[Obligatory Naked Post]

[originalmiller]

[Being a man of luxury, it was no surprise that a certain Hell Master had taken liberty in implementing certain elements into MSF to suit his needs. Ever so slowly, he found himself becoming more and more integrated into the surroundings and finding a creative light at the end of the tunnel as he adapts the base to his liking

Comments

[vrtrainee]

[Public saunas weren't really his thing (even if he's never been to one), but it was empty when he went in so...why not?]

[legenderygenes]

[That emptiness doesn't last very long, as a relatively new Solid Snake emerges through the door a few minutes after the fellow rookie. Due to his unfamiliarity with Mother Base, the soldier remains on the err of caution as he steps bare-foot into the sauna. He spots the platinum blonde hair from afar and feels his eyes wince as if to question the other male's objectives.]

[vrtrainee]

[Hearing somebody approaching, Jack makes quick adjustments to his towel to make sure he covers as much as possible, getting up to leave--]

Snake?!

[He sits himself back down, glad that the steamy air makes a valid excuse for the likely flush he's wearing. Of course, of all times to bump into Snake again it should be now, when he's only wearing a towel--and Snake's only wearing a towel, and god, this was embarrassing.]

...[Calmer this time, in an attempted greeting:] Uh, Snake.

[legendarygenes]

[That voice was unfamiliar to him, but this kid must know who he is if he's reacting to him so strongly. Snake steps further into the sauna, taking the other man's response as a relatively positive one. His feet make contact with the damp floor where the humidity had caused it to grow slick with the heat.]

-Do I know you?

[vrtrainee]

[Jack pauses, baffled by that response.

Alternates, right, he was told about those. It was still a difficult concept to grasp, but what other explanation was there, unless Snake just couldn't recognize him through the steam?]

Oh, I guess not...the name's Jack. You must be--[He hangs his head in both relief and in the awkwardness that follows misidentifying somebody.]--a different Solid Snake than I thought, sorry.

[legenderygenes]

Jack, huh?

[With a towel now visibly situated around his midsection, Snake crosses further into the sauna and stops a few feet away from the younger man.]

-No need to apologize. I know how this place works. I'm still trying to get my head around it all... People of the past, of the future, living in one place at one time. It's a lot to take in.

[He vaguely gestures with his hand.] So. How do you know that name?

[vrtrainee]

[A slight nod.]

Yeah it's...still pretty confusing to me. [He quietly admitted, leaning over with his arms rested against his legs.]

Well you're Solid Snake, of course I know you--but I just met one of your alternates here a week or two ago...before that it was nothing personal.

[Jack decided not to mention the other Nexus-like building he'd been in where he knew a Snake.]

[legendarygenes]

Right...

[Snake takes the conversation as a positive step, inviting him to take a seat near Jack, but leaving enough room between them as to not make matters uncomfortable. Without his bandanna supported around his forehead, his dark bangs fall into his closed eyes. He breathes out a pleased sigh as the heat warms his body, allowing him to relax.]

What's your profession?

[vrtrainee]

[Feeling a little less nervous now, though still a bit uncomfortable, Jack just nods thoughtlessly.]

I'm part of the Force XXI, solo special forces training.

[legendarygenes]

Solo training?

[That sounded familiar...] -You're American, right? You must know about FOXHOUND if you know who I am.

Wonder if they had anything to do with that training regime of yours...

[vrtrainee]

Yeah.

[Jack had moved to America when he was a bit younger, but he didn't really feel like delving in to that. He was a legal citizen, so it didn't matter.]

I do, but FOXHOUND was disbanded after Shadow Moses, right? It's not around anymore. So what do you mean they'd have something to do with it?

[In his future, The Patriots will charade as FOXHOUND and claim to rise from the ashes to recruit him, but for now they were just a thing of the past.]

[legendarygenes]

It was-?

[That was certainly news to Snake. Although he had been heavily researching into The Patriots and their mission goals, he had yet to realize FOXHOUND entirely disbanded after his mission. Perhaps it would end up being a success in his world... But there were so many "worlds", it was difficult keeping track of whose was truly real.]

It sounds like you were under a similar regime to my own. Solitary training was provided by FOXHOUND when I was a member, back in the 90s.

[The soldier reclines against the damp wall, a bit of a lost look in his eyes as he remembered the "good years".]

[vrtrainee]

[Well, part of the reason he had gotten into solo stealth missions was because of Snake, so it's no surprise their regimes were similar. Not that Jack would admit that...]

Yeah, sounds like it. Force XXI uses virtual reality training though, so it's not exactly the same as FOXHOUND.

[Jack just looked back down at his hands in his lap.]

[legenderygenes]

[That earns a genuine interest. Snake lowers his body so his elbows are resting on his knees, hands loosely hanging down as he turns his head to look back at Jack once more.]

Virtual Reality, huh? Like some sort of video game?

[vrtrainee]

[He's slightly offended, having his training compared to a videogame.]

It's not like a videogame, it's completely indistinguishable from reality--the pain and the stress, that's all real. You just don't risk getting killed in training.

[Jack's more-or-less parroting back what he's been told, if only a bit paraphrased.]

[legendarygenes]

....