*O's A/N: I hope this is accurate, and you can follow the fight. This took a lot of patience to write, but I had a blast. :D
*O's Warnings: I have 2 warnings here: 1) Please remember that this is my version of what happened between Snake Eyes, Scarlett, and Storm Shadow. I have retained some of the comic 'verse but added my own version. 2) I have reduced the rating to PG-13 because I felt R was unnecessary, BUT this chapter is correctly rated R because of some references to violence and descriptions of pain. Not really gore but I tended to describe the pain. The squeamish or those unable to tolerate pain may want to be aware and take note.
Once again, an enormous thank you to DesertFox for beta-ing this for me and keeping me out of trouble.
*O's Disclaimer: General disclaimers apply. I do not own GI Joe or the characters. Hasbro/Sunbow/Marvel/Devil's Due comics created GI Joe. I used bits and pieces from the cartoon and comic to create my fic, and alas, I make no money from this fic.
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Title: An Old FlameAuthor: Scarlett Storm O
Rating: R – contains some violence that the squeamish may want to avoid
Summary: Scarlett faces an old adversary in a life or death battle.
Feedback: Yes please. Here or offsite.
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Chapter 2 – ...And Into the Fire
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Scarlett took a deep breath, cleared her mind, and entered the room ready to greet a long-lost friend turned foe from her ninja years. With as much confidence as she could muster, she said, "Tommy, don't do this. It doesn't have to be this way. It didn't happen like you think it did." She tried to use logical rationale with Storm Shadow but to no avail.
"Miss O'Hara, how good of you to come and join your ex-lover for his final breath," Tommy scowled at his new adversary. "If I were you, I would turn the other way and retreat. I can handle Snake Eyes' death but don't give me a reason to assassinate two Joes. I'll do it with pleasure."
Duke was rarely surprised, but the scene in front of him was unbelievable. Storm Shadow had apparently been able to get the upper hand on Snake Eyes and was ready for the kill. Storm Shadow was poised over Snake Eyes with his sword barely inches from Snakes' throat. Snakes was down and looked very injured. He was lying in a puddle of blood that appeared to be coming from an injury to his torso.
Scarlett had no weaponry to fight this ninja, save for her throwing stars on her gloves, her gun, and her crossbow. She laid her gun and crossbow down against the wall and made him an offer. "Tommy, fight me for him then. I cannot let you kill him when he is injured. Let him regain his breath while you fight me. If you kill me, then you can deal with him." Scarlett was determined to take on Storm Shadow and hoped that the recent fight with Snakes had fatigued Tommy a bit. She wasn't sure how badly Snakes was injured but prayed that she could draw Tommy's wrath until reinforcements arrived.
Snake Eyes could barely move but his sign language told her not to do it. *Just let Tommy kill me and end the torment. He'll kill you.* She shook her head; she couldn't abandon him. Snake Eyes was a teammate, and like it or not, they shared a past that could never be rewritten.
Tommy expected this stubbornness from her and took her refusal to retreat as an open invitation to fight him. He sneered at her, "Foolish woman. Do you still love this loser, after all that he did to you? Tell me you are smarter than that. You must have a death wish."
She had angered him, but at least he had withdrawn his sword from Snakes' throat and turned his attention towards her. "Snake Eyes is my teammate. One that I will defend to the death if that is what it takes. I may not be a ninja, but I do have honor."
"So be it. Let it begin," and he rushed her with his sword drawn. She launched herself into a run, followed by a handspring, vaulting herself hopefully high enough to clear his attack but to also be able to grab his second sword still secured on his back. She couldn't fight him with no blade. If she missed, she would have to grab Snakes' fallen sword but that would require extreme speed and chance.
With a swift grasp and a little bit of Lady Luck, she ripped his sword from his back and somersaulted to her feet behind him, whirling around to face him and the fight of her life.
"Very good, Black Widow, but you cannot beat me. Let's see how well you have improved over the years, shall we?" His dark, calculating eyes narrowed to a slit, and he made his first thrust.
Scarlett deflected one thrust after another with the occasional lunge towards her opponent. His strength and agility were unmatchable. He was not the least bit weary, and his hits vibrated through her body. She wielded her sword to counter his attacks and kept her eyes locked on his.
Duke had radioed the others while he observed the showdown between the white-clad ninja and the redhead hell bent on protecting her injured teammate. He had never been unable to join a teammate in a fight, and to watch the woman he loved risk her life was internal torture. In his weakened condition, he would surely get himself, her, or all of them killed if he tried to intervene. He could tell that even though Scarlett was proficient with the sword, it took a lot of energy and strength to deflect blows from an enemy unafraid to deliver a killing stab.
Duke approached Snake Eyes and tended to his wounds as he vigilantly watched the battle. Snakes had lost a lot of blood already, and he had multiple stab wounds on his arms and legs, but the worst gash was on his side. He tore some of his remaining tattered shirt into strips to make makeshift tourniquets for Snakes' cuts and tried to wrap some of the larger strips around the bloody side wound until Doc could dress it appropriately.
As the sword battle continued to escalate, Tommy showed no signs of growing fatigued, and he relished in his foreseeable win. He scoffed to his opponent. "You fight for the life of a murderer, my dear. He let my brother die, and you defend him. You should die with him," Tommy exclaimed as he did a roundhouse kick, knocking her back several feet and sending her breathlessly sprawled onto the ground. He was upon her instantaneously, but Scarlett managed to propel herself into a back flip and away from his fatal blow. Her swift and sudden movement had surprised Storm Shadow momentarily, allowing her a precious second to recover slightly from that jarring kick.
The sound of metal striking metal echoed in the room once more, until a hard clash of the swords sent her sword flying out of her hands and a piercing sensation pulsated down her arm. He had stabbed her just below her left shoulder and swiftly and efficiently swept his leg behind her legs to bring her crashing down to the floor yet again. As she fell and collided with the floor, the cold, hard steel ripped its way back out of her body. She screamed in pain.
Adrenaline kicked in, and Duke, ignoring his own pain, tried to come to her aid and grabbed for Snakes' sword, but before he was even able to implement his plan, a stinging sensation was felt in his upper thigh. Immediately, he fell from the force of the shuriken that was now imbedded in his thigh and a strange paralyzing feeling surged through his leg.
"Trying to save your woman, my brave but stupid man? She is mine for the slaying and soon you and the murderer will be joining her. What a lucky day. The Commander shall have to pay me extra for delivering three dead Joes to him, but first things first." Storm Shadow reveled in his certain victory. "Miss O'Hara, you know what they say 'Live by the sword, die by the sword'. You did rather well but not near the caliber needed to fight and beat me. Are you ready to die?"
Scarlett was battling a horrible pain radiating up and down her spine from the stab wound. The throbbing feeling was excruciating, and any movement sent agonizing ripples of pain coursing through her body. She had to think straight, but the weariness from the fight and the pain from her shoulder wound caused her mind to concentrate on its pain instead of a rationale and plausible escape. She was finally able to spot her sword a few feet away. She forced her mind to focus on the problem at hand. If she could anticipate Tommy's final plan of attack, she could possibly roll to grab her sword and out of harms way. She would have to roll onto her wounded shoulder, and the thought of the potential pain associated with that move made her shiver. Even if she would be able to retrieve her sword, she knew that the chances of her hanging on to it for any length of time were slim to none. Where were Stalker and the team?
Duke could tell that she was in pain, but he could do nothing to help her; he couldn't even move his legs. Whatever nerve or muscle that the shuriken had hit had rendered him immobile from the waist down. He was afraid that if he tried to reach for the pistol that Scarlett had given him, Storm Shadow would finish off Scarlett. He tried to rationalize with this stranger by saying, "Why don't you take us out first, ninja. The lady is hurt already. She is of no threat to you." Duke was trying to buy her some time by turning Storm Shadow's attention away from her so she could formulate a plan.
"It does give one a sense of victory to see an adversary in agony." Tommy gloated, exhilarated in seeing his antagonist in pain. He could almost feel his strength from this battle return and fed off the pain in his opponent's eyes. Totally ignoring the blond-haired stranger's request, he bent down to his wounded victim. "Does it hurt, my dear Black Widow? How does the spider feel when she is on the receiving end of death?" Tommy hissed in her ear as he caressed her cheek and wiped a few strands of hair away from her eyes. He wanted to see her eyes as he thrust his sword through her heart.
She recoiled with disgust at his touch and spoke in a sharp but pained tone. "Why Tommy? Don't you think Snake Eyes has suffered enough? Why kill us? Two deaths will not avenge your brother's death."
He grabbed her chin and retorted, "You wicked woman. I ought to cut your tongue out for your blasphemy. I have hunted down everyone involved in my brother's demise. He's the last one, but because you insisted on fighting me, you must die too." He released her and stood upright, looking down at her. "I promise you one thing. The pain will not last much longer. I will make your death a speedy one by impaling your heart."
Storm Shadow raised his sword for the kill. "See you in hell, O'Hara," he snarled as he plunged his sword down towards her.
She gathered her wits and strength, and as the point of the blade came hurtling towards her, she rolled out of the way by mere inches and cried out in pain. This had to be what the threshold of hell felt like. Because the pain was unbearable, she could not complete the entire roll and missed the sword so she kicked out with all of her might, connected with one of Tommy's knees, and sent him crashing down. Her kick to his knee had disabled him for the moment, and he cursed and threatened her with several variants of torture.
A swift kick to his ribs shut him up as he eyed his new attacker. Stalker had entered the room just in time to witness Scarlett's desperate kick at Tommy's knees. Stalker picked up Tommy's fallen sword and rested it not so lightly on his chest, directly above the beating heart.
"Give me one reason not to run you through," Stalker growled at Storm Shadow.
"No Stalker! Don't!" Scarlett managed to say through gritted teeth as she struggled to climb to her feet.
Stalker shook his head and glared at Storm Shadow. "You owe her your life...'friend'," he spat sarcastically.
Regaining some composure and fighting back the pain in her voice, Scarlett placed her sword inches from the throat of the man who just seconds ago tried to kill her and steadily spoke to him. "Do you really believe that you could have done better? Do you think you could have survived that fiery blast and saved your brother? Snake Eyes did the best that he could and look at the price he paid." She alluded to his scarred face and charred vocal cords.
"Spare me your lecture, O'Hara. You were not there. You have no idea what happened. You were only told the half-truths from him." He paused and stared at her with an icy glower. "Go ahead and run me through. I dare you," he taunted her in a threatening voice that made her cringe.
Scarlett shook her head and kept her eyes locked on Storm Shadow's glare while she asked Duke how he and Snake Eyes were. Duke's answer confirmed that Snakes was still alive, and he didn't know what the hell had happened to him other than getting hammered by a throwing star and the inability to feel his legs.
She had not been aware that he had been injured by Storm Shadow, but notified Duke that the shuriken was dipped in a paralyzing poison, and it would wear off in time. It was a means to disabling multiple attackers so one could concentrate on a single enemy.
Stalker was quite worried about Scarlett. With each word she spoke, she grimaced in pain. Her uniform was soaked in blood, and she was as white as snow. He addressed Scarlett with some concern, "You're losing a lot of blood. Maybe you should sit down. Flint and the guys should be here soon."
"I'm not taking that chance, Stalk. This guy isn't going anywhere. He is too dangerous, injured or not."
Finally, Flint and the remainder of the team came around the corner to encounter an alarming scene. Duke and Snake Eyes were bloody and injured, and Scarlett and Stalker had some white ninja pinned to the ground. Scarlett had a bloodstain growing on her uniform and looked terribly exhausted. Flint ordered Gung-ho, Grunt, and Steeler to take this ninja into custody. Stalker quickly insisted to Flint that he be part of the escort team. Flint nodded his approval and instructed Steeler to go assist Doc and the others.
"Watch him closely, guys. He's dangerous." Scarlett warned them.
"Yes ma'am," Gung-ho declared and then directed his attention to his new prisoner. "Come on snake, you are eating into my chow time."
With the release of Storm Shadow to her teammates, Scarlett felt the dizziness engulf her, and she let her sword fall to the ground. She felt very lightheaded from the loss of blood, and she welcomed the relief associated with the knowledge that Tommy was in custody and being taken away from her and her teammates. She had felt obligated to help Stalker guard Tommy, but now...now she could relax. She felt Flint grab her waist and realized that she had just about fainted. As she continued to sink towards the floor, he gently lifted her, and she succumbed to the darkness that enveloped her.
With Scarlett in his arms, Flint oversaw the rest of the team taking care of the injured Duke and Snake Eyes. Doc had already loaded Snake Eyes on a stretcher, and he and Steeler were carrying him out. Clutch and Ripcord were tackling the job of helping Duke with his wobbly legs. Flint thought to himself, Good Lord. What the hell just happened here?
"Come on. Let's get outta here before Ace and his team gets here." Flint gave the final command for all the Joes to exit. Doc had ordered that all the wounded be placed on the Tomahawk with Wild Bill to be flown immediately to the infirmary. The rest of the team, including the prisoner, boarded the other Tomahawk and Dragonfly and took off just as Ace led the air strike in to destroy the Cobra base.
*TBC – Chapter 3 – Wounds