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Caught by a Cobra

Chapter 3

Storm Shadow awoke the next morning with a blinding headache. He couldn't tell what the blasted reason-he didn't drink anything last night, so it wasn't a hangover. And he didn't fight anyone to his memory. His head was throbbing against his skull, mimicking the blaring techno music of a night club the soldiers had mocked up in the hanger once in a while.

Tommy managed to haul himself out of bed, noting that the standard issue clock read 5 AM, he'd only slept for 6 hours. Yet the way his body felt, it might have been better to just stay awake and meditate instead. He must have tossed and turned for at least 3 of those hours, and rolled over on his swords twice. Not to mention the three times he felt his stars slip from his clothing pockets and onto the bed, where they gouged him once or twice, but didn't even break the skin.

The partly dressed man climbed out of the standard issue, back ruining bed and forced his sore aching body into the showers. The warm spray of the water hit his aching spinal column, forcing his muscles to relax as the water calmed him. He couldn't stop thinking about the younger man and the events of the previous evening. He looked so vulnerable- why hadn't Storm Shadow killed him then? He just couldn't. Something about the way Snake Eyes was right then- it wouldn't have been a fair fight. Storm Shadow wasn't the kind of person to take the easy way out, and a cheap shot wasn't his style.

Storm Shadow pulled himself out of the shower and toweled off quickly, redressing in his uniform. As he was leaving the room, he saw Snake Eyes' dirty outfit still resting on the bed lower than where he'd slept last night. He must have placed it there and forgot about getting it to the wash. The white clad man gathered the uniform up and took it with him, handing the sweaty, blood and dirt stained pieces of cloth to a random soldier.

"Get them cleaned and have them taken to Recovery Room B when they are done." The ninja told the younger man. With an abrupt salute, the younger man took off for the laundry room and Storm Shadow started his path to the cafeteria to grab something. When Storm Shadow had not slept well, he always craved sweets to at least make him decent enough not to ram his tempered steel through some unsuspecting lackey when they wished him a good morning. They did little for his sore aching back or his pounding headache. Today he craved sweet, sugary, diet shattering, glazed junk food for breakfast. And something strong and chocolaty- a good dose of hot chocolate.

As he arrived in the uninhabited room, he walked straight to the line and grabbed a tray. He saw that they actually had a decent looking spread this time. Pancakes, bacon, sausage, ham, fruit, eggs, toast, grits, waffles, gravy, oatmeal, cereal, French toast, hash browns, and pastries… good god, were they trying to make him fat? Though when he first came to the US, he learned very quickly that sausage gravy was NOT oatmeal. No matter how close they looked alike.

Storm Shadows stomach expressed its dislike of any choice less than pancakes and sausage, to which the white clad ninja relented and started grabbing what he wanted. Three pancakes, two sausage links, two spoonfuls of eggs, and a donut later, he grabbed his cup of hot chocolate and sat down at a table in the lonely lunch room with a nice view of the forest through the windows, pulling off his mask with ease and starting to ravenously consume his protein filled breakfast. The television was on the news, something about more kittens being fostered by some motherly canine. He tried not to notice the dark clad figure sitting beside him while pretending to be more interested in the news.

"Sweet little fluff balls aren't they?" A deep Australian accent commented. Storm Shadow turned and smiled at his new breakfast visitor.

"Hello Zartan, what brings you to this fair side of the world? I thought you'd be going hunting on one of your many territories." The white clad man said, setting his cup down as he looked at the dark haired man. Zartan chuckled. Storm Shadow had never really had patience for Zartan, but if he was here, then Cobra Commander was more than likely behind it. So enjoying breakfast while listening to a psychotic murderer was unusual.

"The game's good there, but I was in the area and didn't want to return to my harpy sister while she's on the rag. She's scarier when she gets like that, and I'd rather not get shot again for a few days. My ass would thank her for a day or two to heal." He said, motioning to his bandaged rear.

"Now what did you do to deserve to be shot there?" The white clad ninja chuckled sarcastically, knowing that it was Zartan's arrogant attitude that got him shot in the first place, but he probably didn't give her something she wanted and got a Gatling gun to the rear for his smug comments. Not that Storm Shadow hadn't thought about shoving a sword where the sun didn't shine for his remarks once or twice, mostly about how his love life went or a remark about his previous relationships.

The white clad man continued to listen to his temporary companion tell him about the wilds of Africa, South America and Australia; going into detail about the wildlife there and the fact that after all his years as a mercenary, he just didn't find happiness in killing animals anymore. After the hunt for some of the most challenging and intellectually manipulative creatures on the planet, the chase for a lesser was so caged. It was like shooting fish in a barrel, and for a hunter, that's not hunting. It's baiting at best.

So Zartan, the most sadistic son of a bitch mercenary of Cobra that ever breathed , took up fishing.

"Chances are one of these days I'm gonna catch a Great White! After that the sky is the limit." The ruthless man said as he got excited about the idea of catching bigger and bigger fish in territories that he himself couldn't just infiltrate and wrestle his prey to the ground. Storm Shadow noticed that other 'employees' were filtering in about this time. Storm Shadow realized the medical wing would be almost empty of prying ears about now when all the medics went to bed and the skeleton crew took over the day shift.

"Well Storms, it's been great chattin', but I have to head out here in a few minutes. Good luck with Snakes, I hope he gives you a better challenge than I did in the sparrin' arena. Can still hear my head collidin' with that wall. Heard he's laid up good with a stomach issue. You have anything to do with that?" The dark haired man asked, raising an inquisitive eyebrow to the white clad man's well hidden fury. He didn't want to scare off what he considered a friend in this organization. Then again, in this organization, anyone who talked to you once and stayed alive for more than twenty minutes was an acquaintance.

"No, I found him like that in the woods. And like you, it's not a fitting challenge to take out your opponent because they are injured by another, or an ailment." The white clad man said. Zartan sat up and chuckled.

"True, rumor has it that Duke nailed Commander in the jewels the other night. Apparently he wasn't too happy with Commander. I hope the boss knows what he's doin' here. Duke's strong, but Snakes is at least easier to talk to. Doesn't shoot ya if you ask the wrong question." Zartan said as he took a drink from his milk.

"True…" The white clad man whispered through a bite of eggs. Zartan decided, with 5 minutes to go before he had to go towards the runways, to pop the big question he wanted to know.
"So, what do you want with Snakes?" He asked, slightly fearing that he'd get a fork jammed in his arm just for asking. Storm Shadow sat up and looked him in the eyes, seriously.

"That is mine to plan, o perverted one." The white clad man said, sternly stating the obvious. Zartan chuckled glancing at the younger man.

"Can't help but notice… you?" Zartan asked, implying something rather private.

"No. Not that I'd ever tell you." The white clad man huffed, holding back the urge to stab the man on principle alone.

"You know, I heard a rumor- has it Mindbender messed with the new recruits DNA. They had a fit 'bout it until the other men started saying something. After that I haven't heard a peep. Then again… with Mindbender, chances are it was a blessing in disguise. He always had a knack for making people want to kill 'em, then redeeming himself when they found the abilities. " Zartan whispered. "Anyways, I have to take off. Catch you later Stormy." Zartan said as he walked away, whistling. Storm Shadow watched him as he left, wanting to forget what he'd just heard, and the rather quaint nickname from Zartan ringing in his ears.

The white clad man gathered his empty tray and cup and tossed them as he left the cafeteria and headed towards the medical wing, replacing his mask as soon as he was out of the room. Which was good too, because as he was leaving, he saw a hoard of mixed employees from various levels of the building, including the medical wing, coming towards the room he'd just enjoyed breakfast in. That would mean that Snake Eyes would be in a relatively quiet area with no one around. Normally that would mean that his target would get a quick, quiet end that would be found hours, or maybe even days later; but this occasion told the white clad ninja that he could hopefully talk to a somewhat conscious Snake Eyes alone. Not that he thought the medical staff would blab to anyone, but he never liked the idea of people eavesdropping.

As he turned the corner to the medical wing, he saw the open door to the younger man's recovery room and the lights were on. He approached cautiously, wondering if there were still doctors in the room checking on him.

He kept his footsteps silent as he entered the room, noting that Snake Eyes was sitting up a little and seemed to be alert. Chances were that the younger man was still on painkillers and wasn't as hypersensitive to his environment as he was on a daily basis as a trained ninja. Storm Shadow walked over quietly and slowly, doing his best not to startle the younger man.

"Snakes?" He said, barely whispering the other's name above the beeping monitors and hushed sounds of the base clamoring around at this hour. Snake Eyes turned his head slowly, looking at Storm Shadow, who now saw that the younger man had his trademark ebony lacquered swords resting in his hands. His blue eyes were bathed in drug induced fog, looking as though he was going to fall asleep if borderline paranoia and stress allowed to.

"Snake Eyes. How are you feeling?" The white clad man asked tentatively, not wanting to make the younger man feel enclosed by his presence in the room. Snake Eyes stared at him, unsure of what to do. Storm Shadow smiled at his brother and took a seat beside the bed and placing his own swords down beside him.

"So, how have you been?" The white clad man said, testing the waters gently as he spoke to the younger man. Snake Eyes didn't break eye contact as he warily checked out his surroundings. He then looked at Storm Shadow and placed his hands on his heads, indicating dogs ears.

"Timber is safe, he's down in the kennels right now and they are checking him, as well as updating him on all his shots. From what I received earlier, he's doing fine and only had a few fleas, which was normal for wild wolves." The white clad man responded.

"You know, an Appendectomy is a minor procedure, but you could have died. I had no idea what was hurting and I have to admit, living without you is like being stuck in Purgatory with only clowns to amuse you." The Arashikage heir said, smirking as Snake Eyes glared at him. He was still under a lot of meds, but it was good to see that rebelliousness. It felt so refreshing, like a bath in the purest spring water on earth. A reality cleansing glare.

Snake Eyes gestured to his sword and then to his chest. Storm Shadow laughed.

"Well I didn't want you to wear dirty clothes, so I had them washed. After all, months of vacationing with a wolf that loves to bring back dead animals had given your clothes a rather unique smell. Somewhere between 'rotting carcass' and 'sweat of ape man'. You might have had to walk out of the recovery rooms naked while the entire base gawked at your body, and then I'd have to start looking for new recruits. And that's time consuming." Storm Shadow said, smiling as he ran his thumb over his sword hilt. Snake Eyes nodded coldly, agreeing with the white clad man. He motioned that his injury was nothing to be gawked at, but a badge of honor as Hard Master used to say.

"He was always like that. Too bad he couldn't have lived long enough to see what we'd become. Then again, would we have become this if he had lived?" Storm Shadow asked rhetorically. Snakes just kept glaring, the slow burning anger dampened by the heavy meds they'd loaded him up with. He was beginning to suspect that they'd drugged him more than usual to keep him complacent.

Snake Eyes motioned a quick 'so what now?', never losing the hostility.

"I was hoping that when you were completely healed, we could talk a little about that. Unless you'd like to hear what I have to say now?" The white clad man said gently. Snake Eyes motioned to him 'well I'm not going anywhere, speak'. Storm Shadow smiled lightly and readjusted himself on the seat.

"It's no secret that the Joes have all been captured. I take it you knew about that a while ago." Storm Shadow said as he received a raised eyebrow from the mask less Snake Eyes. "We found your stuff. It's all here in my quarters. I'm staying here with you until you are well enough to be moved. After that I'm taking you somewhere more peaceful to recover. I can't trust you in the other locations. So it's either here or with Zartan. And you would have far more freedom here. I'm giving you a choice. Thank about it until tomorrow." The white clad man stated. Snake Eyes looked at him, frozen.

The recovering man thought it over for a few minutes, looking between his lap and Storm Shadow. Then he took Storm Shadow's hand in his, grabbing the other's attention.

'I will join you on one condition.' The recovering man gesticulated. Strom Shadow nodded.

'When I am better, you have to fight me. You win, I go with you. I win, I leave without being follwed.' Snake Eyes gesticulated, mostly pointing to his open palmed hand and between them. Storm Shadow smiled at his once friend.

"Well, I like that arrangement." He said as he held out a hand to his sword brother, who shook it with a dark frown. Snake Eyes started to feel sleepy as the meds kicked back in, but he managed to stay awake while Storm Shadow exited the room. The white clad man didn't waste time, knowing that the longer he stayed, the more stressed the situation would become.

Time to go run some drills, and waste time until he was certain that his sword brother would be awake.

And on the next episode, I'm skipping ahead so you guys don't have to listen to 'they did routine stuff over and over until Snakes was better', cuz that's boring and I'd lose readers which would suck.

Update: Wow, I'm turning this on it's head. I hated it when I reread it, because it was so… girly. Not that it's a bad thing, but that it's just not well written. Anyways, major gutting, let's get some violence to the left, put the gore on the right, some manliness over there- and don't forget the subtly!

Review please!

It makes me write faster!