A Mission of My Own: A Triple D story

By Dizzygal09

Downtown Townsville

One of the rankest places in the known world–that is, next to any infected zone that one may come across. Then again, Downtown Townsville was probably bad enough to be an infected zone all its own. The buildings were old and crooked, and their walls were covered in countless gang tags and other graffiti. The windows were dirty and cracked, and the local residents were creepy beyond belief. It was practically villain central! The distant sound of blaring police sirens could be heard around every corner. And the smell...ugh, the odor of rotting garbage drifting from every alleyway mixed with the smell of alcohol and second-hand smoke leaking out of every bar and pub in the area...it was enough to drive even Fuse away.

So why was she here? Why had she given up on her current mission to be standing here, in the middle of this...this filth?

Ace Elane (or Ace, as she preferred to be called by those she didn't know too well) was a girl of about thirteen years of age with dirty-blonde hair that went just past her shoulders (although it was hard to tell, since she always had it pulled up in a red scrunchie) and dark brown eyes. A plain lavender blouse hung loosely off her shoulders, revealing the straps of a black cami underneath. Covering her lower half was a pair of blue-jean capris, and white tennis shoes protected her feet. Her first and only weapon of choice was strapped to her back, ready to be removed from its holster at any given time–the classic Lightning Gun. While others always seemed to prefer the newer, more high-tech weapons that Dexlabs provided them with, Ace always used the orange, long-range rifle that she had been provided with when she was first recruited into the Resistance. "You can't beat the classics," she'd always said, and stuck to her weapon like glue, turning down all offers for newer, more advanced equipment.

She figured it was best to keep it in its holster for now–she didn't want to seem as though she was looking for a fight, but at the same time, she was ready in case someone else was. But the question remained: Why was she even here in the first place?

And then she remembered.

Her eyes narrowed in disgust. Her lips twisted into a scowl. Oh yeah, she thought, the anger burning in her eyes. I've got a score to settle with...him.

She had only met him a couple of weeks ago, just after...just after that thing happened. It was, by no means, a pleasant meeting. She remembered it well:

It wasn't true...it couldn't have been true...it just couldn't...

But it was.

It was a reality that she had never thought possible. Their forces were so strong–so precise...everybody involved in this war had been trained by the best and knew just how to handle Fuse and his army...

So how could one of their guides have fallen?

Not just a guide...Double D.

She had heard the story, as it had been told many times in conversation: The Fosters gang had been sitting around, doing whatever it was they did to entertain themselves, when someone had heard the scream coming from the Peach Creek Estates infected zone. Brave little Mac had decided to investigate, and the others quickly followed. When they got there, however, all they could find was a frightened-looking Courage...and a black beanie lying just beside a tree not too far away.

Of course, there was only one person they knew that wore such a hat–Edd, the smart, caring, gentle lad that could always give you what you needed, whether it was a new mission or a hug and some kind words of encouragement.

It was like losing a cousin or other distant family member. They weren't the closest of friends, but at the same time, he had always been there for Elane when she needed him. And not just Elane–he was always there for everybody.

Of course, nobody had been hit harder by the news than the other two Eds. Elane had seen Ed sobbing at the ceremony held for Double D in Hero Square and she knew that Eddy, no matter how much he tried to hide it, had to have been just as devestated. Even Courage, the little purple dog that Double D had taken in, seemed unable to believe that his master was gone.

It was said that the cowardly K-9 had been the only witness to Double D's mysterious disappearance, but he had sustained a head injury and failed to remember the events of that fateful night.

All this had been running through Ace's mind as she wandered aimlessly around Townsville, too distracted by her thoughts to pay attention to where she was going–and ended up right in the middle of Downtown Townsville. It was a disgusting place, and the moment she looked up to check her surroundings, she had turned on her heel, ready to head back out of these dark streets.

But just then, as she had turned to leave, someone right behind her spoke in an all-too-smooth tone.

"Well, well," it had said, "what do we have here?"

Elane stopped in her tracks, spinning right back around to face the speaker, ready for any sort of fight they might try and start–there was no telling with the punks that hung around these parts.

She was greeted by a casual smirk and a pair of eyes hidden behind dark shades. The male wore dark clothing, complete with a long trench coat that trailed behind him as he made his way slowly toward her. He had a long, confident stride, and the black bandana on his head reminded her of someone...someone vaguely familiar...

Finally, he stopped, now barely two feet from Elane, both standing face-to-face, Elane looking directly into his dark sunglasses, determined to show no fear of the boy in front of her. The pitch of his voice implied that he couldn't have been much older than her–fourteen or fifteen at the most.

Again, he spoke. "And what might your name be?"

Elane was sure to keep a blank expression. Why did he want to know?

"That's on a need-to-know basis," she said, her voice as blank as her stare, "and you definitely don't need to know."

His smirk dropped a little. "Well, that was uncalled for," he said. Elane rolled her eyes. For a moment, he just looked at her and Elane's eyes never left his (or, she thought they didn't. It was hard to tell when he was wearing those sunglasses). When Elane turned to leave again, he spoke up. "You're not from around here, are ya?" Again, Elane turned back to face him.

"Well," he said, "answer me. Are you from around here?"

A scowl formed on her lips. "Again, that's none of your business," she said, getting irritated of this boy and his cockiness. His smirk instantly lifted. "Nope. Not from around here," he said, "Must be part of that war against Fuse, am I right?" This annoyed Elane to no end. Her scowl deepened.

"What's your name?" she asked, and he shrugged.

"You tell me your name, I'll tell you mine," he replied. She didn't answer. As if she was about to tell this creep her name. "...alright, then," he said, and Elane was beginning to hope he was finished so that she could continue walking.

Of course, he wasn't.

Instead, he decided to make conversation.

"So, I heard the Resistance has had some trouble lately," he said, and Elane froze.

How did he know about that?

She decided to try and avoid the conversation–it wasn't something she liked talking about with anybody, especially strangers she met on the streets. "It's nothing big," she said, lying through her teeth.

"I heard a kid died."

Her eyes grew wide in anger and surprise, and the boy's smirk never left his lips. How much did this guy know?

"Th-that hasn't been proven yet!" she said, suddenly a bit flustered. "There's no proof that he's dead! For now, he's just missing, that's all...we'll find him..."

Suddenly, he lashed out with a question so uncalled for that Elane jumped a bit from surprise.

"You're afraid, aren't you?"

Elane blinked. She took a couple of nervous steps back before finally coming to her senses. No, he was just trying to act tough. There was nothing he knew. Nothing. She shot him a death glare. "Hey, look, bud," she said, staring him straight in the eye (er...sunglasses), her voice dripping with rage, "I fight against evil Fusion monsters on a daily BASIS! I've risked my life countless times to help save our universe! What do I have to be scared about?!"

At that moment, the boy's smirk twisted from casual to...there was only one word to describe it...pure evil.

He took a step closer, causing Elane to take another step back. All of a sudden, he looked so...threatening. And Elane had failed to bring any weapons with her, having not counted on being in this situation in the first place.

"You're afraid," he said, his voice also twisted to match his expression, "because one of you has fallen. One of your leaders is gone. He was in an infected zone when he disappeared, right? Who's to say Fuse didn't get to him? Was he not familiar with the landscape and the monsters that inhabited it? Surely he was armed the night he went missing?" With each sentence, he took one step closer, and Elane took one step back. "You're afraid," he continued, "because he was just as easy a target as anyone else. You're afraid because you know that you could be next." As he took another step closer, Elane tried to take another step back, but found herself trapped against a wall–he had backed her into an alleyway.

"You're afraid for your friends."

Another step.

"You're afraid for your life."

Another step.

He was so close now. Elane could see his eyes through the sunglasses. They were staring directly into hers. She looked back helplessly. She began to break out into a cold sweat. She had no weapon. She had no way to defend herself. Who knew what this guy was capable of? In a word, she was trapped. Hopelessly trapped by this...this stranger.

"And," he said, taking one small, final step closer, "you're afraid...of me."

That was an understatement. Terrified beyond all thought was a more accurate term. How did he know so much? He couldn't know all this. He couldn't know anything about the war...could he? How could he possibly know anything about how she felt? Apparently he did, though. He knew too much. And the fact that he had her cornered in a dark alleyway didn't help.

So many questions were racing and buzzing in her mind, pounding in her skull. But with a small, terrified voice barely above a whisper, she asked just one;

"Wh-who...who are you?"

He didn't reply. He simply let out a mirthless chuckle and, to Elane's great relief, turned and left the alleyway as if nothing had happened.

Elane, however, didn't move from that spot.

With a shuddering gasp of relief, she slid down the wall into a sitting position, shaking visibly.

The experience was hard to describe in words. You had to have been there, felt what Ace felt. It was horrifying to say the least. He knew so much about her and what she felt...and she knew absolutely nothing about him. It was a creepy feeling, as if she was being stalked. Of course, that wasn't possible. As if anyone would care to follow Ace Elane around, put themselves in the kinds of dangerous situations that she put herself in on a daily basis. Besides, a stalker couldn't get inside your head, know what you think and feel. She hadn't confided her feelings in anyone since Double D's disappearance–now that he was gone, there was nobody to confide in. Nobody else could know exactly how she felt. Nobody except...him.

As she sat there, holding her knees to her chest, the millions of questions that she had been bursting to ask before came rushing back. And once again, with a small, shaky, barely audible voice, she wondered aloud the one that was bugging her the most;

"...how does he know...?"

Remembering that day made Ace Elane almost want to stop and head back to the safety of Sector V and forget all about anything that had ever happened two weeks ago.

Almost.

She wanted answers, and she knew that she wasn't going to get any unless she sucked it up and faced this guy. At least she was armed this time around. Although she couldn't help but think she had made a mistake in not telling any of the others what had happened...she shrugged it off, though, figuring it was just one of those feelings one got when they were nervous.

She didn't let it bother her. She could handle this guy. He just caught her off-guard last time, that was all. She wouldn't let that happen again...

...but that didn't stop her from jumping a bit when she heard that ominously casual voice from behind her.

"Well, if it isn't What's-her-face," he said, and Elane turned to face him with a scowl.

"I have a name, you know," she said, and he shrugged. "No, I wouldn't know. You never told me, remember?"

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hehe...I forgot to mention that Riple D belongs to Nintendo_Nut1. He is completely and utterly hers. 83

But I do own Ace Elane. ^^ She's my main avatar on FusionFall.

By the way, Ace Elane DOES NOT equal Ace from the Gangreen Gang. 8U He's not in this story.

That was an epic namephail on my part...sorry...