to blackrose: Huh?
to Karama9: You're not supposed to relax around Fire Storm, at least not yet anyway. Next chapter Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes fill Fire Storm in on what has happened to them over the past ten years.
Fire Storm awoke and found it was early evening. With a growl of frustration he pushed the bed covers aside and stood up. The room spun momentarily but he quickly found his balance and on unsteady feet he made his way out of his room. The front room was deserted and listening hard, Fire Storm could not hear any breathing. He was alone.
His weapons were on a table to the side of the room and Fire Storm quickly donned them, amazed at how many of his secret weapons his brothers had been able to find.
Stepping out of the cabin, Fire Storm looked quickly around before making his way to the side of a jeep that was parked near the cabin. He searched furiously for a set of keys but found none and huffed in anger. Where were his brothers? Fire Storm froze as he actually looked at the interior of the jeep and noticed a symbol on the dashboard that he was very familiar with.
Suddenly he tensed and whipped his sword out as he turned around. "Feeling better?" Storm Shadow asked, as he emerged from the forest.
"What is the meaning of this?" Fire Storm hissed as he pointed to the inside of the jeep.
"You have to be more specific, Fire Storm," Storm Shadow said as Snake Eyes also emerged to stand beside him. "I do not have the pleasure of understanding what you are alluding to."
Fire Storm swore in Japanese before pointing to the cobra symbol on his cheek. "Why do you have the symbol of the cobra in your jeep?" Both Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes froze and Fire Storm believed them guilty. "You're in league with them!" Fire Storm lunged forward and Storm Shadow pushed Snake Eyes out of the way as he drew his own sword to meet their little brother's attack. "You joined our father's murderers!"
"Don't be ridiculous!" Storm Shadow shouted as he met Fire Storm's charge and parried.
Snake Eyes stood off to the side, submitting to Storm Shadow's wish to handle this but he was ready to intervene if he had to.
Storm Shadow and Fire Storm attacked, blocked and re-attacked back and forth as they fought before the cabin. Fire Storm managed to get his sword past Storm Shadow's defenses long enough to nick the outside of the arm before Storm Shadow could deflect the blade from doing more damage.
"Are you getting slow, big brother?" Fire Storm asked, not a trace of concern in his strained vocal chords.
Storm Shadow responded to his taunt with several rapid sword moves, forcing Fire Storm to retreat. "Slow, little brother? I'm merely giving you a chance at this fight as I have more than enough experience and training to beat you."
Fire Storm growled, walking into Storm Shadow's trap, and sprang forward. His sword moves were those Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes had learned when they were twelve but he had nothing more advanced for he had found no one to teach him. Storm Shadow watched Fire Storm's attacks with amusement and pain; his little brother had certainly gotten the wrong end of the stick in life.
Storm Shadow waited till Fire Storm's attacks lost a bit of their ferocity before he moved and, after a few quick successive moves, he disarmed Fire Storm and sent his sword flying into a nearby tree.
Fire Storm eyed the blade as it paused before his neck and then looked at Storm Shadow. "Finish it."
Storm Shadow narrowed his eyes. "Have you heard nothing I have said to you since we found you?"
"Lies," Fire Storm whispered, "they were all lies. Cobra has obviously searched for me since my escape and you two were the perfect candidates to find me for did you not believe I would trust you when we met? So go ahead, kill me. Cobra is responsible for destroying my home, for killing my father, for taking away from me my dignity and self-respect. For the past ten years I have not been able to trust a single person after those three troopers gained my trust, saying they wouldn't hurt me, and then they ripped away everything from me. They…" Fire Storm choked and fell to the ground so that he could wrap his arms around his legs. "When they… when they used me they would sometimes wrap their hands around my throat as hard as they could. I had layer after layer of bruises on my neck that never healed until I was able to flee the cobra base. I had been their prisoner for nine months and sometimes, when they were very rough, I could hardly move. I can't forget that time. It's in my mind constantly. What they did, what they said, is still fresh in my mind." Fire Storm looked up at them. "Kill me Storm Shadow, take away the last thing I have and Cobra will have succeeded in taking everything away from me."
Storm Shadow sheathed his sword. "It is time, Fire Storm, that Snake Eyes and I tell you our stories but know this now. We did not spend all that time trying to find you, rescue you from the feds, merely to kill you now."