2012-10-19 The Shadows of Timaittivu Ep. 01

By the time Snake Eyes and the Winter Soldier get back to The Argus, they will have gone--literally--all the way around the world. The Winter Soldier didn't make the same mistakes twice. He was in a jet on the way across the country when the first body was found. Snake Eyes was hot on his heels, ahead of orders. 
The cat and mouse game played out all the way to South Korea where luck, weather, good timing, and a very small but mighty Korean telekinetic mutant brought the Winter Soldier to ground not twenty miles from the border into North Korea. So close, and yet so far.
The only available transport deemed secure enough to carry the Winter Soldier was transporting top secret equipment from Bangkok. They had no choice but to take the flight offered. 
It's not comfortable. The Winter Soldier is in a cage suspended in the middle of a heavily armoured cargo hold. A soldier offered Snake Eyes a hammock to hang in the hold. There's nothing else in here--anything could be a weapon. When the transport hits turbulence, everything sways and rocks wildly.
Snake Eyes is a very quiet man with a very quiet disposition. Once the charge was recaptured, the Ninja remanded himself to sitting lotus on the floor of the large vehicle designed to bring them back to the Argus. A black hood hangs low over the equally black armor and both swords are crossed over his legs. It could be that he's distant and unaware of his surroundings in that meditive position, but it would make him a superiorly inappropriate jailor... and S.H.I.E.L.D. trusted him enough to come alone. So that's likely not the case. 
Even the turbulence seems insufficient to sway the quiet black figure sitting with the open shadowed hood facing the suspending cage, but it does finally get him to move. Glancing towards some of the mobile equipment barely secured against the sides of the cargo hold. If there's any concern, he wears it well behind the armor and cloak hood.. 
A cage? James even voices, "A cage? Really?" as he sits on the floor in the corner of said cage, his back to the bars. "You do realize that escaping from here is pretty difficult..." although he already noted the location of parachutes and the emergency exit doors should he need them. "All this swaying's making me sick," it's really not. "Can't I at least get a magazine? They at least gave me those on the Argus." No, they didn't.
Snake Eyes spins up to his feet when the choppy weather starts shaking the hull of the aircraft. The banter from the cage seems to fall firmly on deaf ears as he scoops up his swords in one hand and swings them crisply down to his side in their sheaths. THe hood cants and turns looking to one side and the other, but finally the visors of his helmet are focused directly on James. One hand comes up with the index finger extended, touching lightly to the center portion on the bottom of his mask. "Shhhhh." 
James Barnes grabs onto one of the bars of the cage with his single arm as it starts to swing rather wildly, gripping on so that he doesn't go rattling about the cage. The banter didn't seem to work so he just gives a heavy sigh and tries to keep himself from being bruised and thrown about the cage. He tried. Would have worked for Steve.
Snake Eyes is quite different to Steve, watching the cage bounce about on its suspensions while sliding the sheaths of his swords into the black straps beneath his cloak. The silence works for him, but the touch of his hand against the metal conveys so much more information. Sliding his fingertips across the surface near the bolts holding to plates together, casting his visored gaze towards the front of the hold where the pilots are trying to get them through the worst of it. Always cautious of James, both to make certain the cage doesn't come loose as to assure he's not injured. 
James Barnes has also slipped into silence. The whole chatty bit doesn't really work for him either, but he wasn't sure if it would work for his captor. He's not going to press it. Snake Eyes gets a resigned sort of glare as he just tries not to bounce around too much. It would be far easier if he had another arm to help, but he'll have to use his legs to brace as well. It's going to be a long trip and if he has nothing else to do, he'll try to figure out just how he got caught and how to prevent that from happening again. At one point he does finally speak to ask, "Am I just going to be imprisoned again?"
 
The transport pitches and yaws like a ship on the sea. There's turbulence and then there's this. It's possible to see the seams of the steel walls twist ever so slightly. "This is Captain Marls," a voice says over the intercom. "We are experiencing significant turbulence. We will attempt a return to Bangkok immediately. Please stay at your stations and strap in." 
The shift in engine noise as the transport turns is enough to make any seasoned traveller's stomach clench. It's audible even in here, even over the howling winds. Red lights flash inside the containment unit now.
Snake Eyes watches the metal of the bulk twist, separating just slightly from bolts turning out of alignment. When one heavy spot hits he's pushed back away from his post, but never really loses his feet, in fact he rarely seems to have anything but a natural sort sway that accommodates naturally to the fevered pitching of the aircraft. 
Each foot is placed precisely as he approaches the cage, pushing his hood back to reveal a great deal more black that is his helmet and points a warning finger at Bucky before he's within arms reach. If the plane is going down and he truely has a suspension it's going to, he has no intentions of letting the crash kill his captive because he was locked in a cage. 
Plane crashes are not Bucky's favorite things. Really. He takes in what the Captain says and he watches as Snake Eyes approaches the cage. He is back to being quiet for a moment before he offers, "There are parachutes in that bulkhead." and he nods in the direction of it. "We're the only other 'passengers' on board besides the Captain and crew...they likely have their own. I already died once. If it's all the same with you, I'd rather not do it a second time."
"Initiating emergen--" The pilot's voice cuts off with a shattering of glass and the plane lurches horribly, then drops. They're on their way down. Someone has a marginal amount of control because they're not quite yet in freefall. Outside, the entire world is screaming about something.
Then, nothing.
There is a moment in which they pass through absolute silence and stillness. They are still aware, suspended in a long moment, hanging in the space between beginning and completing the last action they thought to take. 
Time skips back into place. The plane is headed down at a sharp angle that bodes no good for anyone.
The smaller of two blades whistles out quickly and slides smoothly up between locking mechanism, severing the bolt and allowing the door to the cage to swing open. Snake Eyes is already moving at a quick walk, minding where his feet fall. The soft soles of his boots curving around obstacles so that he's almost always on a level footing as he moves even in the turbulence, even if it is getting more difficult with each passing moment. 
When he reaches those parachutes his fist slams into the emergency release and yanks one free, throwing it across the cargo hold towards Bucky, already sliding his own in the span of a breath. Outwardly he's trying to reason the distance by the amount of shake in the metal plates.. and he had a pretty good guess as to their remaining time until that moment of calm.. Shaking his head, filing it away, and moving with purpose towards the emergency hatch. 
There is a brief moment of panic as they start spiralling and he's still in that cage. The stillness could be attributed to that moment where time just stands still...before the big 'SPLAT!'. It's another sensation the Winter Soldier knows well and has relived in his dreams pretty much ever since his memories started returning. Once the cage is unlocked, he leaps out, much less gracefully than Snake Eyes, and catches the parachute.
It's slipped on expertly and he also moves...still less gracefully, to join his captor at the Emergency Hatch. "Going to be hard at this velocity."
 
The hatch is ripped off in its entirety, along with a portion of the plane's skin, as soon as it's opened. The wind and rain from outside hit like a massive fist punching into the plane. Metal screams as the compromised fuselage begins to peel apart. Fire from an engine spatters back against the side of the plane when the wind strikes right, licking at the emergency exit. 
Outside is nothing but grey-black chaos. The wind, rain, and cloud are impenetrable. Only the general direction of the plane, when it's not being flung up and around by wild updrafts, gives any indication as to where 'down' might be.
Snake Eyes slaps his hand out to grab hold of something stationary and bolted when the side of the plane tears away. The other grabs hold of the strap of Bucky's parachute, though the Winter Solder likely already had himself under control prior to that. The cloak bellows out behind him in the sudden onslaught of rain and wind and the flicking flame casts an ominous presence on their chances. Those things being said, the ninja keeps his wits and waits... watching the random pattern of fire to sudden updraft, and calculates a measured approach to the open edge with use of his hands to secure himself against the pull of backwards pressure. 
His head turns slowly to stare at Bucky, the muscles beneath his armored bicep strained visible even through the thick material protecting them. Trying to keep himself from being yanked free of the hold... Until a precise moment between the lick of fire against the metal and the bucking of the plane when wind casts the nose upwards... The ninja releases his grip and angles his body so that wind itself pulls him out, throwing him from the plane when gravity itself forces the fire away from the opening with shifting air pressures that are natural to erratic motion. 
Worse yet, he doesn't let go of Bucky. 
James Barnes tries his very best to hold on with having only the one arm. Actually, Snake Eyes' grip is helpful in this. He quickly understands what the silent one is doing as they seem to wait...and wait. He nods as he's looked at, and lets go as the other does. He's done this before -- different equipment, but it's not something that one forgets. Granted, in the middle of this sort of storm doesn't always make it -fun-. Neither does being practically attached to another.
 
The storm is merciless. The plane shreds as the two jump free, sending shrapnel, glass, wreckage, and SHIELD crew and soldiers flying around them--a few of SHIELD's people are still alive, briefly, by the snatches of screaming that whips past their ears. The rest are corpses or fractions of corpses. A confluence of updrafts holds them there a moment in the churning abattoir of their air pocket, then the bottom of the cell drops out and they're sucked down through the storm.
For a few seconds, at most, Snake Eyes can keep his hand clutched in the straps of Bucky's parachute straps with the wind crashing against them. Thrown hither and fro, however, it's almost impossible to sustain it indefinitely. When the plane falls out from beneath them and the storm of glass, metal, and discarded soldiers hum with the sound of howling wind and rain over furiously twisting metal grows fevered, the ninja is forced away from his captive and hurled like a black bullet towards the surface in a tumble. 
His mind remains free in its deduction of their predicament. Leaving him clear to right his body with the force of muscles by flattening out against the updraft. Arms go out wide and his legs spread to provide for more surface area to slow his descent before jerking the cord of his chute so that it doesn't tear free when it meets the resistance flung upwards at it by his free fall. 
James Barnes probably doesn't even notice if he's left to his own devices. He's trying not to get blown back into the plane by the winds as he opens the parachute. There's a snarl of frustration as one line is finally gripped in his teeth so that he can try and steer his way towards land and away from falling pieces of the ship. Yet another thing to chalk up to SHIELD frustration.
 
The chaos is dense and violent all the way down. Debris rips at armour and skin, straps bruise as the parachutes are wrenched in all directions, alternately collapsed and filled like bellows, twisted and unwound, terrifyingly enough. When the storm seems to settle on a direction all the force is channeled into a single rush. Fugitive and hunter are both caught up in the palm of the storm and smashed down into the dark, hard enough to separate them from consciousness.
A sunrise breaks across still water, the beach is pure white sand. The island isn't large. Weathered stones, old trees like baobabs, blowing grasses, a few birds calling in a flawless egg-blue sky.
Snake Eyes doesn't feel the touch of the sun beneath his armor, but the tug of his parachute as it catches a breeze off the waves. His body is partially buried beneath the sand, dug in so that he's no longer dragging every time a wind hits the material flapping like a sail behind him. The moment he's conscious, the ninja rolls and severes the cords of his chute with a blade slipped free of his belt, but doesn't let the chute fly away. His other arm weaves in around the straps and tugs it in, folding it over his arm while surveying the beach around them. 
The sting of dozens of scraps alerts him to an immediate problem, the risk of exacerbating wounds with the introduction of sand.. secondary only to locating the man he came all this way, and did all that falling, to bring back in. 
With luck, this time he won't wake up in a MedBay surrounded by Russian-speaking doctors and scientists. The brightness of the light and the aches are reminiscent of that, but the feel of the sand beneath him and the cords of the parachute wrapped about him are different. Winter Soldier pushes himself to sitting, spitting out some sand and squinting as his eyes grow accustomed to the light. Getting untangled is going to be a chore in and of itself.
 
It won't be hard to find someone here. From the worn stones of what must have been some kind of dais and possibly an altar at the centre of things, every shore of this tiny island is visible. To the east, the sun glitters off the crescent forms of a school of dolphins breaching joyfully and throwing diamonds of water into the air. Colourful birds chattering in the sky overhead scatter as an enormous iron grey eagle marked with snow white, his wingspan wider than a man's height, cuts across the island and scoops a silver fish from the shallow waters to the west. 
The horizon is empty in every direction but one. More than a mile away to the north, a stony promontory, densely treed, juts out into the water. Beyond it is a deep green shadowy forest that spreads, rolls, and rises to low hills clustered at the foot of a mountain topped by a ziggurat glowing golden in the first light of the day.
Snake Eyes gauges the surroundings and takes stock of most of what he can see while freeing himself from the confines of his 'chute cords. Once the material is wrapped up and threaded tight with what remains of the pack that previously carried it, the ninja deposits it and moves over towards Bucky. His arms twist to look at a particularly sharp wound across the back of his arm, but he doesn't stop in his approach to care for it. The black clad figure tilts his head over the man struggling out of his restraints. For several seconds looking as if he just intends to watch, but then he's kneeling down and cutting at some of the more presistant cords to help free his 'captive'. 
James Barnes doesn't seem pleased at needing help to get himself untangled; he does fairly well, but some cords just need another hand to help get free. As Snake Eyes appears and starts to help, he gives him a nod of thanks. Once he's cut free, he also looks about at the island...noting the ruined stones about them as well as, well, the rest of the tiny island. Pushing the last of the straps off of him, he then looks back to Snake Eyes, "Don't suppose you can fly..."
The blade slips back into the sheath on his leg as Snake Eyes stands, shaking his head to the question as if Bucky might have been serious in asking it. Both hands come up to unclasp the hooks on either side of his helmet and pull it free of his face, since most of the equipment inside is destroyed by the storm anyways. He is scarred... heavily scarred. Not so much that he's inhuman in appearance, but enough to suggest there's severe nerve damage on the right side of his face with a long pink slash running over one eye all the way down to his throat. He's also very pale... and very bald. The former is probably from wearing that helmet, the latter is because of the burn scars across his scalp. 
The helmet is tossed down with the rest of his equipment bundled up near the parachute pack he removed. One finger motions around slowly, taking stock of what they have on them, and ultimately pointing out towards the cropping of rocks raising up out of the heavily forested region a mile off towards the north. Looking half back over his shoulder at Bucky, dark eyes watching the man from beneath lashless lids. The left side of his mouth is pensive and tight... the right is held in a perpetual sneer. Left hand moves quickly to the pistol at his leg. 
"I have to be the talkative one," Winter Soldier murmurs as Snake Eyes gestures to get his point across. He looks at the parachute equipment an leaves it with Snake Eyes' as he moves to follow him. "We need to find fresh water. Running water would be best. If we can't find that, we're as good as dead in a few days." The appearance of the other doesn't seem to bother him -- he's not really one to talk with missing an arm right now.
The pistol slides out of the holster and turns around so he's holding it by the barrel. The grip is extended out towards Bucky's hand, nodding to the suggestions of finding water and looking out over the island with eyes that are dim in color, but sharp in focus. 
Snake Eyes motions with a wave of his finger at their chutes and packs, reaching down to grab his own so that it can be used as a makeshift backpack. The straps and cords closing it before putting it back on across the sheathed swords on his back. 
Fresh water. The ninja nods, pointing in the direction of the towering trees. That's where they'll find it. 
James Barnes has nothing, really, but he'll take the empty parachute. Maybe they can gather food in it or use it for shelter. He pauses though as the gun is offered to him. The chute is set down so that he can take the gun, again with a nod of thanks. He hasn't had a gun on his person since...the attack on Captain America, but he still has his own holsters on him. It's set into one that seems to fit it best before he takes the chute up again and hefts it over his shoulder.
There's another nod at gesture to the trees. Might as well. Trees need water to grow.
Snake Eyes gathers up his things and puts as much of it in his chute pack as possible. Particularly the extra ammunition for his pistol. Wrapping it in parachute material to keep it dry on their swim. His helmet is shoved down into the pack and several pieces of drift wood is brought over. One's big enough to support weight, but not so big as to prevent mobility. Hooking his pack on one of the upper extending 'branches' he points to Bucky, then the water, and makes a kicking motion with his feet. Wrapping his arm in around the edge of the center of the log. 
Right. They have to swim. James looks at the land in the distance before he watches Snake Eyes' gesture. There's a skeptical look on his face before he unholsters the gun and also ties it up in his chute. He also pulls off his jacket and shirt, stuffing them into the waterproof protection of the chute as well. That's then tied to his waist as best as he can before he steps around to the right side of the piece of wood. That way he can hold onto the log more easily. He then nods when he's ready.
 
The crossing is nearly pleasant. In places, there are sandbars so large one can stand up on them. The water is warm and clear, the bottom sandy where the water is shallow enough to see all the way down. Schools of fish dart through the middle depths like silver coins spilling across the ocean floor. 
Sharp eyes will catch something below the fish, the curve of... ribs? The sand has swallowed most of what lay there over the years--perhaps over the centuries--but the last of it is visible. Not a whale, though it does appear so at first glance. A ship. She must have been magnificent in her day, if the span of her ribs that shows above the sandy floor tells the whole tale. 
At the beach ahead, there is little room to make a landing. In fact, it is deeper in the last yards before the island than it was all the way here. A strong current moves through below the promontory and staying on course is a struggle, but the two cast aways finally stand on the narrow, rocky shore below the cliff. The choice is to climb--always possible--or walk until a path reveals itself.
Snake Eyes pulls their makeshift boat up onto the perch, removes his pack, and slides it back onto his shoulders with the clips latched in the front. His black armor is, clearly, intended to be water proof but the small slashes that reveal pale flesh beneath are wicking in the comforting material that lays against his skin making it cumbersome and sluggish. Which is a testament that it's not slowing him down much. And the salt water did good work cleaning out his wounds.. they'll need to be looked after, but he'd rather get to fresh water first. 
Eyes follow the trail up the side of the cliff, picking out hand holds with a cast of his eyes as easily as if they were pegs on a board... Finding them is the easy part though, right? He still has to climb it and find a way to get Bucky up.. Instead of starting the trek up, he looks to the man and tilts his head, absently motioning up the side of the sheer rock with a questioning brow perked. 
James Barnes doesn't seem to be too cut up...there are bruises forming on his torso and remaining arm...his clothes seem to be fairly durable, however. Once they get back onto dry land, he scowls at the cliffs, his cheeks flushing with color at the look he's given. "I'll manage," is said, perhaps as a reassurance to himself as well. It takes some finagling, but he pulls a cord from his chute and ties it through his beltloops before handing the other end to Snake Eyes. "Unless you want me to fall to my death. Might make it easier on SHIELD."
Snake Eyes' expression darkness when it is suggested he'd let Bucky, even if he is a captive, fall to his death. As usual, however, he does so quietly and reaches out for the cord to wrap it around the harnass loops on his utility belt. Threading the bit of cord in between the rings and tying it off near his left leg beneath the shealth of his knife. 
The black clad ninja steps forward and jumps up to grab a higher hanging rock and pulls himself up with that hand so his feet are pressed in against the rocks, moving almost like a spider along the surface from one hand hold to another. This is where that ninja training really pays off. In places where it would be a bit more difficult to accomplish one handed, he slows and leans back to offer Bucky support in the climb. 
James Barnes is going to be going a bit slower. If he was equipped for this sort of climb, he would have had a grapple line...and his other arm. However, he's not going to give up or let Snake Eyes just drag him along. It's just going to take more effort to find the hand and footholds to help him climb up. No doubt he's going to be pretty exhausted by the time they scale the cliffs...of Insanity.
 
At the top of the cliff, the forest begins. When the wind blows, it sighs as though it's alive. Monkeys chatter at jewel-toned birds in the treetops. Blooming vines fill the air with perfume. Even a few steps from the edge of the cliff, the rising sunlight is lost and everything is lit with the ambient green green glow of the light filtering through the trees. Scattered patches of light dance and play with the vision of those stepping in. 
The ground is layered with fallen leaves, deadfalls are thickly carpeted in soft moss. Everything has a sense of stillness, as though nothing but the wildlife has passed here in years. Still. There are signs that something living passed this way once. A tree has grown around the blade of a rusted sword, a mossy stone overturned reveals hollow sockets and a white grin--a skull, not a stone at all. The forest stretches on ahead, breathing with the wind and waiting.
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Category:Events
Category:Karma Plot