The dreams of Gray were haunted by his thoughts. Why was he tired if he just got out of a coma? Why wasn't he hungry? What happened to the planet? Was this what the HPI was planning for? Most of all, his dreams were filled with the face of his wife. His partner. The face of a woman he may never see again.

"Why didn't you save me?" A voice called out.

"I didn't know! I was attacked!" Gray called back. The dragon was in a black expanse of fog, entirely alone. "I'm coming for you, my love. I will find you."

"Please." The voice of Martha pleaded.

Gray awoke with a start. The sun had just rose, light barely pouring into his room. Stephanie stood nearby, packing the little supplies she kept in the room.

"Morning, Gray." She said cheerfully. The pegasus was dancing to the upbeat pop music playing from her earpuds. Gray rose from the bed.

"I have a question." He said. Stephanie turned to him.

"Shoot."

"Why was I connected to IV cables?" Gray asked.

"Well you were pretty banged up. It looked like you were thrown out a damn window. Had to keep your blood from falling out." The nurse pointed out.

"Yet my cuts are healed." Gray said. Stephanie giggled.

"You were here for two days, dude. Your cuts healed." She said. "What's the plan for today?" She asked. Gray thought it over.

"You begin packing everything you can here. I'll head out into town to get a U-Haul, diesel, and food. Hopefully this won't take too long." He explained. Stephanie, quite impossibly, brought her hoof to her forehead in a mock-salute.

"Ay ay." She said. She reached into her coat pocket and brought out something Gray hadn't seen in decades.

"A Sony Walkman?" He chuckled. Stephanie shrugged.

"Hooves, remember?" She pointed out.

"See you soon." Gray said. Stephanie nodded a goodbye and left the room.

Evelyn Gray was not having a good morning. His new body was terribly off balance, thanks to his tail, and he had yet to find anything on his 'shopping' list despite the few hours he spent searching. Gray turned around a building, not too eager for looking through another seafood restaurant. Luckily, it wasn't a restaurant Gray found but a parking lot. A parking lot that contained a U-Haul.

"Jackpot." The dragon said to himself. He approached the truck and gave a tug on the door. Locked. After several moments of consideration, Gray was seriously thinking of busting in the window when he realized something. His claws were quite long, two inches, and he knew a lot about cars. Enough to lockpick one. Gray put his claw into the keyhole and twist and turned until he heard an audible click. Grinning, the scientist opened the door.

The truck was entirely empty and mostly clean. It must of been returned recently. With hope in his eyes, Gray checked the gas gauge.

"Dammit!" Empty. Gray shut the door, a little forcefully, and began searching for his next item. Diesel, or gas if the former was unavailable.

Luckily, a gas station was nearby. Following the pipes attached to the pumps, Gray quickly found the tank that held diesel. Using his newfound strength, Gray pushed the tank a little. The sloshing indicated that it was at least two-thirds full.

"Considering that diesel lasts up to a year before degradation even begins, I think I'll stock up." Gray said to himself. Gray rushed into the gas station, ignoring the 'ding' of the digital bell. The dragon reached the drink aisle and began grabbing every gallon container he could get his claws on. Using a sink, he cleaned out the containers. He grabbed a garden hose on his way out.

Soon enough, Gray was filling up gallons of diesel for his own use. This took some time but having 150 gallons of diesel was worth it. He took a single gallon with him on his return trip to the U-Haul. After quickly putting the diesel in, he drove back to the station.

He began packing the jugs into the truck when a noise rang out. A quick noise reminiscent of a flame starting. Alarmed, Gray cocked his head towards the sound. A faint outline of smoke was rising from behind the station. Cautiously, Gray turned the corner. On the ground laid a circle filled with strange symbols. The circle was still smoking.

"Runes?" Gray asked himself. A bang rang out almost as soon as he spoke, something on metal. Using his heightened sense of hearing, Gray followed the noise. A dumpster nearby had been slammed into by something. "Whatever it was, it's gone now." Gray conceded. Before he turned to leave he noticed something on the ground. A single strand of silver hair.

Driving down the road, he had nearly torn the seat apart making room for his tail, Gray was looking for some place that would have meat. He had already looted the gas station for all the fruits, vegetables, and beef jerky they had. The jewelry had intrigued Gray, something instinctive, but he lost interest when he discovered they were fakes.

"Dragons do like their gold." Gray joked. He eventually found a supermarket. "There's bound to be food in there." Having parked the truck, Gray entered the building. The dragon retrieved a shopping cart, as if everything was fine, and began piling food and other supplies.

"Thank God Wal-Mart has everything." He said. While he was piling tools an earsplitting howl rang out. Several more followed. Gray soon found himself surrounded by nearly feral dogs. Instinctively, Gray bared his teeth and growled in return. The dogs seemed hesitant to attack but Gray noticed their emaciated stomachs. They were desperate. One of the four dogs leapt, Gray threw himself to the right. He slammed into a tool rack while the dog landed on one of his comrades. The two canines growled at each other before focusing on Gray. The dogs began circling him but one drew too close. Gray kicked at it. A combination of his new strength and his sharp foot-talons tore into the dogs stomach, taking it out of the fight almost immediately.

"Shit!" Gray roared. The other three grew much more wary after their ally's death. One leapt latched onto Gray's arm, teeth puncturing the scales in a few places. After noting his blue blood, Gray stabbed his claws into the dogs neck and tore it off his arm. He threw the corpse away.

"You want some more?" Gray taunted, adrenaline pumping through his veins. The other two leapt simultaneously, one latching onto his back while the other went for his legs. Gray grabbed a hold of both of them and tore them off. The two dogs in claw, he slammed the two together, killing them both. Gray dropped the corpses, panting mildly.

"One hell of a bloodlust." He noted between breaths. Shaking the blood off of his claws, Gray went back to 'shopping'.

"You did what?" Stephanie asked, dumbfounded.

"Got an ungodly amount of diesel, food, and then killed a couple of wolf-dogs." Gray boasted. "Pretty exciting day." He added. Stephanie snorted.

"No dip. Well, we're ready to leave this place behind us. Ready to go on a mad quest for love and revenge that begins in the West and will end in the East." Stephanie grinned like a madwoman, well a madmare. "You ready?" She asked. Gray only smirked in response.

Author's Note

Hey look an update. How nice.
Fair warning playing every single Metal Gear game and having school cuts into your writing time. Just wanted to let you know.