DISCLAIMER: I don't know GI Joe, since that's the works of Hasbros. I only own Nixx/Chloe. My first Joe fic, so let me know when you're finished reading this chapter. Also, signing will be in Bold and writing will be in italics. ENJOY!

(Part 3: The Pit, Nighttime)

Nixx and Snake Eyes were sitting in front of the couch, meditating for what seemed like an hour, when the alarm went off. The whole team got going as Nixx and Snake Eyes grabbed their weapons and headed off to answer the alarm. Both of them got to the landing bay to find Ripcord about to get sliced in half by Storm Shadow's blades. Nixx and Snake Eyes were able to stop that from happening.

"Hello brother," Storm Shadow said to Snake Eyes before the three began to fight with their prized blades.

The battle got really intense up until Snake Eyes got distracted and Storm Shadow landed on the ground from the walkway. Nixx followed Storm Shadow to where he was near a jet pack and was about to get him disarmed when Storm Shadow slashed at her unarmored chest and kicked her ten feet away from him. Nixx was taking in shallow breaths as the lacerations on her chest were deep, but not enough to kill her instantly. The last thing she remembered before blacking out was the Baroness and Storm Shadow soaring up to the external hatch and Snake Eyes at her side.

About three hours later, Nixx regained consciousness to find herself in the medical bay shirtless and her chest was bandaged to where it wasn't too tight for her to breathe or sit up straight. As she sat up, Duke was already at her side.

"Easy now…you took some serious injuries with your fight earlier…" the former NATO captain said as he eased his friend to a more comfortable position. "They were pretty deep lacerations too…"

"Not my first time with injuries this serious…I nearly died from my operation three years ago, remember??? I'm just plain sore from the blunt force of it…" Nixx said.

"You had Snake Eyes worried…what's the deal with you two, anyway?"

Nixx glanced at her old friend, who was looking at her for her response. Sighing, she ran a hand through her hair, revealing the piercings on her right ear as she did so.

"They let you keep your piercings? Thought they might restrict it to only one piercing on each ear…" Duke made light of the current scenario.

"Hawk allowed me to keep five of them…so I choose to stick to two on my left ear and three on my right. To answer your question…Snake was the one that took me under his wing…don't know why, but it was good to know that someone was able to accept me for who I am, not because of the operation or because I was asking for it…to this day, I believe he's taken to making sure that I'm ok and not over-stressing myself or getting hurt. In the end…I think he's taken a liking to me…but, for that, I'm not sure of, Duke.

"Anyway, I noticed that Hawk's pretty much worse than I am…" Nixx said, her face frowning at the thought. "Will he make it?"

"Yeah…just going to be a day or two before he's conscious…in the meanwhile, you fit to walk about?"

"If I get cleared to go, yeah…"

"Which you are, Lieutenant…you're free to go when you're ready," the doctor said as he poked his head into the room.

"Thanks, Doc…"

As she and Duke walked through the hallways to get to the landing bay, Nixx had to come up with how she was going to explain to Snake Eyes about her rash decision to follow Storm Shadow. It came to an abrupt halt when they found said man sitting alone on a stretcher.

"Hey. Looks like we're all seeing ghosts today, huh?" Duke said to Snake Eyes before he walked off, leaving Nixx behind with the silent man.

Nixx could tell that Snake Eyes was remembering his past with Storm Shadow…she already knew that from reading over his files back on her first month as a Joe, but she knew of the pain of remembering. She placed a hand on his forearm, which caused him to snap out of his reverie and look up at her.

It's not your fault…that I got hurt. I went ahead without thinking what was going to happen with me…I thank you for rescuing me, though… Nixx signed to Snake Eyes as she gave him a weak smile.

Snake Eyes nodded his head as his hand lightly touched hers in a kind gesture. Nixx's smile got more genuine before she took her hand back, mentally missing the feeling of his touch on her skin.

On the way to Paris, the team was prepping for the mission on the transport. Codex was listening to her iPod with "Keeps Getting Better" by Christina Aguilera playing. As Nixx listened to her iPod, her teammates looked on. Heavy Duty, Scarlett, Snake Eyes, and Breaker knew of her surgery when Breaker accidentally found her file. They knew not to push for Nixx to speak. In fact, they simply allowed her to keep her past to herself unless she wanted to tell them herself. Snake Eyes just watched her mouth out the lyrics as her eyes were closed. Always the silent observer, Snake Eyes always knew which body language she used in her different moods.

At one point in the trip, Nixx opened her eyes and saw that Snake Eyes was watching her from his seat in the back. She smiled and went over to him.

Enjoying the trip? She signed to him.

Snake Eyes niodded his head just as "Say" by John Mayer started to play. Nixx smiled a little; it was very meaningful to her, since it reminded her of Brett. At the thought of her dead twin, Nixx looked down at the floor of the transport and had tears in her eyes.

I miss my brother…he meant a lot to me besides my mom…you remember Brett, right Snake? Nixx signed.

Snake Eyes remembered very well of Nixx's twin brother. In fact, he met both twins at the ninja dojo that he was stealing food from where he also met Storm Shadow for the first time. Both Brett and Chloe were there for training, since their mom was hiding from their biological dad and had to leave her twin children in hiding for a couple of years. In the end, after their sensei was killed by Storm Shadow, Brett and Chloe both were sent back to their mother in the States, leaving Snake all alone until Chloe joined GI Joe years later.

He was very mature for his age…along with mentally being wise too, Snake Eyes signed.

Nixx nodded her head in agreement.

A/N: Next chapter is in Paris. Don't forget to R+R. -JO-