Phantom Pain Incident

The Phantom Pain Incident was a series of events in 1984 that were driven by the eponymous phantom pain experienced by its participants, particularly by the two opposing forces Venom Snake leader of Diamond Dogs, and Skull Face the commander of XOF. The incident comprised Skull Face's attempt to control the global military balance of power, and the actions taken by Diamond Dogs to stop him, in Afghanistan and Central Africa. As the successors of Militaires Sans Frontières (MSF), Diamond Dogs also sought revenge on Skull Face for the destruction of their Mother Base nine years earlier, expanding its forces through these missions and building a new Mother Base, under the leadership of Venom Snake, Kazuhira Miller and Ocelot.

Awakening
After escaping the Dhekelia SBA Memorial Hospital in Cyprus, Ocelot explained to Venom Snake that he and Kazuhira Miller would have to rebuild their private army, but first they had to rescue Miller from Afghanistan. Miller had been captured by Soviet forces while training Mujahideen rebels, the Soviets having invaded Afghanistan four years earlier. The two then boarded a whaling ship to reach the war-torn country and save Miller.

During the journey, Ocelot provided Venom Snake with a new bionic arm, to replace the crude hook prosthetic that he had received while hospitalized. Snake commented on still feeling his left arm, occasionally feeling pain in his left fingertips due to phantom pain. Ocelot briefed Snake on current world events such as the SALT II Talks, along with the Peace Walker Incident, the founding of Cipher, the location of Zero, and the fallout from the destruction of the original Mother Base.

"Phantom Limbs"
After returning to full health and arming himself, Snake arrived in Afghanistan on March 21, 1984 to rescue Miller. Quickly familiarizing himself with his new equipment, Ocelot gave him the iDroid to use during his missions from then on, and instructing Snake how to use his binoculars. Ocelot told Snake to infiltrate the Soviet-occupied village Da Wialo Kallai to learn Miller's whereabouts.

Before leaving Snake on his own to rescue Miller, Ocelot told Snake he would provide additional intel via radio. Ocelot suggested that Snake put the last nine years behind him and return as Big Boss, noting that was how Miller would have wanted it. Ocelot explained that none of Miller's bodyguards survived and all that was found, apart from their bodies, were Miller's sunglasses, saying Snake was Miller's only hope of getting them back. Ocelot told him to go and "let the legend come back to life."

After finding out the exact location of Miller in Da Ghwandai Khar, Snake saved his old comrade and carried him to the extraction point, due to the loss of his left foot and right arm, only to find out that the helicopter couldn't land because of a sudden mist. Moments later, Snake and Miller were ambushed by four Mist-type soldiers of the Parasite Unit, the same XOF operatives who had captured Miller and killed his bodyguards in the first place. Once the Parasite Unit had been successfully evaded, Snake brought Miller onto the helicopter.

On the helicopter, Miller said that they were heading to their new Mother Base in the Seychelles. He also reflected on the operation they had nine years earlier. Miller commented on how big Cipher had gotten and mentioned his previous dealings with Zero. When the command center of Mother Base was in view, Miller vowed to make it bigger and better than before. Snake asked Miller to tell him what he should do.

"Diamond Dogs"
When Venom Snake and Miller arrived on the Command Center of Mother Base, they were greeted by Ocelot and Diamond Dogs members who took Miller to a medical facility on the base. Before he was carried away, however, Miller and Snake pledged to exact revenge on Cipher and decided to start by doing wet work in Afghanistan to find some clues as to where Cipher might be.

Snake agreed with one exception; it was no longer about the past and that all of Diamond Dogs must be fighting for more than just themselves, but for the future and not just for the purpose of revenge against Cipher.

Snake accepted the role of the leader of Diamond Dogs, familiarized himself with the new Mother Base and moved on to his next mission. Ocelot gave Snake the Fulton surface-to-air recovery system to use to recruit soldiers to make Mother Base and Diamond Dogs more expansive. Ocelot then instructed Snake on how to use his weapons, the cardboard box and how to use the CQC technique by training with fellow Diamond Dogs soldiers.

"A Hero's Way"
Snake accepted a mission from the West. They wanted a prominent Spetsnaz commander dead. Miller told Snake that it would be a shame to kill a soldier of his caliber, but let Snake decide how to deal with the commander. The West had heard rumors of his involvement with the disappearance of the Hamid fighters in Da Smasei Laman. Snake infiltrated Da Shago Kallai outpost where the commander was stationed.

"C2W"
In order to make operations in Afghanistan easier, Miller decided that Snake should infiltrate the Eastern Communications Post and destroy comms equipment there to put a hole in the Soviet base-to-base comms network. Snake successfully carried out the mission.

"Over the Fence"
Miller learned that the Soviet bionics engineer responsible for creating Snake's arm was captured by the Soviets and brought to Wakh Sind Barracks as a prisoner after a failed attempt to defect. Miller asked Snake to rescue the prisoner. Snake infiltrated Wakh Sind Barracks and saved the engineer, who became a part of the R&D department of Diamond Dogs and continued his work on the prosthetic arm, modifying it for Snake.

"Man's Best Friend"
Whilst in the field, Snake came across a pup with his right eye gone. Miller commented that he was a tough little guy, asking Snake what he was going to do. Snake then used the Fulton Recovery System on the dog to send him back to Mother Base.

Arriving back at Mother Base, Snake was greeted by Ocelot and the pup, with Ocelot calling the pup DD. Ocelot noted DD's troublemaking behavior and was unsure of what breed DD was. With both men realizing that DD would grow bigger, Ocelot offered to look after him, as one day DD could be a useful asset to Diamond Dogs. Snake, finding it ironic that an Ocelot was raising a dog, gave him the go ahead.

After some time had passed, DD had grown and had been given an eyepatch, just like Snake. Ocelot informed Snake that DD was fully trained and ready for action and that the rest was up to him. Ocelot ordered DD to get on the helicopter, who obeyed with enthusiasm. After taking off from Mother Base, Snake and DD got ready for their first mission together.

"Where Do the Bees Sleep?"
Snake accepted one more mission from the CIA related to the disappearance of the Hamid fighters in Da Smasei Laman. The CIA had been supplying the Mujahideen with a new type of rocket launcher called the Honey Bee. When those Mujahideen disappeared from the fort, the CIA was afraid that the Soviets would move in and secure the weapon. Snake was to infiltrate Da Smasei and extract that weapon before the Soviets could find it. On his way to the fort, Snake encountered a mute Hamid prisoner, the only survivor from Da Smasei.

He was escorted by Soviet soldiers who wanted the prisoner to show them the way to the Honey Bee. Snake saved the prisoner and got the directions to the cave in Da Smasei where the weapon was hidden. The prisoner was extracted and received the codename Silent Basilisk upon recruitment into Diamond Dogs. Snake followed the directions received from the prisoner and found the Honey Bee in the caves in Da Smasei.

When he tried to escape the fort, he was ambushed by Skull Face. Skull Face grabbed Snake with a massive mechanical arm and taunted him regarding Snake becoming a demon for "little" weapons like the Honey Bee, saying that this time he should "rest in peace" and he'll see him in hell. When the arm released Snake, he found himself again surrounded by the Mist squad of the Parasite Unit, who had turned all Soviet soldiers in the base into their puppets. Snake defeated the Parasite Unit and successfully exfilitrated the area with the Honey Bee.

"Friendly Advice"
When Snake returned to Mother Base he found Ocelot overseeing Diamond Dogs soldiers at a shooting range. When one Diamond Dogs soldier shot from his hip, Ocelot asked him if he saw that in the movies. Ocelot, echoing the advice Snake gave him during the Virtuous Mission during their first encounter twenty years prior, said that the recoil didn't get dampened by an automatic, with a revolver being a better choice.

Ocelot then gave a speech how Diamond Dogs were now a force to be reckoned with, one that the world knew about, so they shouldn't act like a tribal militia and that they would learn how a real soldier fights. He also stated that they would forget whatever they learned from Hollywood that if he caught them doing something else, they would know it. Ocelot, inquiring about the handgun, pointed out that engravings gave no tactical advantage whatsoever. Ocelot finished by saying "That was some fancy shooting. Pretty good."

"Red Brass"
As Snake was getting more involved in Afghanistan, his activities were noticed by three Soviet commanders. They arranged to meet in Da Wialo Kallai to discuss how they should deal with this new threat. A rebel guerilla faction in Afghanistan learned of that plan and hired Snake to eliminate the commanders during the meeting. Snake infiltrated Da Wialo Kallai.

"Occupation Forces"
After the soldiers in Da Smasei Laman were turned into puppets by the Parasite Unit, the Soviets didn't give up on taking the fortress under their control. They sent new troops to Da Smasei and were planning to reinforce them with a lieutenant colonel from Qarya Sakhra Ee and his tank column. Snake recieved a mission to stop these forces from deploying at Da Smasei. He first infiltrated Qarya Sakhra Ee to learn the time of the deployment and the path the reinforcements were taking and then intercepted the column.

"Backup, Back Down"
The rebel forces in Afghanistan were planning a major offensive against the Soviets. Diamond Dogs were hired to destroy enemy reinforcements that would be moving in during the offensive, and Snake completed the mission.

"Angel With Broken Wings"
An unknown client, who claimed to be a survivor from the target's village, requested that Diamond Dogs rescue a Mujahideen fighter named Malak, who had been captured by Soviet forces. The client gave Malak's location as the Lamar Khaate Palace. Reaching the Lamar Khaate Palace, Snake discovered that Malak was no longer their and had been relocated to a new location. After collecting some intel and getting information from various POWs, Snake found out that Malak had been relocated to Yakho Oboo Supply Outpost. At the outpost, Snake found Malak, whose injury forced Snake to carry him to the helicopter, as a Fulton extraction was too risky as it could kill Malak from the shock of the transportation thanks to his injury.

Returning to Mother Base, Malak revealed that he never heard of the client who paid Diamond Dogs to rescue him. Miller suspected that the client was Cipher, who wanted Malak silenced due to him surviving the destruction of his village. To protect Malak, Miller reported that he had died in the rescue attempt. Due to Malak losing his home and family, as well as his and Diamond Dogs's shared hatred for Cipher for the suffering they had endured, he joined Diamond Dogs.

"Cloaked in Silence"
After travelling to Aabe Shifao Ruins, Snake was ambushed by the sniper known as Quiet. Quiet shot Snake, forcing him to take cover. Quiet tried her best to shoot and kill Snake. She was also capable of turning invisible. After the fight was over, Miller ordered Snake to finish the unconscious Quiet. Ocelot, however, wanted Snake to bring her back to Mother Base.

Inside the helicopter, Quiet woke up, removed the handcuffs placed on her and threw them at Snake. While he was briefly stunned, she pretended to have jumped out of the chopper, turning invisible instead. About 1,900 miles away from Mother Base, the helicopter was attacked by a fighter jet, forcing it to shake the jet off. Snake opened the door to get a better look at the jet and later to shoot at it with a gatling gun. The helicopter was about to be shot by an LGM missile and Snake was knocked down from the evasive maneuvers. However, before the missile hit the helicopter, Quiet became visible, manned the gatling gun and shot down the missile. After this, Snake took control of the gatling gun and Quiet picked up a sniper rifle. While Snake wasn't able to shoot down the approaching jet, Quiet managed to shoot the pilot in the cockpit, making the jet crash into the water.

Upon arriving at Mother Base, the helicopter Snake was in was targeted by the staff of the Diamond Dogs and two helicopters. Miller said that he wouldn't let Quiet on their base and that the helicopter couldn't land until she was gone. Quiet answered to this demand by jumping down from the helicopter while turning invisible midair and landed behind Miller and a few other guards. They surrounded her and Miller ordered the men to shoot her. Ocelot responded by saying that she had saved Snake. While the two argued, Snake told the men to put her in a cell. After she was taken away, Miller warned Snake that she was a liability. Snake responded that when the time comes, he would be the one to kill her.

"A Quiet Recruit"
As Snake was about to board the helicopter he, Kaz and Ocelot found Quiet being invisible, with Ocelot correctly deducing that Quiet wanted to join Snake on a mission. Kaz was not happy with it, while Ocelot didn't have a problem with it as long as she was with Snake, pointing out her skills as a sniper and a scout. To prove her skills, Ocelot gave Quiet his gun and told her to use her keen eye sight to shoot between the blades. Her ability to see each individual blade and her depth perception would be invaluable. When Kaz pointed out that she doesn't talk and how they can stay in communication. Snake agreed with Kaz, saying that he likes working on his own. Quiet stayed at Mother Base for now, while Snake went on to his next mission.

"Hellbound"
Miller explained that nine years ago Huey Emmerich was in the control tower of Mother Base before the attack and the tower's destruction to meet the nuclear inspectors and his body was not recovered. Huey's actions of insisting the inspection happens and allowing the inspection behind Snake's and Miller's back and his disarmament of the guards that day all tied to Huey being involved, with the scientist escaping on XOF helicopter. One of Miller's reasons for being in Afganistan was to find Huey who is in the war torn country. Miller plans to find out who were behind the destruction of Mother Base from Huey.

Miller informed Snake that received a distress call from Huey, who wanted to defect to Diamond Dogs and be rescued from Cipher. Miller, who wanted to know about the attack nine years ago and get revenge on Huey for his alleged involvement, told Snake to find him.

Making his way to the Serak Power Plant, Snake found Skull Face and Huey arguing over the use of an AI pod. Skull Face refused to use an AI, saying that was a mistake Hot Coldman made ten years earlier. Just then, an XOF soldier secretly informed Skull Face that Huey had been in contact with Big Boss. Skull Face responsed by pushing Huey down the stairs. After threatening him, Skull Face ordered that Huey be taken to the base camp, stating that he still had some use.

Infiltrating the base camp and finding Huey's lab Snake encountered the mammal pod that housed The Boss's AI, which addressed Snake in a questioning manner before Emmerich stated its just a machine who was also confused by Snake's appearance. After a brief stare down, Snake placed a bag over Huey's head and disabled his exoskeleton legs. Huey suggested using his Walker Gear to escape.

As they were escaping, Huey denied knowing that the nuclear inspection was a ruse and even went as far to say that it was Snake's fault that Mother Base was destroyed because of the nuke they had at the time. Making their way to the exit of the base, the helicopter had to pull out due to the arrival of Huey's creation, Metal Gear Sahelanthropus. Tretij Rebenok was seen flying next to it with Skull Face in Sahelanthropus's right palm. Skull Face expressed his contempt for Huey and declared he and Snake would die, referring to Aleksandr Leonovitch Granin's vision that "Today [was] the day weapons learned to walk up right."

After evading Sahelanthropus and getting on the helicopter, Snake used the choppers minigun to shoot at Sahelanthropus before it could destroy the helicopter, and managed to damage Sahelanthropus. Huey expressed shock that it was completed without him. Snake put the bag back over Huey's face, showing his distrust for the scientist.

Arriving back to Mother Base, Huey endured six hours of interrogation. During this time, Huey expressed his innocence and suggested that Miller was the traitor due to his previous affiliation with Cipher. Ocelot then injected Huey with a stronger dose of truth serum and Miller used Huey's exoskeleton legs to torture him by making his leg bend forward. Talking to Snake, who was watching from behind the glass, Miller said that the truth serum wasn't working and that he was sure that Huey was involved in the incident nine years ago. Snake, after saying that they need proof before they could pass judgement on Huey, told Miller that for Huey's safety, no one must know he's on the base. Ocelot then joined in and informed them that Huey had just told him something interesting; Cipher had pulled out of Afghanistan and were funding new research in Africa, as Sahelantropus wasn't enough to cause an RMA, that whatever Cipher was doing in Africa was the missing piece, "a weapon that would surpass Metal Gear." Snake then realized that whatever it was that Cipher was after, "it's not just another nuke."

Huey was interrogated regarding his nine years after the destruction of the original Mother Base, his research for the Soviets, and his research history in general. Throughout the interrogations, Huey expressed his innocence and ignorance, claiming he thought the nuclear inspection was real and he was doing it for all of them back then. Huey was interrogated regarding Sahelanthropus and the origins of the name. Huey claimed that the skull was a symbol of Pangega which MSF used nine years ago. However Ocelot pointed out that the skull also symbolises Skull Face.

Snake and Huey talked at the latter's request. Huey talked about Dr. Clark and cloning and a project that cloned a human over ten years ago which Dr Clark was the head of. Huey talked about DARPA's involvement with Dr Clark being an important figure in Cipher. Huey beloved that cloning was connected to the weapon to surpass Metal Gear. Huey claimed the notion scared him, which Snake thought was ironic coming from him. When Snake asked where Huey heard all this the latter claimed he heard bits and pieces form the lab which Snake found hard to believe. At the end, Snake suggested getting Ocelot into the conversation much to Huey's discomfort.

Miller and Snake talked about Huey's place in Mother Base with the two agreeing he won't be a member of Diamond Dogs and he won't be in contact with the staff for his safety. Huey's movements will restricted and monitored and the interrogations will continue. If it turned out Huey had nothing to do with the attack, his position will be reconsidered, though Miller expressed doubts that will happen.

"The True Enemy"
Waiting in the Aerial Command Center for his next mission, Snake gets a call from Ocelot. He explains that Zero hasn't been seen in public since Snake left the United States over ten years ago. While Snake initially suspected that Zero was behind Mother Base's destruction in the Caribbean, Zero was already bedridden by that time, Ocelot says that he never thought Zero gave the order, and after seeing that Emmerich was working for Skull Face, he has got confirmation that Zero never gave the order, stating that Skull Face was Zero's XO. It was Skull Face alone who destroyed Mother Base nine years ago. The unit Skull Face commands, XOF, was Cipher's strike force, but Skull Face, along with XOF, have broken away from Cipher and usurped control over Cipher. The Cipher Diamond Dogs is hunting isn't Zero, it is Skull Face.

"Pitch Dark"
Miller informs Snake that the Intel Team from Diamond Dogs has found there next target in the Angola-Zaire border region, Central Africa, Angola's Mfinda Oilfield upstream from the landing point, with a spill covering the who area in crude oil. The cause is a pipeline that crosses the Munene River has failed, which resulted in the damage to the environment, meaning the village has no drinking water. Miller explained that the oil runs to the pipeline from the oil field and that taking it out should end the leak. Miller says that the client is an environmental NGO. While it could be seen as philanthropy, Diamond Dogs has their own reason to agree to the mission, the oil field, when it was abandoned, rebel group UNITA took the oil field, with their arsenal increasing, and that the supplier is a front company owned by Cipher. It would be a step closer to tracking down Skull Face and Cipher.

After getting past the Bwala ya Masa, Snake made his way to the facility, when Miller informed Snake that the Mfinda Oilfield is owned by SANR, which stands for South African Natural Resources. they drill oil wells throughout the region, and when thee oil dries up, they abandon the facility, with the equipment lefft behind begins leaking crude. UNITA take over is the perfect cover for SANR, but even then, there is still suspicions about SANR.

When the oil facility was in viewpoint, Miller explained that to stop the leak, Snake will need to shut down the oil transfer pump and destroy the oily water separator tank. Making his way to the pump, Snake shut the pump down, however bodies with a disgusting pair of lumps on their chest came to the surface. To stop the facility from being used again, Snake destroyed the separator tank, however, this caused the PF Contract Forces of Africa soldiers to investigate the explosion, armed with Walker Gears. Despite the odds, Snake completed his mission and returned to Mother Base.

In the aftermath, Miller tells Snake that they took a look at SANR, with them being the ones that hired the CFA and restarting the facility and using UNITA to make them look like the victims. Miller goes on to explain that SANR's "head office" in Johannesburg is just a room in a multi-tenant building, SANR doesn't exist. Three years prior, the investment fund stepped in and started going through mergers and sell-offs, with the fund no longer existing wither. Someone was just using SANR's name from behind the scenes, he inquired about the bodies and the lumps on their chests.

Shortly after, Huey informed Snake that he finished creating a Walker Gear for Snake, which features a silent running system for infiltration missions and can be summoned to Snake's location in the filed. Huey has called it the D-Walker which is armed with a suppressed tranquillizer gun and can be upgraded and customised from the iDroid in anyway Snake wants.

"Lingua Franca"
A representative of a man identified as the Viscount, who was a high-level British member of the Private Force (PF) Contract Forces of Africa requested Diamond Dogs to rescue him, who was being held in the area of the Kiziba Camp. It was requested that only the Viscount should be rescued and not the rest of his comrades. This made Miller suspicious as to why he wanted to be the only one rescued and what the Viscount was hiding.

Tailing an Afrikaner interpreter, Snake found the Viscount being interrogated by the interrogator. Snake found out that the Afrikaners were trying to discover who the informant was that sold the Afrikaners out. The Viscount denied knowing anything, which the interrogator found hard to believe. After being rescued by Snake, the Viscount relayed information about the Walker Gears being sold to the CFA, causing Miller to suspect Cipher, or more specifically, XOF's involvement in the sale due to the Walker Gears being Soviet technology that was only in the prototype stage.

When Snake rescued the other POWs, it was discovered what the Viscount was trying to hide: he was planning on securing the MPLA's oilfield rights for himself in exchange for swapping the CFA's alliance from the anti-government UNITA rebels to the state-backed MPLA. He hid this from the Afrikaners. However, once he thought the jig was up, he tried to pin it on the other British personnel and took off. The Afrikaners captured him, and that was when he asked Diamond Dogs to rescue him. With this knowledge from the POWs in hand, and the fact there was evidence of the Viscount's untrustworthiness and self serving behavior, Miller decided to lock him in the brig before considering him to become a member of Diamond Dogs, saying they would have to be "extra persuasive" with the Viscount.

"Footprints of Phantoms"
Due to the spread of Walker Gears all over Central Africa, which Miller suspected was deliberately caused by Cipher to further their goals, which is currently unknown. Snake is tasked with destroying four Walker Gears. After infiltrating the outpost in Ditadi Abandoned Village, Snake completed his mission by either destroying or extracting all four Walker Gears.

"Visit Quiet"
Visiting Quiet's cell, Snake spoke to Ocelot about her skills and abilities. Ocelot revealed that Quiet breathed and took in water through her skin, which was the reason why she didn't wear clothes. Ocelot believed it was photosynthesis, which he compared and referenced to The End, who was in the Cobra Unit. Ocelot suggested that Quiet would make a good buddy and that maybe Snake should take her on missions.

"Traitors' Caravan"
Snake was tasked with extracting a truck of supposed high importance, seeking proof that Cipher was behind the events unfolding. Tracking the truck's transfer throughout Central Africa, Snake watched in shock as, when he neared the truck, the Armor variation Parasite Unit exploded out of the truck's back, proving Cipher was involved. Despite their speed and skills, Snake managed to eliminate the Parasite Unit once again and successfully got the truck extracted for investigation.

"Rescue the Intel Agents"
Diamond Dogs had two members of the Intel Team act as undercover agents in the PF Contract Forces of Africa. The CFA found out and had captured both of them. Due to their lives at risk, Snake couldn't waste any time in rescuing them. Miller suspected that Cipher might have compromised them. This made him realize that Diamond Dogs needed to be more careful from now on.

Going to their last known location, Snake found them and used the Fulton on one while the second, too injured to survive the effects of the Fulton extraction, was taken to the helicopter to be brought back to Mother Base. Miller, on behalf of all of Diamond Dogs, thanked Snake for saving the two members of the Intel Team.

"Blood Runs Deep"
A civil war between two ethnic groups Mbele and Buta had broken out in Central Africa. The Mbele Squad had been captured by Buta. The Mbele general, not wanting them to give Buta any information, hired Diamond Dogs to assasinate the members of the Mbele Squad along with The Mbele Squad platoon leader, who had changed sides after getting captured by Buta.

On his way to find the Mbele Squad, Snake found the outpost where Snake found the platoon leader. He then moved on the find the Mbele Squad. After reaching the Kungenga Mine, where the Mbele Squad were forced to work, Snake discovered that the members of the Mbele Squad were child soldiers. Snake then shot a bucket and made an audio recording of the shooting to fake their deaths. Snake guided them to the landing zone and carried one of them, due to the injury he had to his leg.

Arriving at Mother Base, Venom Snake told Miller that he thought that they would make good members of Diamond Dogs. Miller responded by hitting one of the children with his crutch, who then grabbed Snake's gun and aimed it at Miller. Snake said that the child was a natural. Miller disagreed, taking and unloading the gun and giving it to Snake. Miller went on to say that the Mbele Squad would not be counted as staff members and that they would have their own quarters separate from the staff and do basic tasks and receive basic education. Snake said it will be a normal life without being behind a gun. Miller responded that being behind a gun was their way of life and that "there [was] no room for angels in their heaven."

"On the Trail"
The commander of the PF Rogue Coyote, who was identified as "the Major", was spreading a rumor that he had been selling nuclear weapons. Snake was tasked with eliminating the Major. In order to find the Major, Snake had to follow the Major's subordinate, who was undercover with a rivial PF the Contract Forces in Africa, as he was meeting with the Major to discuss about another rival PF, Zero Risk Security.

Tailing the subordinate, Snake found the Major; the subordinate told the Major that some members of the CFA were infected with a unknown disease. The subordinate revealed that the CFA suspected that the Major of causing the outbreak, which the latter denied, before sending the subordinate to investigate ZRS. Shortly thereafter, Snake succeeded in his mission.

"Sense of Déjà Vu"
Due to Walker Gears spreading all over Africa, Huey had an idea of a counterweapon. Arriving in the hangar, Huey explained to Snake that it was a spinoff of the technology used for Metal Gear, with Ocelot referencing to his use of spinoffs in Costa Rica. Huey then gave a speech about how it was customizable and how useful the Battle Gear would be. Snake privately remarked to Miller that he is having déjà vu. Miller, who shared Snake's dislike of Huey, told him the Battle Gear would be needed and would do well. Snake gave them the okay. After Snake left, Ocelot gave Huey a stern warning that he should consider himself off the chopping block.

"Voices"
Intel revealed an escaped child soldier named Shabani was being held at an industrial zone in Central Africa known as the Devil's House. After sneaking through several outposts and enemy patrols, Snake managed to infiltrate the long abandoned factory. He found several wards, filled with people on beds, with earbuds gouged into their throats playing sound out of a tape and disgusting growths on their chests. After trudging his way through this horrific scene, Snake eventually found Shabani, experimentally tortured all the same as everyone else. Before he could rescue Shabani, Snake looked into the other room, via a medical curtain, and saw none other than Skull Face himself executing one of his victims.

Shabani's pained cries and pleas for death alerted Skull Face, and upon spotting Snake, ordered The Third Boy to finish him off. The boy summoned the Man on Fire, who already had the upper hand and began strangling Snake. Fortunately, the Man on Fire was temporarily disabled, allowing Snake to escape, as pieces of the boy's true personality leaked out and he used his mental power to mercy kill Shabani. The boy was then influenced by the man's rage yet again and the entire factory went up in flames, causing Miller to demand bluntly that Snake evacuate. As Snake was escaping, Miller pondered who that entity was, with Ocelot immediately recognizing him as the guy they encountered earlier at Cyprus. After Snake's one escape was blocked off, he was forced to fight the Man on Fire. Snake eventually incapacitating him for a few moments where he used this window to escape via a chopper.

In the aftermath, Miller noted that Skull Face was in Africa after all, which must be connected to the weapon to surpass Metal Gear. Skull Face was working in the shadows, with the Man on Fire being used by Skull Face. Miller rhetorically asked what was going on in "the Devil's House", and talked about the earphones embedded in people's throats, and the tapes playing voices, and the lumps on their chest, which Snake first saw at the oil field. While the Man on Fire did destroy "the Devil's House", Diamond Dogs did audio recordings of what was going on there. Miller told Snake that they will conduct a thorough analysis of what was going on there.

"The War Economy"
Diamond Dogs got wind that a CFA executive arranged a meeting with an arms dealer at Nova Braga Airport, regarding the sale of weapons. Their task was to eliminate the CFA executive, who they suspected was under the employment of XOF. His higher ups in the CFA wanted them to continue fighting. Snake accepted the mission.

"Retake the Platform"
While in the field, Snake got a call from Miller, who informed him that the R&D Platform on Mother Base was being held a PF called Mosquito Stinger Force, who had taken several members of Diamond Dogs hostage and are threatening to kill them if any other Diamond Dogs members attempted to interfere or set foot on the platform. Snake was tasked with infiltrating the R&D platform and to find and neutralize the leader of the PF, Mosquito.

Snake, making his way to the top of the R&D Platform, found Mosquito. Once Snake had defeated Mosquito, Miller informed Snake they will interrogate Mosquito, he then announced over a speaker to the members of Mosquito Stinger Force that their leader has been defeated, escape was impossible and that they should lower their weapons and they would not be harmed.

Miller later informed Snake that Mosquito was a former member of the Militaires Sans Frontières, and that he had survived the attack on Mother Base. He was lead to believe that Big Boss himself was responsible for the attack, as a result he created his own PF and modeled it after the original MSF in order to get revenge on Big Boss. Mosquito then became a member of Diamond Dogs.

"The White Mamba"
Diamond Dogs next missions was to eliminate milliants based in Masa Village that had been pillaging nearby settlements, as they were children and Venom Snake did not want to kill them. They found an alternative solution: they were being led by their commander called the "White Mamba"; if Snake extracted him, then the milliants would fall apart without their leader.

Making his way to a wrecked boat in the village, Snake found a young boy who was identified as the "White Mamba." The "White Mamba", whose real name was Eli, then engaged Snake in a fight of cat and mouse in which Eli expressed a huge amount of resentment and hatred against Snake and tried very hard to kill Snake. Avoiding sniper and machinegun fire from Eli's soldiers, Snake managed to subdue Eli after disarming him of his knife using CQC, after which he told the "commander" that he had lost. Tying Eli up, Snake took him to the helicopter. During the journey, Eli displayed an arrogant attitude.

Arriving at Mother Base, Snake and Eli got off the helicopter and Snake told him "Welcome to Outer Heaven" and patted him on the back. Eli did not take kindly to this, as he took Snake's knife and attempted to stab him. Snake used CQC on him again and dislocated his arm. Snake took the knife and reprimanded Eli, telling him that they had rules, one of which was to never draw a weapon on a fellow soldier. Snake then put Eli's arm back into place. Snake told him that at Mother Base, Eli was going to learn how to use his head; once he had done that, then he would be allowed to leave.

"Doesn't even have a Name"
Arriving back at Mother Base, Snake saw Eli and an African boy named Etepe talking, when Eli suddenly became aggressive when Etepe called him "Eli." At this point, a Diamond Dogs soldier tried to sort it out when Eli took his knife and threatened him for calling him "Eli" and a kid. Ocelot, then appeared and used CQC on Eli twice, at which point Eli walked away. Ocelot then told Snake that Eli wasn't happy being called by his real name, and that he felt that the grown ups were walking over him and his "friends."

"Close Contact"
Snake missions was to extract an American technician and his assistant, who were working for an NGO. They were dispatched to the Ngumba Industrial Zone by Skull Face under the pretense of giving aid to people suffering from a disease. In actually, they were to observe the test subjects of the vocal cord parasites.

Heading into the Zone, Snake found the technician and shortly after his assistant, the latter who was abandoned by the former due to his fear that she was infected with the parasite, to which she held no ill will for it. However, she was not infected despite her protective outfit tearing slightly.

Bringing them to Mother Base, the duo revealed all they knew about what was going on there, including that the tapes Skull Face was recording inside the throats of some of the specimens was in another language, and that no English copy existed.

Sometime later, a Diamond Dog soldier was seen running away with fear, trying to get away from Quiet who gave him a deadly stare. Quiet incapacitated the soldiers who got in her way and proceeded to trying to shove a knife down the soldier's throat, taking out his front teeth in the process, Snake then used CQC to disarm her and held her in a restraining position. With the help of the other soldiers and Ocelot, they managed to sedate her. The wounded soldier was taken by the other soldiers to get treatment. Snake assumed that it was because of how they had treated her with him telling Ocelot to tighten security on her cell, for if it happened a second time, there would not be a third.

"Aim True, Ye Vengeful"
Someone in the Mbele force contacted Diamond Dogs and gave Diamond Dogs a contract to rescue the Mbele general's XO, who had been kidnapped by rogue child soldiers who were lead by the commander, claiming that the XO was his brother. Miller was suspicious, getting a feeling that there was something more to this mission then what the client was letting on.

When Snake found and rescued the XO, he revealed that he killed the Mbele general and was forced to join the Mbele army by the general when he was still a child. He was blindfolded, given a gun and told to shoot in front of him. When the blindfold was removed, it was revealed that he had killed his own parents. Since that day, he served in the Mbele army, secretly planning to one day get close enough to the general to carry out revenge. Eventually, he became the executive officer and finally killed the general.

Snake and Miller, realizing that the Mbele Forces wanted to kill the XO for their own revenge for this and the commander of the child soldiers for interfering and revenge for going rogue. Diamond Dogs decided to break the contract and protect the XO and the commander by faking their deaths. This action sacrificed the payment for the mission.

Shortly after this, Ocelot informed Snake that there was some kind of epidemic on Mother Base which had infected members of Diamond Dogs. He also revealed that those who that had become symptomatic died shortly after, including the soldier Quiet attacked. With no way of telling who was infected in the early stages of the disease, Ocelot told Snake that he had created a Quarantine Zone and that the Zone was on the iDroid. He told Snake to identify those who were infected and place them in the Quarantine Zone. Due to the infection, they could not fire staff members. Snake eventually figured out that all those infected all had one thing in common: they all speak the language Kikongo. Snake placed all those who speak Kikongo into the Quarantine Zone, saving those who were not infected and buying the infected members more time.

"Hunting Down"
Snake's new mission was to find and eliminate a trafficker whose victims were sent to places such as brothels, black market organ trades, and diamond mines. The Mbele group, who contracted Diamond Dogs to dispose of the trafficker, wanted him eliminated before he left the country, as otherwise, he would be immune from facing a court-martial for his role in human trafficking due to being a civilian.

Miller informed Snake that the trafficker was responsible for delivering Mbele villagers to XOF for their experiments with the vocal cord parasites, and was personally responsible for delivering Shabani, the former leader of the Mbele Squad, to the Devil's House. Snake eventually tracked the trafficker down and extracted him.

Back at Mother Base, the trafficker revealed he grew disturbed by the nature of the experiments, and was terrified of Skull Face and of the possibility of becoming a test subject. Because of this, he decided to flee Angola and return to his home country, hiring contractors from a rival PF, the Contract Forces of Africa, to ensure he returned there, as he was unable to trust his own men due to XOF's connection to the group.

"Eli's Challenge"
Ocelot explained to Snake that Eli, having not accepted that Snake had beat him, demanded a rematch on the second platform of the R&D Platform. Ocelot encouraged Snake to put the arrogant youngster in his place. After another fight, in which Eli yet again displayed ruthless and relentless attacks in an attempt to kill Snake, Snake managed to defeat Eli yet again, at which point that it seemed that he had conceded defeat albeit begrudgingly.

"Root Cause"
Needing to find out what the root cause was for the epidemic at Mother Base in order to save the infected soldiers and the whole of Diamond Dogs, Snake was tasked with rescuing a member of the Intel Team before he was killed, both to save him and to find out the cause of the disease so it would lead to a cure before it killed them all.

Searching Ditadi Abandoned Village, Snake found the member of the Intel Team and brought him back to Mother Base. The member that Snake rescued referred to the disease as "the pathogen" and mentioned that an old man "[knew] how to treat it." The Intel Team member then told Snake the man's name and where he was located.

"Code Talker"
After some intel revealed that an elderly man named Code Talker, who researched the vocal cord parasites and was forced to work for Skull Face, was being held captive at a mansion in Central Africa, Snake was sent to rescue him. On his way there, a thick blanket of mist soon rolls in and the Parasite Unit appeared. This time, however, it was a different unit consisting of female snipers. Despite this, they still possessed the superhuman abilities of the original unit.

After dealing with the barrages of sniper fire, he eventually resurfaced at the heavily guarded mansion. He broke into the basement and found Code Talker, who explained about the vocal cord parasites and how they infected and killed the host. He offered Snake a herb which halts the parasites, he then went on to explain how Skull Face stole his research and Miller realized that Skull Face planned to wipe out all languages from Earth.

After getting out of the mansion with Code Talker, they escaped in a helicopter. Code Talker then revealed that that the Wolbacia could halt the parasites. However, the price was that the host would be rendered infertile. Snake then explained that they captured a truck of cargo full of yellowcake, with Code Talker asking what became of it and the metallic archaea. Suddenly, the Parasite Unit's signature mist consumed the area. A cloud of corrosive metallic archaea appeared in front of the chopper just as it flew through, causing the windows to explode, killing Pequod in a barrage of jagged glass. As a result, the chopper crashed.

"Metallic Archaea"
The ravaged chopper crashed in the Nova Braga Airport, where Snake and the unconscious Code Talker fortunately survived. However, as Snake crawled out of the wreckage, he realized that he was surrounded by the Parasite Unit, and the mist made it so calling another chopper was impossible. This forced him to fight them. After a grueling battle, Snake defeated the Parasite Unit and the mist cleared and Code Talker and Snake were picked up by another chopper.

On the way back to Mother Base, Code Talker explained how five years prior, Skull Face did a detonation test to see if he could disable a nuke. Code Talker said that Skull Face planned to distribute nukes all around the globe along with the Walker Gears, meaning any group, no matter how small, can become a nuclear power. However, Skull Face would secretly retain control of the nukes. Snake and Ocelot realized that this was why they needed Huey to create Walker Gears for this purpose. Ocelot realised that if the nukes proliferate, conventual nukes lose value with the superpowers becoming powerless.

The aftermath of these events had Code Talker recruited into Mother Base as a scientist, where he gave Snake the bacteria known as wolbacia, and told him to cultivate more to cure the infected soldiers. Code Talker revealed everything he knew about the parasites such as their properties. After forty eight hours, the epidemic was over, while those who were already symptomatic couldn't be saved, those in the early stages of the parasites were now cured. Miller vowed that Skull Face will pay for this.

Miller and Ocelot then interrogated Huey and told him that if Skull Face succeeded, East and West relations would go back to the Cuban Missile Crisis, with the Cold War getting rejuvenated like it was during the 1960s and that Skull Face's distribution of nuclear weapons was a ruse to cover his use of the vocal cord parasites, making Skull Face the world's greatest threat. After Ocelot threatened to use metallic archaea on his exoskeleton legs, Huey gave up the location as OKB Zero. Satisfied, Miller and Ocelot left. Before leaving, the latter placed the needle underneath Huey's legs.

Before boarding the helicopter for OKB Zero, Miller informed Snake that everyone at the base camp is dead and that Skull Face must have killed the Soviet soldiers by using the Russian strain of the vocal cord parasites. He then told Snake that OKB Zero is where Skull Face will activate Shaelanthropus and unless he is stopped he will go down in history a conquering victor and told Snake to wipe him out. Snake knew he would need back up for this mission. Miller said that they would reendezvous at OKB Zero.

"Skull Face"
Now Diamond Dogs was strong enough to take Skull Face down, Snake prepared to infiltrate OKB Zero with the intent to capture and interrogate Skull Face. Miller told Snake that Eli sneaked onto the helicopter. Huey ,claiming he wanted to pay for what he's done, wanted to help Snake defeat Skull Face to prove he has always been Snake's ally.

Snake infiltrated the heavily guarded fortress and confronted Skull Face on the helipad. Skull Face explained that Snake has known loss as well and that hatred will never replace the pain which will never go away and that the pain they've endured has cost them their humanity, which will never return, and they are both now demons. Outnumbered by a squad of XOF soldiers, Snake was forced to surrender and follow Skull Face. Miller secretly told Snake to go along with Skull Face as Diamond Dogd was ready to fight with that being their leverage over Skull Face as he didn't want a fight on his hands.

Along the way, Skull Face stated that whatever Code Talker told Snake didn't matter, Skull Face explained that he had known Snake since 1964 being Snake's backup at the time. He explained that he knew of Zero's plans and what The Boss wanted. During the ride throughout the roads of Afghanistan on a jeep, Skull Face passionately revealed his plans; worldwide ethnic cleansing with the parasites, and the reasons behind them; both his hated for Zero and his broken childhood where he was heartlessly stripped of his culture, quoting the Romanian philosopher Emil Cioran. He would exterminate the English language as a way to permanently destroy Zero's plans and so that everyone on Earth would suffer and share a phantom pain. He plans to have nukes serve as the new language to replace the English language. Using Sahelanthropus, Skull Face would control of all the nukes and maintain the balance of the world.

The XOF transport parked at the Serak Power Plant, the lair of the dormant Sahelanthropus, which was almost ready for activation. Skull Face, told Snake that they are not the only demons and that the Man on Fire lives because of Snake, he then had The Third Boy manifest the Man on Fire to finish Snake off. However, The Third Boy donated his telepathic power to Eli and his vicious hatred against Snake instead of the Man on Fire's hatred, as Miller, Huey, and Eli were in a helicopter surveying the events unfolding. The Third Boy had the Man on Fire apparently commit suicide to get rid of him and he and Eli used their combined mental power to prematurely activate Sahelanthropus, leaving Skull Face shocked and defeated. XOF opened fire on Sahelanthropus as they retreated, but it quickly slaughtered them. The wild Salelanthropus then roared in Snake's face.

"Sahelanthropus"
Immediately afterwards, Snake, as well as the forces of XOF and Skull Face, fled the power plant. Sahalanthropus relentlessly chased Snake through a valley, and after realizing it could't fit, evolved from its hunched-over stance into a towering stand before resuming its attack on XOF. Despite barrages of gunfire and tank rounds, Sahalanthropus absorbed it all, and easily destroyed every last unit of XOF, leaving only Skull Face. The commander was surrounded by a circle of flames, and with the parasite capsule in his hands, begins narrating to Zero spiritually that even though he knew Cipher would wipe Skull Face from existence, he and his fiery vengeance would still make their marks in history through the might of Sahelanthropus, that thanks to the vengeance he has implanted will day destroy Cipher, immediately before getting crushed by it. Meanwhile, Snake, who witnessed this massacre in hiding, hijacked a surviving military jeep and attempted to outrun Sahelanthropus, who was in intense pursuit.

Sahelanthropus' attacks eventually drove Snake off the road after being informed by Miller that destroying it was a necessity, as the world's knowledge of it would cause irrevocable chaos, allowing Skull Face to win even in death. After a lengthy battle, Snake managed to incapacitate the mechanical beast, to the point Eli and Tretji Rebenok could no longer have control of Sahelanthropus. Miller's chopper landed and picked up Snake, with the latter wanting to pay Skull Face to get some long long awaited revenge.

They found Skull Face's mangled, debris-crushed body for some long awaited revenge. Snake, finding only two out of three capsules, asked Skull Face where the other is, with the latter saying it was very close to Snake. Snake then destroyed the parasite capsules by tossing them in a fire, but Tretij Rebenok managed to salvage the last one, unbeknownst to anyone else. Using Skull Face's rifle, the two blew off his limbs as payback, and with one final "mission complete" from Miller to Snake, the two left Skull Face to die in horrible agony. However, Huey ultimately finished him off, happily declaring "revenge" and they all return to Mother Base where they housed Sahelanthropus' battle-damaged corpse. During this time, Snake saw a phantom of the deceased Skull Face, with Miller stating that even with Skull Face dead, they still suffered the phantom pain.

"To Know Too Much"
Word got to Diamond Dogs that the Soviet soldiers had taken back OKB Zero after the defeat of Shealanthropus and Skull Face's death. The CIA had hired Diamond Dogs to extract a CIA agent, due to his knowledge of the vocal cord parasites who had now gone into hiding after getting attacked by unidentified individuals.

Miller was against having him on Mother Base due to his treacherous nature. However, he decided to make an exception due to the agent's knowledge of the vocal cord parasites, which Miller knew must not end up in the wrong hand, especially Cipher's. Going back to Lamar Khaate Palace, Snake found the agent and brought him back to Mother Base.

The agent revealed everything that had been going on. He betrayed the Soviets, passing information to Langley, but got scared after learning XOF used the vocal cord parasites. The agent then went into hiding among the CIA's mujahideen allies. The agent feared that he would be killed for knowing too much, unaware that XOF's plans were actually independent of the CIA. He also regretted that his actions might have placed his Soviet comrades in danger.

With this knowledge, Miller decided to recruit him instead of handing him over to the CIA. He went as far as to fake the agent's death to ensure he couldn't be returned to them, ensuring that neither the Soviets nor the Americans learned about the vocal cord parasites. Miller suspected that the group trying to kill him were remnants of XOF, that still existed despite Skull Face's death.

"Cursed Legacy"
Code Talker explained that back at the mansion where he was being held there were two containers which had his research materials regarding the vocal cord parasites. Miller, not wanting anyone, least of Cipher, to get a hold of the research material so that they could recreate the vocal cord parasites, tasked Snake with recovering the two containers before XOF arrived and extracted them.

Once Snake infiltrated the area where the containers were located, he found them and used the Fulton recovery system to extract both of the containers to Mother Base before XOF arrived. In the debriefing, Miller sighed with relief that Cipher, or anyone else, wouldn't be able to research or use the vocal cord parasites, as Mother Base was the only place on Earth where the vocal cord parasites still existed.

"Extraordinary"
An informant who was working in the field in Afghanistan for Diamond Dogs had died. However, before his death, he hid a film cannister containing classified information concerning Skull Face's plans, which was hidden in Afghanistan in an area called Spugmay Keep. Not wanting his death to be in vain, and the need for that intel, Snake headed for Spugmay Keep.

A clue was a garbled photograph the informant tired to send back to Mother Base just before he died, Diamond Dogs began to anslysis the photograph. Ocelot warned Snake that a KGB Spetsnaz squad was after the film cannister as well. After the photograph was analysed, Snake managed to find the film cannister containing vital information on the deceased Skull Face's plans and returned to Mother Base with it.

"Proxy War Without End"
Snake was given a mission to eliminate the CFA armored column assembling to the north of Nova Braga Airport. With the column containing many large-scale fighting vehicle, Snake completed his task and returned back to Mother Base. In addition, Snake extracted the armored column commander, who told Snake that it would be an honor to work with the legendary Big Boss. The column commander was then recruited into Diamond Dogs.

"Retrieving the AI Pod"
Miller, wanting to know what secrets was inside the Mammal Pod which is still at the base camp where Snake rescued Huey, specifically evidence that implicated Huey in the attack on Mother Base nine years prior wanting to rid Diamond Dogs of the "parasite", tasked Snake with recovering the Mammal Pod.

Retracing his rescue of Huey, Snake infiltrated the base camp a second time and found the AI Pod and used the control for the Mammal Pod to have it launch away from the base camp to a site where Diamond Dogs can recover it. Miller told Snake that he would have it picked up. He also told Snake that he would let him know what they found.

Sometime later, Miller informed Snake that they recovered the Mammal Pod and that they found a corpse inside the Mammal Pod. The corpse was someone they knew very well: it was Strangelove, the very person who created the Mammal Pod. While the remains were mostly skeletal, the estimated time of death was six months to a year ago.

Miller and Ocelot then questioned Huey. Confronted with the evidence, Huey finally admitted that he didn't work alone and that Strangelove was murdered by Skull Face when she made him angry. Not satisfied with this explanation, Ocelot suggested that Huey was the one who murdered Strangelove and locked her body in the Mammal Pod, to which the latter vehemently denied. Huey then changes his story by claiming that Strangelove committed suicide by sealing herself inside the Mammal Pod. Ocelot then told Huey that Strangelove had a surgical scar on her chest, which was stitched and healed long before she died and that she was pregnant with Huey's child. When asked where the child was, Huey claimed he didn't know and said that he was born four years ago and that he and Strangelove called their son Hal Emmerich. He claimed that he never saw Hal, at which point he broke down.

"Selfless Act"
Ocelot and a Diamond Dogs soldier were trying to stop the members of the Mbele Squad from going to an area. When Snake shown up, he asked what was going on. One of the children told him that Shabani's necklace was at the bottom of the tank. As Snake approached the tank, Ocelot stopped him, saying that it was filled with chlorine disinfectant. Miller then asked the children how did they let it fall down there in the first place.

From a tower nearby, Eli watched what was going on before disappearing out of sight, implying that he caused it to fall down there. Quiet then jumped into the tank to get the necklace. Snake screamed in anguish and was stopped by Ocelot from going down there. Miller, still distrusting Quiet, thought that it was a stunt to try to cause panic.

Quiet then climbed out of the tank having recovered Shabani's necklace. Badly burnt but still alive, Snake grabbed her as she dropped the necklace onto the floor, which one of the children put back around his neck. Snake then carried Quiet away from the scene to get her medical treatment. Once everyone dispersed, Miller was then left alone to ponder on what had just happened.

"A Quiet Interrogation"
Quiet was tortured by Ocelot and Diamond Dogs soldier, with the latter using stun batons to electrocute her, to which she didn't even scream. Ocelot told Miller that she was still living up to her name. Miller asked Quiet who infected her with the parasite, with Ocelot objecting as she must not talk. Miller replied that he only wanted a name. Quiet still refused to say anything.

Miller then explained to Quiet that they found a Star-of-Bethlehem petal in the burnt remains of her lungs. This confirmed that she was the assassin that had been sent by Skull Face to kill Snake in Cyprus. The injuries she sustained should have killed her. However, visibly she looked well, with Miller correctly guessing that Skull Face saved her. Code Talker told Miller that he was the only who was capable of applying parasite therapy until Skull Face stole his research. When Quiet still refused to talk, Miller had her doused with salt water, which caused her to feel discomfort and pain. Ocelot then stepped in and doused her with normal water saying that Quiet wouldn't talk. He stated that she was not on Mother Base to kill anyone as she had plenty of chances, she worked for Big Boss as she was in love with the legend, Ocelot stated that he was the same way once. Snake concurred with Ocelot, much to Miller's chagrin. Snake then freed Quiet from her restraints.

Once everybody left, Code Talker approached Quiet. Code Talker and Quiet spoke to each other in Navajo. Code talker asked about which parasite she is infected with, to which she revealed that Skull Face had ordered her to infect Mother Base and destroy Diamond Dogs with the third English strain of the vocal cord parasites. However, she decided that she would never speak English again.

"Recovering the Man on Fire's body"
Ocelot and Snake discussed what happened to the Man on Fire, with the former having doubts that the Man on Fire was dead. His body was not found after Snake defeated Sahelantropus as he was able to survive gunfire and explosions. Snake assured Ocelot that he saw the Man on Fire get crushed by Sahelantropus's landing platform. While Ocelot believed him, he still had doubts that the Man on Fire was gone for good. He told Snake that he would update Snake if he found any information concerning the Man on Fire.

Sometime later, Ocelot informed Snake that Soviet personnel retrieved the body and placed it at the Yakho Oboo Supply Outpost. Ocelot suspected the true identity of the Man on Fire from one of Skull Face's statements about men becoming demons and reanimating the dead due to residual desires for revenge and the timing of their first encounter with the Man on Fire; it was the body of an old enemy, their "old friend" Yevgeny Borisovitch Volgin.

Snake would later infiltrate the Yakho Oboo Supply Outpost and neutralized the Soviet soldiers before finding Volgin's body. Before being extracted, Volgin's burned body came back to life once again as the "Man on Fire", causing his fiery horse to appear. Snake was knocked down in the process. He pinned down Snake and met him face to face. Mysteriously, Volgin momentarily reverted to his original appearance, in which he then stopped his assault. He fell backwards to the ground, dropping several bullets as well, and finally died along with his horse. Volgin's corpse was taken back to Mother Base and put in one of the Quarantine platform's cages. Ocelot then took the time to look over Volgin's corpse, reflecting that Skull Face must have used his desires for revenge against Big Boss for his goals.

"The Children's Uprising"
Five child soldiers had left Mother Base and attempted to return to their homes in Africa but were captured or got lost. In order to protect Mother Base and save the children, Snake went on a mission to find and bring them back to Mother Base. After five extraction missions, Snake managed to bring all five of the children back to Mother Base. Snake, Miller, and Ocelot found out that Eli was behind it.

When Ocelot questioned Eli, the latter asked the former where "he" was. Ocelot told him that his father was not here. Ocelot also told him that the children were back and that his uprising was over. When asked what he sent them to do, Eli showed a sensitive side, saying that they wanted to go home. However, he reverted back to his true self and said that they were looking for people to kill and that they needed to be ready to face the world as enemies. Suddenly, Sahelanthropus burst into the hanger, being controlled by Tretij Rebenok, who Snake tried to shoot in vain. Eli then boarded into Shahelantropus telling his "father" that he is not like him and that he didn't need him any more. Tretij Rebenok flew the mech away while the Mbele Squad and several other child soldiers had forced a pilot to fly them with Tretij Rebenok and Eli.

Unable to do anything but watch them escape, Miller wondered if Ralph's death was an accident or if Eli planned this all along to stir the boys, to steal Shaelanthropus and escape. Eli along with Tretji Rebenok and his small army then went on to take over an island and infect the whole island with the English strain of the vocal cord parasites in order to create his "Kingdom of Flies."

Ocelot later questioned Huey. He revealed that he helped Eli to repair Shaelantropus. Due to the pilot sit only fitting a child, Ocelot asked Huey if he had put his son in it, which Huey denied. Having caught Huey in a lie regarding Huey never seeing his son, he admitted to Ocelot that he wanted to get in the Metal Gear, and that they were happy during their short time together. Ocelot pointed out that Huey was still happy because he told lies in order to live with himself, and that Huey was a perpetrator and a hypocrite.

"Shining Lights, Even in Death"
Miller contacted Snake and told him there had been an outbreak of the vocal cord parasites in the Quarantine Zone, with the Wolbacia no longer having an effect on the parasites. Snake saw a video link of soldiers being attacked by infect members who have been crazed by the parasites. Before entering the Zone, Snake heard a cryptic audio recording of someone saying "It all [made] sense now. I [won]."

When Snake entered the Zone, he said that he could smell something sweet even through the mask, a smell like ripe fruit. Snake found several dead Diamond Dogs soldiers. He also saw that those who were still alive were being infected with the parasites. Snake then found the scientist who made the audio message. Before dying, the scientist gave Snake goggles to see the infection in the soldiers, saying that he was no snail. The talk of snails made Code Talker realize that the infected soldiers had an urge to get outside; the parasites were controlling them so that birds would feed on the infected bodies and spread the parasites beyond. Initially, Snake held back by forcing those outside to drop a bomb to stop them. Miller then told Snake he had to shoot as they couldn't let them outside. Going through the Zone, Snake killed all the infected Diamond Dogs soldiers that he came across, with Huey calling out on him for it. Snake found a room of soldiers listening and humming. They saluted Snake and allowed him to kill them. In a corner, Snake then found a soldier who was not infected. Before he could leave with him, the soldier revealed that he too was infected, which forced Snake to kill him as well. Entering a room, it was littered with the corpses of the Diamond Dogs soldiers Snake had killed. As a result, he collapsed in despair.

After the bodies were cremated, their ashes were to be scattered into the sea. Huey blamed Snake with the latter agreeing. Snake decided to scatter the ashes himself. However, he changed his mind. Instead, he smothered the ashes onto his face and revealed to all present that he plans to make diamonds from their ashes. Miller, liking the idea said that it was a shining light to their brothers in arms even in death. Snake then said, "We [were] Diamond Dogs."

Later on, Ocelot and Miller questioned Huey. While doing so, they told him that equipment that emitted beta rays caused the vocal cord parasites to mutate to the point the wolbacia coundn't stop it, and that Huey supervised and installed the equipment. Miller then told Huey that they knew that he had been in contact with DARPA, who was connected to Cipher, in an attempt to sell the parasites in exchange for his safety. Miller warned Huey that he wouldn't be leaving Mother Base alive.

"Trial of Huey Emmerich"
Miller told Huey that they were going to present the charges against him and decide an appropriate punishment, by putting him on trial. Diamond Dogs soldiers entered and called for Huey's head. When Huey ranted that Diamond Dogs were a threat to society, Miller told the men that there would be no lynch mob and that Huey would be tried. Huey then ranted how they were all seeing phantoms and that all of them including himself were alone, that all Diamond Dogs create is war which stands in the way of peace.

At the trial, Ocelot explained to all present that Huey caused the wolbacia mutation that lead to the deaths of many Diamond Dogs soldiers. Ocelot also accused Huey of murdering his own wife, which Huey denied. Miller then presented the AI Pod, which played a recording of Strangelove implicating Huey in her death. It was due to an argument concerning their son. Miller also revealed that nine years earlier, Huey allowed XOF to destroy Mother Base so he would be spared. Despite Huey's pleas, Miller found him guilty on all counts, to which the soldiers called for Huey's execution, who only stopped when Ocelot fired a shot. Miller told Snake to give the order. Instead, Snake ordered that Huey would be exiled from Mother Base on a life raft big enough for one with food and water. Miller strongly disagreed with this decision saying that Huey didn't lose a thing. While Snake agreed that Huey was not one of them, he said that they were not responsible to judge an enemy.

As the raft was being lowered, Huey ranted that he was innocent, the Diamond Dogs were the real murderers, and Venom Snake was the one who should have exiled. Due to his exoskeleton legs nearly causing the raft to sink, Huey was forced to discard them, leaving him unable to walk again. Miller said that he knew that Huey would make it and lie about Diamond Dogs. Ocelot objected saying that one day Huey would see through the lies he had built up and realize what kind of man he really was; he couldn't run from himself forever.

Miller revealed that the R&D would not suffer because of Huey's absence, as the disgraced scientist left his notes behind. He also revealed that he was tracking Huey's movements to make sure that he doesn't try anything. Snake, having had enough of the ordeal with Huey, told Miller to let it go as Huey was gone and it is now over. Miller told him he just wanted to be sure and that he wont be losing sleep over Huey.

"A Quiet Exit"
Ocelot informed Snake that Quiet was now gone, as she had used her ability to turn invisible and stowed away on a helicopter. She was located in Afghanistan. Ocelot then gave Snake a mission of finding Quiet, noting that he was the only one who could do this. Miller was worried that she knew too much about Diamond Dogs, recounting Snake's words of killing Quiet when the time came. After finding some intel on Quiet's location, Snake learned that she had been captured by Soviet forces and was taken to the Lamar Khaate Palace. Ocelot wondered how Quiet got captured so easily. Code Talker explained that Quiet was carrying the vocal cord parasites, more precisely, the English strain. He also revealed that Skull Face attempted to use her as his ace in the hole, but she refused to speak. Code Talker said that even if she didn't speak, the parasites might have became active thanks to the mutation, which is the reason she left. The mission was to secure Quiet and the parasites.

Quiet was forcibly clothed when taken prisoner, which slowly suffocated her. She tried to escape, but was caught and nearly drowned by one of her captors, who then removed her pants in an attempt to rape her. Now able to breathe once more, she retaliated, slaughtering him and the other soldiers. Snake had been trying to track her down to take her back to Mother Base, and he arrived just in time to catch the final moments of her escape. The two then worked together to take down a massive tank unit that had arrived in response to Quiet's escape. Unfortunately, she was badly injured by a tank round which knocked her out.

Snake attempted to carry her out of harm's way through a fearsome sandstorm. Along the way, he was bitten by a cobra, causing him to lose consciousness. As a result, both of them blacked out and were resting behind a rock. Quiet woke up first when she heard Pequod attempting to contact Snake through his radio, explaining that he wouldn't be able stay at the LZ much longer due to near-zero visibility in the sandstorm. Quiet replied in Navajo, which Pequod didn't understand and thought was just a radio problem. Thus, Quiet had no choice but to reply in English, much to Pequod's surprise, and guide the chopper to their location. Eventually, Snake was given an antivenom and regained consciousness. However, Quiet was no where to be found. He went to search for her by tracking her footprints, in which he only found a cassette tape hanging from a tree branch. He placed it into his Walkman and began to listen:

"I did not choose to be Quiet. I wanted to express my feelings to you. If only we shared a common tongue. Vengeance was what drove me to them...The only language left to me, revenge. But the words we shared...No, that was no language at all. That's why I...I chose the language of gratitude instead, and go back to silence. I am Quiet...I am...the absence of words."

- Quiet Afterwards, Code Talker contacted Snake, telling him that Quiet's mission by Skull Face was to infect Mother Base and summarized Quiet's actions and inquired as to why she did not release the parasites on Mother Base; she might have had a change of heart. Code Talker stated that due to her parasites being active, "we [wouldn't] hear it from her."

"Truth: The Man Who Sold the World"
"Facts do not exist, there are only interpretations."

- Friedrich Nietzsche Due to the hypnotherapy wearing off, Snake remembered what happened after the helicopter crash. Miller and Big Boss were on medical beds in Colombia and saw Big Boss fall into a coma. When Miller asked the lead doctor about the other man, the doctor turned and looked at the other man and said that he took shrapnel to the head; the realization that Venom Snake and Big Boss were not one and the same.

Another flashback revealed that the lead doctor and the nurse were talking about the plastic surgery in Greek and it was revealed that the surgery was completed before the doctor and nurse were killed by Quiet. Before his death at Quiet's hand, the doctor showed the two photographs of the main members of MSF and Snake moved one of the other and sees himself on the photograph standing next to Big Boss. He turned it over and saw a message that said "Good Luck." It was from "Vic Boss."

In a flashback of the incident, in which Ahab and Ishmael escaped the hospital, the true fate of Ishmael was revealed. After the ambulance had crashed, Ishmael woke up and began to crawl out of the wreckage, but found himself quickly dragged off by Ocelot, who both left the unconscious Venom Snake inside the ambulance. Ishmael removed his facial bandages and dressed himself with the clothing supplied by Ocelot, revealing his identity as the real Big Boss. Ocelot gave Big Boss a passport that belonged to Venom Snake, telling him the identity he would have to go under and advised him to change his face as well. The two discussed the plan that Big Boss's body double, Venom Snake, would act as the new Big Boss. Big Boss summarized that Venom Snake was his phantom. The two shared a final cigar, with Big Boss stating that they would meet again, before Ocelot departed on horseback to return to Venom Snake, while Big Boss mounted Ocelot's motorcycle and began his crusade to create Outer Heaven.

Flash forward sometime later, where Venom Snake was seen entering a bathroom with the sound of gunfire all around him. Now that the hypnotherapy had worn off, Snake remembered the events of extracting the bomb from Paz Ortega Andrade. Seeing it from the perspective as the medic, he remembered that he protected Big Boss and took the full force of the explosion and shrapnel to the head. He had a hallucination of his original appearance as the medic.

Now that the hypnotherapy has worn off and he remembers what happened nine years ago, he later received a tape from Big Boss labelled "The Man Who Sold the World", and began to listen to it on a Sony cassette player which contained the following:

"Now do you remember? Who you are? What you were meant to do? I cheated death, thanks to you. And thanks to you I've left my mark. You have too – you've written your own history. You’re your own man. I'm Big Boss, and you are too… No… He’s the two of us. Together. Where we are today? We built it. This story – this “legend” – it’s ours. We can change the world – and with it, the future. I am you, and you are me. Carry that with you, wherever you go. Thank you... my friend. From here on out, you’re Big Boss."

- Big Boss

Venom Snake, despite knowing the truth, approved of what his fellow Big Boss has said, decided to keep up the ruse. After finishing listening to the tape, Snake removed it. He then turned it over and saw the other side was labelled "Operation Intrude N313." Upon placing the tape in a cassette player, Snake began to listen to the data.

Snake then looked into the bathroom mirror again and saw his face covered completely in blood and his "horn" grown significantly longer, having become a demon. He smashed the mirror in frustration at seeing the demon he had became. Despite this, he accepted his fate as a demon and began to prepare for his destiny.

Later on, Miller and Ocelot were talking. The former asked what it was all for and what was Big Boss's plan. Ocelot explained that the real Big Boss was working separately from them to create his new nation; a military nation above and apart from all - the true "Outer Heaven", a nation created to maintain world balance independent of the struggles of supremacy, for personal profit, the cycles of revenge between countries, while it would be an army, it would be more. It would be a nation. Until it was complete, Miller and himself must support the other Big Boss, who carried on his legend and his meme; that was Big Boss's plan.

Faced with this revelation, Miller declared that he had lost everything. Ocelot told him that the age of Big Boss's sons would arrive, that they'd likely want to settle the score with him, that Miller and himself would have to shape that age with both of them having roles to play, to build a foundation for a revolution led by both Big Bosses. Disgusted with the deception, Miller declared that "Big Boss [could] go to hell" and that he'd make the phantom and his sons stronger to send him there and that was the only reason he'd play his role. Ocelot responded that sooner or later there would be only one Boss, as there is only room for one. That Big Boss's sons were fated to face each other someday. Ocelot warned Miller that if the day ever came that he went back to Cipher, he'd aid the other son, and the two of them would be enemies. He also stated that one of them would have to kill the other. Miller said that was fine with him, and he would be ready for the new age. Until then, the two of them better get use to coexisting.

"Kingdom of the Flies"
The Diamond Dogs pilot who was forced to fly Eli, Tretij Rebenok, and the other child soldiers off of Mother Base was finally recovered about fifty miles inland to Africa from the Seychelles waters. He explained that shortly after departing Mother Base, the levitating Sahelanthropus and the helicopter split up and began to head in different directions. The helicopter was forced to land in East Africa after running out of fuel. The pilot had been left alive on purpose, albeit trapped inside the chopper and near death from dehydration when he was rescued. Cipher had detected that Sahelanthropus was being transported through the skies and had begun searching for it, making matters even more urgent. Not only did the children possess Sahelanthropus, but Eli carried the last sample of the English strain of vocal cord parasites. If it began to spread, the world would fall into chaos.

Using leads from the pilot, Diamond Dogs' Intel Team narrowed down where Eli, his boys, and Sahelanthropus had gone: an island in a large salt lake in Central Africa. Fortunately, the parasites could not survive in salt water and were confined to the island, and since none of the children's voices had broken yet, their parasites remained dormant. As discovered in a cassette tape, however, Eli's voice was beginning to mature. He also had begun to infect any XOF scouts he found with the English strain on purpose in order to breed more of them. Eli presented that they had one demand in exchange for Sahelanthropus and its nuke: the body of "Big Boss."

When Venom Snake arrived on the island, he found out that XOF troops had already begun a strike to kill Eli and take Sahelanthropus back. Many of them had been killed by cruel booby traps set by Eli's boys, but a good number of them had survived. Snake made his way to the center of the island, where he found Eli resting in Sahelanthropus' cockpit among the child soldiers. However, a platoon of XOF soldiers had beaten him there, opening fire on Eli. Their weapons were rendered useless by Tretij Rebenok's psychokinesis. Eli activated Sahelanthropus and began killing the soldiers. He eventually discovered that Snake was hiding from the attack. He stopped his onslaught momentarily to speak with Snake and declared that he was going to get his revenge, and the two then began their battle.

The ensuing war between Diamond Dogs, XOF, and Sahelanthropus was catastrophic, nearly destroying the whole island. Their battle came to a close when Sahleanthropus' torso was blown in half at the waist, causing it to shut down and become inoperable. Eli and Tretij Rebenok were finally defeated. As Eli emerged from the cockpit, he was approached by a squadron of XOF soldiers who were ready to kill him. Snake sprung a surprise attack and killed the assassins, but back up quickly arrived. After a grenade went off in close proximity to Snake, his "horn" suffered damage and triggered a seizure in his brain, affecting his vision and making him unable to differentiate between red and white. He moved back in to attack, but due to his temporary colorblindness, Eli's red pilot suit appeared similar to XOF's white suits and Snake accidentally shot Eli. Snake ran to Eli's motionless body to mourn his mistake.

Upon Ocelot and the rest of Diamond Dogs' arrival to clean up the island, it was discovered Eli hadn't died, as he had donned a bulletproof vest. Snake ordered that he be returned to Mother Base in order to be patched up. However, Eli suddenly began showing symptoms of the English vocal cord parasite's effects. Eli expressed his hatred for Snake and Cipher, claiming the someday he would destroy Big Boss, believing Venom Snake to be his father. With the island completed contimated by the vocal cord parasites, Ocelot ordered the entire island to be hit with a napalm strike to burn every last thing on it. As Diamond Dogs and the salvaged remains of Sahelanthropus began to move out, Snake gave Eli a pistol with one shot in it, leaving it up to him what to do. Watching his "father" depart, Eli turned the pistol on himself, but was stopped by Tretij Rebenok. Tretij Rebenok used his psychokinesis to remove the English strain of parasites from Eli's vocal cords. He then levitated Eli and himself away from the island to escape the napalm strike.

On board a Diamond Dogs helicopter with his fellow Diamond Dogs soldiers on their way back to Mother Base, Venom Snake, stared at his reflection in the glass of a window, seeing nothing but a demon once again.

Having escaped the napalm strike, Eli and Tretij Rebenok arrived in New York. Rejuvenated by his survival, Eli decided that his conflict with Big Boss was far from over.

Aftermath
By 1995, Diamond Dogs was either disbanded or absorbed into Outer Heaven after it was completed by Big Boss. Venom Snake moved to South Africa to join Big Boss's plans to create a military nation while the real Big Boss returned to the United States and once again assumed command of FOXHOUND.

Behind the scenes
Due to the open world nature of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, it is up to the player to decide if certain characters lives or dies. The missions in The Phantom Pain can be completed in order for the first three missions before other missions can be unlocked.

After completing the story, the player can re-do the campaign using their custom Medic model, however, certain missions (Episode 1/46, and 32) must be played using the Venom Snake model.

There are a total of fifty main ops in The Phantom Pain. However, eleven of them are repeated missions which are on higher difficulty such as extreme or has conditions such as the Chicken Hat and Reflex Mode being disabled or "Total Stealth" meaning it is Game Over if spotted by enemy soldiers. These missions are:


 * Episode 33: [Subsistence] C2W
 * Episode 34: [Extreme] Backup, Back Down
 * Episode 36: [Total Stealth] Footprints of Phantoms
 * Episode 37: [Extreme] Traitors' Caravan
 * Episode 39: [Total Stealth] Over the Fence
 * Episode 40: [Extreme] Cloaked in Silence
 * Episode 42: [Extreme] Metallic Archaea
 * Episode 44: [Total Stealth] Pitch Dark
 * Episode 47: [Total Stealth] The War Economy
 * Episode 48: [Extreme] Code Talker
 * Episode 49: [Subsistence] Occupation Forces
 * Episode 50: [Extreme] Sahelanthropus

In The Phantom Pain, there are one hundred and fifty seven side ops. Most of them are not part of the main ops in the game. However, there are eleven side ops that are part of the story. These side ops are:


 * 82. Make Contact with Emmerich
 * 111. Visit Quiet
 * 113. Eli's Challenge
 * 143. Extract the AI Pod
 * 144. Secure the Remains of the Man on Fire
 * 145. Search for the Escaped Children 01
 * 146. Search for the Escaped Children 02
 * 147. Search for the Escaped Children 03
 * 148. Search for the Escaped Children 04
 * 149. Search for the Escaped Children 05
 * 150. Secure Quiet

If the player visits Mother Base on the same day that they listed as their birthday at the start of The Phantom Pain, Miller, Ocelot, and whoever the player has rescued by that time (Huey, Code Talker, DD and Quiet) will wish Venom Snake, and by extension, the player a happy birthday.

If the player destroy the comms equipment before Episode 4: C2W is unlocked, as Snake goes to complete the mission, Miller will be briefing Snake on the mission but then Ocelot will reveal that they have already been destroyed and the mission will automatically go to the results screen. If this happens, the rank will be unavailable.

While most cutscenes in The Phantom Pain are revealed as the player progresses through the story, there are at least two that can only be encountered if the player reaches certain requirements. The first one is the Diamond Dogs fight if GMP gets too low. The second is when Snake and Quiet are dancing in the rain which only occurs if the bond between them reaches at least 80%.

A similar situation is the unofficial side op in which the player can learn that the "Paz" in the medical platform on Mother Base is actually a hallucination that Snake is going through due to the guilt he feels for failing to save her, by rescuing Wandering Mother Base Soldiers. The player can go through the main story without rescuing the wandering Mother Base soldiers, solving Paz story, or even seeing Paz.