So here it is, the last chapter of AFW2! THIS IS THE END. I have a part 3 I have been working but honestly it will take a looong time before I can even think of posting it. I may also add a one or two "bonus epilog" stories since I did set up a few side stories, and I may even add an "authors notes" chapter just for fun. Those of you who actually stood by from beginning to end (Phoenix, Quathis, Atlantis Girl, Ms Heart of Swords, Willwrite4fics, etc) then I tip my hat and thank you for being so patient since this story took so long to get out. Most of all I just hope you all enjoyed the story!

-AF Iron

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX: MISSION COMPLETE

It was still too bright to see, but it was also loud. The sound of the rushing air was like a swirling vortex… a tornado ripping across the countryside. Maybe even the sound that one would experience while standing next to the train tracks as a locomotive blasted by at a hundred miles an hour. The feeling… the feeling of pure power and force. The blast of the wind against his skin was intense. Maybe he was caught in the thundering, powerful tornado and its raging winds… the same powerful winds that were kicking up dust and debris…?

It felt like he was flat on his back, levitating. Not like he was jerked around roughly, as he imagined he would have been had he had been caught in a tornado, but… more of a gentle sway as his body floated – mostly still – floating up towards the sky. It reminded him of a Bible story he read in his youth, about a man named Elijah and how he was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind. He wondered if this was how Elijah felt when he left the earth.

Snake-Eyes tried to adjust his sight despite the bright light; he wanted to lift his arms and shield his eyes, but he was too weak to do so. Something was spinning up above him… round and round and round in a perfect circular motion. They looked black – or perhaps a dull black – but at the speed they moved, it seemed fast enough to reflect the sunlight. It was a familiar scene… something he had seen before – possibly during his time in Iraq, or Afghanistan…

Still in a haze… his mind was far from fully coherent… the hypnotic motion of the spinning helicopter blades up above was the last thing he saw before he faded out…

XXXXX

Voices and sounds blended together making it impossible to isolate an individual source of noise. His vision was blurry – shades of grey dominated his eyesight while pieces of dark grey and white started to come into focus. Looking around, the sight was a familiar one.

Hospital. I'm in a hospital. Snake-Eyes slowly started to comprehend his surroundings. Although it took a lot of mental power to focus, he quickly deduced that the walls were made of steel and lined with bolts. Like a bulkhead of a naval vessel. I'm in the hospital ward… on some kind of Navy ship? I must be on the J.F.K. I guess we made it out of Borovia after all.

"Snake-Eyes?"

Snake had finally been able to make out the voices. And this voice… such a sweet, gentle voice. A recognizable voice.

"Snake-Eyes? Don't sit up, lay back down! Hey… we're aboard the John F. Kennedy; we made it! Mission complete, big guy…"

*Shana,* he started to sign weakly.

She smiled warmly at him. "Even though the mission is complete, until I take the uniform off, it's Scarlett. You know that. I'm not the same little girl that you left in Atlanta." She continued to lecture him with bright emerald eyes, "I did earn that right the moment I completed training and joined the unit. The moment I showed up at The Pit in that lovely snowstorm…"

Snake-Eyes didn't say anything for a moment, and remained quiet as always. He nodded. The smile she returned to him was all he needed to know that she had finally gotten through to him. Whether or not he'd start calling her Scarlett was another story, though.

His first initial reaction was to press up against her hands and sit up on the hospital bed… he wasn't one to lie down and recuperate, if he could help it; still, he didn't lay back down all the way, either. Whether it was out of defiance or simply gathering his strength, Snake-Eyes stopped in place, propping himself up on an elbow, trying to let everything spinning in his head come to a complete stop.

"Snake, I said lay back down!" Scarlett raised her tone… something he wasn't accustomed to. He begrudgingly did.

Ok, you win this one. Only because the mission is over. Not that he minded. Whatever kind of medicine they put him on did have him a little disoriented. He certainly didn't do it because she told him to lie back down…

*What happened? How'd we get here?*

"Well, the doctors said you shouldn't have visitors yet, but our protocol allows me to debrief you. Besides you're not going anywhere, so get comfortable, hun" she calmly told him.

Scarlett told him everything… about Snake-Eyes knocked the Impostor off the cliff, and how he almost went over as well; about how she managed to grab him…

Although, she did neglect mentioning – for whatever reason – how she almost went over the cliff also in an attempt to drag him to safety. She did add that Clutch and Vorona grabbed her, just in the nick of time. Even though the details after that were anti-climatic, Scarlett also went into detail about how Jinx and Mayday shortly met back up with them. All six of them… plus Dr. Bennett, were able to continue to the rendezvous with the naval aircraft carrier.

Snake-Eyes listened to the story. *So, Mayday grabbed the bomb… and it's safe and secure, on board the ship? It never activated?*

Scarlett smiled, nodding. "Yep. Dr. Bennett is safe and, now that we have the bomb, he probably won't even need to testify at the Security Council. I'm sure he'll still have plenty to say about his time in Borovia, though. In fact, after we sent our Sitrep back to The Pit, they told us they'd be sending in reconnaissance aircraft to start taking pictures in Wolken. They've already tapped into the satellites."

Snake-Eyes took in every word she said, carefully, breathing a sigh of relief that their role was now over. Sounds like they can leave the rest to the Air Force… at least for now.

Leaning his head back, he calmly took in a deep breath. *I woke up for a while. I think it was on the helicopter that picked us up. I assume it was the one that took us here… to the carrier. Did you or the others encounter any resistance between Wolken and the coastline?*

She shook her head. "Nope… we made it away clean; not a soul stood between us. And trust me… we hustled as fast as we could."

Snake nodded. *I would have hated for us to miss our rendezvouz.*

Scarlett looked puzzled for a moment, before fully realizing what he was saying. "No, no… you don't get it, Snake! We weren't worried about that… we knew they'd be there waiting; we hurried as fast as we could to get you some medical treatment! You know, you scared me, Snake!" Scarlett actually laughed… something of a quiet, nervous laugh; something one could only do well after an intense situation had been stabilized.

"Again!" she said exasperated, brushing a loose strand of red hair out of her face. Snake-Eyes noticed her hair was no longer in a pony tail, but hung loose and freely. In fact, he realized she had cleaned up and looked like she had just finished a modeling photo shoot.

Underneath his mask, he also couldn't help but smile. Her eyes seemed to sparkle… more than normal; were her gorgeous green eyes misting up?

He wanted to thank Scarlett for saving him, and getting him medical attention and to the ship, but… he wasn't sure how to respond. Not many people had gone the lengths that she went to bail him out of trouble. Often it was him who was bailing someone else out of trouble. This was a first.

Scarlett, more than used to the awkward silence by now, picked up the lull in the conversation. "You know, it wasn't just me… it was all of us. Clutch and Jinx helped me carry you, too, while Vorona and Mayday cleared the way to the rendezvous point and made sure we weren't ambushed."

*Clutch. I bet he was in heaven with the four of you girls. So did how many of you did he manage to insult this time?*

For the second time in the conversation, Scarlett was caught off guard. Her brow wrinkled. "You mean you knew what a pig that S.O.B. is? And you never told me?" She wasn't sure whether to be mad at him, or whether to laugh. For a moment she thought it was quite possible to do both. But she preferred mad.

Snake-Eyes shoulders moved up and down and his head lowered. He couldn't help but laugh at the redhead. *Yes, I knew,* he signed.

Of course I knew.

Before she could even get a "but…" out, Snake continued. *He's a good guy, even if he doesn't always act like it. Besides, it wasn't my place to interfere.*

For a moment, he thought he saw a trace of disappointment on her face. But… just like she had done so many times before, she disguised it with a phony smile.

*Did you want me to interfere, Scarlett?* he signed slowly and deliberately. He watched her lower her head, clearly deep in thought, processing his words. She opened her mouth as if she was going to speak, but nothing came out.

*Yes, that's right. I knew you could handle it. I'm not saying biting my tongue has been easy, but I know what you're capable of. You don't need me to play big brother for you. It isn't a matter of whether or not I want to play that role or not…*

Snake-Eyes smiled subtly to himself. Of course he wanted to interfere. Interfere with a roundhouse. Clutch could use it; a boot up side his head could only serve to improve his thought process with women. Especially how he viewed Scarlett. But as hard as it was to convince himself that it wasn't his place to interfere, his discipline won out in the end. Still, he wasn't about to admit that to her.

Scarlett smiled, looking downward and almost blushing. "Big brother, huh?" Her eyebrow raised, ever so slightly. She wasn't quite sure how to take the "big brother" compliment… if it was a compliment. "Big brother" wasn't exactly how she imagined Snake-Eyes…although now that he mentioned it, there certainly was a protective element that he had – much like her older brothers. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Snake-Eyes let out a soft laugh, trying not to aggravate his body and cause any more pain. *Big brother. Of sorts. And…* he continued, until he was interrupted.

"And… you wanted me to feel like a true member of the team so you let me fend for myself."

There was a moment of quiet between the two.

Scarlett's face started to redden. Putting her hands behind her back and crossing one leg behind the other, twisting the toe of her boot against the floor, she said, "And you even called me Scarlett…" She leaned down, kissing Snake-Eyes on his cheek. "Thank you, Snake-Eyes. I guess the last thing I need – or want – is a fourth big brother." A sly smile surfaced on her face. "Three is certainly enough for me."

The wounded soldier nodded.

"You know," Scarlett started to say, looking upwards and pondering her next words as she spoke, "…if Clutch were a bit smoother… like, oh… say, a ninja in black, he just might have better luck with the ladies." Scarlett folded her arms and winked. Snake-Eyes laughed silently. He pointed to his sword, puffed out his chest, and flexed his biceps. It was Scarlett's turn to giggle; she practically doubled over in laughter, keeping her balance with her hands on her thighs. "Yep, or if he had a sword."

Snake-Eyes pointed to his bicep, then pretended to fire a weapon.

Scarlett laughed hysterically, so much so that her face turned red. "Yes, or if his 'guns' were as big as yours. You braggart."

Their laughter lasted for what felt like minutes before it died down. Scarlett put her hand on top of Snake-Eyes as she pulled up a chair to sit down next to him.

*By the way, how was your first mission?*

Scarlett immediately turned red. She knew it was an innocent question; yet, after all that happened, her first instantaneous thoughts should have been of her amazing throwing star shot to the Impostors helmet, or sneaking around Dr. Walker's secret basement, or her stealthy maneuvers while raiding the building in Wolken, or … or anything other than the guilt laden thoughts that first popped into her mind.

But no!

Dancing. Dancing for someone else… something she told Snake she'd never do. Even if it was for the mission. THAT was the first thing she thought of.

"It, um…." Scarlett cleared her throat. "It was… quite an experience." She quickly tried to think of anything but dancing.

Despite her awkwardness, she stalled long enough to recall some of her more amazing and tangible experiences. Amazing experiences for a first mission; some wonderful, some frightening, and some just plain horrible. But experiences that would make her stronger nonetheless. "Everything you taught me helped keep me alive, you know."

Snake-Eyes hand flickered upwards for a moment, as if he was going to say something. I'm proud of you, Shana, Snake-Eyes thought. He resisted signing it.

The awkward silence resurfaced.

"Well, Snake-Eyes, the doctor tells me you need your sleep, so I should be going. I…"

Scarlett turned to walk away, but before she could pull her hand out of his, Snake-Eyes grabbed her wrist. Tightly.

Scarlett seemed a bit startled. Snake-Eyes understood why; he had never grabbed her quite like that before. He didn't mean to alarm her… he didn't even mean to grab her that forcefully.

He started to sit up, but again she protested with the same firm tone she had used earlier. "Snake-Eyes, you need to lie down! We've been over this…"

This time, he ignored her.

It hurt sitting up, but it was something he had to do. He felt a little disoriented… not as much as before, but enough to make sitting up a small challenge.

Even after he sat up on the bed, he took another step… and stood up.

Her mouth was open and her eyebrows were furrowed as if she was ready to lecture him again… ready to tear into him, but didn't say anything. Whether it was because she was shocked that Snake-Eyes didn't listen to her, whether it was because she had finally backed down to him, or whether it was simply because she wanted to see what he'd do next, neither of them quite knew why. It didn't matter anyway. Not now, at least.

He took her by both wrists, and raised her hands up to his face, placing them on his mask.

Snake-Eyes could see in her eyes that she was slowly piecing together what he was doing. Gently…softly, she responded. Her fingertips touched him lightly. Then, both of her hands caressed his face. He could see that sparkle back in her deep, green eyes; yes, it was because her eyes were watering again. This time he was sure of it.

She slowly ran her hands over his mask, feeling the scars through the fabric.

It's amazing. She can practically read my mind.

For the longest time, he knew that Scarlett wanted to see him without his mask. He didn't know why anyone would want that. It crossed his mind that once she saw his face, it would terrify her.

And maybe it still would. Yet he knew how important this was to her.

Never in a million years did he believe he would show anyone his face, let alone someone so close and dear to him. Let alone the only person who was truly close to him… who understood him. Who seemed to know him better than anyone else. Who could understand him without him having to sign a single word.

His body would have started to shake if he didn't force himself not to; it took everything in him to control his movements. Yet, taking her fingers which were already upon his cheeks, he slid them downwards…slowly, to the edge of the mask.

Her fingers slowly slid underneath his mask… gently, delicately pulling it upwards. Before either of them knew what happened, the mask was off of his head.

Scarlett ran her fingers over his face, tracing over each and every scar. For the first time, she looked into his eyes. Deep into his eyes. No longer hidden by a mask, his beautiful eyes seemed to stand out. She couldn't take her eyes off of his; for a moment, Snake twinged and started to look away but she held his chin gently in her hand… she wouldn't allow him to look away.

Snake-Eyes practically held his breath, not sure what she would think; was she studying him like a science project? He didn't know. His body was completely rigid. Maybe he had made a mistake. The last thing he wanted her gentle touch to mean was, "You poor, poor man!"

But no. Forced to look into her very own eyes… and having her stare back into his, it suddenly became clear to him. Just as if someone turned on a light above his head.

He could tell by her eyes… more so by the way her eyes looked into his, that it wasn't pity she felt for him. And it was in the subtle touch of her fingers, how it traced every line of his scarred face. It was almost as if she was a blind person, trying to see who he was. It was like she was trying to connect with him on a deeper level. The tracing of the scars soon turned into stroking motions on the side of his face, lightly with the back of her hand.

"Snake-Eyes…" she barely whispered, almost choking on his name. "You…"

"You're beautiful…" Scarlett leaned in and kissed him, her hands sliding from his face to the back of his head. She kissed him a full, passionate kiss on his lips.

Snake-Eyes had never felt so stunned… and so elated, all at the same time. He kissed her back, wrapping his arms around her. Never… NEVER… had anyone made him feel so special. Somehow, she didn't see him as the monster that he believed himself to be. The beauty had somehow overlooked the skin of the beast.

Her kiss turned into a hug. A strong, tight embracing kind of a hug. He felt something wet against his cheek. Her tears. Her body started to quiver, crying without making a sound. Her emotions had overwhelmed her. Snake-Eyes couldn't figure out… was it emotions now that the adrenaline was gone from her first, long, and taxing mission? Emotions because he was had almost died? Was it her guilt after all these years that had finally surfaced, feeling responsible for his scarred condition? Emotions because she felt something more for him than he ever thought anyone could feel for… for him?

He didn't quite know. But in this moment, he didn't care. He held her back tightly. Snake-Eyes leaned down, kissing her cheek gently and nuzzling his rough and coarse cheek against her own.

Even his emotions were getting the best of him. He wheezed for a moment. A hissing sound rose up out of his lungs, as if air was escaping a balloon. "Ssss…."

Once again, the sound resurfaced. Snake-Eyes held Scarlett tighter. "Ssss…shh….." Scarlett, still holding the strong warrior, looked up at him with a worried look, unsure of what was happening. He'd never made that noise before. "Snake, relax…don't…"

The silent commando tried as hard as he could to concentrate.

"Sss….Shhhh…."

"Shana…."