GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Chapter Thirty-Nine

All along the empty corridors in the heart of the Cobra bunker, a rhythmic clanging sound echoed, like the sound of a blacksmith energetically banging on an anvil. The sounds of metal striking metal reverberated through the hallways, leading to the large central auditorium, where two figures circled each other, one in all black and the other in white. Their footsteps made no sound, and neither of them spoke. The only sounds were of their swords clashing.

Storm Shadow gritted his teeth and blinked away the sweat dripping into his eyes, slowly circling his opponent. His white outfit was smeared with red in several places. Blood dripped down one arm, from a shallow cut across his elbow, and also across his left hip, from another superficial cut. His shoulder burned from a slash across his upper back. None of the injuries were very serious or deep, but they bled freely and hurt enough that they were a distraction. Blood dripped off the back of Storm Shadow's hand onto the floor.

Snake Eyes gripped his katana firmly in both hands, pacing Storm Shadow as they walked in a continuous circle. The straps for his web gear had been slashed away, and now the gear lay in a pile on the floor, although Snake Eyes had no use for the grenades and clips now anyway. Like Storm Shadow, he bore several small cuts, but his black uniform concealed the wounds and contained the blood, so Storm Shadow could not see the effects of his attacks.

Blood was smeared down Snake Eyes' leg from a slash across his thigh, and a narrow slice across his chest dripped a line of blood all the way to his waist. But as far as Storm Shadow could tell, Snake Eyes was not wounded at all.

They came at each other once more, swords whistling through the air, the razor-sharp edges smashing into each other, striking out another metallic clang. Storm Shadow pushed forward, slicing downward, and Snake Eyes deflected the blade with his own horizontal swipe, the blades scraping against each other and sliding off once more. Snake Eyes rushed in, rapidly swinging his blade to the left and right, and Storm Shadow blocked each strike with a quick movement of his wrists, expertly blocking each thrust in such a way to slide the blade away, in the hopes that Snake Eyes would over-exert himself and leave an opening.

But no openings came, and the two ninjas had to step away again, unable to breach their opponent's defenses. Storm Shadow's breath came fast and hard, the sword feeling heavier in his hands, his numerous small wounds burning in pain.

Snake Eyes stepped into a new stance, holding the sword straight at his enemy. His chest rising and falling steadily, but not a rapidly as Storm Shadow's. His wounds did not seem to slow him down, if he even noticed them. But blood dripped off his black pants onto the floor, giving Storm Shadow his first sign that Snake Eyes was wounded.

Storm Shadow grinned at the knowledge and quickly ran forward, sword shrieking upward in a blinding movement, his eyes locked on Snake Eyes' expressionless face. Their swords clanged out metallic music as they danced in a fluid series of movements, swords clashing together in the air. Every furious slash by Storm Shadow was met with a determined defense by Snake Eyes, and every swift counterattack was met with another impenetrable defense by Storm Shadow. Neither ninja could break through, only managing to strike minor hits.

Storm Shadow backed away, wincing in pain as he felt a gash along his side, evidence of another minor cut. He didn't even know when Snake Eyes had managed to hit him that time.

He patted at the wound, feeling blood seep under his shirt, creating another red stain on the white fabric. He lowered his sword momentarily and began to walk casually around Snake Eyes, who remained in a defensive stance, his sword held out horizontally. Storm Shadow allowed the tip of his sword to scrape lightly on the floor as he rubbed his fingers together, trying to remove the sticky feeling of blood.

“You're holding back, aren't you?” he asked rhetorically. “You could have ended the fight just now, and you chose not to. Isn't that right?”

Snake Eyes remained motionless for a moment, and then slowly nodded.

“I suppose I've been holding back as well,” Storm Shadow admitted. “Perhaps I have too much respect for you. Perhaps I'm letting our history together cloud my judgment.”

He inhaled deeply a few times to catch his breath, allowing Snake Eyes the opportunity to do the same, and tapped his sword rhythmically against the floor. In the distance, somewhere out in the compound, they could hear the rattle of machine guns.

“Is that your back up?” Storm Shadow asked with a smile. “Or maybe it is mine?”

Snake Eyes, in response, lowered his sword as well and stood up straight, his face unreadable behind the mask. If he looked carefully, Storm Shadow almost felt he could see his opponent's eyes through the dark visor, but his eyes, like his black mask, were blank and expressionless.

“What are you thinking, Snake? You know you can ask me anything you wish. Perhaps you are wondering how I came to be here?”

Storm Shadow smiled suddenly, but it was a bitter, humorless smile, and his eyes flashed with anger as he spoke. “My uncle banished me from the clan, you must know that by now. It was right around the time you left. He banished me and said that I was a disgrace to our family. Imagine that. He spent his entire life teaching me the ways of the ninja, and then he calls me a disgrace because I dared to put that knowledge to good use. Perhaps he had forgotten the secret history of our great family.”

He added bitterly, shaking his head. “I know how you Americans love to romanticize the past, Snake, but no matter how hard you practice or how skilled you become, you can never truly become a ninja. You are just another American who spent some time in Japan and learned the martial arts. You can never understand what it means to truly be a ninja. I've spent my life studying, I've been training since I know how to walk, and this life is all that I know. Learning the ways of the ninja is something that is in my blood.”

Storm Shadow slashed the air with his katana. “My uncle, the man who trained me since I was a child, had forgotten what a ninja truly is. Ninja are criminals, we are spies, we are saboteurs, we are assassins. That is our role. That is why I'm here, Snake, that is why I work for this madman and his army of fanatics. Because I am a ninja.”

With that final statement, there was a sudden blaring alarm over their heads. Small red lights blinked on and off along the perimeter of the ceiling, casting the room in an eerie reddish glow.

Storm Shadow reached up to slide his katana back into the sheath on his back. At his feet was his white trenchcoat, which he casually picked up. “I'm afraid that you and I will have to finish this another time, Snake. That alarm means the demolition sequence has been activated. We only have a few minutes until this whole building falls down on top of us.”

He started to walk away and Snake Eyes quickly ran to cut him off, holding his sword out to block his exit. Storm Shadow laughed shortly, but made no move to reach for his own swords. For several moments, the simply stared at each other, Snake Eyes bracing himself and aiming his katana at Storm Shadow, who simply stared back as the siren continued blaring above them.

“The clock is ticking, Snake,” he said. “What is it going to be? Let me go in order to escape and save your own life? Or keep me here so that both of us die when the compound detonates?”

Suddenly, Snake Eyes' head popped up when a voice came echoing from one of the nearby hallways. It was a woman's voice, crying out, “Snake Eyes!” Her voice was cut off by the sound of more gunfire, very close this time.

Snake Eyes glanced away from Storm Shadow, and then back at his former friend and teammate, who merely smiled cryptically. “What's it going to be? Stay here with me and die, or go after your friend and escape? Your time is running out.”

Snake Eyes' indecision only lasted a moment, and he ran off out the side door of the auditorium, not even giving Storm Shadow another look. He sheathed his sword as he ran, and was soon gone.

Storm Shadow called after him, laughing, “Until we meet again, Snake Eyes!”

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