Alaskan Waves.
“Uncle Hal, where did Snake go?
Otacon was hesitant to answer. While he wanted to be truthful with Sunny, he couldn’t help but try and shield her from that truth. It had been the habit of Snake to leave with little to no warning to wallow in a sort of ever increasing depression. Otacon knew Snake was the type of person to who needed a lot of space but even he couldn’t ignore the fact that Snake had been gone much longer this time. He’d become increasingly worried in regards to that fact.
“I don’t know, Sunny… He could be anywhere.”
“W…well, we should go look for him.” She stammered with urgency.
Otacon didn’t want to say no, but he knew the futility of such a search. While Otacon did know Snake better than most, it was mostly fact and little feeling. He could make educated guesses as to Snake’s whereabouts, but in the end they were still just guesses.  Though, if her distress could be relieved by merely looking, it couldn’t hurt, it may even lessen his own worry.

Alaska was bitterly cold. Though Sunny shivered the cold didn’t seem to bother her. A small shack stood before them; for all the years it had gone unused, it stood strong in its rough environment.  Even so, the evidence of a once lonely and burdened inhabitant was ever present. The trash to the side of the house had long been scavenged by roaming animals, what was left were many empty liquor bottles, packs of cigarettes, and packages of food stuffs.
“This is Snake’s house?” Sunny asked with an excited disposition. Otacon hoped she wasn’t seeing all that he was.
“I’m pretty sure.” He replied. He knew Snake had been long gone from this place, but hoped there would be some clue left behind.
Sunny smiled and ran towards the house, making a game of jumping in the snow.  She had yet to be outside much for her protection, but Otacon wasn’t as worried out in the middle of nowhere, and they wouldn’t be long. The door was unlocked; no doubt Snake had left nothing worth taking.
Inside had been well sealed and wasn’t frozen over, but was still far from warm. Sunny began to meticulously shake the snow out of her parka having yet to look at the mess before her.
Otacon sighed heavily as he closed the door behind him. The inside showed the same demeanor as the outside. It was saddening to see the private affairs of his friend were so troubled and lonesome.
“I guess Snake’s not home…” Sunny said sadly.
“…guess not…” Otacon replied, knowing full well he would be there in the first place. With another sigh he sat down on a long since disheveled bed, resting his elbows on his knees and his chin upon his hands. Was it really right to be looking for Snake? He always told Sunny that Snake would come back when he was ready, over and over, not knowing what else to say. But since the repeated calls from Roy Campbell about recent PMC activates in the Middle East, Otacon began to think that maybe this time it wasn’t Snakes decision when he came back. Though he didn’t like to admit it, or, at least not in those terms, shit was hitting the fan.

Overpowering white noise suddenly filled the room.
“Oh! I’m sorry!” Sunny said as she began to fumble with the knobs of an old radio on the night stand. Otacon had been so absorbed in his thoughts that he never noticed her approach, and after the noise, it seemed all his thoughts disappeared in a flash.
Even though Sunny had turned down the volume, she didn’t attempt to seek a working station, not that there were many out there to begin with. She stared at the radio for the moment, as though she was examining, or confused by it. She reached out her hand toward the antenna. Grasping it lightly, she began to rock it gently back and forth as the empty signal fluctuated along with it.
She smiled, “Hey, Uncle Hal, it sounds like the ocean!”
Otacon let out a sigh and smiled. To Sunny, it was a connection to the world she’d yet to know, but to Otacon it was a symbol of the loneliness and coldness of the place, of the emotional barricade his friend saw fit to erect within himself.

“We’ve detected something on our radar,” Otacon heard over his codec suddenly, “we think it might be an unidentified PMC group.”
“Right, we’re heading back.” He replied.
Standing and looking over to Sunny, Otacon said nothing; he just didn’t know what to say. Sunny knew they had to go, but it was obvious she wanted to stay, regardless of the fact that Snake wasn’t there.
“It’s okay, we’ll just have to look somewhere else.” He smiled warmly yet weakly, but it was enough to coax Sunny away from her waves.