*Mystic Ruins: Ace's Workshop: Ace's POV*
Chuck and I had decided to take it slow going back to the workshop. I was in no hurry after all, and I don't think Chuck really was either. Although, I did hope that we would get there before…I don't know, Luna shows up or something. That would be disastrous. After a few minutes of walking the workshop came into view, which caused Chuck to promptly sigh, "So, here we are…" Chuck said as he slowly walked toward the building, he hadn't really wanted to come in the first place I guess, so I can't blame him for being a little annoyed that I was persistent that he came along. He was the first to enter the building, and when he did his eyes immediately fell on the girl sleeping on the couch. "I can safely assume that's her?" He said turning around to face me. I walked into the house, "Yeah, that's her, said her name was Ginger." I replied, walking over to one of the chairs in the room and dusting it off before sitting down on it.
"Ace, I'm glad you, you know, helped her, but did you even think of what your going to do now that she's here?" Chuck asked which caused me to ponder his question. He was right; living with me wasn't exactly the best lifestyle choice in the world. After all, I am someone who murders people for a living. "Have you even told her what you do for a living yet?" Chuck also asked before I could respond to the previous question. "Hey, not many people know I'm a mercenary, but I'm pretty sure that's not as bad as being a murderer." I responded blandly, my response actually outwitting Chuck for once, to which he just sighed. "I guess you do have a point there…But still, I repeat my previous question, what now?" Chuck asked me again, to which I continued to think. "Well…Maybe if I just did a few extra jobs…" I started, but I was cut off by Chuck again. "Ace, I was more or less referring to trying to find her a better place to live, not you working more to get some extra money." "Geez, relentless as always. Tell you what, let's just let her decide." I said waving my hand at Ginger, who was just now slowly waking up.
*Third Person POV*
When Ginger opened her eyes she was a little surprised to see another person in the room, but Chuck just decided to causally wave at her, which caused her to settle down a little bit. Ginger took a few small breathes before she spoke up, "Um…wh-who are you?" Ginger asked Chuck, who had been expecting such a question. "I'm Chuck, a friend of Ace." He said before looking at Ace, "And normally the one to help him out of his bad situations." "Hey! I totally had everything under control down in Mexico!" Ace replied putting up his hands in defense. "Right, that's why the entire country's military, was deployed trying to stop you." Chuck said crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at Ace. "They were overreacting! I was only down there to take out one guy! And he was part of the enemy militia! Why were they so worked up?!" Ace asked Chuck, despite the fact that the fox had explained this to the panther multiple times. "They were worked up because you blew up the enemy's entire base to get that one guy!" Chuck yelled pointing his finger at Ace. "He was clever! Kept avoiding me! It was the easiest way to end it!" Ace yelled back at Chuck. Ginger was the one to stop them both though, "Uh, what are you two talking about?" She asked with confusion.
Ace and Chuck both realized that they had completely been ignoring Ginger, and recomposed themselves before turning back to her. "Um, sorry, just an old memory." Ace said rubbing the back of his head. Ginger still looked confused but Chuck decided to change the subject. "So Ginger, where are you heading now?" Chuck asked with obvious concern in his voice. "Where? Well…I thought…" Ginger started, but Chuck cut her off. "Ginger, are you thinking of staying here with Ace?" Chuck asked the girl, which caught her slightly off guard, because that was exactly what she was thinking. "Well…yes…I suppose…" Ginger replied quietly, to which Chuck sighed. "You do realize what you'll be getting yourself into if you live with him, right?" Chuck asked Ginger, patiently waiting for a response. "Ye-yes…But…" Ginger looked down at the floor before continuing, "He's been…the first…to…" Ginger continued, which caused Ace to raise an eyebrow, wondering what she was talking about, "The first…to…comfort…me…" Ginger finished, which actually surprised both Ace and Chuck.
"He…was?" Chuck asked Ginger, while looking at Ace, who was just as surprised. He knew what she was talking about, but he thought that maybe somebody else would have like, hugged her or comforted her at some point in her life. "Yes…Nobody else has cared…Yet he's known me for less then a day, and he's cared more then any of them…" Ginger said, with tears starting to flow down her face. Ace felt a need to react at this point and got up from his chair, walked over to Ginger and sat next to her, "Hey, its okay…Don't cry…" Ace said, although he could be a cold blooded killer at points, he hated seeing girls cry. Ginger wrapped her arms around Ace, and just like before, buried her face in his chest, which once again, surprised the panther. He just sighed like before, then patted the back of her head. Chuck had been the most surprised of this whole turn of events, when he had came here he thought that the girl would want to instantly leave, knowing who Ace was, or would at least be somewhat afraid of him. But she actually looked toward him for comfort! Ace wasn't really known for being the kind of guy to say, 'Come tell me all your life problems, then I'll give you a hug!' He was more along the lines of, 'I don't really give a shit what happened to you in your life, get away from me before I rip your head off.'
Chuck just rubbed his eyes a few time to make sure he wasn't seeing things, when he was sure that he wasn't, he decided to speak up. "If that's what you want, just remember what you're getting yourself into." Chuck spoke as he stood up from the chair. Ace had finally managed to pry Ginger away from himself, his chest again soaked in tears. "I…do…" Ginger said fighting back tears again. "Alright then, I've got to get back home, I'll see you tomorrow, okay Ace?" Chuck said heading for the door. "Alright, bye Chuck." Ace said, waving at his friend. Chuck just continued walking and headed out the door, beginning the long walk back to where he lived. Ace sighed when he left, "Wonder what I did to get such a great friend like him?" Ace said out loud to no one in particular. Ace finally turned his attention back to Ginger, who had finished wiping up her tears. "You know, I brought back water from the river if you want to take a bath, although it's going to be cold." Ace said to Ginger, noticing that she wasn't exactly clean. Ginger took a good look at herself and decided a cold bath was better then no bath. "I guess so…I'll be out in a little while." She said heading into the bathroom. Ace sighed and looked outside, surprised to see the sun setting. "I need to fix the lights in this place…" Ace spoke to himself; his workshop had no electricity, so no warm water or lights for him or anyone else who came to the house.
*10 minutes later*
Ginger exiting the bathroom, much cleaner now and still dressed in the same clothes, only to find that Ace was nowhere to be found. No to mention the only thing lighting the place was a few candles that went up the stairs. "Ace? Where are you?" Ginger called out, hoping for a response, none came. The fox decided to follow the trail of candles, they were there for some reason. They led her to a room upstairs, with two beds that had been dusted off and made, although one was already occupied. Ginger smiled, NOW she knew where Ace was. She walked up to the empty bed and sat on it, then looked over at the other bed. Just as she thought, Ace was sound asleep, which gave him this weird look as if he was at inner peace with himself. Ginger smiled one more time before getting under the cover's in her bed. "Good night…Ace." Ginger said before rolling over and going to sleep.
*The next day*
Ginger woke up to the smell of a cooking fire. She sniffed the air a few times to make sure she wasn't going crazy or something, and sure enough, she could defiantly smell a cooking fire. She slowing made her way to her feet, and started to walk through the house, following the smell. She didn't she Ace in his bed when she woke up, so she assumed that he must be the one that made the fire. Ginger made her way downstairs and toward the door, the smell of the fire growing stronger with each step, along with something that smelled fantastic. She hadn't eaten anything but the crap served at the institution for a week…Well, that and-
Luckily that thought was cut off when she opened the door. She saw Ace sitting next to a small fire, and he was cooking two rabbits and a few fish on the fire. Ginger actually drooled a little, anything was better then what the institution had served, and this was no exception. Ace looked up after hearing the door open and gave as smirked as he saw her staring at the food. "It's not just for me you know, sit down." Ace sat patting the spot next to him. Ginger's stomach growled, signaling that it would be a good idea to sit and wait for the food to be done. She quickly sat down on the log that Ace was sitting on and patiently waited for the food to be done cooking. A few minutes later Ace pulled one of the rabbits off the fire and handed it to Ginger, "I know its not the best meal-"Ace started, but Ginger shook her head. "No, it's perfect, thank you." Ginger said taking the rabbit and beginning to eat it. Ace smiled, then turned back to the fire and took the other rabbit so he could eat it.
*20 minutes later*
The two had just finished eating the last of the fish, and Ace was picking his teeth when Ginger spoke up. "Ace, what do you really do?" Ginger asked, the question sort of vague. Luckily, Ace understood what she was asking, "Funny, not many people look past the whole, Ace is a bloodthirsty murderer who cares about nothing but death." "But I know you're not completely like that, otherwise you wouldn't have helped me." Ginger replied, looking at Ace. Ace just sighed before continuing, "Well, to be blunt, I'm a mercenary." "A…mercenary?" Ginger asked Ace. "Yes, somebody gives me a job and I go and do it. They pay me, and I leave. It's that simple." Ace said, answering Ginger's question. "Do you…find your own clients?" Ginger asks Ace, who snickers a little bit before replying. "No, that's Chuck's job, I couldn't find a client if my life depended on it." Ace said, meaning every word he said. "But, doesn't that put Chuck in danger?" Ginger asked, but Ace was already prepared for this question. "Nope, because he doesn't use his real name, he uses an alias." Ace replied, smirking. "Um, what's his alias?" Ginger asked, intrigued by this.
"The Dark Tornado."
*Chuck's Workshop*
Chuck was indeed the one who found all of Ace's clients, and it wasn't an easy process. Ace's reputation actually brought in quite a lot of clients, the problem was sorting out the good from the bad. Chuck refused to give Ace a job from a scum bag, who just wanted someone dead because they were in the way or something worse. Chuck was currently going through a list of possible jobs, "No, no, totally asshole, Ace would kill me if I chose that one…" Chuck spoke to himself, deleting e-mail after e-mail. He finally stopped clicking after opening another e-mail, "Hmm…This one seems possible. Let me see now…" Chuck opened up the file for this client. "Lila Alson, Age 31, female, needs help clearing her restaurant of some unwanted guests…" Chuck said out loud, this job had the potential to be good or bad, but Chuck was out of time, and frankly he wanted to sleep after staying up all night. "Alright then…I'll give him this one." Chuck said as he clicked the print button, causing the pages of the job to be printed out. Chuck picked up the pages and put them in a yellow file before heading out the door, to go give the file to Ace.
*Ace's Workshop*
Ace had been jumping from tree to tree, going through his morning exercises, with Ginger watching him. She was amazed at how well Ace could move, the news had said he was agile, but she never thought he was this quick. Ace jumped to the top of one of the trees so he could look around at the view, but when he got to the top of the tree he saw Chuck coming toward them on the horizon. "Well! We have a guest!" Ace said as he jumped down off the top of the tree, which earned a startled reaction from Ginger. Ace spun off one of the lower branches to slow his fall and flipped a few times in mid air before landing on his feet. "Tah dah!" Ace yelled with his arms out in a dramatic pose. "Are you crazy?! You could've hurt yourself!" Ginger yelled at Ace, who just brushed it off. "I've done it plenty of times before; I'm in no danger of injuring myself." Ace said as he watched Chuck land a few yards away. "So, you finally found a job for me?" Ace said mockingly. Chuck just ignored him and handed him the file, "I'm tired right now, so can I just sleep here instead of flying all the way back to my place?" Chuck asked, almost pleadingly. Ace could see that he was tired, and didn't see a reason not to let him stay, "Sure, I don't mind at all." Ace said gesturing toward the house. Chuck gave him a 'thank you' look before heading into the house.
"So…What do I do?" Ginger said, tapping her foot nervously. "You should stay here; it won't be safe if you come with me." Ace said as he looked over the details of the file. "Oh…alright then…" Ginger said, looking sort of disappointed. Ace just shook his head, what was he now, a father to this girl? Ace went up and patted her on the head, "I'll be back before you know it." Ace said reassuringly. Ginger seemed to brighten up a little from that, she had opened up a lot more since yesterday already. "Alright, fine!" She said taking his hand off her head, "Just stay safe." "Oh come on! Nothing can hurt me!" Ace said as he ran through the forest, heading to his destination, the city of Westopolis, and the Blue Moon Diner.
*Westopolis: Blue Moon Diner*
It had been a regular day for Lila Alson. A few customers came in; she was bullied once again by the infamous Red Fang Gang and their leader, Red Fang himself. Lila was running out of options, if she didn't do something about the gang soon, she would either have to leave her business behind, or be dead. She sighed and was about to go up to change the sign to closed when a figure in a brown cloak came in, which made her instantly suspicious of him. He sat down at one of the seats near the counter of the diner and waiting patiently for someone to come over to him. Lila sighed, he had come in before she closed, so she might as well serve him. She walked up to the cloaked figure, who hardly moved. "Hello, what would you like?" Lila said, normally she would say something more upbeat, like 'Welcome to Blue Moon Diner! May I take your order?' but she had been losing her spirit within the past few days. "Well, you don't seem very happy. Can I have a glass of cocoa? My throat is killing me." The figure said from beneath his cloak. Lila was a little annoyed that he had to comment on her current mood, but she didn't tell him that as she went and got the cocoa before returning and placing the glass in front of the man. "Thanks." He said before taking it and downing it, something that surprised Lila since that cocoa was very hot. He put the empty glass back on the counter, "Ah, that's just what I needed…" The figure said before turning toward Lila.
"So, I hear you've got a problem with a little gang eh?" The cloaked man said, which caused Lila to turn her head away, "That gesture there says it, well, I'll be happy to help you then." He said standing up, causing Lila to snap at him. "And how are you gonna do that huh?! Just walk into their hideout and attack them?! Who the hell are you anyway?!" Lila yelled, pointing her finger at him. The figure stood still for a while, before he starting bursting into laughter. "What's so funny?" Lila said, confused and angry that this man was laughing at her. "Well, your defiantly full of spirit." The figure said before removing his head, causing Lila to gasp in shock. "Yo-your-" She started, but the man cut her off. "Ace the Panther, at your service." Ace said doing a mock bow.
"You…actually came…I thought that…" Lila started, but again Ace cut her off. "Contrary to popular belief, I prefer helping those who actually NEED help, not the scum bags who just want a job done." Ace said pulling the hood back up, he couldn't have people seeing who he was. Lila understood and quickly rushed over and flipped the sign from open to closed, then gestured for Ace to come into the back room with her. Ace followed her into the kitchen as she continued talking, "Well, since you're here I might as well explain the situation, a group of thugs known as the Red Fang Gang have been terrorizing people in this city for quite some time. They've just recently began targeting my diner, since it's in the area that they want to build they're fucking 'home base'." Lila said angrily, not pleased at all by the behavior of the gang.
"I see, then the easiest way to take them out would be to wait for them to come here tomorrow, then-" Ace was about to finish when he was hit in the back of the head with a bo staff. "Ouch, that hurts." Ace said before rubbing the back of his head as if someone lightly punched him in the head. "What the? What are you made of?" A new voice said, that being the woman wielding the bo staff. "Jill! Its okay, he's here to help with that damn gang." Lila said to the woman named Jill. "Yeah, no need to try and knock me out, ugh." Ace said still rubbing his head, he'd have a headache later from that.
"So, you're here to help drive those no good gangsters out?" Jill asked slowly lowering the staff. "Yeah, just…Please don't hit me with that staff again." Ace said still rubbing his head. "Who are you anyway?" Jill asked. "He's…well, don't freak out when I tell you but-" Lila started, but Ace finished it by removing his hood again, which caused Jill to instantly raise her staff. "Your that murderer! Ace the Panther!" Jill yelled, preparing to hit Ace with her staff again before Lila intervened. "Jill stop! I'm the one who called him here!" Lila said grabbing the staff to prevent Jill from hitting Ace with it. "You actually called him here? Have you lost your mind Lila?!" Jill yelled pointing a finger at Ace, "He's a fucking murderer! He's killed hundreds of people! Do you not understand that?!" Jill yelled, keeping her finger pointed at Ace.
"I know that Jill! But who else is going to stand up to those damn gangsters, the police? Ha! Those cowards wouldn't even dare! He's the only person I can think of who will help us!" Lila yelled back at her friend. "And how do you know that he just won't kill you huh?" Jill said to Lila. "What would be his point of coming all the way out here just to kill me for no reason? Your argument is only based on the fact that he's killed other people!" Lila yelled back at Jill. Ace was getting more and more uncomfortable with each comeback, that is, until she heard the sound of a bell, an indication that someone had entered her shop. "Oh great! Who is it this time?" Lila yelled walking back out from, only to stop in her tracks when she saw who entered. "I thought we told you to be gone by today!" A man said before he slugged Lila in the face, sending her down to the floor. This instantly angered Ace, an unprovoked attack, on a woman no less! "You leave her alone!" Jill yelled as she ran out to attack the man with her staff, when another one pointed a gun at her head the moment she made it out there. "Don't move, unless you want your head blown clean off." The man said threateningly. Jill cursed and dropped her staff, the other man smiled before looking down the dark corridor and seeing Ace, but Ace had lifted his hood back up so they couldn't tell who he was.
"Hey! Hey you, the guy with the cloak! Come on out or we'll blow this woman's head off!" He yelled at Ace, who responded by saying two words. "Chaos Control." Time slowed down as the technique activated, prompting Ace to act. He ran down the hallway and pushed Jill down, so she wouldn't get shot. Then he jumped into the air and did a split kick so he could kick both the men in the face at the same time. Time sped up as the two were sent flying in different directions in the diner. Jill and Lila were both shocked to see the men down, but they were perhaps more shocked to see Ace standing where the previous gunman used to be. The guy who had yelled at Ace before got back up, and pulled out his gun in preparation to shoot Ace. The panther didn't miss a beat as he kicked the gun that the other guy had dropped up into the air, grabbed it and shot the hand of the man holding the gun before the guy could fire.
The guy dropped his gun as he held his hand in pain, giving Ace the chance to leap at him and axe kick him in the head, knocking him out cold. He then picked the guy up and threw him at his buddy as soon as he stood up, knocking the other guy back down. "If you know what's good for you, take your friend and get out of here." Ace said staring at the other guy, who jumped up and ran, dragging his accomplice along with him. "Tsk, weakling." Ace said as he turned back toward the girls, "You two okay?" He asked in a decently sympathetic voice, he must be getting better at that. "We're…we're fine…thanks." Lila said as she and Jill before slowly made their way to their feet. "Good, so…were those guys' members of this 'Red Fang Gang'?" Ace asked, wondering if his enemies were really going to be so weak. "Yes, although they looked like new recruits to me, I haven't seen either of them before." Lila responded, sure that they were rookies. "So, I probably shouldn't waste much more time, I should go deal with them." Ace said heading for the door, but this time Jill stopped him.
"Wait! At least stay here for dinner, as a way of us saying thanks." Jill offered to Ace. The panther turned and looked at them with a surprised look, even when he had the nicest of people giving him a job; he was never offered any food of any kind. People were just too frightened of his reputation to give him food, so he normally just went out and got some food for himself. "Um…sure…" Ace said turning around and slowly walking back. "Alright then, we'll go get started on it, you just find someplace comfy to sit!" Lila said to Ace, as her and Jill went to go prepare dinner. Ace felt guilty for not helping, but they did specifically say to find someplace to sit…
*Ace's POV*
I walked over to one of the booth's and sat down, maybe I could rest my head on the table for a little while…Yeah, that sounds like a good idea…
*45 minutes later*
I slowly awoke to the smell of…well I guess the best way to describe it is that it smelled amazing. I slowly lifted my head off the table I had fallen asleep on and sniffed the air a few times. Yep, that defiantly smelled good. I got up and made my way to the back of the diner, hoping that the fantastically smelling thing was food ready to be eaten. When I got to my destination, my wish was granted. There was a table set up with steak, mash potatoes, corn, and some biscuits all set up on a plate. I resisted the urge to devour it all, deciding instead to wait for the girls to show up. Luckily that didn't take long as they walked out from another room not a few seconds later. "Oh, you're awake. Well that's good, we were just about to come and get you." Lila said. "So, dig in." Jill said waving her hands at all the food on the table as they sat down to their own two plates.
I didn't need to be told twice. I began eating at a decent pace…And by decent I mean eating 5 biscuits in one minute pace. Jill and Lila looked at me as if they were wondering if I ever ate at all. Within about 5 minutes I easily cleared my plate and a few of the extra biscuits that were on the side. I took a deep breathe before I realized I probably just made myself look like a complete fucking pig. "Uh, sorry about that…I just don't eat that good of a meal that often." I said rubbing the back of my head. Although I don't care about most people opinion, I try to make at least a decent impression on my clients. "Was our food that good?" Lila asked me, to which I nodded vigorously. "Yeah, I haven't had a meal that good in…a looooooong time." I said holding my hands out to measure the amount of time it's been since I've have a good meal. "Well, thanks, it means a lot." Jill said, obviously referring to the compliment I made on the food. "Don't mention it, and try and save the thanks for when I get rid of those gangsters, they won't know what hit them." I said before taking a sip of my water.
"Hopefully…" Lila said lowering her head. I had a feeling there was more to this story that meets the eye, but I didn't want to try and force them to tell me anything, so I just kept quiet. Dinner went along rather quietly after that, with the girls finishing there food before they both headed to bed. They showed me the guest room in which I could stay in, to which at first I said I didn't want to be a hassle, but they insisted that I stay. Who could argue with that? I went into the guest room and laid down on the bed, and slowly began to fall asleep. Tomorrow was going to be on hell of a day…
*The next day*
I awoke from my sleep at the crack of dawn. Today I was going to go down to…wherever those Red Fang guys are, and kill every last one of the bastards. I stretched before I decided to walk downstairs, finding Lila at the table drinking a cup of coffee. "Morning." She said to me without even turning her head. "Yeah, morning…" I replied, not really sure of what else to say. I walked down the remaining stairs and over to the door, preparing to leave when Lila stopped me. "Are you going already?" She asked me, to which I just replied in a nod. I needed to end this as soon as possible. "Ace, you don't even know where they're hideout is, how are you going to find them?" Lila asked as she turned to face me completely.
"I'll find them, one way or another, and I'll end them." I said heading for the exit again when an uninvited guest entered the dinner. I growled as I saw the thug from yesterday enter, and he jumped so high he nearly went through the ceiling. He threw a letter at me before running back out the door, god that guy is a fucking wimp. I grabbed the letter and opened it to see what message the dumbass had brought me. "What does it say?" Lila said walking out from the back. "Ha! They're all challenging me, giving me the exact location of they're hideout, what dumbasses!" I yelled before throwing the letter up into the air and reducing it to ashes. "Guess now I know where they are." I said to Lila as I grabbed my cloak and put it on. She was silent for a while before she finally responded, "I…guess so…" "I'll be back, when they are all gone." I said, making my way out of the diner and down the road, heading for the hideout of the Red Fang Gang.
*Red Fang Gang Hideout: Third Person POV*
Ace walked up to the large warehouse, which had a bunch of signs saying 'Stay out or die' or similar things on them. Ace just chuckled; these guys were a group of morons for openly challenging him. Ace drew his fist back, and slammed it into the giant door, completely ripping it off its hinges and sending it flying back into the warehouse, earning some surprised yelps from some of the gang members inside. Ace slowly walked into the building, where nearly every member of the gang pulled out a gun and pointed it at him. "Knock knock." Ace said as he smirked, not in the least bit worried about the countless guns that are pointed at him.
"Well, well. Welcome Ace the Panther, it is an honor meeting a fellow murderer such as yourself." A large brown tiger said to Ace as he walked toward him. "I can safely assume that you're Red Fang, right?" Ace said, not intimidated by the tiger in the slightest. "Yes, I am. You do realize that by attacking my members yesterday, and by showing up here today, that you are declaring war against the Red Fang Gang." Red Fang told Ace, expecting the panther to be surprised, or afraid, or something. What he HADN'T expected was for Ace to burst into laughter "It won't be much of a war Red Fang, it'll be a massacre." Ace said with a devilish grin. Red Fang growled before backing up, "KILL HIM!" He bellowed at the top of his voice as he pointed as Ace. Ace smirked as the men all prepared to fire they're weapons, remembering an old lesson from his master...Shadow the Hedgehog.
*Flashback 12 years ago: Secret Location*
Ace was only ten at the time, and had been training with his master and adoptive father, Shadow the Hedgehog, for two years by this time. "Alright Ace, it's about time I taught you a skill that will be very important for you to use in the future." Shadow told Ace as the little panther stared back at his master, some of the innocence still in his eyes. "What's that master?" Ace asked Shadow, very careful not to say something that Shadow could use against him later. "I'm going to teach you how to run as fast as me." Shadow told Ace, whose eyes lit up as he said those words. "Re-really? B-but how?" Ace asked with wonder, he didn't think he could ever move his legs like Sonic could, and he highly doubted that Shadow had an extra set of his skates lying around somewhere.
Shadow just gave a very small smile, most wouldn't even notice it, but Ace could see it. "I'm going to teach you how to focus you Chaos Energy into your legs, which will allow you to run without the use of any hover skates." Shadow said, answering Ace's question. The two ended up spending nearly the whole day just getting Ace used to the ability.
*End Flashback*
Ace took off with inhuman speed, easily avoiding all the bullets and surprising the entire gang, including Red Fang. Ace started punching the lights out of gang members left and right, one had tried to shoot him in the back, but Ace jumped into the air to avoid it, and then gave the guy an axe kick that caved his skull in. Ace rolled as soon as he hit the ground to avoid more gunfire. "Tch, I should've brought my pistols." Ace said picking up some of the fallen gang members weapons. "These will have to do I guess." Ace said examining the weapons. He ran out from his cover and started shooting at the gang members, each shot equaling another dead or injured guy. The gang members continued firing their weapons, unable to hit Ace with a single bullet. As for Red Fang, he couldn't believe that his entire gang was getting defeated by a single guy! He didn't care if that guy was Ace the Panther, this was unacceptable!
"Kill the bastard already!" Red Fang said as he grabbed a nearby missile launcher and shot it at Ace, who mocked Red Fang by simply teleporting to avoid the missile. The blast killed most of the remaining members of the gang. Ace laughed and proceeded to put bullets in the skulls of the last alive ones. "Well, that wasn't much of a challenge." Ace said, although he'd never say out loud that he was actually kinda worn out, that technique takes a lot out of him, but it would've taken more energy to constantly teleport. "You rat! I'll have you head on a stick for this!" Red Fang yelled at Ace as the giant tiger pulled out two huge blood red pistols. Ace raised his gun and clicked the trigger, only to find he was out of ammo. "Shit." Ace said before he dropped the pistols and avoided some gunfire from Red Fang. Ace knew there was plenty of guns around, he just needed to find one to his liking.
"Die you bastard!" Red Fang bellowed at Ace as he continued to fire his guns at the panther. Ace wondered how much ammo those things could hold; it seemed like an ungodly amount. Ace finally saw a pair of guns that served to his liking, a pair of P99's that were next to one of the dead gangsters. Ace sped up and grabbed the guns as he passed by them. He raised the guns and fired rapidly at Red Fang, who took cover behind his giant armchair, which apparently had a plate of steel in the back of it because the bullets didn't go all the way through it. Ace cursed and took cover behind a nearby pillar as Red Fang resumed shooting at him. Ace could tell though, that the gun was powerful. The shots from the giant pistols were tearing through the stone pillar! Ace thought fast as he dived out from behind the pillar and shot at Red Fang, just as the pillar fell apart! Red Fang was caught off guard by this and was hit in the shoulder by one of the shots. "Shit!" Red Fang yelled as he ducked down behind his chair.
Ace took cover behind another pillar and checked the remaining ammo in his pistols, 3 shots left in the right one, 7 in the left. That gave him 10 shots, he could easily find more guns or ammo around the dead bodies in this place, but he'd wasted enough time already. "Hey Red Fang! Listen up!" Ace yelled at the giant tiger, who had heard his words. "Just a heads up! Your going to be dead within my next 10 shots!" Ace proclaimed to the tiger, who just laughed out loud at Ace's statement. "We'll see about that you fucking punk!" Red Fang yelled as he stood up from his cover and fired at the pillar Ace was behind. Ace calmly waited until the pillar was about to collapse again, then teleported out from behind it and above Red Fang. He fired 2 shots from each pistol at the tiger, who managed to avoid 3 of them, but was hit, in his uninjured shoulder by the last. He fell down and kicked Red Fang in the head, who retaliated by swiping at Ace with his huge claws.
Ace used Red Fang's head as a springboard to avoid the tiger's claws, and then Ace shot the tiger in the back with his remaining 4 shots in his left pistol, careful not to hit any vital spots. Red Fang let out a roar of pain as he dropped his pistols and turned around, punching Ace in the stomach and sending him crashing through the stone wall to the outside. Ace groaned as he pulled himself out of the debris and dropped one of his pistols, while hiding the one with a bullet remained in his jacket. Red Fang leaped out of the warehouse at Ace, intending to tear the panther's throat out with his fangs. Ace backfliped off the debris; barely avoid the brown and red tiger. Ace then jumped into the air and kicked Red Fang in the head, before hitting him with a few Chaos Spears. Red Fang stumbled back in pain; the only thing keeping him up was his raw determination to kill Ace. Ace jumped at Red Fang and tried to punch him in the face, but the tiger managed to dodge the punch and grab Ace's arm. He then twirled Ace in a circle before throwing him back into the warehouse at high speeds, sending him smashing through one of the remaining pillars in the building.
Ace was getting to his feet when his eyes widened. Red Fang had picked up his chair and tossed it at the panther, who barely managed to somersault to avoid it. Red Fang picked up a nearby AK47 and started firing at Ace like a mad man. Ace ran back and forth to avoid the bullets, and then ran straight at Red Fang, taking a chance. By time Red Fang brought to gun back toward Ace, the clip in it was empty, giving Ace the chance he needed. Ace jumped up and slammed his knee into Red Fang's face, causing the gangster to drop his AK. Ace grabbed the gun out of mid air and broke the gun on Red Fang's head, which caused the tiger to drop to one knee. Ace then landed and balanced himself on his hands before kicking the gangster in the face, actually sending the massive tiger flying back onto his back a few feet away. Red Fang groaned as he made his way to his feet, only to have a pistol pointed at his chest. "Goodbye, Red Fang." Ace said as he prepared to fire. "Wa-wait! Don-" Red Fang started, but didn't get the chance as Ace shot him in the chest, and through the tiger's heart.
The huge gangsters hit the floor, dead. Ace just frowned at the body of the tiger, before tossing his gun down to the floor and turning around to walk away. Only now did he notice just how much blood he was covered in, he was nearly head to toe in blood. Ace sighed and picked his cloak off the ground and wrapped himself in it. "Chaos Control." Ace said, leaving the warehouse now that his job was complete.
*Blue Moon Diner*
Ace appeared in front of the diner, which was still closed, and entered the establishment. Lila looked up to see the panther wrapped in the cloak, and although there were only a few drops of blood on the cloak itself, she could see his blood covered face below the hood. "Uh, can I use you shower?" Ace asked in a sort of pleading manner.
*5 minutes later*
Ace was in the shower now, washing off all the blood that had gotten on him during the battle. Lila was standing just outside the bathroom door at the time. "You know, I've got a feeling you didn't tell me the entire reason you wanted that gang gone." Ace said, which surprised Lila. "Wha-what do you mean?" She asked the panther. "What I mean, is you love this diner for more then it just being yours." Ace said as he scrubbed his fur clean. Lila was silently for a while, then she sighed and continued, "Yes, there is another reason…" Lila started, Ace listening intently. "It all began ten years ago…My father owned this diner, he ran it with pride, and everyone loved him. Everything was perfect, that is…Until the Red Fang Gang showed up." Lila explained; while Ace stayed almost completely quiet, save for the sound of running water. "When they first showed up, all they wanted was a place to hang out, but they still caused trouble. They would chase customers away, and threaten them if they tried to stay. Finally my dad had had enough of the gang, and politely asked them to leave and never return. Red Fang agreed, but he said it was only agreeing because it was my dad's last request…Then he killed him." Lila said, tears now flowing from her eyes.
Ace had just finished his shower and stopped the water, quickly drying himself and putting on the plain white t-shirt and blue jeans that Lila had put in the bathroom for him. He walked out into the hallway and grabbed Lila by the shoulders, bringing her attention to him. "I know how you feel Lila, my father was killed by a deranged robot, and on my eighteenth birthday no less." Ace explained to the leopard, who still had tears flowing from her eyes as she stared at Ace. "Your father wouldn't want you to mourn over his death, he'd want you to be strong and carry on, to bring the Blue Moon Diner to a level he never could! Do what your father couldn't do." Ace said, bringing more determination to Lila's eyes with each word. "Your right…Your right! I should stop being so down on myself…I never thought I could run the diner as good as my father could, but I'll run it better then him!" Lila yelled, her confidence increasing with each word. Ace had let go of her shoulders by this point, "Exactly, and remember. If you ever need a problem dealt with, and it doesn't have to be something physical, I can help." Ace said, turning to leave.
"Your leaving already?" Lila asked Ace, who nodded in return. "Tell Jill I said bye, okay?" Ace asked Lila. In truth the leopard didn't want Ace to leave so soon, but she guess that he probably had places to be. "Alright then, I guess I'll…see you later?" Lila said. "Yeah, see you later." Ace replied, before disappearing in a flash of light.
*Ace's Workshop*
Ace reappeared in front of his workshop, and although it was still morning, he was tired as hell. He walked into the workshop and was greeted by Chuck and Ginger. "Welcome back Ace!" Ginger said to the tired panther. "How'd the job go?" Chuck asked Ace, gave him a thumbs up, which was his signal for a successful job. "The pay will be sent to you shortly Chuck, now if you both don't mind…I wanna catch some more z's." Ace said before heading upstairs to go to sleep. "Ace!" Ginger yelled up at him, which made him stop and look down at her, "I'm you're your safe." Ginger said with a smile on her face. "Ace just smirked at the fox and continued walking up the stairs, heading for his bed.
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