Assassin's Creed: The Second World War.
By David Rivas

PART 1: The Invasion of France

In 1939, the Nazis invaded France and took over its capital. A portion of this invasion was led by Hans Draufgänger. A ruthless leader part of an order known as the "Templars". Anyone knowing of this information was sentenced to death for treason. He was hungry for control. Power. He did not believe in peace or freedom. All he wanted was to wipe out "The Creed. Those freedom seeking dogs." He wanted to push the invasion beyond France and into Great Britain where a "piece" was located. No one knew what he was talking about. All they did was take orders and follow them.

"Dear James,
France is wonderful! All the sights and people hear are amazing! The Eiffel Tower is bigger than we thought! Your father had to bring his notebook with him as soon as we left the flat. You know how he gets. Every monument must be copied. Other than that everything is going well. We really needed this! Please make sure that your sister is doing okay with her work. Thank you! Miss you dearly!

-With love, your mother. "

James had read this letter so many times he could recite it with his eyes closed. Tears always grew out of his eyes every time he read the last lines. The thought of never being able to hear his parent's voice will haunt him for the rest of his life.

"I miss you too mum." he said. He put the letter back in his pack and shouldered his M1 Grand. As he walked out of his tent, he was blinded for a split second. He was used to this. Whenever he wasn't on the battle field, time was usual spent by himself or indoors.

PART 2

1941, February 20, East Germany

"Thomas, Briggs, Johnson! The general would like to see you!"

"What we do this time? I ain't got nothin' to do with it!"

"Shut it Briggs. He probably wants to congratulate us on our scouting last week"

"I doubt it" James said.

The three of them walked towards the biggest tent in the camp. Johnson held the flap open as they walked in. They saluted. General Smith was writing on a map and looked up.

"Hello boys. At ease." He said.

They relaxed.

"I just wanted to say that I'm impressed with your scouting last week. And thought that you might be able to take on a bigger task."

He got up and walked around the table.

"There is a warehouse two and half miles east from here. I want you three to go see if there are any supplies there. Ammunition, medical supplies, clothing. Even if you find extra German uniforms please bring them back. You'll have to go through the forest. It will be harder to see you than walking through an open field. You head out ASAP. Maybe a promotion will be in the subject but not until you are successful. Got it? Good. Move out."

1 hour later...

"...after my parents died, I wanted to come back home. I didn't care about my work in America anymore. So I quit and joined the American Army. All I wanted to do was shoot every single Kraut I saw. I got separated from my platoon two months ago and found your base." James was ahead of them the entire time he was talking. Leaves and sticks crunched under their boots as they walked. A short silence followed this story.

Briggs broke the silence. "Where in the bloody 'ell are we? We've been walking for an hour without direction! Check the map Thomas."

James shouldered his rifle and pulled the wrinkled map from his pocket.

"We're close. If you look to the right you'll see the foot path. At the end of that comes a small enclosure. Then the warehouse."

"Why don't we walk the path instead of tripping over roots every two minutes?" said Johnson.

James looked at him with fury. "Do you want to get shot?"

"Sorry!"

After five minutes of silence, they came to a clearing and saw the building.

"It's a bit strange isn't it?" Johnson said. "A building in the middle of a forest".

"Come on. Let's have a look." James ran to door. He aimed his rifle into the trees and gave the "clear" signal. Briggs and Johnson ran to James' side and aimed their rifles at the trees. James turned around and kicked the door open.

"There's nothing in here!" He was right. The building was abandon and empty broken crates lay spread across the floor.

"What?!" Shouted Johnson as he stood up to investigate.

"Feuer eröffnen!" (Open fire!)

Bullets rained down upon them. The only cover they had was the doors James had jumped behind.

"Who's got a head count?!" Shouted Briggs

Several sub machine guns were going off at once it was almost impossible to count. James had fired his rifle into the building hoping he hit something.

"Johnson! I need some TNT!" James looked over at him and saw the front of his jacket turning a deep red. He had a grenade in his hand with the pin pulled. James threw it in the building but it exploded in mid air. The force of the explosion knocked James off his feet. He hit his head on the concrete floor as he landed and his vision became distorted. Briggs was shouting something but he couldn't quite make out what he was saying. All of a sudden, his eyes went wide and threw his hands in the air. Darkness was going in and out of his vision. One second Briggs was standing. Black.

Now Briggs lay motion less on the floor next to Johnson. The only things James could hear was a ringing and the sound of his own breath. A German soldier walked out of the building with several others. They smiled at their work. James tried going for his sidearm but an officer kicked it out of his hand.

This is it, he thought. This is the day it happens.

The German aimed his pistol at him and started talking. Behind him his fellow soldiers were dropping dead. One after the other. The soldier in front of James turned around and a knife protruded from the back of his neck. Black.

Someone was carrying James through a forest. He was in the Fireman hold. He tried to get a good look at who his savior was but couldn't muster the energy to do so.

…

When James came to he was coughing and spitting. Pain was swept across his forehead as if someone had placed a hot iron there. As he opened his eyes, his surroundings became clear. He was in a bed in what looked like a cottage with two rooms. A pitcher and a glass of water were placed upon the nightstand next to the bed. He reached for it but dropped the cup in the process and shattered it. Footsteps grew louder outside his door and a man with round spectacles and a scraggly beard entered.

"Ah fantastique! I was wondering when you would awaken." He said. The man had a French accent that sounded vaguely familiar. "If you are wondering how long you were out, it's been about a day and a half James."

He walked over to the shattered glass remains and pushed them under the bed.

"How do you know my name?" James said.

The old man smiled. "You don't remember me? I am an old colleague of your muzzer".

Now he remembered but it seemed so long ago he almost forgot completely. "Troy? Is it really you?" James sat up and looked him as if he found a long lost family member. "What're you doing in Germany?"

"Helping you of course." Troy said.
"You're raid last week? You couldn't have done it without ammunition supplies bursting into flames." He smiled as if he knew something James didn't.

James happiness turned into confusion. "That was you? How did you get in there the place was crawling with guards."

The smile stuck on his face. "I 'ave my ways."

A few hours went by and James was able to get on his feet again. Not feeling the same but better than before. He was able to find his location and planned were he would go next. Troy had gone out to find food in the surrounding forest while James stayed behind to gather his strength.

James was always good at getting familiar with new surroundings. He walked outside for a moment to get some fresh air. A few minutes before Troy had arrived with a few rabbits, James tripped on a cord that seemed to be attached to some sort of trap door.

"Come with me." Troy said. His voice held no emotion. James reluctantly followed Troy. He put the rabbits at the side of the door and went to the trap door. He opened it and the smell of mold burst from the hole. A ladder was the only thing he could see as Troy climbed down. James followed him and the sunlight grew smaller and smaller and a new source of light came to life as he reached the bottom. Troy unlocked a door and turned to James. "I zink it's time I told you what your muzzer intended to tell you." He opened the door and brightly lit room came into focus. It looked like a bomb shelter. On one side of the room was a glass case that contained some sort of uniform. Next to that was an arsenal of weapons, some James had never seen before. On the other side was a large map of Europe pinned to the wall. The formations of the different armies were identified along with pictures of five men: Adolf Hitler, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill, and another man that James could not identify. They had a red cross like shape drawn on the corner, as if they were in the regime.

"James, your muzzer and I were part of an Order zat was made to put an end to men like zis. We were Assassins. For centuries we 'ave been fighting ze Templars. Trying to stop every move zey make. I was your muzzers mentor. She would 'ave become a Master Assassin had she not gone into retirement. She met your fazzer and had you and Joanne."

James had to let this story sink in. His mother? An assassin? She wouldn't hurt a fly because she was afraid of them.

"Did my father know?" he asked.

"John? Of course! He knew everyzing. You see, zis is what I wanted to talk to you about. To join ze Bruzzerhood and 'elp put an end to ze Templars schemes. You will still be part of ze American army but you must remain MIA until your training is complete." He looked at James. "You see, zis man" he pointed at the biggest portrait, "Hans Draufgänger, he was ze one zat killed your parents."

Rage and hate built up in James' stomach. This is the man whose blood must be spilt on his hands. He looked at the portrait and had a sudden motive to tear it down and smash every bit of it. He had to calm himself because his breathing became heavy.

"Okay. I'll join." He said this with some hesitation.

"Good. You're training begins right after we eat!"

PART 3: New beginnings

The training James received lasted over 15 months. He had to learn things no other person could possibly handle. The path to becoming an assassin wasn't an easy one but it was one he had to face. A challenge that must be accepted. He learned how to climb buildings in the neighboring villages, jump from rooftops, land safely on his feet, and run from local authorities. Twice his life almost came to an end. Hiding was a huge part of his teachings as well reducing his notoriety, mainly because it was part of a creed the Assassins had to follow. The thing James had been waiting for was fighting. This took up the most time.

It felt as though his training was coming to an end, he still had much to learn. In his spare time, he studied the Assassin's creed and the Templars plot for the Pieces of Eden. He was disappointed to find that he would not become an assassin until he completed his training, which would take up half a decade. So for now he is still a recruit.