Snake grunts in acknowledgement "H-hello." the little girl greets the newcomers.
Naomi smiles and says sweetly "Hello.". "Hi." the older girl responds, trying to seem as friendly as possible. Sunny takes an involuntary step back when she hears the rough, emotionless voice rasp from beneath the mask.
"Weird. It's like seeing what would've happened if Sunny hadn't been rescued." Snake comments but is quickly hushed by Otacon.
Storm sees Sunny's reaction and turns her disappointed gaze in Raiden's direction as she stands at his bedside. Her eyes flick around the cabin and she realizes that Sunny might be frightened because of her mask. She raises her doubtful hands to the back of her neck and unties the tight knot.
She unfastens the mask and turns it over in her hands a few times, studying the new scratches in the black metal, before dropping it in her coat pocket.
She turns at the sound of soft footsteps climbing the staircase to her left and sees Sunny going upstairs, most likely to cook more eggs for the new guests.
Snake sees Storm without her mask and his rough breath catches in his throat. The name of an old ally slips out quietly and he staggers over to a bench. "Snake, are you alright?" Otacon asks with concern. The old soldier clutches his chest and nods "I'm fine." he grumbles, his tired eyes flicking from Storm's face to Otacon's.
"Are you sure? You look like you've seen a ghost!" the geek exclaims with worry. "Maybe I did." Snake mutters quietly under his raspy breathing.
Storm stares at Snake, wondering what he knows that she doesn't. But before she reads too much into it, Sunny comes back down the steps with another plate of burnt eggs. When the little girl sees Snake clutching at his chest and breathing heavily, her brown eyes widen and she rushes to his side.
"W-what's w-wrong?" she asks in a small, scared squeak. Snake looks at the young girl and manages a slight smile "Nothing. I'm fine, Sunny." he assures her. She smiles with relief and holds the plate up with hope in her eyes.
Snake's smile falters a bit "No thanks. I'm not really hungry." he turns her down as politely as he can. Sunny's eyes lose a bit of their shine but she nods in understanding.
