A note from the author: Over the years, I've received some negative reviews from cowardly assholes over this story and The Final Conflict. One hater left me a page long essay about the history of S/SE and told me I should go fuck myself. It doesn't bother me if you think I'm not a true Snake Eyes/Scarlett fan because you're right, I'm not one, and I don't want to be identified with you bitches anyway. I wrote some stories about them, now I'm done, and I've moved on. I find the whole cartoon vs comic, and Scarlett/Snake Eyes vs Scarlett/Duke debates tiresome. I'm not interested in discussing G.I. JOE and I'm not interested in hearing your so-called "evidence" supporting your pedantic views. If you have a problem with that, then fuck you. If you try to lecture me about Scarlett and Snake Eyes, I'll block your ass, and I'll have your reviews deleted.

SCARLETT'S QUARTERS

Somewhere in the skies over Illinois, a strange portal to another world shined brightly, beckoning an adventurous soul to fly through, but no one dared approach the light of mystery. The only person who dared do so now sat dejected and demoralized in her quarters.

"Come on, guys," Scarlett called out to Alpine and Bazooka, who stood guard on the other side of the door. "Let me out. Please?"

No answer came.

"Pretty please?"

"Sorry, Scarlett, orders are orders," Alpine said remorsefully.

"How about this," Scarlett said as she got up and pressed against her closed front door.

"How about doing it for me?"

"Don't think so," Alpine yelled back.

"I think you are both really swell guys. You have always been nice to me and you know what? I love you guys."

"We love you too," Bazooka said, smiling at Scarlett's verbal game as he pulled a Twinkie out of his pocket. She had already tried to reason with them, explaining how she had gotten here from a parallel world and needed to go back. Or some shit like that. Now Scarlett was trying to cajole them into listening to her. She was trying to play mind games with them. Right now Bazooka had more immediate concerns. He licked his lips in anticipation of a sweet, wonderful bombardment of calories.

"So what say you let me 'take a stroll' down the hall and to the elevator. I'd love to get some fresh air outside… like on the airfield. You can come with me. What say we take a walk?"

"Sure, Scarlett, we'll do that… next time I feel like getting my ass chewed out," Bazooka replied sarcastically.

"Honesty, Bazooka, how can you eat that shit?" Alpine said, pointing at Bazooka's Twinkie.

"Hey man, you only live once," Bazooka said.

"You know, you keep eating like that and you know what's going to happen? You'll end up fat, bloated, and out of shape, with a ticket to Heart Attack City."

Bazooka paused to ponder his future state of cardiac fitness, the Twinkie nearly inside his cavernous mouth.

"Nah, not likely," Bazooka said as he stuffed the Twinkie into his mouth. Some of the cream got onto his mustache, and he wiped it off with his hand. Bazooka fiddled in his pockets with his other hand, looking for a tissue, but finding none, he shrugged and wiped the cream on the wall next to Scarlett's door.

"Disgusting," Alpine said.

Above Alpine and Bazooka, Snake Eyes silently watched the two Joes talking outside of Scarlett's room, through a ventilation grate. With painstaking care, Snake Eyes had loosened the grating. It was just big enough to allow him to drop through and attack Alpine and Bazooka from above.

The moment had to be perfect.

"Hey, Bazooka," Alpine said in a conspiratorial voice, "you got any more of those?"

"What? After the lecture you just gave me? Fuck you!" Bazooka said.

"Well, sorry man, I'm hungry. That measly bowl of Corn Flakes I ate for breakfast just doesn't cut it. How am I going to have the energy to play ball later this morning and whoop your ass?"

"Here, just take it," Bazooka said, digging in his pocket for another Twinkie and tossing it to Alpine. "I don't need a Twinkie to whoop your ass on the court, bitch."

"Who you calling a bitch… bitch?" Alpine said indignantly to Bazooka as Jinx walked toward them, dressed in her red uniform and mask.

"Working hard, guys?" Jinx said, pulling off her mask and smiling at Alpine and Bazooka.

"Uh…" Alpine said dumbly as he held his Twinkie, "You can't be here, Jinx. Scarlett's quarters is off limits right now."

From the other side of her door, Scarlett listened closely, her ear pressed against the door. Jinx was here. What could this mean?

"But she's my friend, my bosom pal. Can't I drop in and see how she's doing?" Jinx said in a petulant, whiny voice. She crossed her arms and tapped her foot on the ground impatiently, her attitude firm and unyielding.

The moment had come. Snake Eyes slowly removed the grating from the ventilation duct above Alpine as Bazooka moved toward Jinx to shoo her away.

"Come on, Jinx, give us a damn break. You know we're not allowed to—"

Suddenly, Snake Eyes dropped from the ceiling and landed on Alpine's shoulders, forcing him to the floor. Before Alpine could even shout out in alarm, Snake Eyes grabbed his head and banged it to the floor, knocking him unconscious.

Shocked, Bazooka turned to see Snake Eyes attack Alpine. He had just enough time to swing his rifle toward Snake Eyes before Jinx ambushed him with a well-placed wheel kick to the head.

Scarlett stepped away from her door as it opened and Snake Eyes came in backwards, dragging Alpine by the armpits. Jinx dragged in Bazooka.

"I hope we didn't hurt them too bad," Jinx said in concern as Snake Eyes produced a roll of duct tape and proceeded to bind and gag the unconscious Alpine and Bazooka.

"They'll be fine… they'll have a mean headache, though," Snake Eyes signed to her.

"Snake Eyes, Jinx," Scarlett said, alarmed, "you could be court martialed for this. You could be kicked out of the service, or worse."

"Scarlett, we're going to help you, at all cost. No risk is too great," Snake Eyes signed to her.

"No one better try to stop us," Jinx said as she handed Scarlett a rifle.

THE CONTROL ROOM

Duke and General Hawk were discussing something in the communications control room, while Breaker and Flash sat at their consoles.

Breaker looked around him. Duke and Hawk were busy talking some distance away from him and weren't paying any attention to him. Flash lounged in his seat with a comic book, periodically stopping to look up and stare at the images of the anomaly over Illinois.

Returning his attention to his console, Breaker took a look at the security camera monitors. Camera 7 showed a long corridor, with many side hallways, that led to the main elevator.

"You're clear," Breaker said into the microphone of his communications headset.

On the monitor for Camera 7, Breaker watched Snake Eyes give a quick nod to the camera as he and Jinx led Scarlett down the corridor.

Hawk and Duke were finishing up their conversation. If either of them spotted what was happening on the security cameras, Breaker would be in deep shit, he knew.

"I'll check on Scarlett and see how she's holding up," Duke said to Hawk, saluting him as he made his exit.

Oh shit, Breaker thought. Whistling, Breaker casually switched off cameras 7 and 10, both of which showed Scarlett and her two accomplices. He also switched off camera 15, which kept watch from a corner of the ceiling of the main elevator.

"You better haul ass quick, Duke's going to Scarlett's," Breaker hissed into his headset as General Hawk moved to where he was sitting.

"Heyyyy," Breaker said, grinning as he swiveled in his chair to face Hawk. "What can I do for you, General?"

THE MAIN CORRIDOR

Jinx peered from around the corner of a side hall. A distance of 50 yards separated them from the elevator that led to the airfield. No one was in sight, at the moment. There were a couple of stacks of large wooden crates containing food, but other than that, the hall was empty.

"Breaker, are we clear?" Jinx said into her transponder.

"Breaker?"

"What's wrong?" Scarlett said.

"He's not answering. I think we're on our own from here on," Jinx whispered. Near the elevator, Jinx knew that Ace, Rock 'N Roll, and Stalker waited in one of the storage rooms.

"Hey what's going on?" Steeler said.

The three Joes whirled around to face Steeler, who had come around from an adjoining hall and had approached them from behind.

"Scarlett?" Steeler said, surprised. This looked suspicious as hell. Steeler gave a quick glance around him and noticed an alarm was serendipitously located just a few feet from him, to his right.

Snake Eyes, Scarlett, and Jinx noticed this fact as well. There was nothing they could do to stop Steeler from sounding the alarm. If Steeler pulled the alarm, it was over. If they shot Steeler to stop him from pulling the alarm, their cover would be blown.

"Please, don't sound the alarm," Scarlett begged Steeler.

"Scarlett. What the hell are you doing?"

"The anomaly, Steeler. I flew through it before, and now I've got to fly back through it again."

"I don't understand."

"Neither do I."

"Scarlett, you're my friend and all, but if I allowed you to endanger yourself… I couldn't live with myself."

Scarlett walked toward Steeler and closed the distance between them. She reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. Looking him in the eyes, Scarlett silently asked him to remember their friendship, the good times they had shared together, and to do her this last favor.

"Please. Everything's going to be fine. You've got to trust me."

Steeler stood there for a few moments, conflicted. Finally, after closing his eyes, he motioned her off.

"Go on, get out of here. I never saw you."

Scarlett smiled as she took Steeler's hand in her own. She squeezed it gently.

"Thanks, Steeler."

Scarlett turned and raced with Snake Eyes and Jinx down the hall to the elevator.

THE CONTROL ROOM

"Did Scarlett say anything else when she saw you?" Hawk asked.

"No sir," Breaker said, wondering if Hawk noticed how nervous he was getting.

"Breaker, why are those three monitors turned off?"

"Uh, excuse me?"

"Cameras 7, 10, and 15. They're not showing anything."

"Oh?" Breaker feigned surprise as he turned back to face the array of twenty-five security monitors.

"Well, what do you know? Son of a bitch! I guess I forgot about them," Breaker said, trying his best to stall for time. The ear phone in his headset was silent. He had no idea where Scarlett was now.

Hawk stared at Breaker, his suspicion growing.

"Well?"

"Well what, sir?"

"Would you mind turning them on?"

"What? Ohhhh, turn on the monitors! Ha, ha. Of course, sir."

Taking his sweet time, Breaker stopped for a few moments to grab his cup of coffee and take a long, drawn out sip. He placed the cup of coffee back on the counter and lazily reached over to the monitors.

This is it, he thought, as he flicked the on switches, one by one. He held his breath as the monitors flickered back to life.

The hallways showed no one except for Ace, Rock 'N Roll, and Stalker. They were standing around outside the main elevator, having a friendly chat, it seemed. The elevator doors behind them were closing.

Camera 15, which kept watch of the interior of the elevator, showed Snake Eyes and Jinx. Breaker grinned as he realized that they had shoved Scarlett into the space right beneath the camera, which was situated in a corner of the ceiling. They had exploited the camera's blind spot.

Hawk nodded curtly and said to Breaker, "Keep me informed," before walking out of the room.

Breaker sighed in relief at having bought his friends a few extra moments.

SCARLETT'S QUARTERS

Coming around toward Scarlett's room, Duke sensed something was wrong right away.

"Alpine! Bazooka!" Duke called out, his voice echoing down the corridor. Silence.

"Come on, you guys, you're supposed to be guarding Scarlett…"

Duke looked both ways as he stopped in front of Scarlett's door. He noticed a smashed Twinkie not too far from where he was standing.

"What the hell?" Duke said as he opened the door and walked in. No one was there.

"Scarlett!" Duke called out, pulling out his gun.

He edged toward Scarlett's bedroom, gun in hand. The door to the bedroom was ajar. Duke charged into the room, gun drawn, and stopped in his tracks.

Alpine and Bazooka were lying unconscious on Scarlett's bed, gagged and bound.

"Oh shit," Duke said as he turned and ran out of Scarlett's room, heading for the nearest alarm.

THE ELEVATOR

Scarlett, Snake Eyes, and Jinx were still on the elevator when the general alarm sounded. Duke's voice came on the PA system.

"Attention, all Joes! Scarlett has escaped from her quarters and is at large. She is armed and may have accomplices. You are ordered to find her and arrest her immediately!"

The elevator came to a stop at the top level, and the doors opened. Beyond the doors lay the hanger and runway.

"I hope we can get a Sky Striker in time," Scarlett said, worried.

Snake Eyes nodded to her as he jammed his fist on the "Emergency Stop" button on the elevator, locking the elevator at the top level. It would take approximately ten minutes for the other Joes to climb the stairwell all the way to the top.

The three Joes burst out of the elevator and came face to face with five flight technicians and crewmen. None of the flight personnel were armed.

"Do we have a Sky Striker fueled and ready for take off?" Scarlett asked one of them, a tall, lanky young man who appeared very nervous to find himself confronted by an armed fugitive.

"Uh, yes we do," the technician said. He pointed to one of the ten Sky Strikers in the hanger bay.

"I'll need to 'borrow' it," Scarlett said.

"But," one of the mechanics protested, "we can't allow you to—"

"We insist," Jinx said.

Scarlett, Snake Eyes, and Jinx pulled up their weapons and held the five men at gunpoint. The five men looked at each other and shrugged. No arguments here…

THE MAIN CORRIDOR

Duke led a squad of heavily armed Joes down the main corridor to the elevator. He knew Scarlett that Scarlett wanted a Sky Striker. She had probably reached the elevator. She may even have reached the airfield by now. There was still a chance that he could stop her from taking off, since he did not think much time had elapsed since the breakout.

As they drew nearer to the elevator, Duke and the others noticed a stack of large wooden crates blocked their passage.

"Halt!" Duke cried, bringing the others to a stop at a distance of twenty yards from the barricade.

Behind the stack of wooden crates, directly between Duke's squad and the elevator, Stalker, Ace, and Rock 'N Roll had taken up position. The three men crouched behind the crates and had their rifles drawn in firing position.

"We won't let you pass," Stalker shouted.

Duke, Gung-Ho, Dusty, Ripcord, Lady Jaye, Roadblock, Wild Bill, Cover Girl, Beachhead, Footloose, and Quick Kick all exchanged looks of shock and confusion.

"Stalker, Ace, and Rock 'N Roll. What do you think you're doing?"

"We're protecting Scarlett," Rock 'N Roll said.

"We don't want to fire at you, but if you come any closer, we will," Ace added.

But Ace knew he didn't mean it. He cringed at the thought of shooting his friends. None of the three Joes wanted to hurt their teammates in any way.

"We're just stalling for time," Stalker had said as the three Joes had moved the crates into position after hearing the alarm go off. "We've got to make them think we're serious."

Duke ordered his squad to take cover in the nearby side hallways.

"Jeez," Cover Girl said to Duke as he joined her in one of the side hallways, "I don't want to fight my own teammates."

"These guys are our friends," Gung-Ho said.

"Our brothers," Quick Kick said.

"Guys, be reasonable," Duke pleaded with Stalker, emerging from his cover. "You're committing gross insubordination and threatening to shoot your own teammates. Is that the way we work in G.I. Joe?"

"Doesn't matter what you say, Duke, we won't let you pass," Stalker repeated.

"Guys, just calm down, okay?" Duke took a few steps forward. "Just put down your weapons and—"

Stalker took aim and fired a single shot at Duke. The bullet whizzed between Duke's legs and hit the ground ten yards directly behind him. Duke, reflexively covering his nuts, turned to look backward at the bullet hole in the floor.

"Fuck me!" Duke cried.

He whirled around toward his squad and put up his hands. Gung-Ho and Beachhead were about to fire back in reflex.

"Hold your fire, hold your fire!"

Duke backed away from where he was standing. He found Lady Jaye in one of the side corridors.

"I need tear gas grenades," he said fiercely. He was infuriated now, marveling at the nerve of that bastard Stalker, trying to scare him like that! He turned to the others.

"Gas masks, everyone. We're going to rush them, we're going to come after them in a full on blitz. On my order."

Hidden from sight of the three insurgents, Duke's squad of soldiers donned their gas masks and slung their rifles over their shoulders. They would fight with their fists.

Taking two tear gas grenades from Lady Jaye, Duke activated them and hurled them at Stalker, Ace, and Rock 'N Roll. None of them had gas masks.

"Son of a bitch," Stalker said as he watched the grenades arch toward them, leaving thin tendrils of smoke in their wake. "I should have known."

"Charge!" Duke cried, donning his gas mask, as he led his teammates in a mad rush toward the elevator. The gas grenades exploded, and a cloud of tear gas rapidly swept outward, from the elevator, down the hall, enveloping Stalker, Ace, and Rock 'N Roll in a matter of seconds.

"Get them," Stalker cried madly as he threw down his weapon and hurled himself over the barricade. Ace and Rock 'N Roll followed his lead. The three Joes, blinded and with burning lungs, held their breaths and shut their eyes as they charged their opponents.

In a cloud of gas, the two sides met in a wild exchange of punches and kicks. After landing a couple of wild punches, Ace and Rock 'N Roll were quickly overpowered. Stalker was able to seize a gas mask off of Footloose, sending him into a fit of coughing and tears, before he too went down in the midst of the fight, as multiple Joes piled on top of him.

When the smoke cleared, Stalker, Ace, and Rock 'N Roll were on the floor with tears streaming down their faces. They were coughing uncontrollably. They had been decisively beaten down, all in all. Footloose, having lost his gas mask in the thick of the fight, was also on the floor, suffering from the effects of the tear gas. The remaining Joes stood around them, their pulses racing from the excitement and stress of having to fight their own teammates.

"Gung-Ho and Roadblock, stay here with these men," Duke ordered. "The rest of you follow me!"

Duke and the remaining Joes raced toward the stairwell.

THE HANGER BAY

"You're ready to go!" one of the mechanics shouted to Scarlett, who found a flight helmet and tried it on.

The midmorning sun shone through the hanger bay doors, beyond which lay the airfield and runway. Somewhere in that clear blue sky lay Scarlett's objective. Snake Eyes and Jinx, who both had their weapons trained on the flight personnel, paused to look at her.

It was time. Scarlett strapped on her flight helmet and headed for the Sky Striker, her eyes on the ladder leading to the open cockpit.

Suddenly she froze and turned around. What was she thinking?

"Snake Eyes," she cried out, running back toward him, tearing off her flight helmet. Stripping off his mask, Snake Eyes dropped his rifle and ran to her.

They met each other and embraced each other tightly. Snake Eyes hugged her so hard, he lifted her off of her feet for a few seconds from the force of his embrace alone.

"Snake Eyes," Scarlett said, dropping the helmet from her hand. The helmet clanged on the metal ground as she cupped Snake Eyes' scarred face with her hands and kissed him passionately. Snake Eyes wrapped his arms around her. Their bodies melded into one; neither wanted to let the other go. Jinx and the flight technicians merely stared at the two, stunned. They were all visibly uncomfortable at witnessing such a private and emotional moment.

The reality of the situation had suddenly hit Scarlett. The moment of farewell had arrived at last. All this time, the goals of her mission, the need for her to escape, had superceded all other thoughts. Suddenly she saw in a moment of blinding clarity that she must now say good-bye to the man with whom she had fallen in love. Her pursuers, she knew, would be here in a matter of minutes. She only had a few minutes left to spend with him.

"How can I think of leaving you," Scarlett said, her voice breaking as her emotions welled up to the surface.

"Am I crazy? How can I leave you? I love you so much," Scarlett choked out, tears streaming down her reddened cheeks.

"Why must you go?" Snake Eyes mouthed silently to her.

"Because," Scarlett stammered, "because the people in my world NEED me…"

She looked into the face of the man who had taught her so much about herself, about life, about love. The memories of the last eight months rapidly flickered through her mind. How could she forget all the conversations they had shared together, their first kiss; how could she ever forget the sublime happiness of finding the love of her life?

"My teammates need me," Scarlett continued, trying to convince herself, her words feeling hollow and false.

At that moment, the image of Snake Eyes alone on the roof of G.I. Joe headquarters, lit up by Christmas lights, with no friends but the stars in the heavens above, flashed across Scarlett's mind. His heart had been broken, perhaps a hundred times. The scars buried themselves deep in his body and in his soul. And worst of all, he was alone.

"Because," Scarlett finally realized, thinking of the Snake Eyes alone on that roof at Christmas, "HE needs me."

Scarlett and Snake Eyes released each other from their embrace. Standing close, Snake Eyes spoke to her in sign language.

"If this is what you truly want, if this is what you need…"

Scarlett nodded tearfully.

"Remember me," he signed to her as he leaned in and kissed her for the last time. Their kiss was filled with sweetness and longing.

Scarlett, cupping Snake Eyes' face with her hands, brought his forehead against hers. They stood there together for a few moments, their eyes closed. They listened to each other breathing.

"You risked everything for me. You risk not seeing me again, not only me, but the Scarlett of this world as well, because you placed my desires above your own. How can I possibly allow myself to do anything that could break your heart?"

"I believe in you," Snake Eyes signed, "I trust you with my heart, my love… my life."

Scarlett tentatively took a few steps backward, still holding onto Snake Eyes' hands as she did so. Finally, with agonizing slowness, she let go. Picking up her flight helmet, Scarlett ran toward her plane, blinded by tears, unwilling to look back for fear that she might jeopardize her escape by lingering any longer. When she climbed up the ladder and leapt into the cockpit, she took one last look.

Snake Eyes stood with Jinx at his side. They both held up their hands in farewell. Scarlett pressed her hand against the glass of her cockpit shield as it lowered into place.

The Sky Striker lumbered out of the hanger bay and taxied onto the runway. Their weapons forgotten, Snake Eyes and Jinx watched the Sky Striker recede farther and farther into the distance. The flight technicians came out and joined them as everyone watched the plane begin to increase speed. In a matter of seconds, the rumbling roar of the jet engines filled the air as Scarlett's Sky Striker lifted off the runway and soared into the air.

At the moment of flight, Snake Eyes broke down. He would have uttered a cry of pain if he had the voice to do so. Clutching his face with his hands in anguish, Snake Eyes' knees buckled and he dropped to the ground on his knees. Meanwhile, the doors to the stairwell burst open, and Duke and his team of Joes stormed into the hangar bay.

Snake Eyes dimly heard on the periphery of his consciousness, Duke shouting orders, yelling at him that he and Jinx were under arrest for breaking Scarlett out and helping her steal a Sky Striker. He dimly perceived Jinx yelling back at Duke to shut up, can't you see his heart's broken, won't you give him a few moments for him to recover from the pain of his loss? The Joes solemnly surrounded Snake Eyes as he sat doubled over on the floor, trembling from head to toe. No one said anything for a long time. For a moment, it seemed the stolen Sky Striker had been forgotten. Nothing mattered but the dear voice he might never hear again, the shining eyes, the soft touch of the one that told him that she reserved her innermost being for him and him alone.

With single-minded purpose, Scarlett piloted her Sky Striker at top speed high above the American midwest. There was no turning back now, she knew. No one had come after her in pursuit. She wondered why. Perhaps they all realized her determination, that nothing short of shooting her down and taking a chance of killing her would stop her mission. Perhaps they realized that having failed at stopping her escape from G.I. Joe Headquarters, there was no stopping her now.

The radio crackled to life.

"Scarlett, it's me," Duke said on the radio.

"Please, think about what you're doing. It's madness," Duke pleaded with her.

The anomaly in the sky now appeared before her in the distance. She had crossed the 100 mile border zone into restricted airspace. The colors blazed brightly in the blue sky. It was like a crazy psychedelic stream, a series of waves of brilliant colors and light. Shining radiantly, it blinded her. Beaming hypnotically, it called out to her like a siren, beckoning her in.

Scarlett switched off the radio and locked her course onto the target. The rays and lines seared over her cockpit shield. Many times the size of her plane, the anomaly loomed larger and larger, until the moment of contact. Scarlett shut her eyes and gritted her teeth as she flew in.

THE CONTROL ROOM

"Scarlett," Duke repeated into the radio.

To everyone's amazement, the Sky Striker flew straight into the anomaly in the sky, and the anomaly suddenly vanished, but Scarlett's Sky Striker had reappeared on the other side, apparently intact.

A large number of Joes were gathered in the central control room. While Duke expectantly held the radio transponder, Hawk, Breaker, Flash, Cover Girl, and Lady Jaye stood behind. Accompanied by Dusty and Wild Bill, Snake Eyes and Jinx, their hands bound, also hovered near the receiver.

The radio receiver came to life.

"Uh, this is Scarlett," a disoriented sounding Scarlett said. Her voice rang throughout the room, and everyone, especially Snake Eyes, breathed a sigh of relief that she was alive.

"What's going on? What am I doing out here?"

Everyone looked at one another, astonished.

In a parallel world, an instant after disappearing into the electromagnetic distortion, Scarlett's plane reappeared on the other side.

"Scarlett!"

Someone was calling Scarlett's name over the radio. Scarlett shook her head, as confused and disoriented as from the time when she had first flown through the anomaly.

"Scarlett!" Ace's voice came through once again.

"Scarlett here," Scarlett responded. Glancing at her Sky Striker's computer, she read the date and time.

December 26, 15:07

The exact date and time she had first flown through, when she had been on patrol with Ace, all those months ago. Eight months ago, to be exact.

"Ace, what just happened?"

"You flew into that weird blob of color," Ace explained as he looked at the anomaly in space. It was still there, but it was gradually decreasing in size.

"You disappeared from my radar for a split second," Ace went on, "I saw your plane vanish into thin air."

"It's as if I was never gone," Scarlett whispered to herself.

"What does it mean?" Ace wondered out loud.

COBRA HEADQUARTERS

"I'll tell you what this means," Cobra Commander blustered at an impassive Destro, "It means this stupid contraption of yours, this incredible drain of energy and money, DOESN'T WORK!"

"Wait, Cobra Commander, no!" Destro protested as Cobra Commander took out a semiautomatic pistol and emptied an entire clip of bullets into Destro's fantastic machine.

"Fucking piece of shit!" Cobra Commander launched into a tirade of violence and obscenities. After emptying out the clip of ammo, Cobra Commander reloaded a fresh clip and shot at the device some more.

"Whore! Cocksucker! Motherless fuck!" Cobra Commander shrieked with blind rage.

With the Baroness at his side, Destro watched in stunned silence as sparks flew from the damaged circuits. A metallic shard, damaged by bullets, loosed itself from the control panel and thundered on the floor. Foul smelling smoke emanated from the ruined device.

"I suggest," Cobra Commander hissed, waving his gun menacingly at Destro, "that you take this worthless pile of junk, salvage whatever parts you can, and then use it to buy yourself a clue, you incompetent, aluminum headed dolt."

Storming off the scene, Cobra Commander left Destro with the Baroness and the ruined machine. The Baroness took Destro's arm.

"Poor sweet Destro," she said, trying to comfort her lover.

"Everyone has a dream," Destro said miserably to the Baroness. "Some men dream of riches. Some dream of power and conquest. Others dream of nothing more than finding true love."

"My dream," Destro continued, "my dream is to create the ultimate weapon of death and destruction."

He turned to her and asked, "Is that too much to ask in life?"

"I'm sorry, darling. I have nothing to offer you… except me," the Baroness said, putting an arm around his waist.

"Give me some sugar, baby," Destro said as he and the Baroness retired to their bedroom for another night of wild desires and starry eyed dreams.

G.I. JOE HEADQUARTERS

Sitting alone in her room, Scarlett tried to mentally sum up everything that had just happened, but the task was too enormous.

I may never understand the meaning of what happened, she thought to herself.

The doorbell rang. Thinking instinctively that it was her love, Snake Eyes, Scarlett bounded out of her room and practically yanked the door off its hinges. He would be there, as always, his eyes dancing in the light, his dark figure weakly illuminated in the night, his arms lovingly outstretched toward her, his hand perhaps even bearing a beautiful red rose that he had picked out for her on the way. It would be him, the man who walked a thousand miles in the desert for her and who arrived torn, bruised, and bloodied in body, but with a love unbroken and untarnished.

But he was not there. It wasn't him. No, not the love of her life. This man who stood in her doorway was as different from her adored one as he could possibly be. Tall and fair skinned, strong and handsome and manly, like someone cut out of a cigarette magazine advertisement.

"Scarlett?" Duke said, confused. "It's me."

"Oh," Scarlett said, blushing, furiously concealing the disappointment in her voice.

"We're still on for dinner, right?"

"Yeah, that's right," Scarlett said, pretending to sound cheerful and happy.

"Shall we?" Duke held out his arm. Scarlett took his arm, and they proceeded to a nearby Italian restaurant.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Sure, I'm sure," Scarlett smiled as she twirled her fork absentmindedly into her spaghetti.

"It's just that you seem really distant today. You seem to have changed since yesterday."

"I have changed, Duke. I'm not the same person I was before. Nothing will be the same for me again. Nothing will ever be the same for the two of us again."

Duke reached out and put his hand on Scarlett's hand, causing her to stop fiddling with her food.

"Talk to me. What's happened to you, Shana?"

"If it seems to you that I've changed since yesterday, then it's because I've been gone for eight months."

"Eight months?"

"During that time, I learned something about myself. I learned something about my own heart."

"Shana… I don't understand."

"Conrad, we're friends, right?"

"We are friends."

"We always will be. And as your friend, I will always care for you."

Scarlett gently withdrew her hand from Duke's.

"But my heart, my soul, belongs to another. I'm sorry, Conrad."

Scarlett, fighting the tears in her eyes, grabbed her purse and stood up. She gently kissed Duke on the cheek. Duke stared at her in shock and bewilderment as she left the restaurant.

THE MESS HALL – DINNER TIME

"So Scarlett," Shipwreck said in a loud voice for everyone in the room to hear, "word from the scuttlebutt says you claim to have been gone for eight months!"

A week had passed since Scarlett had broken with Duke in the Italian restaurant. It was a typical evening in the Joe Mess Hall, but now the routine had been shattered. Everyone in the room turned to look at Scarlett, who was seated with Snake Eyes, Stalker, Rock 'N Roll, Ace, Breaker, and Jinx. The room went deathly silent.

Apparently word of Scarlett's "eight month absence" had spread fast. Scarlett perceived that Duke had mentioned to some friends the details of their break up, and these details had included her fantastical claim of having been absent for eight entire months.

Scarlett shot a glance at Duke, but he fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat and averted his eyes.

Shipwreck walked toward Scarlett from his table.

"Ace said you disappeared for just a split second!"

"That's right," Scarlett said.

"And during that split second you disappeared for eight months?"

"Yeah, that's right," Scarlett admitted, reddening.

"Now honey," Shipwreck said, his parrot perched quietly on his shoulder, "I ain't no Einstein, but I do know that half a second does not equal eight months!"

A handful of Joes burst out in hearty laughter.

"How do you explain it?" Shipwreck sneered. "I mean, I honest to God would like to know. Don't we all?"

Shipwreck gestured to the other Joes in the room, who called out: yeah, sure we do, we'd love to know!

"I can't explain it!" Scarlett cried as she stood up and walked toward the center of the room. There was once again silence.

"But I do know this much," Scarlett said, softening her tone. "I had an experience that changed my life forever. I saw and did things that, if you could just enter my mind and take a look through my own eyes, would amaze you. I traveled to a strange new world, a world with people just like you and me, a world in which G.I. Joe still vies with Cobra for the future of human kind, a world filled with good and evil, kindness and cruelty, light and darkness. And I learned about myself. I met someone who touched my heart and showed me the meaning of love, someone who sacrificed everything for my well being, someone who would have journeyed to the ends of the earth, through the pits of Hell, to save me, someone who became my path, my light, my life. We shared something truly special, something truly amazing, a meeting of souls, until I could not tell him from me. I can't explain it. There's no science or logic that can explain what I saw and heard and learned."

Everyone stared at Scarlett, transfixed by her emotional speech. Scarlett's eyes wandered around the room, focusing on each of her teammates, until finally, they settled on Snake Eyes. Snake Eyes, realizing that she was looking straight at him, looked back with uncertainty and bemusement.

"There's no scientific explanation for how things happen the way they do, or why things are what they are…" Scarlett said, continuing to look at Snake Eyes.

"…They just are."

Later that night, Scarlett found Snake Eyes alone on the roof. The Christmas lights were still up, the stars in the night sky were the same as on Christmas night… everything was the same, and yet Scarlett knew that she was not the same.

Scarlett quietly drew up alongside Snake Eyes, who looked at her askance.

"Hello, Snake Eyes," Scarlett said softly, reminding herself that this was not the same soul that she had fallen in love with.

"Why are you here?" he signed to her.

"Because I want to see you," Scarlett replied.

"That's great," Snake Eyes sarcastically signed rapidly, "you want to see me, but since your sign language skills stink, you won't be able to understand half of what I'm trying to say to you. Don't you understand that I care for you, and when you don't even take the trouble to listen to me, that hurts me? I would give up my life for you. Do you know that? Does that mean anything to you? Why must you always break my heart?"

Scarlett grabbed Snake Eyes hands to stop him from signing. She knew what he was doing. He was delivering an outpouring of sign language to confuse and mock her for not understanding him.

"Stop that, Snake Eyes, please," Scarlett said, tears forming in her eyes, "You hurt me by saying such things. Of course I know you care for me. Of course I know you would sacrifice your life to save my own. And I'm so grateful to you for it, Snake Eyes. You should always know that it means the world to me."

Snake Eyes looked at Scarlett in amazement.

"You understand me," he signed to her. Scarlett thought she detected a smile beneath Snake Eyes' mask.

"I understand you perfectly," she said, smiling warmly.

"But how is this possible?"

"I did say I was gone for eight months, didn't I?"

"You learned sign language while you were gone for eight months?"

"I learned a lot of things."

"Who was this mysterious person who showed you the meaning of love?"

"He was you," Scarlett said, looking him in the eyes.

Snake Eyes shook his head in confusion.

"I don't understand what you mean."

"Snake Eyes, let me try to explain," Scarlett said as they stood together along the railing of the roof and looked to the stars. She gingerly placed her hand on his own.

"There's a world parallel to our own. There's a trillion billion such worlds, just like ours, with people like you and me. I saw one such world, with a man they called Snake Eyes, just like you. Through him, I had a glimpse into what might have been, and what could be… between you and me. And this moment of time was so sweet to me, so wonderful, that I didn't want to let it go. I didn't want to leave, but I did. I found something tremendous, something truly amazing, and it was a treasure I could not keep to myself. I wanted to share it. That's why I came back. So I could share my treasure with you."

Snake Eyes looked at her for a long time. At first he looked at her as if she were out of her mind, but gradually his stance softened. Finally, he lifted his hands to his face. Scarlett stood there, mesmerized, as Snake Eyes removed the mask from his face to reveal a face that was every bit as scarred and broken as the Snake Eyes she once knew.

"Look at me," he signed to her. "I'm all messed up. I'm broken on the outside. I'm broken on the inside. How can a beautiful woman such as you care for a wreck like me?"

"Won't you let me in?" Scarlett said, reaching out to put her hand on Snake Eyes' face. "I could be whatever you want me to be for you. Whatever you need me to be."

Scarlett cupped Snake Eyes' face with her hands. Snake Eyes began to do something she had never seen before. He began to cry. The tears flowed freely from his eyes, wetting the palms of her hands, and his body trembled with the sobs that he could not enunciate in sounds.

"You don't have to be lonely for the rest of your life," Scarlett said tenderly and with feeling. She began crying too. "You don't have to feel like there's no one in this world who cares for you. I could be your one kindred spirit. When you're lost at sea, I could be your beacon, your lighthouse…"

"…your morning star…"

They embraced and held each other for a very long time, until so much time had passed, that they forgot how long they had been standing there beneath the stars.

Somewhere, perhaps under those very same stars, two people, their destinies inextricably intertwined, sat on a hill in the mountains, not far from a humble cabin.

Snake Eyes sat on a hill overlooking an enormous valley, his arm draped around the shoulders of the woman he loved.

"We've been censured and suspended from the Joe team," Scarlett said to Snake Eyes.

"…And I still don't understand why."

"It could have been worse," Snake Eyes signed.

"I lost eight months. That's a big chunk of missing time."

"You've heard the story a hundred times," Snake Eyes signed.

"I was me, yet I was not me," Scarlett said, screwing her eyes at the thought of the paradox. "I started out not loving you, and then I grew to love you."

"And I fell in love with you, all over again," Snake Eyes smiled.

Scarlett leaned in closer to Snake Eyes and rested her head on his chest. Together, they pondered the stars, and the things of the past, the present, the future, and all the wondrously diverging roads that the future promised for them both.