Code Name: Draconis [Ace Draconis - ON HOLD; see my updated profile for info!]

Chapter 15: The Doubt Sprouts

Chapter 15: The Doubt Sprouts

Clarissa:

I'm so glad Ace's shoulder is better. I mean, it's been nearly three weeks and he seems completely fine. Apparently he has some anonymous contact in some high-up research facility who helped him out. Either way, I don't care how it came about, I'm just glad he's finally better.

Exams went well, and I think Ace actually did well on his painting for our in-class art exam. Go figure. Maybe all those techniques I tried to show him actually helped. But then again, maybe he just got through by sheer dumb luck. The point is, he passed, and with an 85%. Not bad for the boy who's convinced making honours is too hard.

Valentine's day has come and gone and now I'm looking foreword to our week-long break in March in a few weeks. I'm taking photography this semester too, and the snow's finally starting to melt. You can only take pictures of things around the school for so long before you get bored.

The rest of my classes seem to be going well to. I have chemistry with Ace and Borgos first period, followed by my Communications Technology course second period. After lunch, I have photography, followed by English. So far everything seems well, and even Ace seems to be enjoying chemistry. On the first day, we discovered our teacher has a knack for explosions when he "accidently" created a hydrogen bomb. At least the semester should be interesting, right?

March break will be here before we know it. Then it'll be just three months until exams in June...

Pausing, I glanced up from my latest journal entry as my computer chimed, announcing an incoming E-mail. I scrawled my name at the bottom of the entry, and returned the journal to its hiding spot under my pillow. Glancing at my alarm clock on the wooden bedside table next to my bed, I was startled to realize it was nearly midnight. Who would be e-mailing me at this hour? It was a school night after all...

I quickly signed into my account and opened the e-mail. The subject was simply "Urgent" and devoid of any indication regarding just what was so urgent. I began to read:

Dearest Clarissa:

You remember our last conversation where I told you Ace was hiding something from you, didn't I? What if he was only telling you the partial truth, and I had proof? You're in very real danger even associating with that monster, let alone dating him.

I rolled my eyes, Damian and his insane antics. There was an audio file attached. I checked my speakers before I heard two voices I didn't recognize, and Ace's.

"Do you want the good news first, or the bad news first?"

"I'm a pessimist, mate."

"Bad news it is. You're stuck like this for a bit, until we can make an antidote. It appears the orange crystal from your last mission must have somehow gotten into your blood while you were fighting those skeletons."

"But the good news is that if we can get a second crystal, which we have a good idea of its whereabouts, I should be able to extract some energy from the first and third crystal, to give to you which should neutralize the effects of the orange crystal."

"So, I've gotta go on another mission?"

"Yes, but this one shouldn't be as huge as the others. This time, the crystal should be somewhere in the town. We're not sure where, but our best guess is someone is using it as a piece of jewelry or something..."

Mission? What'd they mean by "mission"? And what was Ace "stuck like"? I scanned Damian's message again, hoping for some clue, but the text remained unchanged. The only thing I noticed was that there was a date, and it was before the incident in the park with the spike in Ace's shoulder. So Damian had sent me this recording as proof that he knew what was going on with Ace. Were these men Ace's anonymous employers? Had that spike been their doing? I didn't quite see how this involved me...but Damian had piqued my interest.