Ch.12
Scarlett's POV
I had been wallowing somewhat in my own private pool of self pity when I heard footsteps moving toward us. Nervous, I shot a look at Stone who gently hushed me. I shut my eyes, copying Stone as the footsteps stopped in front of our cell.
"So, how's it going my friends? You're all hanging pretty good I see." My blood boiled when I heard the familiar snarky tone of our traitor, but I still resisted showing any sign that I had heard him. "Oh come on…don't be like that, I know you can hear me. Hellooo?" That was the last straw.
"We hear you Firefly." I hoped that the venom in my voice would get some reaction, but he still had smug look on his face, damn him! That's when I noticed something different; he had shaved all the hair off his head.
"So how do I look, like the new do or what?" Why that arrogant son of a…Stone interrupted before I could give the bastard a piece of my mind.
"Went to Destro's barber did you?" Stone's voice was neutral, with a dry edge to it. How he managed to keep his temper under control with this guy was beyond me. Firefly merely laughed.
"The mighty Sigma 6…HA! I can't believe how easy it was…" He grasped the bars and moved closer. "To reel the both of you into my trap…too bad Ranger managed to get away. I guess she was a lot smarter then I gave her credit." He bowed his head slightly and his tone changed to mock sadness. "You know I have to admit, I almost feel bad…"
I snarled. "Give us a break! You were a part of the team! We fought right by your side! Now you're nothing but a traitor!"
"Save your breath Scarlett." Stone looked Firefly dead in the eye. "He's not fit…for Sigma 6."
Firefly actually looked a little stun at the calm composure of Stone, but he recovered. "Wow…now that hurt. Good old Stone. Always trying to keep me down aren't ya...but who's on top now?" Stone remained silent. "How does it feel for you little pet project to show you up? I punked you most of all."
Stone merely smirked, in a cold way. "Is that what you think?"
"Yeah, and I'm just getting started too. "Firefly slowly backed away from our cell. "Once we're done blowing away the Sea Titan, I'll come back for you. See you around soon Stone." He pointed at Stone, but didn't get the reaction he anticipated, heck, it even surprised me, Stone merely gave a light chuckle. "What's so funny?!"
"You don't have the courage to face me." Firefly looked shocked, and then furiously took a step forward.
"Don't push me! You're not in any position to talk Stone!"
I couldn't believe it…he really was a traitor. "You were one of us…"
"No he's not…and he never was…"Stone's voice almost sounded sad.
"Guess I should make it official huh?" He reached up and stripped off the Sigma 6 symbol on his uniform and callously flicked it aside. "Sigma 6 is dead to me, long live Cobra Commander and Cobra!"
I blinked furiously. "I just couldn't believe it…"
"It's not over…there's still some hope…there's still Duke and Ranger." Firefly was twitching now and grinding his teeth. "And maybe our friend here will have a change of heart." Stone's smug tone did it.
"What's the deal with you?! ARE YOU DEAF?!" He grabbed the bars with considerably force, creating a loud echo that almost made me wince. "It is over! I stole your Sigma battle system and crushed your whole team! Now your friend Duke is next…and I plan to have something special for the lovely Ranger…" Stone's face hardened at that last part. "You can stay here and rot for all I care." I could only watch as Firefly walked away and wallow. What were we to do now?
"Well, on the one hand, he made the mistake of letting us know that they stole the Sigma system. And on the other hand, he's managed to overlook my brilliant escape plan." Huh?
"What plan…"I was feeling very down, but the tone of Stone's voice made me look at him.
"I did say…on the other hand." I was about to question him when I noticed his left arm. It trembled in place as Stone's face took on a look of concentration. His hand suddenly clenched as his entire arm glowed. With a shredding noise, the suit covering that arm ripped to reveal a bionic arm! I could only gape as Stone strained against the cuff holding his left arm in place before it finally broke away!
I blinked. "That's a…real nice plan."
Stone gave me an amused look. "It's nothing really my dear, just one of my old battle wounds."
"That's pretty handy for a battle wound…" Stone had freed his other arm and was now working to free one of mine.
"Well, let's just say I've had a little…upgrade." With a grunt he managed to pull off one restraint but suddenly backed off holding his bionic arm. It sparked before giving off a bit of smoke.
"Are you ok Stone?" His back was to me, but he turned and nodded.
"It's alright, just letting off a little steam…so, shall we go?"
I nodded as he pulled off the second restraint and opened the cell door. "Hey Stone…"
"Hmmm?" He was carefully looking down both hallways, but it looked like the coast was clear.
"What the deal with Ranger, it seems that when Firefly made that comment about her, you took it a bit personally." Stone paused for a long moment before looking at me dead in the eye.
"To say the very least, Ranger is…special to me. Now is not the time to ex-." That's when we both heard a commotion off the distance, a lot of shouting and laser fire. "Speaking of which, it would seem that Ranger has just entered the picture. Come on." I said nothing as I followed him, Ranger was special to him?
Duke's POV
I took careful deliberate steps into this giant coliseum that Cobra Commander had built. Hi-Tech had already warned me that communications were likely to be cut off once I was inside; the slimy snake probably had jamming devices set up to cut me off from everyone else. I just hoped Ranger would be able to carry out her side of the plan; she had looked to be in considerable pain before she left. He also warned that the plasma shield system was still completely unstable and didn't know how long it would last for. I could see the Defiant piece that had landed in the arena take off and leave behind the weapons case for me. As I approached, I heard a familiar laugh and instantly went on the alert.
"Duke…" Where the hell was he…"Welcome to the Cobra Coliseum Duke…where the brave come to fight and the Sigmas come to fall!" I finally spotted him, sitting where only an emperor would sit in the ancient times…go figure. "Take a good look, because I'm afraid this place will be the last thing you will ever see…" God, I hated the sound of that bastard's voice. I turned in surprise as I saw the hallway behind me seal itself, I was trapped but nothing I could do about it.
"I've already finished off your BATs Cobra Commander, and if this is a coliseum…then only two gladiators should fight. What do you say, you and me." I knew though that he would never put himself in danger first and could only wonder what he'd throw at me.
"Interesting…but I've got something else in mind; you must win the right to fight me!" I knew it…"You'll have three challenges. "He pointed his staff at me. "Beginning with Overlord Vortex!" The door beneath him suddenly opened, revealing the oversized tank like mech. Its optic glowed as it targeted me. I could only open fire on it, but it didn't even flinch! "Pointless, his armor is impervious to your pathetic weapons."
Dammit, he was right; I had to find a different way to take this guy down. With Vortex bearing down on me, I jumped off backwards and considered my options. "Anymore ideas Duke?" Cobra Commander's laugh wasn't making it any easier. That's when I remembered the particular weapon I was holding had a buzz saw attachment, which I quickly clicked into place. Vortex took aim at me as I took a running charge at it and let loose a laser blast. I managed to dodge by jumping up onto its outstretched arm and with a leap; I slammed the buzz saw right down on his ugly tin can. Angry, he flung me off, right at the weapons case! I quickly discarded the one I was holding and picked up the one with the missile option. When Vortex swung around to take another shot at me, it only saw me taking aim.
"Watch your head!" I fired off a rocket and watched with no small amount of satisfaction when Vortex's head was blown to pieces and the hulking scrap pile slumped over. My celebration was cut short when I heard Cobra Commander's voice again.
"Very good, you survived the first challenge…"
I was getting really tired of this. "Bring on the next one snake face!"
"As you wish! Behind door number two…" He snapped his fingers as another door opened and revealing…
Ah shit…"Great, Overlord Vector!"
Ranger's POV
It was taking me considerable concentration to work through the fact it felt like my entire body was on fire to beat down the guards I was running into. I had no doubt probably burned my chakra system and I was now paying for it. As I kicked the last guard into dreamland, I finally found the place where they had been storing the weapons of my comrades. Now I had a different dilemma, who was I going to carry these things? Then I remembered a simple technique that higher level shinobis learned to carry large amounts of supplies. Of course, it required me to use chakra which meant I was going to be hurting again…but what the hell, I hurt a lot already and what was more pain?
I pulled back the fabric of my glove where hidden slits had been placed there for this purpose. I bit down on my thumb, drawing some blood as I whipped out one of scrolls that had pre-inked summoning circles on it. I carefully placed individual weapons on the circles along with a slash of blood. Wincing, I clapped my hands together and focused, instantly feeling the agony again of feeling chakra flowing through my system. With tiny puffs of smoke, the weapons disappeared, with the kanji lettering matching their description in the circles. I rolled the scroll back up and put it away.
Once again gritting my teeth, I took off down further down the hallway, I was essentially going blind since I had no idea where I was. The comms were down, no doubt due to something Cobra did. Rounding a corner, I was treated suddenly to the sight of a Cobra trooper being thrown out unceremoniously from a room and with a groan, he slumped down unconscious. My interest perked, it had to be some of the Sigmas that had managed to escape. When I heard the voices, my interest turned to immense relief.
"Well Scarlett?" Stone's voice sounded slightly strained, he must have used his bionic arm to escape and he had told me that it took a toll on him.
"Just a sec…ok, we're back in business." I frowned now, Scarlett, I still hadn't forgiven her for jumping the gun. But well, I could settle that later.
"Let's do it then." I grinned and crouched down. As soon as I saw Stone exited the door, I almost pounced, but then my body reminded me of the excruciating pain I was still in. With a gasp, I fell to one knee which instantly took Stone's attention as he whipped toward the sound. His one eye widened as he saw me. "Ranger!" He was at my side in an instant. "Are you alright?"
I flicked my gaze up and winced. "Well, let's just say I've been better." I welcomed the support he offered as he helped me up. Hell, I was practically inwardly dancing with joy to see that he was in one piece.
"Ranger? You don't look so good." I glared at Scarlett who had walked out as well. "Are you sure you're ok?" She must of felt the heat of my glare because she kept a measure distance.
I straightened, despite my muscles protesting. "Not important right now, Duke is righting alone with that bakra yaro outside." I think anyone could have understood that last insult. "And no offense, but I can barely move right now, even willpower has its limits."
Stone looked worried as he held onto me when suddenly he stiffened and looked down a hallway. Scarlett and I looked confused at him, then again, I should have been able to sense people, but the pain was making it rather difficult. "What's wrong Stone?"
"We've been followed…Scarlett, you go on ahead with Ranger. This is my problem." I froze, that meant only one thing…Firefly.
Furious, I jerked my arm from him, and ignored the flare of pain. "No way Stone, I'm not letting you face him alone, he's just as much my problem as he is yours." I was about to say more, but my willpower gave out again and I slouched over grinding my teeth.
Stone's voice was patient as he suddenly reached down and lifted my chin with his hand. Any argument I was ready to give him died when I looked him in the eye and saw the love he had for me expressed. "Ranger, you're in no shape to fight him. Please, just do as I say." Scarlett looked confused as she looked between the both of us, but with some realization dawning on her face.
My resolve crumbled, I knew he was right. I could barely stand as was and Firefly was a tough opponent. "Alright…just make sure you come back to me in one piece or you'll be in your own world of hurt."
Stone's lips curved up into a slight smile as he nodded. "And now I have to seal the deal." Before I could react, Stone had crushed me against him, lips firmly on mine. Despite the pain, I returned his passion equally. Scarlett probably had her jaw on the ground right about now, but I didn't give a damn. We pulled apart as he gently pushed me toward Scarlett. "I promise to finish that when I get back." He gave me a sly wink.
God damn him and his smoothness. My cheeks were probably flushed so I only nodded. "Alright Scarlett, you heard the man." I turned and tossed Stone his pistols, which he caught easily and handed Scarlett her crossbow. I gave one final glance at Stone and said the only thing that could sum up my feelings at the moment. "Aishiteru… (1)" He nodded to let me know he understood.
I dashed off with Scarlett following me after her throwing Stone a shocked glance. I grinned inwardly; I hoped Stone would give that traitorous baka hell.
Stone's POV
I watched as my lover and Scarlett disappeared into the gloom of the hallway. The taste of Ranger lingered on my lips as I turned to face the problem I knew was there and it gave me the strength I needed. "I know you're there, Firefly."
As I expected, Firefly appeared out of the gloom and crossed his arms, his face wearing a furious, but smug look. "What took you so long? It's just you and me…chap."
I smirked, which only seem to infuriate him further. "You knew about my bionics. You deliberately let us escape…so you could finally face me one on one." I held up my hand and beckoned him. "Well lad, here's your big chance then…come on."
He grinned like a predator that had finally cornered his prey. "Such a touching scene with Ranger there, I thought I was going to be sick."
"You could never get over the fact that she chose me over you. She saw you for what you really were, and I guess you just weren't her type lad." I took a fighting stance, one of the few that Ranger had managed to teach me. "She knows the concept of honor Firefly, something that seems to elude you.
"SHUT THE HELL UP!" With a furious yell, Firefly charged and I knew the fight was on.
Duke's POV
God dammit! Vector was dodging everything I was throwing at him; looks like he had an upgrade! "You've made him faster; let's see him outrun some missiles!" I ran back a bit and fired a salvo, but Vector just dodged them as easily.
Cobra Commander was laughing, no doubt enjoying seeing me running around like a scuttling beetle. "He's much faster and more powerful then you." Yea, thanks for stating the obvious! Vector suddenly let a blast of energy which I managed to block with the help of the suit, but when my sight cleared, Vector was now right in right of me ready to strike. His tail whipped me into the side of the arena, before one of his claws detached to pin me in place. Time for plan B…Vector's eyes glowed as he charged me again.
I activated the rockets on the back of my suit just in time to dodge the attack, but we were both obscured by a huge cloud of dust. Cobra Commander's sounded exulted, then shocked. "Fabulous…WHAT?!" I was now hovering above Vector and took aim.
"Vector, you've just been grounded!" I fired three missiles and Vector had no time to react before it was turned into a scrap pile just like Vortex before him. I landed and glared at the commander with my sides heaving, that was a tough fight.
Cobra Commander, to his credit, merely clapped. "Bravo…bravo Duke. Now…for the final challenge…behind door number three…Overlord Virus!" I turned as the final door opened, revealing the quad legged mech. I readied myself; I was really getting tired of this!
"Hey…tin can!" Virus's six eyes glowed before he charged out.
Stone's POV
Firefly threw yet another punch, but I blocked with my bionic arm before redirecting it to throw him into a wall. He had always been too aggressive and Ranger's fighting techniques were helping me out in this fight. I charged him as he tried to put his arms up in defense, but with two swift kicks, I drove his back into the wall. I clenched my bionic arm as I felt energy course through it. "You're finished….say good night Firefly!" I threw the punch and saw him wince and close his eyes…only to open them to see that I had deliberately punched the wall next to him instead.
Having gotten his attention…it was now or never. I pulled my fist back and opened it, revealing the Sigma 6 emblem that he had torn off earlier. "There's still hope…we are a team Firefly, and I was your friend. Sigma 6 and I chose you for a reason…don't you see?"
There was a long pause, before Firefly seemed to relent and take my offer to help him up. "I'm extremely touched Stone…and it's true I let you all escape for old times' sake…" Suddenly I saw a change in his demeanor and realized something was wrong. "Thing is…I'm still nothing but a traitor and a Cobra spy, so just where does that leave me?" His face turned triumphant. "Not with you and Sigma 6, my real place is right here with Cobra!" The emblem in his hand was suddenly reduced to ashes as his other hand swung up to snatch up one of his fire sticks and it flared to life, arching for me!
I managed to jump back and block it with my bionic arm. "Please don't do this Firefly…you can't do this!"
"Stone my friend…"he grinned, "It's already a done deal." I prepared myself as he charged me, now I was on the defensive!
Duke's POV
Virus was dodging my attacks almost as easily as Vector had. "This bug is really starting to bug me!" Suddenly, he scuttled right up to me and slashed with his clawed left arm. I managed to jump back, but not before he sliced off parts of my armor. His cannon right arm fired and I wasn't quick enough to dodge that one. I was flung backwards and on my back. "I'd better move it." I fired up the jet packs again, just in time to dodge another blast from Virus. "Oh yeah!" I reached for the weapon I had dropped earlier in the fight.
"Very impressive Duke…"
"You think so? I'm making this up as I go!" Sarcasm is only met with sarcasm in my book. "I gotta buy some time…" That's when I saw the buzz saw weapon I had dropped after I had taken down Vortex. I dashed over and snatched it up as Virus skittered backwards slightly. "How careless of me to leave this lying around!" I took to the air again as Cobra Commander's mocking tone reached my ears again.
"It looks like you're running out of tricks to me my little sigma…"
"I've still got a few more…" I clicked my weapons together as Virus was starting to charge up another attack. This time, I took the offensive as I charged forward, dodging his attack and with my buzz saw, sliced the lower part of his torso. Virus only had time to turn to me before he looked down seeing the damage…and promptly blew up. Thinking I had him, I was hovering above him…but then I saw something. "No way!" Two laser blasts suddenly knocked me out of the air and another two hit me again before I hit the ground. I looked up to see that Virus was hovering in a similar fashion as Vector had. The only weapon I had on me was my pistol, which had little effect on the mech. "Still ticking?!"
"That's right Duke, but your time is up. You're bravery is only exceeded by your stupidity! It's over Duke! Virus, FINISH HIM OFF NOW!"
"Well, guess there's only one thing left to do." I took aim…but not at Virus, but at my weapon under him. "If you're going to go out…why not go out with a bang!" I fired and Virus had no time to react as the explosion of my weapon hit him and demolished him. I dived for cover as that problem was finally removed…and left the only one remaining.
Scarlett's POV
I used the keys I had confiscated off a Cobra trooper to open the door to Heavy Duty's and Tunnel Rat's cell. A she had with my weapon; Ranger used her strange ability to retrieve their weapons for them. I had noticed that each time she did it, it seemed to hurt her a lot, but she seemed to ignore the pain. "Ok, everybody out."
"Thanks Scarlett." Heavy Duty rubbed at his wrists.
"Yea, you really saved our necks. Now that we're all out, what's the plan?" I thought about it for a bit. "You two, take Ranger, find and let the others out of their cells while I look for Stone…and that traitor Firefly." I tossed the keys to Heavy Duty. Ranger gave me a side glance, I noticed she had gotten a lot paler and sweat had collected on her face, the signs of extreme pain.
"Hey, you ok there Ranger, you don't look so good…" Tunnel Rat had evidently noticed it too.
"I'm…fine!" She ground that out between clenched teeth. "And you're not looking for Stone by yourself, I have to help too!"
"You can barely walk Ranger and you look ready to collapse at any minute!" Ranger's eyes glazed, she was clearly on her last legs, but she was a fighter. She looked ready to protest before I cut her off. "Do you think Stone would want you to go help him and only get yourself seriously hurt in the process?!"
"…" Ranger seemed to contemplate me for a moment and I felt a flash of the guilt I had felt when I found out she had never been a traitor. "…you're right, fine. You'd better find Stone in one piece or I'm holding you partially responsible if he isn't!" Her tone took me back to when the two had embraced just a few minutes before and it all finally clicked into place. All the times I had seen them together…and I had come to the wrong conclusion.
"Don't worry Ranger, I will." Heavy Duty and Tunnel Rat were giving us funny looks, but chose not to comment. "Now, you three have a mission, so go do it."
"No worries Scarlett just leave it to me." Ranger seemed to ignore Heavy Duty slight chose of words as she took another deep breath. The three ran off with Tunnel Rat giving off one of his usual protests.
"You?! You mean us!" I turned and ran back the way I came, hoping that Stone hadn't gotten himself into trouble he couldn't get himself out of.
Duke's POV
I managed to dig myself out of the pile of rubble I was trapped under as I retrieved the only piece of my weapon still intact, the handle for the plasma cannon. I gave a quick look to my diagnostics panel, dammit; the plasma shield was failing again! If I was going to do anything, I'd better do it now!
The seriously annoying laughter brought my back to reality. "What's wrong Duke? Having some problems with your gear?" He sounded smug, what the hell was he instigating. "Do you know why your Sigma systems keep on failing?"
"The virus…the one that Firefly put in our system!" I had thought Hi-Tech had managed to purge it…apparently not all of it.
"Yes…and it's still in your system! And when you face me, it will be my little advantage." Why that cheating son of a…"Heheh, yes, let the final challenge begin!" He then jumped down to the arena floor, now sporting a shield along with his staff. "This will be your last battle Duke and my ultimate victory! Sigma 6 has failed, just as the GI Joes have failed! No one can stop Cobra now!" He let out another burst of laughter before he suddenly blurred to one side! What the?!
"Think so?" My targeting system was trying to track him…but he was moving fast and unpredictably. When I finally did get a lock, I fired, but he blocked with his shield.
"Nice shot Duke…"
"I'm surprised you had the guts to face my commander."
"You're gear is failing Duke, it's only a matter of time before you're done!"
"Yea? Come on!" Energy blades suddenly formed around the edge of the commander's shield as he blurred right at me again, blocking all my shots. I could only barely dodge as he suddenly threw his shield at me. I ducked as it flew over head and took advantage of its absence to launch my own offensive. To his credit, he matched me, fist for fist.
"You should watch your back Duke…" Dammit, I had forgotten about the shield! I just managed to duck as it narrowly missed my head and reattached itself to his arm. He charged and gave a vicious kick to my torso, before throwing a punch throwing me back. A blast of energy came from his staff to knock me even further back. I looked up only to see another flash of crimson heading for me…
Stone's POV
I dodged Firefly's attack as it blew out the wall behind me. Taking advantage of the smoke created, I ducked into the room. By the looks of it, it was a supply room for Cobra, next time I would use the door. Hearing Firefly's approach, I quickly took cover behind some large crates.
"Where are you Stone?! I'm not really in the mood to play hide 'n' go seek!" He sounded frustrated, good. "Oh come on old chap," his mockery of my accent did little to even affect me"…what do you say we heat things up a little?" I heard him slide his mask into place. "And let's see how well you do…under fire." He advanced. "Ready or not…here I come!" I let a blast narrowly miss his head as he charged.
"I'm ready!" I saw him find my hiding spot before I dashed to a new one.
"Haha, gotcha on the run." As he tried to approach that one, I deterred him with a near hit to his face. "Whoa!" I ducked back again as I heard him grinding his teeth with frustration. "Hey Stone…you're fired!" I realized almost too late what he was going to do as the room suddenly flared orange with the flames of his fire sticks. Willing myself to run faster, I just barely made it out of the room, but my pistols flew out of my reach down the hallway I had run into.
This was not looking good. "Looks like you've got me lad…" I blocked his one fire stick with my bionic, but I could feel the arm beginning to weaken.
"And your bionics are failing, it's over." No…I couldn't, not after promising Ranger. "Time to fry…" He raised his second stick to do the coup de grace, before a green bolt suddenly shot it right out of his hand. We both turned with surprise to see Scarlett, crossbow leveled and clearly aiming at Firefly.
"Firefly…just back off right now!" Firefly seemed to assess the situation before he lifted his mask and gave me a mocking smile.
"Well, it's been real, but I've gotta run. See ya!" Before any of us could react, he had snatched up his fire stick and dashed out of sight. I watched him go, not taking any action to stop him.
"Um…Stone…why'd you let him go?" Scarlett sounded incredulous as she approached.
"He may come in handy…one never knows." I got to my feet flexing my bionic arm. I would have to get Hi-Tech to take a look at it. "Ranger is she…"
"She's fine…you're…uh…girlfriend is one heck of a fighter." Scarlett looked at me. "That's what she is to you isn't she."
I gave a slight smile. "If that's what you want to use, I think for me and her, it goes a bit beyond that." Then I remembered that Duke was probably still facing Cobra Commander by himself. "Come on Scarlett, we've still got a job to do." She only gave a nod in return.
Duke's POV
Things were not looking good, Cobra Commander was knocking me around like a soccer ball and I could barely fight back.
"What's wrong Duke? Feeling a little down?" I seriously would give anything to get him to shut the hell up! I fired, but he merely blocked with his shield again. "This is too easy! Is that all you've got?"
I had no choice now. "Well, looks like this is it. This is either going to turn out really good or turn out really ugly!" I charged away from him, toward the barrel of my plasma rifle, snatch it up; I connected to the handle I was holding and flicked open the panel on my wrist. According to the display, the shield was still unstable. "Well, this doesn't look good. This is probably gonna hurt me as much as it's going to hurt you!" The cannon assembled itself and soon as ready to be used as I took aim at the commander.
"So…this is the plasma weapon you used to defeat my BATs. Well, it won't defeat me Duke." He sounded almost confident.
"If Hi-Tech is right, then it will. Even your Cobra shield won't stop this thing!" The cannon began to charge up as a brilliant emerald green ball began forming at the end of the barrel.
"If it doesn't overload and destroy you first!" His mocking voice only strengthened my resolve; I was taking this guy down no matter the cost!
"I'll take that chance…right now!" I hit the trigger and once again felt the recoil of the weapon as it went off. I could just barely see Cobra Commander put up his shield in defense…and it held!
"Hahaha! You're weapon system is overloading!"
"Yea? Well so is your shield curtain face! I got one more surprise for you!"
"Really? You're almost out of time Duke." With all his mocking, he didn't even bother to look up until it was too late. What he saw was the upper tip of the Defiant that had brought me here, bearing down right on him! "WHAT?!"
I could barely hold on as the weapon finally shoved me back, to the resounding shocked cry of Cobra Commander as the Defiant head slammed down on him and the resulting explosion blinded him completely. When the dust finally cleared, I found myself on my knees and Cobra Commander…still standing and pointing his staff at me.
"How the mighty have fallen…" I could hear his weapon charging up but there was nothing I could do, the shock of the explosion was still affecting me. "Good bye…Duke!" Suddenly, we both heard the slam of the arena doors and I knew it had to be my team. "What?!" I looked sideways to see everyone standing at the entrance, but when I turned back, Cobra Commander was gone. The coward had fled once the tables had turned.
"There he is!" I heard Tunnel Rat shout as everyone swarmed around me, the noticeable exception was an extremely pale Ranger being supported by Stone. "He's ok!"
I managed to yank off my shattered helmet and get to my feet. "How'd you guys get here?!"
"It's all thanks to Stone; he broke us out of jail." Scarlett looked thankful. I looked to my old friend who gave me a wink. Typical, him showing off again.
"Nice work…but I came here to rescue all of you!"
"Looks like WE beat you to it Duke!" Jinx sounded smug.
Aaaaaah man! "So I kinda got my butt kicked for nothing? Thanks a lot!" Everyone burst out laughing, minus Ranger who looked like she could barely breathe.
Scarlett suddenly stopped and approached Stone and Ranger. I was curious, what she was up to? "Stone…Ranger…I owe both you guys an apology…I think the whole team does." Everyone looked sheepish, minus Snake-Eyes, and they all nodded their agreement.
Stone merely smiled slightly. "I think you've all made up for it…and I'm sure Ranger feels the same." Judging from the glare she was throwing Scarlett, I doubt she really did. They would have to work that out by themselves…
"Now just a second!" Tunnel Rat was pointing a finger to Stone. "What's the deal with you and Ranger anyway?! I mean, you guys were always together, how could we think you weren't in on something together?!"
Stone eyed him for a moment, before throwing his head back and laughing. He laughed so hard that he doubled over and even Ranger looked highly amused. After he had composed himself somewhat, he looked at everyone. "You mean none of you could think of any reason for us?"
Almost everyone shook their head, but Scarlett, Snake-Eyes, and even I had finally put the pieces together. Stone chuckled. "I guess an example would better explain, wouldn't it my dear?"
Ranger looked up at him through her obvious discomfort and grinned slyly. "I think so too, sides, I'm hurting and I think you can help with that." Without another hesitation, Stone had swept Ranger up into a passionate embrace, his lips capturing hers. I grinned like a madman as I heard almost everyone give out cries of surprise and shock at the revelation.
The two lovebirds ignored all the commotion around them, only focused on each other. To heck with it, it took someone like Ranger to ever match someone like Stone. After a good minute, the two finally parted and gave smug grins to everyone.
Heavy Duty looked floored. "Wait…you…him…you guys…NO WAY!"
Ranger quirked an eyebrow at him. "Yes way…can we go home now?" She, Stone, I, and Scarlett burst into chuckles as everyone was still reeling from the shock.
Yeah, heading back to the Titan sounded good right about now…and Cobra would be licking their wounds for awhile before they would strike again. "Great job guys now let's pack it up and go home!" Cheers met my announcement as we waited for the Sea Titan to send over a pick up.
Ranger's POV
The medics had been worried about me, even Stone, who had sat with me through my examination, despite the protests of the medical staff. One glare from me had been enough to shut them up. "Stone, just tell them I only need some rest for Kami's sake!" With a little persuasion on his side, they had reluctantly agreed to let me go.
As of the moment, I was in Stone's quarters, the both of us cuddled up on his bed. He had one arm protectively curled over me while his left arm, freshly covered with the artificial flesh again, cradled under me. I only craved his presence as I was really hurting so that was all could do for now. I had explained to him why I was in such pain and he had pondered over it.
"Interesting…so, your handicap was having an underdeveloped…chakra system?" I nodded as I gently ran my hand along his right arm, feeling the muscles. I was still always surprised at the sight of the many scars that traced his body…and not all of them looked like they had been received in a fair battle. He would have to tell me later about them.
"Yeah…it caused me some other problems…but that's for later." I looked up at him. "Stone…I was really worried about you."
He held me closer as his lips pressed gently against my forehead. "When I make a promise Shinzui, I rarely break it." He looked at me and I could see the care he had for me clearly shining in his gaze. "I love you, and that is all the motivation I need to make any promise to you." Surprised he was using my real name already I was deeply touched. When I first arrived to this strange place, I was fully prepared to feel like an outsider, never understanding my new surroundings. For me to be in this situation instead…it went beyond anything I had ever hoped for. As I turned and placed my back against Stone to be in a better position, I simply enjoyed the feel of Stone as he wrapped his arms protectively around me. As sleep crept up on both of us, the thought of Firefly and Cobra flashed through my mind, I may have considered Firefly my friend,
but he was that no longer. I was fully prepared to take him down for every transgression he had done against us. As an old saying said…an eye for an eye. Tomorrow was another day, and we would be ready for it.
(1) I love you
Yea! The last chapter! :D I hope to write more little side adventure...stuff when I feel motivated enough to do so. - I hope you enjoyed this read as much as I had fun writing it! Don't forget to review! Cookies for everyone! :D
