Author's Note: Let me know how I'm doing.
Back to Reality - Part 13
"You actually have him married to Shana O'Hara?" Firefly said brashly. "Isn't that dangerous, Commander? Snake Eyes is in love with Scarlet in real life. In making her his wife, it might trigger his real memories to filter through your programming."
"Your concerns are noted, Firefly, but they're unwarranted," the Commander said. "The new and improved BWS (Brainwave Scanner) is infallible. That brief moment when both Snake Eyes and Arashikage suspected deception was all a part of my plan. Ninja are a suspicious bunch by nature and therefore I wanted them to feel that emotion."
"But you took it away, why?" Firefly asked.
"Because the game has only begun, my fluttery friend," the Commander said. "If I wanted them dead I would've done so sooner, but we haven't even gotten to the second level yet."
"Second level?" Firefly said. "How many levels are there in this a game of yours?"
"As many as I want," he said plainly. "I've designed the program to adapt and facilitate to anything those two ninjas do. So nothing they do will surprise me."
"Never underestimate a ninja, Commander," Firefly warned.
Cobra Commander stopped what he was typing into the computer console and looked at Firefly. The man's face was unmasked, but he knew what he was looking at wasn't the real man's identity. The man was using some sort of Ninja mind trick to disguise his true face. Firefly had some sort of mysterious power that reached deep into a person's mind and scrambled things about a little, much like the BWS, but on a slightly more minimalist scale. While the BWS worked on a broader scale, Firefly dealt on a specific level. He targeted the sensory part of the brain and delivered a false image for the eyes to see. What the Commander saw was a blonde haired man with a hard looking, but cocky, slightly battle scarred face. G.I.Joe records profiled him to have this appearance, but looks have a way to be deceptive when it came to a man with the suggestive power that Firefly had. Where and how he got it was a mystery, though he probably developed it when he spent an indeterminate amount of time among the ninjas of the Arashikage Clan before Zartan's arrow killed the Hard Master and it was disbanded.
He remembered the first time he dealt with Firefly. He called upon his reputable services to infiltrate the Arashikage Clan and kill Snake Eyes. But due to still unexplainable circumstances he was unable to accomplish his mission and Zartan had to be brought it to finish the job. Though Firefly still kept the money he was paid to do the job, which still irked him even after all these years. And then there were all those times where he paid upfront for his services and Firefly failed to complete other appointed tasks. His motto was: No refunds. Which, for a profitable business man, was very prolific and proficient. And for that point alone he admired him. But the Commander was a business man too and when he paid for a job to be done it had better be done or else!
"You're starting to get on my nerves, Firefly," the Commander said. "Go see how Slice is doing, now." He said firmly and returned to his computer console and continued typing in code for his game.
Firefly gritted his teeth inside a closed mouth, but he couldn't hide the annoyed expression dealt out through his eyes. He snorted short and then left, his ears capturing a low chuckle by the Commander.
He joined Slice, and watched as he dealt out blow after blow to the red-haired ninja, Kamakura. Delivering several uppercut punches to Kamakura's ribs and face. Blood streamed down Kamakura's face and from the contact of Slice's punches, he wouldn't be surprised if he had broken one or more of Kamakura's ribs.
"That's enough," he barked out an order to Slice, and Slice halted a punch in mid stride, and looked at him strangely.
"Why?" Slice wondered. "I'm not finished with him yet." Sweat dripped down his boyish looking face. The thirty-something year old was a physically fit man and had a lush head of jet black hair. "Did the Commander order me to stop?"
"No, I did," Firefly said executively, looking at Kamakura. He was slumped down, chains shackled around his wrists attached to the wall. They were the only things keeping him from falling flat on his face. Slice stepped back perturbed, as Firefly went over to Kamakura, grabbed his bloodied chin, jerked it up, and looked directly into the ninja's eyes. "Your believes are the only thing keeping you going," he said judiciously, "but they were not save you this time."
Through one open but bloodied eye, the other was sealed by soft muscle protecting it from potential further harm, a barrage of punches delivered by Slice closing it, Kamakura glared at Firefly and then spat blood into his face. Firefly jerked up a hand reactively, but he was too slow. He then wiped the blood from his face with the same hand. He looked at his palm and saw the life blood of the man mixed with saliva. He then tightened his palm and squeezed the mixture into one, absorbing it into his skin.
Slice looked perplexed by Firefly's reaction. If Kamakura had done that to him, he'd continue with the beating until he rendered the man unconscious. But he found Firefly to be an enigmatic man with a irrational methodical for thought. He was a ninja, too, but he dealt with situations on a whole different level. Even after all these years, he still hadn't figured the man out.
Firefly jerked his head at Slice, and narrowed his eyes in a very dissatisfying manner. "And what are looking at?" he barked out.
Slice put his hands up responsively, and said, "Nothing. What should I do with him?" he then asked.
Firefly removed his hand from Kamakura's chin, and the ninja's face slumped down, unable to hold an erect position, and said, "I don't care. Do whatever you please. But don't kill him." He then turned back around and headed back to the Commander.
He looked at his hand thoughtfully and then turned and looked at Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow laying down on metal meat slab tables he stole from a near-by butcher shop, hooked up to the BWS portable devices.
And then he wondered why what the Commander was doing to them was bothering him. It hadn't bothered him before, but for some unexplained reason, it did now. A ninja spent his entire life building up mental barriers fortified with discipline techniques to aid in everyday life. Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes were two such men who were extraordinary people who mastered the art of the ninja. And even though their lives have been racked with tragedy, they continue to retain that discipline to help them cope with their past. He was a ninja too, but he chose a different path, and a more modern job appointment. But he still retained a piece of his skilful training, using his mental discipline to send out a signal to disguise his true identity. He felt naked without his camouflage mask, but with this power, he felt somewhat clothed, hidden to the world, like he always wanted.
But there was a part of him that had a yearning to be average. And he often wondered what his life would have been like if he had not chosen his ambiguous profession. Would he have two point five kids and a white picket fence surrounding a two story house with a built in fireplace and a spacious kitchen, a wife who loved him congruently, a mortgage, watching football, hockey, or other sports, and playing poker with friends every Sunday?
Did he really want that?
He took note of his life and past accomplishes and shook his head no. He was proud of who had had become and the riches that entrenched his reputation. Money was everything, and he was a happy man.
He wiped Kamakura's blood and saliva on Storm Shadow's pant leg, leaving a red smear stain on the apt ninja's clean white uniform, and then joined the Commander back at the computer console, watching Snake Eyes and Arashikage fumble around in the program the Commander had created specifically for them.
He wanted both ninja's dead, but their demise wasn't up to him, but in the hands of a man who had absolutely no respect for the wants and needs of his men. And as he looked at the events unfolding on the large monitor screen above the computer console, he imagined a very painful death for them. And affixation by mind manipulation in a stupid virtual reality game program wasn't on his list.
--
The car stopped in the driveway of a very prestigious looking, white mansion-esque house. It was a conventional looking structure without having the appearance of being too astute. The Butler, wearing a black uniform with white dress shirt, came out to greet the car, as the Chauffeur got out of the front and came around to open the left passenger side door. "Greetings Mr. Smith, Mr. Arashikage, and Master Arashikage," he said. And Billy said, "I love it when he calls me that." He smiled big.
Snake Eyes, Tommy, and Billy, all exited the car.
The Butler continued, "I trust your business dealings at Extensive Enterprise was profitable. Mrs. Smith and your children are waiting for you in the back garden."
"Thank you…" Snake Eyes hesitated, forgetting the Butler's name. In fact, he had no idea who the man was. "Hm…"
"Geeves, Mr. Smith," he said lightly. "Doctor Mindbender called us and informed us of your situation and how it transpired."
"I'm surprised he did that," Tommy said. "Our research is top secret."
"If you can't trust your Butler, who can you trust, sir?" Geeves said. "However, Mr. Smith has been 'spilling the beans' to the family for weeks now, and how the new virtual reality game pods will revolutionize how people play games in this ever changing world."
"Notty, notty, Johnny," Tommy said, smirking playfully.
Snake Eyes shrugged his shoulders, and said, "Don't blame me -- well, okay, blame me -- but I don't remember saying anything about it."
"If you'll come with me, I'll escort you to the back garden," Geeves said, and Snake Eyes, Tommy, and Billy, followed him to the front door and into the house.
Snake Eyes and Tommy felt like tourists in a foreign land as they followed Geeves through the elegant and rich looking rooms and hallways of the house, as they made their way to the back of the house. Billy, on the other have, smiled blissfully. "I never get tired of seeing this house," he said. "Gives me goose bumps."
When they made it to the back of the house, Geeves opened up a sliding glass door and extended a hand outward, to indicate they were supposed to step outside.
Outside was a large, granite stone sitting area, with copies of ancient stone Greek architectural benches and patio furniture chairs and tables, offsetting a large, lung shaped swimming pool. Surrounding the back grounds was the garden, with a variety of kept flowers and other folia and fauna. Beyond that, off a much farther distance, was a large, tall shrub maze, that extended a fair amount of distance outward.
Snake Eyes and Tommy were just awestruck at the magnificent sight they beheld, and looked at each other as if they were in the presence of royalty. "Um, this is yours?" Tommy said to him.
"Ah…" Snake Eyes blinked, not believing what he was seeing. "I-I…don't know. I think so."
Tommy stealthy maneuvered his hand around the back of Snake Eyes shoulders and suddenly pinched him on the arm. "Ow!" Snake Eyes said, jerking his arm away. "What the hell!"
"I just wanted to see if all this was real," Tommy said smirking.
Snake Eyes rubbed his arm, and said, "Well, you could've pinched your own arm to prove that," he said.
"DADDY!"
The sudden holler of children's voices called out, and before he knew it, Snake Eyes was surrounded, being hugged by three kids he didn't know. He froze, not knowing what to do. They looked up at him with smiling faces and innocent eyes of joy.
The youngest one held up her arms, and playing the part he bent down, and lifted Hara in his arms.
Hara kissed him on the right cheek, smiled cheerfully, and said, "Daddy, you're finally home! I missed you!"
"So did I," he replied falsely.
Then he noticed a gorgeous red-haired woman heading in his direction. She had long hair and movie-model-actress looks. She wore blue jeans and a white t-shirt that clung to her ample-looking breasts. She took off a pair of garden gloves as she came over to him. "Welcome home, honey," she said, and Snake Eyes's mouth felt slightly open, stunned by her awesome beauty. "What's the matter, Johnny?" she said. "Oh, yes. Dr. Mindbender told us about the accident."
"Is it true, Daddy, you don't remember us?" Ralph asked, wondering.
Snake Eyes heart thumped fast, and he rapidly looked at Shana. With her eyes-widened with alarm, he quickly thought of how deal with this, and then said to Ralph, "Of course I remember you," he saying, lying, smiling falsely. "How could I forget about all of you. I would never forget what means the most to me." And he bent down, and embraced in a collective hug with his kids, glancing up once to his wife, who smiled, welcoming the falsehood.
As Snake Eyes tried to reacquaint himself with his kids, Shana went over to Tommy, and said, "Is it true, does he not remember us?"
Tommy swallowed nervously, and then nodded. He let out a deep breath, sighing. He said, "I'm sorry, but I don't remember you either. I feel so ashamed. The accident at the lab wiped out memories."
Shana smiled sweetly. "Don't worry, there's no need to be ashamed, Tommy, I'm sure your memories will come back," she said. "Amnesia is a very tricky phenomena. Sometimes its short-term or long-term. For everyone's sake, I hope it's the latter."
"Me too," Tommy agreed.
--
Slice came over to the computer console and folded his arms across his chest, watching the sweet and tender moment happening on screen with Snake Eyes and his fake children. "I hate melodramatics on film, change the channel," he said arcane-like. But neither the Commander or Firefly was amused by the snide joke. He apologized, and then said, "So what've I missed?"
But he didn't get an answer.
-- tbc