Action In The Amazon
Author: Me no own anyone but the obvious trio. KxJ plus some fighting between family. And a little Komakura bashing.
Komakura: Why me!?
Author: Cuz I need a break from Tunnel Rat bashing, for now.
Grey's stomach lurched again as the military plane hit turbulence a fourth time. "I wish I was flying this thing." Scarlett said.
"So do I." he thought, not trusting how strong his stomach was at the moment. Iron Claw whimpered at his feet. In front of him, Hi-Tech didn't look like he was enjoying the flight either. He was staring up at the ceiling of the plane, swallowing hard. Bullseye looked over at him, eyes soft. She felt badly for Hi-Tech, only recently had any of them found out that he hated planes. Jets and helicopters, he swore he could handle, but not planes. Nobody knew why and they didn't press for an answer. His breathing calmed after a few moments.
"Feel any better?" she asked.
"No, not really." he muttered.
"We're landing soon hombre. Get your feet back on solid ground and your stomach'll settle." Long Range said.
"Put me in the Rocc and I'm happy." he said.
About fifteen minutes later, they stepped out of the plane. They had landed in a clearing near the Nile River. "Isn't the river filled with man-eating fish?" Komakura asked.
"Piranhas. And they're not exactly man-eating, but if you're unlucky enough to fall in, well, you'll be nothing but bones in a few minutes." Jynx said, coming up behind him.
"I'd ask that you don't push me in, but I doubt you would." he told her.
"If I was that desperate to get rid of you." she teased.
"Hey." he said. She pulled him away from the river and hugged him.
"Come help unload!" Duke called over the engines as the plane took off again.
In a few hours time, everything was set up. "I don't really like the fact that we're camped beside a river filled with cannibal fish." Komakura muttered.
"Piranhas are the least of our worries." Scarlett said, scanning over a map.
"What could be worse than piranhas?" he asked.
"Crocodiles." Hi-Tech said.
"I think I'm going to sleep in a tree." he said.
"Then ya can deal wit' t'e bugs, birds and wha'ever else lives up there, 'cause I ain't." Tunnel Rat told him. The ninja shuddered at the image of massive bugs, ugly birds and all sorts of other creatures.
Scarlett sighed and said, "I was talking about Cobra."
"Is it always this hot here?" Grey asked as he poured water into a bowl for Iron Claw.
"At least we didn't come while it was raining." Heavy Duty muttered.
"We're here on a mission." Duke reminded them.
Bullseye pulled off her trenchcoat and growled, "I'm gonna hurt whichever member of Cobra made us come down here." Grey looked over at her as he petted the wolf alongside him, who was laying on the floor panting. Scarlet pulled her hair up.
Despite being in the Rocc and under the AC, they were all hot and their tempers were short. They had changed out their Sigma Suits in exhange for something a bit cooler, except for Snake Eyes, who seemed to be unfazed. "It's not supposed to be this hot anywhere." Heavy Duty muttered, looking at the ceiling.
"Tell me about it." Jynx said, sitting on the floor. Hi-Tech was typing furiously in the back room of the Rocc, sitting in the dark.
"It any cooler back here?" Bullseye asked him.
"Not much." he said.
"The dark's supposed to help." she told him, sliding down the wall. He turned the chair to face her. They were both miserable. He smiled and brushed his wet hair back.
"Did you pour water over your head?" she asked.
"Doesn't help." Hi-Tech told her. She was in a light blue tank top and a pair of denim shorts.
"This heat's unbearable." Bullseye muttered, glancing sideways at him. He had changed into a short sleeve shirt and brightly colored shorts. Duke came in.
"Run bios and mission history stats?" Hi-Tech asked.
"No, I'm sending Grey, Iron Claw and Snake Eyes in." he said. Bullseye got to her feet and brushed past him.
"Be careful sensei." Jynx said. Snake Eyes nodded. The older ninja set a hand on Komakura's shoulder. He gave him a silent look saying that he would be going on solo missions when it was time. He glanced at his other apprentince to make sure that she understood. She nodded and hugged him. Iron Claw whined as Grey fastened the tracking collar around his neck; Bullseye came up to them. He released the wolf a mo-ment later. He sat at her feet, staring up at her adoringly. Grey got to his feet. They stared at each other for a few seconds.
"Looks like I'm staying here." she said.
"That's what Duke says." he said.
She turned her head away and muttered, "I'm not going to be there to keep an eye on you this time." He nodded as she knealt down to pet Iron Claw. He whined and paw-ed at her arm. "Keep your eyes and ears open for Cobra out there boy." she told him. The wolf nuzzled her as Duke came over. Bullseye got up and moved away.
"Watch your backs out there. The Amazon's dangerous but moreso with Cobra around. I don't doubt that they're after another Power Stone." he told them. Snake Eyes and Grey Wolf nodded as Iron Claw barked between them.
They stepped out of the Rocc and meet Bullseye outside. "Snake Eyes." she said softly. He looked at her, seeing that she wanted to talk to him in private. He mo-tioned for Grey to wait and followed her around the back of the Rocc. She leaned againest the metal. He stood less than a foot in front of her. "Do me a favor?" she asked.
Snake Eyes glanced around and said, "Anything."
"Keep an eye on Grey for me and if he gets into trouble, pull him out of it by the scruff of his neck." she said.
"You worry for his safety." he whispered. She nodded, blushing. He gently patted her cheek and walked off.
"Thank you." Bullseye whispered, though he didn't seem to hear. When Snake Eyes walked back up, Grey looked at him curiously. He shook his head. Grey didn't press the matter as they left the campsite. It felt like hours that they walked through the rain forest until something caught Iron Claw's attention. Snake Eyes glanced around as Grey pulled an arrow from his quiver. The wolf's hackles raised as he growled. Then a flash of white moved quickly in & out of their line of vision. Iron Claw barked angerly.
"Storm Shadow!" Grey shouted, firing the arrow which locked onto the ninja.
"Cobra's out there!" Hi-Tech shouted
"Who is it?" Scarlett asked.
"Storm Shadow." he said.
"Snake Eyes's brother?" Bullseye asked, leaning over his shoulder. The blonde nodded as he typed.
"This's 'coming a family affair." Tunnel Rat said.
"Not a family affair, just a feud and everyone's out for something." Bullseye cor-rected him, as her grip on Hi-Tech's shoulder tightened.
"Like what?" Komakura asked.
"Blood." she growled. Her eyes flashed with rage as she released the computer wiz and walked off. He rubbed his sore shoulder. Long Range met her eyes as she walked past him.
"Vengenance isn't worth blood." he whispered.
"I don't care." she said. His eyes narrowed.
"Selen!" he barked. She registered the use of her real name. They glared at each other, bristling.
"El Diablo de Espana." she hissed. Long Range was taken aback. The rest of the team looked up at him. There was something about him that they were seeing now that they never had. It was a side of him somehow linked to his past that they knew so little about.
Long Range slammed the door behind him and walked out of the Rocc, grabbing his laser rifle as he did. Rage burned in him in a way that it hadn't in years. Hissing and muttering in Spanish, he went up to the top of the Rocc. Hi-Tech had installed a target shooter on top so that the team could keep their aim sharp. He turned it on and stepped back. As he shot the targets, he sank into his thoughts. "How does she know about my past? She deserves to, but before I joined the military I was worse than Cobra. If the team knew, if Selen told them, I'd be on my own again. And that is the last thing I want to happen." he thought. Half-heartedly, he turned off the target shooter and sat down, putting his back againest it. The sound of footsteps got his attention. Spirit sat beside him.
"I am willing to listen if you are willing to talk." he said.
Iron Claw jumped at Storm Shadow; the arrow had missed it's mark. "You now need a boy and his dog to assist you, you are past your prime brother." the ninja said, as he knocked the wolf back. Grey shot another arrow at him, this one lodged itself in his arm. He cried out in pain and stumbled. Snake Eyes saw an opening and took it. In a split second, the ninja in white was pinned to a tree. "You are foolish brother to not allow that beast to finish me." Storm Shadow spat.
"I don't want you dead. Just open your eyes and see that I am not your enemy." Snake Eyes hissed. Grey, aiming another arrow, looked surprised. He had never heard the ninja speak. Iron Claw limped over to them, snarling despite the gash in his leg.
"You have dishonored our clan!" Storm Shadow snapped.
"Do you really believe Cobra Commander actually cares about honor!" Snake Eyes roared, releasing his brother. Suddenly a white cloud erupted around them and faded a moment later.
"We need to find him." Grey said.
"No!" Snake Eyes ordered him. The young man stepped back. "No. Iron Claw's hurt. Spirit can tend to him, we'll get another chance." he said, a bit more calmly. They left for the Rocc. Grey followed a bit behind the ninja, not wanting to risk angering him.
"You had no hatred for Cobra before the attack?" Spirit asked.
"I didn't even know about Cobra. But I thought that I had lost everything, so I contacted a friend of mine and he got me some weapons and ammunition. After that, I became El Diablo de Espana. The demon of Spain. I walked the streets of Spain at night, looking for anyone who knew anything about any group like Cobra. I found a fairly good amount of information and I was the last thing a lot of people saw. I was like a demon: I came out of the dark, did what I had come to do and disappeared. For years, I kept myself alive seeking vengence. Then finally the military caught up to me, said that if I wanted it, they could give me a better reason to live, so I took it." Long Range told him.
"So you were a murderer." he whispered.
"I didn't think of it like that. I figured I was avenging anyone who had their lives destroyed by people like Cobra Commander." he admited. Spirit sighed heavily and stared at him, almost not wanted to believe what he had just heard. He had known Long Range for several years, a man he had gone on missions with and it never quite occured to him that Long Range was capable of killing anyone. He looked over the side of the Rocc as Grey and Snake Eyes came back. Iron Claw limped behind them, which worried him.
Bullseye leaned againest the doorway. The ninja looked unhurt, but blood was running down the arm of his Sigma Suit. She looked at him and then at it as he stepped into the Rocc. "It's not mine." he whispered under his breath, so only she could hear. She nodded briefly. Grey picked up Iron Claw and set him inside. The wolf had a gash on his right front leg that was bleeding badly.
"Storm Shadow do this to you boy?" she asked, as he lowered his head to lick the wound. Gently she scratched his ears, getting a wag of his tail, before Spirit appeared. Bullseye glared at him and released Iron Claw. He limped over to Spirit, who continued to watch her. She knew that he had been talking to her father and everyone sensed the tension that filled the room. "Did he tell you everything?" she asked.
"The question is, do you know everything." he said sharply.
"This has nothing to do with you!" she snapped.
"What your father did in the past should be the least of your worries." Spirit told her. Bullseye narrowed her eyes and would have stormed out had Long Range not been standing in the doorway. Grey moved off to lean againest the wall.
"You were out for blood once too, so you have no right to lecture me." she hissed.
"You're not out for blood alone. You've kept yourself alive solely for vengance." he said. She turned her back on him.
"And what will you do once you have gotten vengance? Continue fighting or give up and allow yourself to die?" Spirit asked, tending to Iron Claw's wound.
"Spirit." Long Range whispered with a quick shake of his head.
"It doesn't matter." Bullseye said.
"If you give up on life, you'll miss your chance to do so many things." he told her.
"Like what?" she muttered.
"All the small things that you take for granted now. See the sun rise every morning, be around all of your friends, not worrying about vengance." he said. She stared at him. "I used to live a vengance driven life until I realized that wasn't all that mattered. Everyone I cared about mattered more. The team, my friends and my family." Long Range said, nodding to the team who stood behind her. Her eyes filled with tears and she threw her arms around his neck.
"I'm sorry." she whispered.
"I don't blame you for being upset." he told her. She hugged Iron Claw, Spirit, Snake Eyes and then Grey. All three men looked surprised and the wolf whined as he looked at Grey, wondering why she was so upset.
"I swear only she'd do something like that." Hi-Tech said.
"Oh, shut up blondie." she told him, wiping tears out of her eyes. He smiled.
"We don't need more families ripped apart by Cobra. So, you two, no more fighting. And you two don't start." Duke said, motioning first to Bullseye and Long Range, then to Grey and Spirit. They all sighed.
"You're bleeding." Spirit said. Grey looked at him curiously, not having noticed beforehand. He pressed a rag againest his cheek. "It isn't very deep." he told him.
"I told you to keep an eye on him and not let him get hurt." Bullseye said, planting her hands on her hips. Snake Eyes looked at her, smiling under his mask. She found that she couldn't help but smile, realizing that he knew she wasn't really mad at him.
Author: R&R, all flames will be used to light my fireplace & keep me warm in the winter.