Disclaimer: I do not own Dead or Alive or Ninja Gaiden, they are owned by Team Ninja and Tecmo.
Streets of Downtown
10:34 am
California
Eliot walked around the city for quite a while, taking in all the culture around him. Behind him was an annoyed Ayane attempting to keep up. They eventually stopped at a place called the alley, several stores could be seen down a long alley.
"We might find something cool here," said Elliot as he looked at Ayane.
"It's too crowded," said Ayane annoyed.
Eliot did not know what it was, maybe the increasing excitement made him braver or maybe it was something else, but he grabbed Ayane's hand. Ayane blushed crimson as Eliot attempted to remain confident.
"This will help us stay together, let's go," said Eliot as he pulled her with him down the alley. Ayane was still at a loss for words and did not fight him.
They looked around for what seemed like a long time, they both stopped at a hat store. Their was a Grey beret on display that Eliot tried on, he looked at Ayane.
"How do I look?"
"W..Why are you asking me!?" said Ayane shocked, cheeks slightly red.
"Well I mean, I uh... I," Eliot struggled with the words, but he felt it was the right time to tell her his feelings, while he still had the confidence too.
"Ayane I want to tell you..."
"Stop," said Ayane seriously. Eliot obeyed completely, surprised by her tone. Ayane knew where this was going and needed to end it.
"You and I will never be together, we are from two different worlds," said Ayane in a serious tone.
"What does that mean? I can't like you because we are different?" said Eliot hurt.
"It would never work, you would never understand my world," said Ayane.
"Then make me understand Ayane, or at least give me the chance too," said Eliot calmly.
"It would be a waste to even try, you think this situation we are in is a game," said Ayane coldly.
"I don't think it's a game and I do not think anything would be a waste. I understand the situation we are in," said Eliot slightly angry.
"Your too naïve to understand!" shouted Ayane too her shock back, the words just falling from her mouth, "Go home! Find yourself a nice girl and settle down, leave this to us! It does not concern you."
"Ayane..."said Eliot hurt.
"As for us, there is no us. You are not for me and I am not for you, you'll just get hurt in the end," said Ayane coldly.
Eliot closed his mouth and began to feel the tears form, he wiped his face and threw the hat back in the basket near him. He then walked way from her.
Ayane felt guilt as she watched him walk away. She had to be cold to him, she needed him gone in order to keep him safe. She convinced herself that he would be safer far from her. She could not let Donovan take Eliot away as he did her sister.
I'm sorry Eliot, but this is bigger than you. Maybe you will see that one day.
About an hour later
Eliot walked around Downtown, not really paying attention to anything. He stopped at a fountain and sat, thinking about what she said.
She said he was to naive for her world, that it would never work between them. She broke his heart at that moment, crushing the hope that he had.
"I know that face," Eliot looked up and saw Archer looking at him, a lit cigarette in his mouth, "you look like a man who just had his heart ripped from his chest."
"She says I am to naïve to understand, that I think its a game. Tell me John, am I that naïve?" asked Eliot.
"Of course you are," said Archer as he sat next to Eliot, "why is that a bad thing?"
"What do you mean? I'll never get the respect I want," said Eliot angered.
"Respect? Is that what you want? Then you have it, being naïve has nothing to do with it."
"What?"
"Eliot, life is full of adventures and over time you will see all of them. All the good and unfortunately the bad. The experiences that we undergo will dictate the kind of man you become. Being naïve is just lacking life experiences."
"I'll never be a man in her eyes, just a kid."
"You need to stop worrying about her and focus on you. The only way you become a better man is to learn from the things around you and to stop coat tailing someone else. One life experience you have just experienced is heartbreak and unfortunately, we all at one point go through it. Cry if you gotta, but keep going on, there is still more to experience out there." said Archer as he inhaled on his cigarette.
Eliot looked down, slightly understanding.
"But I love her John, how can I stop loving someone?"
"Who said you had to stop loving her? Let her come to you on her own terms, one day she will see something in you if you build yourself up, but that will never happen if you keep focusing on her," said Archer as he flicked his cigarette.
Eliot looked down at his feet, Archer knew it was not enough for him.
"I loved Gina, and she loved me, but it did not start that way. She had no interest in me when we were in school. I was a trouble maker who like to fight. I used to think if I was tough, she would fall for me. That was not the case and she told me that when we graduated. I, like you, was heart-broken and wanted to get away. So I focused on myself and became a man, sure not every decision I made was good, but those were my mistakes to make and I became a better man for them. Eventually Gina saw that man as well and we were together," said Archer as he lit another cigarette.
"What ever happened to her, you never talk about her," asked Eliot curiously. Archer inhaled on the cigarette while looking into the sky.
"She was killed, lets just leave it at that," said Archer calmly, holding back the light tears forming.
"I'm sorry John, I did not know," said Eliot sincerely.
"Don't worry about it, the point is you may still get the girl, but you need to become a better man first. So quit your babbling and let's go find this son of a bitch," said Archer as he stood up, complete and utter confidence in his posture. It inspired Eliot who stood up as well.
"Lead the way," said Eliot simply as they headed back to the streets. Eliot decided to take the advice and become a better man. He knew that the reason he started this was to save his father and he started to lose sight of that. He refused to let it happen again, he would save his father and stop Donovan.
I swear it
Unknown Location
12:45pm
"Harold, is everything in place?" asked Rig as he stood in front of a large monitor.
"Yes sir, just need to finalize the codes," said Harold as he typed on the keyboard, "Sir do you mind if I ask a question?"
"What?" asked Rig.
"Is this necessary? You said it yourself that he was not a threat."
"That was true, but he was in contact with a fellow from the Department of Defense. He is getting too close, its time to stop him." said Rig annoyed.
"Y...Yes sir," said Harold as he typed in the last codes, "the funds have been transferred."
"Lets see how you do with some old friends Archer," said Rig.
Internet Cafe
2:24pm
California
Eliot and Archer were both huddled up in front of a Computer looking up information about Donovan and DOATEC. They hit a wall in their investigation and were running out of options.
"John we might need to talk to Helena," said Eliot.
"Ya I know, we are out of options. That really sucks," said Archer angrily.
"What do we know so far?" Asked Eliot.
"Well while you were off with that girl, I spoke to my friend Shepherd. Seems M.I.S.T was working with DOD on some sort of chemical called Harpus. Long story short, it's some sort of hallucinogen which DOD concocted. M.I.S.T developed a machine to utilize the drug better and wanted to use it in their cloning program which they were already working on. DOD scraps the project when they learn that the drug has some adverse affects such as a permanent coma and discontinuous working with M.I.S.T. In response, M.I.S.T steals the formula and may be using it for...something. That's what I got,"
"That's a good amount of information and it will probably help us later, but not now," said Eliot. They both were silent, thinking of any other options. Suddenly, Eliot phone began ringing, he pulled it out and the display read dad.
"What does he want?" said Eliot as he answered the phone, "hey Dad."
"Eliot, you and Archer need to leave there now, there are men coming to kill you both!" shouted Eliots father.
"What!?" shouted Eliot as he stood, Archer stood as well, confused.
"No time to explain, just go! Get out of California!" with that, the phone went silent. Eliot looked at Archer.
"My father says there are men coming to kill us," said Eliot.
"Shit! lets get out of here,"said Archer frantically as he and Eliot ran out the internet café. They began running towards Archer's car when a bullet came whizzing by Archer's face.
"Sniper!" shouted Archer as he pulled Eliot to the ground and crawled behind a parked car. Archer slowly began to rise until another shot flew by.
"Shit, he's got a beat on us. Look I hate to say it, but we need to split up. Hopefully it will screw up his aim," said Archer.
"Ok...I'm ready," said Eliot, Archer nodded and readied himself. He looked ahead and saw several civilians running and screaming on the side-walk, thankfully none were near him. He would have hated anyone else getting shot while he ran.
"Alright, 3, 2, 1 go!" shouted Archer as they both began running. Archer was the one the sniper chose to shoot. He heard the bullets flying by him, he protected his face as a shop window shattered from the blast of the bullet. He quickly recovered and kept running, controlling his breathing as much as possible.
Suddenly, the vehicle which Archer was about to pass exploded, lifting Archer off the ground and through a window. He slammed to the ground on his back, his vision and hearing disoriented. He could hear the muffled screams of pedestrians as he slowly tried to get to his feet.
Once up, he shook the glass from his head and looked around. He appeared to be in a Starbucks, several of the patrons were on the ground crying, from what he could see no one was injured. He looked towards the counter and ran to it, a scared employee was ducked behind the counter.
"You have a back exit?" asked Archer frantic. The employee nodded and pointed at the door behind the counter. Archer jumped over the counter and began running through the back room and into a hall. The hall led to a parking area on the other side of the building.
As Archer began looking around, he heard the dreaded sound of a gun being cocked. He turned to see a bald-headed male with tribal tattoos on his face holding a 357 magnum. Archer's eyes widened as he recognized the man.
"Carson?" said Archer shocked.
"Hey Sargent, long time no see," said Carson with a thick Australian accent.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
"Oh it ain't only me Sarge, our other mates are here too,"
Archer looked down, he knew exactly who he was referring to.
"What the hell do you want," said Archer angered.
"What we always want, money Sarge. And normally I'd say no to shooting old comrades, but you had it coming," said Carson with a smirk.
"You fucking quacks are hit man now?" said Archer sarcastically.
"We ain't hit man Archer, we fucking Assassins, professionals,"
"Professionals?! Not exactly a quiet entrance, Samson couldn't hit the broad side of building let alone me,"
"You'll want to talk a bit less of Samson or he liable to put a bullet through your fucking skull,"
"I thought you were going to do that," said Archer with a smirk, Carson snarled and smacked Archer in the face with the gun. Archer felt a sliver of blood for on his lip as he turned back to Carson.
"To think I followed you at one time, pathetic," spat Carson.
"All you do is follow Carson, so are you Alister's bitch now? Or Frederick's? You never had the balls to run it yourself," said Archer with another smirk, Carson struck him again. The longer he kept Carson here, the more time Eliot had to flee, or so he hoped. Frederick could have also found him as well, and she was ruthless.
"You've about run out of luck and time Archer, but I have to thank you for making me loads of money, it was a pleasure," said Carson.
Archer closed his eyes when he heard the shot, but no pain. He slowly opened his eyes to see Carson with a shocked face as he dropped the pistol and fell to the ground. Archer looked back up and saw Eliot shaking with his eyes wide opened, a smoking 38 in his hand.
Archer walked over to Eliot, "its ok Eliot just stay calm."
Archer stood right in front of Eliot, who began slightly shaking. Archer slowly took the pistol from his hand. Eliot walked over to Carson with a horrified expression on his face. Archer watched in silence, he felt guilt creeping up his neck. It was he after all who gave him the gun back in the apartment, he forgot to get it back.
Eliot stood there for several moments before sirens could be heard in the background. Archer snapped out of it and ran over to Eliot.
"Eliot, we have to go," said Archer calmly.
"Why? Don't we need to talk to the police?" said Eliot eerily calm.
"Not this time, we need to get out of here before we are caught," said Archer as he tugged on Eliot arms. Eliot gave Carson a last look before running with Archer out of the parking area.
The only thing left to be heard were the sirens of police getting louder and louder.
Unknown Location
3:30pm
Rig stood looking at Kasumi's pod, thinking about the events which took place so far. Everything was going ahead of schedule, he did not expect his father to capture Hayabusa so easily, and now they were on their way as well.
The doors behind him opened and Harold walked in, "sir, a moment?"
"What?" asked Rig, still focused on the pod.
"We lost Carson," said Harold.
Rig turned with an angry expression, "how!?"
"It appears Eliot shot him in the back, I watched it from a surveillance camera in the parking lot,"
"Shit, didn't think the kid be a problem, oh well, one less payout I suppose," said Rig.
"What now sir?"
"Keep on them and clean this up, I'm sure the local police will have their questions, but lets keep them at bay. I wont them both dead before they can say anything." said Rig, Harold nodded and left, leaving Rig to his thoughts.
He knew what was at stake and needed to tie up any loose ends, his father would of done the same. He started to wonder if the assassins he hired were incompetent or not, after all...
How do you have trouble with two unsuspecting targets?
Freedom Survivor
7:00pm
Coast of California
"We have breaking news coming from out of Downtown Los Angeles of an apparent shooting which took place just hours ago," said the reported on Helena's TV, "There is little information at this time, but we have confirmed at least one death so far. Details of his identity or what caused the shooting are still unknown at this time."
Helena looked down at her desk and began to think, could Archer and Eliot have something to do with that? Even worse, was the dead person one of them?
She picked up her desk phone and called Eliot, it went straight to voice mail. She then tried Archer.
"Archer," said a voice on the other end.
"Archer, are you both ok?" asked Helena concerned.
"Ya were fine, lying low for a while,"
"Did you have something to do with the shooting?"
"Ya, lets just say we are in the right direction and they know it,"
"Where's Eliot?"
"He's here, but not in the best of moods," said Archer.
"What do you mean?" asked Helena curiously.
"He saved my life at the cost of ending someone elses," said Archer guilt ridden.
"What!?"
"I can't talk right now, I gotta go back to Eliot, I'll keep you posted." the phone went silent.
Helena sat shocked, did Eliot really kill someone? Before she had time to further wonder, her speaker went off.
"Maam, an Ayane is here to see you?"
"Send her up," said Helena as she focused on the elevator. The elevator doors opened shortly after revealing Ayane.
"Have you had any contact with Hayate or Hayabusa?" asked Ayane straight to the point.
"No," said Helena simply.
"Has anything happened when I was away?"
Helena thought it better to leave the bits about Eliot out, for now anyway, it sounded like they needed some time alone.
"Nothing yet," said Helena calmly.
"Keep me informed," said Ayane as she walked back to the elevator and left.
Helena shut off the TV and stared out the window. Eliot was innocent, sure he knew the risk,but he was still innocent. This could change him considerably and she felt the guilt. She should have never got him involved in this or even allow himself to get involved.
Time will tell what will become of Eliot, only time will tell
Ayane stood at the side of the ship looking at the ocean. She thought about her brother and Hayabusa, wondering if they were ok. They were gone longer than she anticipated they would be. She knew that Hayabusa could take care of himself, but her brother was still prone to fall into danger.
Even though she tried to focus on her brother and Hayabusa, she knew what she was trying to repress. Eliots face was burned into her brain and she felt sadden by her actions. She knew it was the right thing to do, to break his heart and send him away.
She always knew how Eliot felt about her, and deep down she did not really know what to say. Aside from her brother, few initially respected her for her abilities. She always had to prove herself to her peers in order to receive the respect she so craved.
She even began to grow a slight disgust with most men, always seeking her sexual assets and never taking into consideration her abilities or even personality. She believes such thoughts our a weakness, a weakness she has exploited in many men she has killed.
Then there was Eliot, a pure hearted individual who genuinely liked her, not for her body, but for her. She found such pureness a weakness at first, but slowly began to understand it as something else. Eliot was a good man but also a man foolish to the reality of the world around him. She did not know what to say to such a person, but she knew she was unable to be with someone like that, she did not want to be the one that took away the one thing that made him beautiful.
So now she decided to break his heart and move on, as anyone who has a cold heart would. He would delay the mission further and become a distraction for her, he was safer far away from the fighting. So why did she feel so bad for what she said?
Eliot's faced flashed back in her mind before shaking the thoughts from her head. She had no time for this, Donovan needed to be stopped, that was the only priority, the only matter.
She shook her head, removing the thoughts of Eliot and hopefully the guilt. She needed to focus and locate Ryu and Hayate. She lifted her fingers to the side of her face and swiped downward disappearing into the wind.
All that was left were a flurry of purple flower petals as they set on the deck of the ship.
Best Western Hotel
Los Angeles
9:45pm
Eliot laid down on one of the two beds in the room staring at the ceiling deep in thought. The only light could be seen creeping from the slightly shut window. Eliot felt it better to lie in darkness, made it easier to reflect on his own darkness.
Ever since he left the man he shot, he could not shake the feeling of guilt. Of course he knew that if he did not act, Archer would be dead, but it did little to lift his spirits. In the end, he killed a man, ended his life without any chance of retribution. Worse, he did not even know the man.
The room door opened revealing Archer carrying a small bag of food.
"It's like a dungeon in here," said Archer as he turned a light. Eliot never looked over at him and continued to look at the ceiling. Archer huffed in a breath and walked over to his bed.
"I have some food," said Archer as he held the bag up.
"Not hungry," said Eliot simply.
"Cmon Eliot, you gotta eat," said Archer.
"I said I'm not hungry," said Eliot slightly angry.
Archer nodded and dropped the bag on his bed, sitting beside it.
"Eliot, you cannot blame yourself," said Archer.
Eliot breathed deep before sitting up on the edge of his bed, "easier said than done."
"That's true I suppose,"
"Thing is, if I did not do anything I would have felt the same, how do you make a decision that yields the same result." said Eliot.
"I don't know Eliot, I feel you have to make the one you feel is the right one," said Archer as he played with his lighter.
"I did not even know who he was," said Eliot angered, "what if he was a good man?"
"He was not a good man, that I can tell you,"
"How would you know."
Archer laid back on his bed and looked at the ceiling, trying to find the words.
"I used to work with him,"
Eliot sat up looking straight at Archer, "what do you mean?"
"Back when I was in the core, I worked in a group called Shadow 6. It was a unit within Black ops which handled...Sensitive matters. Their were only 6 of us, hence the name, and we all had a specific skill which was pivotal to the group. Carson and myself did the missions which our leader, who we called six, gave us."
"Why six?"
"Its how we were ranked, I was 2, Carson was 1. The rank dictated how much power we had within the group, me and Carson were the lowest. I was Carson's superior on missions, in the beginning he was a good man, but he wanted more power. Eventually he started becoming reckless, always seeking attention from Six," said Archer still staring at the ceiling, "long story short, Carson killed many people with no remorse. So don't feel guilty for his behalf."
Eliot looked down, thinking about the situation, "so now they are coming to kill you, why?"
"Donovan paid them to," said Archer simply.
"No, why? I saw how he struck you, he hated you, why?" said Eliot curiously.
"Lets just say that my beliefs changed after certain events, I realized the person I was becoming was not the person I wanted to be. It was not the person I wanted to be when I was with Gina. Of course they disagreed with that," said Archer as he stood up.
"So now the military is hunting us?"
"No, Shadow 6 disbanded after the death of Six. What remained, aside from myself of course, became essentially mercenaries," said Archer.
"This is not good, that would mean there are still 3 more of them out there," said Eliot.
"Ya, they will make themselves known soon," said Archer.
"I can't kill again John, we have to find another way,"
"I don't want to kill them either Eliot, but sometimes we have no choice. When you made the decision to try and save your father, you unfortunately agreed to fight. I made this decision as well when I agreed to help you, and while I did not think my past would come up during the course of this mission, I have to accept that it did," said Archer the best way he could, "you can still take your father's advice and get out of California, but you have to make that decision now."
Eliot smirked and looked at the ground, "ya know, Ayane said something similar. She told me to go home and marry a nice girl, that this does not concern me. At that point, I wanted to and almost considered it, then my father came back into my mind. This does concern me and I have chosen to be apart of it, I have to accept the responsibility of that decision. I understand that now John," said Eliot confidently as he stood up.
Archer stood their silent, staring at Eliot. For a minute, he slightly saw himself and what he had become. He remembered his last days with Shadow 6, when he realized that what he was doing was wrong. He stood where Eliot stood now faced with the same decision. For the first time Archer did not see Eliot the boy, but instead, Eliot the man. He survived his traumatic event and became a better man for it.
"Enough of this John, lets find Donovan and end this," said Eliot, "can't sleep anyway."
A smile crawled across Archer's lips.
Thought you'd never ask
Author's notes: This chapter was fun to write and I hope you enjoy it. Till next time guys.