Double D lay snugly in the warmth that surrounded him. He didn't even bother to open his eyes until the warm sunlight crept on his eyelids. It was then that he opened his eyes, only to be blinded by this unusually light environment. He blinked for a few moments until his sight readjusted. He gasped when he realized, Why, this isn't my room! It's certainly not the tent, either! Where am I?
He got out of bed and looked around this new place. It was a bedroom, but it was painted yellow and blue. It had furniture and a desk in front of a window. He was amazed that this room was very much like his bedroom, only less decorated and colored differently. He went to the side of the room to the left of the window where the desk was stationed. Suddenly, he ran his ankle into something heavy. "Ouch!" he cried as he grabbed his ankle.
He looked down and saw something long and white. He took a closer look and saw that it was also metallic. He found this to be very familiar and slowly realized as he saw that this was a leg. First, he looked to his left and saw a pair of clawed feet, one of which was attached to another leg. He scanned to his right and with widened eyes, he saw that this very figure looked exactly like General Grievous!
At first, he thought that it was something Ed and Eddy put together to startle Double D. "Ha, ha, ha," he sarcastically said. "Very funny, fellows. If this is your idea of a joke..." He suddenly realized that even his friends couldn't have pulled off something as elaborate as this. He hesitantly continued, "If this is your idea of a joke."
He closely inspected the Grievous figure and wondered, This is remarkable craftsmanship! None of my friends, let alone the entire cul-de-sac, could have assembled something like this! Unless…
Suddenly, the Grievous figure moved slightly and moaned. Thankfully, the figure still had his eyes closed, but it was enough proof for Double D to realize that it was no trick. Before he could gasp, his hands flew to his mouth. He admitted in a whisper, "Yipes! It really is him!" He had to whisper to avoid waking Grievous.
He desperately wished that it was a dream, but when he pinched himself, he could still hear and see Grievous's peaceful breaths. He whispered again, "When I thought that I could talk to him in person, I didn't think I would actually get to meet him!" He was, in truth, very terrified with meeting him face-to-face. Grievous was known for his brutal nature and his swift and deadly attacks, not to mention that he could split his arms in four! In that moment, Double D wasn't sure that he really did want to talk to Grievous in fear of provoking him.
He wanted to get out of here before the general woke up. He flew quietly to the door, only to find that it was locked. He almost panicked at the thought of being trapped with a dangerous cyborg. However, he had to muster the courage to speak with Grievous when he did wake up. He gulped as he prepared himself for the worst when he walked to the bed and sat on it. He just had to wait until the general woke up; he didn't have to wait long.
He was startled when Grievous stirred more and more. The general groaned and stretched his limbs. Finally, he opened his eyes. The sight of actually seeing them made Double D's heart drop. All that was there in this young lad was only awe. Grievous, on the other hand, was alarmed that his usual surroundings had changed.
He looked around, convinced that he was relocated to somewhere new, possibly a prison. He was not one to admire the colors and the arrangement of the room. He thought it was some sort of trick or a hologram. He was fully aware that he was very much awake. As he looked around, he saw a very strange boy. He was no one he had ever met before.
He saw this new "person" as a possible threat and lunged at him. He clutched the boy's neck and pinned him to the bed. He demanded, "Who are you, strange being?! Where are we and are you holding me captive?!" Double D was afraid that this might happen, but even with his oxygen supply cut off, he still found the strength to choke out, "I'm Eddward…and like you…I don't even know where we are!" He was hoping Grievous would release him from his grip, but the general still had more questions for him.
He ordered, "Are for the Republic or the Separatists? Are you an ally or an enemy?" Double D began turning purple when he answered, "Neither, actually. Now, can you please let go of me?" Since it was General Grievous he was talking to, he had to be cunning and told him, "I could be…of quite some use yet. I'm no good…to you if I'm…*ack!*…dead!"
This convinced Grievous enough to release him. As the general did let go of him, Double D sprang forward to gasp and cough. Double D gasped, "You have an unusual method of interrogating people. Do you regularly choke most of the life out of your victims?" Grievous pointed his finger and retorted, "At least I didn't kill you. Be grateful for that."
As soon as Double D caught his breath, Grievous remembered what he had said to him of being useful to him. The general reminded him, "How else would I spare your life if you weren't to prove you could help me?" Double D knew that this was the infamous Separatist general he was talking to, so he had to choose his words carefully. He spoke, "Well, to start, we could search around for clues as to who or what brought us here and why." He gestured towards the door and continued, "There's no use going out that way. It's locked, I'm afraid."
Grievous scoffed, "You forget that I can just kick this door down. You do realize how strong I am, do you?" Double D remembered the incident and put his hand on his neck. He replied, "How could I forget?" Grievous went up to the door and lifted his leg. The only strange thing that happened was when his foot made contact with the door, he rebounded into the desk near the window.
It took only a few moments for Grievous gather himself and asked, "What was that? Is there some kind of field on the door?" Double D answered, "I'm not even sure what that was! It's never happened like that before!" Grievous was confused and asked, "What? You've never had doors like that?"
Just then, a folder fell on his faceplate. He took it and looked at it. It read "Case File", to which Grievous told Double D, "I think we have the clue you mentioned earlier." He opened it and a slip of paper fell out. Double D pointed at it and said, "Look! A piece of paper."
Grievous retorted, "Of course I know it's a piece of paper! How stupid do you think I am?" Double D shook his head, "No, no. I didn't mean that way. What I meant was why it was in the case file." He read the following aloud:
"Both of you have been whisked away from your worlds. If you are to ever get back, you must complete the mystery described in the case file. Failing to do so will result in permanently staying in this world forever. You must not do the following:
1.Commit any crimes, no matter how trivial or serious they are.
2.Try to find an alternate means of getting back to your lives
3.Eliminate the being working with you
"Don't worry if you're different from the people you're going to meet; they'll treat you as if you were like them. You and your partner must work together, for both of you may be the other's last hope."
Double D and Grievous stared at each other until the latter broke the silence by scoffing, "I don't need to rely on a young boy to help me. I can perfectly handle the situation myself." Double D cleared his throat, "If I may, I said I would be of some use to you; that is, if you let me. Furthermore, I'm not a young boy. I am a pre-adolescent with advanced mental capabilities than the rest of my peers."
Grievous only looked at him with indifference and said, "You speak in a complex tongue for someone your age. Don't forget I can understand you." Double D didn't know whether or not to take it as a compliment or insult. Grievous only stood back up and focused his attention back to the case file. Double D decided to look at it as well. Grievous read aloud, "'…work as assistants to Minette, an up and coming American designer…' What kind of species is an 'American'?"
Double D explained, "'American' is how you describe someone from America, a country on Earth, where we are now. The only sentient residents of this planet are humans. We are traveling to Paris, which is the capital city of another country, France." Grievous became silent and spoke with indifference again, "You seem very knowledgeable, boy. Perhaps you will be useful to me as my guide here on Earth."
Double D took being called 'boy' with offense and responded indignantly, "I have a name, you know. It's Eddward." Grievous only glared at him and said, "I will call you whatever I want, boy. Don't try to test me." Double D sighed in exasperation. He didn't want anger Grievous to the point that he might kill him. There was another problem: if he used the general's name without asking for it first, Grievous might assume that he was a spy.
To alleviate the tension between them, he asked, "I didn't quite get your name, and we did get off to a rocky start. Would you introduce yourself?" Grievous reluctantly answered, "I'm General Grievous, Supreme Commander of the Droid Armies. You may only refer to me as 'General'." Without any more questions, they continued to read the case file. One interesting tidbit of information made Double D point out, "'…wearing a full face mask all day, every day, even while working'. Hmm…this sounds very familiar, General."
Grievous glared at him and shot back, "I'll have you know I'm very different from this Minette person. She is only a human while I am a potent general. Does she even command her armies from her base of operations?" Double D remained silent and the general scoffed, "I thought not." Without another word, they read about their real assignment and other essential things to know. When reading about the plus-sized women, Grievous inquired, "Why would Minette make dresses for portly women? They are unattractive unless when expecting."
Double D explained, "Perhaps she is designing dresses for them to boost their morale. With their…figures, they're not very praised in society. These dresses might make them feel good about themselves." Grievous rolled his eyes and groaned. When they looked at the subway map, it was in French. Grievous was somehow given the ability to read English words in Aurebesh; however, he couldn't make out the French words.
He hated admitting this to the young boy, but he pointed to the map and asked, "Surely you could make out these words?" Double D nodded, "Oh, yes. I'm very fluent in French." Grievous said, "I thought Earth had only one language: Basic. Why does it need another?" Double D looked at him in confusion, but soon understood what he meant.
He explained, "We do widely speak English, a form of your Basic, but there are languages in other countries. It helps to understand them so you can communicate with the residents of one country." The general said, "I am bilingual, as well. The people of my planet speak in Basic and the native language." Grievous omitted the name and species of his people in the case the boy should betray him.
Double D chose not to ask about his planet, for he knew better than that. He looked around the room and asked, "So, how are we going to get to Paris?" Just then, a big hole appeared under their feet and grew to completely encircle the general and boy genius. Grievous answered, "I think we have our answer." They screamed as they fell into the blackness.
Author's Note: As for Grievous's comment about plus-sized women, I mean no offense. I just thought that it would be what he would say. I hope Double D's explanation would make up for it. Otherwise, I apologize if it was insulting.
