Metal Gear Solid III: The End

       The forest was far from quiet. The jungle echoed the sounds of it's bestial nature as birds resonated on the wooden surfaces of the trees. Snake slithered, like the creatures his codename was selected after, on his belly into the forest. Somewhere out there, lying in wait was The End. The End was a master at sniping-the epitome of sniping, if you will. Clad in a ghillie suit made from surrounding grasses, mosses, leaves, and even tiny creatures, The End was waiting, like a good sniper should. The End's ghillie suit was only one aspect of his great sniping skill, his rifle was a Mosin Nagant converted into a Tranquilizer round, bolt action-a sign of true sniping skill.
       Snake felt a little ashamed at his adopted role of sniper, for he wielded an SVD Dragunov sniping rifle.  Along with his rifle he carried several varied grenades and a directional microphone so he could listen in and triangulate on The End's position by monitoring his breathing patterns. Thermal goggles would be a miracle in tracking The End using his own heat signatures against him.
      Dotted along the Sokrovenno landscape were many sniping points, each one fitted to monitoring a certain part of the ravine. Only the best ones, though, seemed to belong to The End. Along with positions for sniping there were trees, bushes, hills, grass, logs-- all tactical advantages for hiding from The End. Snake would use this to aid him in his fight against The End. Snake blended in perfectly when he sat perfectly still. His camouflage was the Moss uniform, his face was laced with forest green paint; masking his pale flesh that would stick out in the green of the environment. Sokrovenno, too, was clad in green and moss, Snake had no problem being seen sitting still. The End too, blended into the surrounding environment, they were more or less evenly matched.
    Snake gripped his gun and sat in wait. Tension in his arms mounted as he sat utterly still. It was very different from what he had experienced in Dolinvodno, Svyatogornyj,  or Ponizovje. Up until to this point he was permitted to move; he was able to move quickly and silently to neutralize the enemy. Close Quarter Combat had been his greatest asset; up until now. He was lying on his belly like a snake; waiting to strike with a single lethal shot. As was The End. The End too, was lying on his stomach to neutralize Snake. If The End was able to drain Snake's stamina, Volgin's men could take him away and prevent Snake from destroying the Shagohod.
     He saw nothing through the scope. Everything that could be seen was plants, shrubs, Russian False Mangos, and the occasional animal. Nothing. He could not find The End. Snake had lain there for a good long while before he decided it may be best to listen, instead of look for The End. Setting down his rifle carefully and quietly, Snake picked up his Directional Microphone and put on the headset. Snake scanned the Sokrovenno ravine for sounds. Sounds of ancient human life, but to know avail. The only signatures Snake could find were birds, the sound of running water-- there was a river nearby to the West, and the rustling of grass; must've been an animal Snake thought to himself. He scanned the surrounding cliffs for a little longer, suddenly there came an alien noise; something that he hadn't heard in the ravine until now-Snoring. Confusion raced within him, confusion competed with anticipation and tension. This was The End. He knew it. The End was ancient, well over one hundred years old. Falling asleep, even in battle, must've been common as his years accumulated. Snake's chances were now. He must take a shot now, he thought. Although Snake couldn't see The End's exact location, he had a good idea where The End was. Snake got up from his prone position, held tightly onto his Dragunov and moved West to shoot him on his cliff, where lay The End's position. The sky was clear and blue, but as he strapped on his Thermal Goggles the sky turned brilliant hues of the spectrum. The sky seemed to be ablaze as the heat from the sun warmed the sky through the goggles. Snake peered through the scope of the Dragunov, scanning the cliff once more; The End's camouflage couldn't hide his heat signatures. There he was; sound asleep in the battle. Snake elevated his rifle, magnified his view to x10, aim directly at The End's head. The End was a distance away, he seemed small; not quite tiny, but still a challenge-one false movement and Snake would miss his shot. Despite lying on the ground for at least an hour, the previous battles left him rather fatigued. Snake tried to shake it off, but as he took his shot, his grip shook instead and he missed his oppurtunity. The End awoke, saw Snake in the distance and shot at him with his Mosin Nagant-Missed, but not far off. After his shot, The End relocated his position. A long intricate process was just wasted. Snake would have to restart from the base and find The End once more. The grass Snake crawled through lashed him as if he was being punished for his misdeed. Snake couldn't take his chances again. He couldn't afford to be reckless. There, up ahead, was a few fallen Russian False Mangos-- these would tide Snake over until the fight was over. He took the yellow fruit and devoured it like a wild animal. Snake felt renewed as his stamina was replenished. There would be no more mistakes. Not this time; not again. Snake got on his feet again; cautiously, silently, and slowly moved up North to a hilly outcrop where he could see most of Sokrovenno. He feared The End would shoot him in the back as he crept up the forest way to this destination. His fear, he said to himself, was only being cautious. The grasses swayed back and forth as he stalked through them, it seemed as if the wind had picked up and the pressure dropped. Rain began falling from the sky. The rain wasn't too thick, one would be able to see through it clearly. Snake's breath become a little visible at a close proximity in the piercing rain. He peered through the scope, scanning the canyon. He spotted a strange bird flying around a part of the section. This bird didn't belong here-a parrot! Snake magnified the general area; something wasn't right. As he saw a small part of some vegetation, Snake saw it breathing! Plants don't breathe breath that is visible. 'No wait!' He thought. As he strapped on his thermal very quickly, he saw The End, Snake saw his heat signatures. This was it. No mistakes, The End would see the end very soon. Just as he readied himself to shoot, there was a sheen that nearly blinded Snake. The End too saw Snake this was it. It a near instant, they looked each other in the eye with their scopes. This was it, this was the end. The End with his skill with his sniper rifle shot with all of his dexterity that was left in his ancient body. The Mosin Nagant bullet grazed Snake's left side. Snake squeezed the trigger and in an instant The End had let go of his weapon. The End dropped dead, his ancient body had saw its expiration. This was the end. His parrot had circled above him screeching,

"Grandpa! Grandpa!"

Snake had slain felt a sense of pride and relief flowing through his vains. Though this was the end of The End, it was only the begining of the destruction of the Shagohod. 'Forward to Groznyj Grad!' His mind thought confidently. He was ready for nearly anything, but his confidence would not be allowed to become arrogance. He had to remain cautious at all times. Groznyj Grad was ahead; the tunnel that surrounded the fortress was the only thing in his path to destroying the Shagohod. Snake muttered to himself,

"Off to Groznyj Grad indeed."