This is it...

Duke cautiously enters the control room, his rifle raised, finger on the trigger. He stares at my work, grimacing in disdain at the gory display.

Blood is plastered across the walls. The floor was almost baptized in red, and even the the ceiling was not left uncovered. Though, he doesn't seem very surprised, it is almost as if he expected nothing less from me.

He stalkes forward, stepping over the multiple bodies I left for him. He hasn't noticed me yet. I consider opening the pod and finishing him now, I fantasize of plunging my sword into his neck, watching him choke and gag until he finally crumbled to the floor. But I'd need to leave the safety of my pod to do so, and there is no way of knowing whether that annoying little nuisance Snake Eyes would swoop in and do the same to me. Besides, that would be all to simple.

This is what I've been waiting for. Oh how I've longed for this day, how I've yearned for it. Conquering the world was at once my only goal—but then it turned into so much more. Hatred. Sweet, sweet victory and dark, cold revenge—that's what I've wanted for so long. A desire so deeply ingrained in my soal it almost became a cause. Oh yeah, I wanted to kill Duke, but that would come in time. I want him to suffer.

I want him to know I've won.

Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow have their history. Baroness and Scarlett have their own petty rivalry. But in the end it always boils down to just me and Duke. And now I'm getting what I wanted. The Particle Canon is already set to destroy Washington D.C. Whether I would be captured or he be killed—no one knew, there are multiple endings for multiple scenarios—but we all knew deep down that one day it would all be over. That one day it would just be me and him. That one day one of us would kill the other.

And that day happens to be today.

Duke is the backbone of the Joes. When D.C. is gone, he will probably be removed from his position for his failure. With him out of power, it would be a challenge, but the rest of the Joes would soon meet their fate. Then with the only team trained and experienced enough to stop me out of the picture, taking the rest of the world would be a breeze. And when all is said and done, when the world is bowing before me, when history tells our tales, I want this moment—no, this day to be recorded. I want everyone to know that I won, and most importantly, that he lost.

I almost don't notice that Duke is at the Main Computer. He pushes a dead trooper away from the computer keyboard, taking a moment to look as my former minion's body pours blood on the parched floor. Then he is on the keyboard, typing wildly on the buttons, trying to abort the firing countdown in vain. He does manage to get the warning alarm to stop blaring, but that's as far as he gets before I decide to speak up.

I stand in front of the metal and glass door, hands clasped behind my back, my voice cutting through the air like a shard of glass. "You can't stop it from firing." His head shoots up and his hands are instantly on his rifle, aiming at the direction of my voice. Now I have his attention, and he slowly walks up to the door. Now is as good a time as any to rub this in his face, I think. "Washington is going to boil away to nothing, and it's going to be all your fault. What do have you got to say about that?"

He fires,

BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!

And I watch as round after round hits the glass and drops to the floor. He finally stops when he realizes he is making no progress whatsoever. I tap the glass with my knuckles. "Bullet proof, and bomb proof." A step to the side, allowing him to view all of the intricate machinery in my own personal safety room. "This pod even has it's own life support system, and power source." I turn around, staring him in the eye." You should have just let me win."

"Ok."

BANG BANG BANG BANG!

For a moment I think it is another weak attempt to crack the glass, but for a moment I hear crackling and static and know he shot the lock. Pathetic. Laughable." HAh hah hah hah hah! You think killing a lock is going to open the door for you?" I said in between chuckles.

"Nope." He says, as it's the most obvious thing in the world. "I figured it would keep you from getting out."

And starve me until I'm begging to be let out? What does he not understand about life support? I could last down here for decades. "Is that it?"

He doesn't answer, instead putting his hand to his ear, turning on his commlink. "All points, to a plane and out of zone immediatel!" He types something into the targeting system—I can't tell what—and then he's preparing to leave.

"Bwahahahaha! Is that your best?" I'm beating against the door, laughing uncontrollably, holding my gut to ease the pain. By now he's gone. And I'm loving it. I'm fucking histericle. Is this all the mighty Conrad Hauser has to offer me in our final moments? Shooting a lock and then scurrying away with his tail between his legs?

Pitiful!

This has to be a joke! There has to be more!

And then I balk.

The targeting system is blaring again as I read the warning sign on screen.

TARGET ALTERED

ALIGN 90 DEGREES

Springfield USA

Fuck.

The canon fires. I gasp. The countdown begins. Ten seconds till impact.

10...

I'm banging on the door again, this time trying to get it open. Nothing.

9...

I step back, then charge, attempting to shoulder ram the door, only resulting in pain.

8...

With a fierce cry I pathetically try and try to get out, knowing it is useless, but not able to accept this.

7...

"NOOOOOOO!"

6...

There's no hope, but I can't stop—I won't stop! It can't end like this!

5...

I can't die! I'm Cobra Commander! I would reduce the world to ashes before I lay on my deathbed!

4...

I draw out my sword, taking a powerful swipe at the glass, more out of frustration than anything. I make another pass with my blade, this time with more power and control.

3...

I make a scratch. But at this rate it would take me years to break through, time I don't have. I consider using the blade to take my own life, to not give Duke the satisfaction, but he's long gone by now, and would go on thinking he killed me anyway. I throw the sword down in a fit of anger.

2...

And then I laugh, surprising even myself. It was all quite funny, really. Maybe it was his orders, maybe his ethics, but Duke never tried to kill me. I thought I was invincible. I thought I would be the one to kill him. I'm always five steps ahead of him in everything. But I never even saw this coming. I never knew he had the guts.

1...

There's a brilliant green light, almost blinding me, striking fear into me while at the same time illuminating the room. It's all over. Everything I've worked for is now is now being eradicated by the wave of green energy. I only have mere seconds until I to, will be killed.

Well played Duke. Well played...

Author's Note: Sup peoples! I know this is a bit different for me, but I did a chapter of Darth Vitiates viewpoint on The Enemy of my Enemy, and I realized I kind of like to portray villains. There's so much I can do when I'm writing on how they see thing.

And maybe I'm over compensating Duke's role... But hey, I was first introduced to G.I Joe universe by G.I. Joe Sigma 6. An anime... so... Yeah. (It also made me a Duke/Scarlett fan)

Welp, that's all for now peoples. This is problem the only Joe fix I'm gonna do in a while. Hopefully I'll have tone to work on Escape the Unknown though.