"Templar, you're here." there was a hesitation, "Welcome to Abstergo Industries, Sebastian West." The black car pulled forward further as two metal gates squeaked open ahead of them. Sebastian West poked his head between the driver and passenger seats to see a large facility, looking like any normal factory. However, Sebastian had been told that it was definitely not normal. That excited him.
This job opportunity was not normal. The only few things that had been explained to him was that he would 'go into the memory of people of the past'. It had been hard to believe.
What kind of technology could access something so private about a person? Sebastian thought as the car pulled slowly into a garage. It rode to a halt and the driver and Sebastian exited the car. A young man came up to him.
"Welcome, Mr. West." he greeted. "Right this way." Sebastian followed without hesitation. He was eager to see the device that would send him into the past. Were there others doing this? Even though the answers weren't clear, he was getting paid, and that's all he needed to know.
The assistant led him into a large circular room with fourteen structures similar to a bed spread across the room. Mr. West stared strangely at them, then looked to an office where two people seemed to be having an argument. Once they noticed him watching, one of them, the blonde girl exited into a different direction. The man came out in his direction.
"You must be Sebastian. Welcome to Abstergo. I'm Warren Vidic, head of power here." he said.
"A pleasure, Mr. Vidic." he replied, shaking the director's hand.
"We're only waiting for two more." he smiled, leading Sebastian into a large meeting room. There were eleven others sitting around a large table. All eyes shifted to Sebastian. He stood awkwardly then moved to an empty seat next to a rather wealthy looking man with a rather rat like face structure. He immediately regretted choosing the nearest seat as the man continued to eyeball him.
As fifteen minutes passed, the other two arrived. An ordinary looking girl, then an eccentric man, probably from Germany, came waltzing in. The girl sat across the table and Germany sat next to Sebastian, gave him a wink and turned to study the others at the table.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Warren Vidic spoke up, "my apologies for the wait, but we have now all arrived. Let us begin."
Sebastian gazed at the others, they all seemed to come from completely different worlds. He was amazed that Vidic had been successful in getting all of them to come. They were probably all from fourteen different countries. Either way, they were gathered for a specific reason that Sebastian desperately wanted know.
"Why don't we have an introduction?" Vidic suggested. The group shifted restlessly, not wanting to give away their identities to untrustworthy strangers. "After all, you'll want to get to know each other. You'll be together for a while." Sebastian glanced at Vidic, noticing a hint of something evil in his gaze.
"I'll go first!" the German stood up, his accent thick. "I am Fritz Adler. I work in the government."
"Thank you, Fritz! You next." Warren waved a hand at Sebastian who froze. He looked around and stood up, his jacket slipping off his shoulder.
"I'm Sebastian. Sebastian West. I don't have a job…" he muttered, pulling his fallen article of clothing back up. He'd completely lied of course, he didn't really want to tell them of his real occupation. He sat back down and Warren made his way around the circle. Next to Sebastian was Lucius, the wiry rich guy. Next to him, Ambrose, a wealthy heir to her father's company. Then Valentina, the small street performer. Julian, the wry and mysterious business owner. After him came Patrick, the intimidating wrestler who took up the space of Finn, the engineering professor who gave him his coldest glare. The disgruntled detective Steven glanced from Orlando, the professional game hunter to Melissa, the ordinary girl. Then there were the last two, Silas, the college student and Kingston the built mechanic from New York.
"Great!" Vidic exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "Now, if you'll follow me!" he led the disorganized group outside of the room. He stopped behind one of the beds and put his hands on it. Then he began to explain the best part, what it was.
"This, my friends is the Animus. This can access the memories of your earliest ancestors." he smiled, "All of you will go in it." Sebastian smiled. Others gasped. A few chuckled as if a mission had gone successful. "I have a mission for you all. Once you go in, your ancestors will either be enemies or they will be friends. There is a race for an unknown location between the two teams. Abstergo's goal is to find out where this location is. Your ancestors will show you." With that, Warren Vidic left the room and the fourteen were left astonished.
"Well, what now?" the professor, Finn, said aloud.
"Do we… do something with this Animus?" Silas muttered.
"I seriously doubt it. I mean, what else did Vidic show us?" Orlando snapped sarcastically.
"My apologies for the delay, everyone." the boy assistant walked in again, looking rather rattled, "Who would like to get into the Animus first?"
"You say it like we don't have a choice." Patrick chuckled, "I could easily break out of here if you put me against my will." The assistant gulped nervously.
"The only thing I can say is that you'll be payed handsomely if you do this." a bead of sweat trickled down his brow. He obviously hadn't done this kind of introduction before. Melissa pushed through the group.
"I'll go." her voice was light as she made her way over to the assistant. She obviously didn't want to do anything against her will, but for money, it seemed rational. The assistant smiled as she made her way to the Animus. She layed down and a small screen protruded from one side of the headrest, climbed over her head and clicked into another slot on the other side. Within a few minutes, Melissa was sleeping.
"See, it's simple enough." the assistant said. "Quickly now, we don't want her to be alone.
"Wait, if all of our ancestors are involved in this, why do all of us need to get in the Animus?" Sebastian spoke up. The assistant smiled, this time it seemed rather menacing.
"Because, Mr. West, we don't know who makes it through this fight." he replied. Sebastian stepped back, rather startled. People were going to die?
"Who's next?"
With that, they all got in their separate Animus. It was the strangest feeling to Sebastian. Like getting a cavity filled, spacey, floating then darkness.
Sweat dripped down his face. It drenched the thin tunic he wore. He breathed heavily, gasping for air. Was that blood on his shirt? A rip of pain tore down his arm. A yell escaped his mouth.
"What do you want from me?" he shouted, giving in after a long night of torture.
"It's simple, messere. We want you to join our cause." a cold voice was right next to his ear.
"What's in it for me?" he replied.
"Fortune, money, many other privileges in our empire. And that's only part of it, highwayman." the voice said. The chained man took a moment to consider his offer.
"And if I don't?"
"You will be sent free, and then captured for your crimes by the Borgia's guard and sent to prison." he explained, running the flat of his blade along the chained man's stubbled jawline.
"What is with this current torture?" his glassy eyes looked up at the other man.
"It's only to make sure you cooperate, Lanz. We're done now and you will be tended to." Cesare Borgia smiled down at him.
The next few days he healed. He'd gained new scars on his arm and side. He had no clue why he was deciding to trust the Borgia. He was a lying deceitful man. However, Lanz had no motive but fortune. There was no other reason he would do anything for Cesare.
"Ah, I see you have healed nicely, Lanz." Cesare said as Lanz walked into his dining room.
"Enough with the chat, Borgia. What's my mission here?" Lanz folded his arms in disgust.
"Please, sit…"
"I mean no disrespect, but I am not here for your hospitality, Cesare. I simply want to know what I am doing, so I can get it done." The Borgia simply sat across from him, silently and peacefully.
"Please," he said more firmly this time, "sit." Lanz shut his mouth and sat across from the general, just as silent as the other. "There is a group of rogue Templars scavenging nearby countries. I want you to form your own team, find them and locate what they are looking for. I would do it myself, but I have my own problems to deal with." he sighed, grinding his teeth in frustration.
"Do you know what they are looking for?" Lanz replied, trying hard not to get distracted by different art around the room.
"Oh yes, Lanz. I do." he grinned, pulling out a strange glowing spherical object. It immediately entrapped Lanz. He wanted it, he wished he could have something so powerful. So many questions flooded his head, but he knew better than to ask, except one. Lanz grinned mischievously, a glimmer of madness in his eye.
"When do I start?"
Announcement:
Hello my readers! I hope you are still here. This is clearly the first release of Manhunt: Brotherhood. I really do hope you like it. The next addition of Atronia will be out soon. I'm just having a bit of trouble with the plot and a few other details. I hope this fills in the time for that and I'll get The Other Ancestor 2 (disclaimer: that is not going to be the title) out soon! Thanks again for reading and feel free to leave reviews and what not. Melvick out.