A/N Hello everyone. This is the first chapter of my award winning fan fiction (so far unfinished). I won in a competition for writers (in Denmark) with a category of fan fiction. As my two genres I chose games (AC) and history, therefore will there be many historical references later on. Since this story is originally written in Danish, I have translated it in good faith to English after two people asked me to do it. However, it is important for me to know that people will read it, otherwise I don't need translate it. So please tell me what you think, also if I may make mistakes.
The story begins right after AC 2 where they flee. A small reminder is that the story was written long time before Ubosoft made AC Brotherhood official, so the story (at this momont) does not cross with AC B. But I hope you will like it and if I can I will of course translate several more chapters. Have fun.
Chapter 1, 'Out of darkness'.
"Shaun," warned Rebecca from the back seat of the car. "Where have you taken your driving license? You drive like a broken arm! "
"In the local amusement park," snapped Shaun frustrated back. "It would also help a great deal if these roads had lights!"
"Are they still after us?" asked Lucy, looking in the rear view mirror. She couldn't see any car lights behind them and sighed in relief. She turned her gaze toward the fourth car passenger who sat firm in the back seat and asked, "Desmond? Are you okay? "
The man nodded, his head down between his legs. He had in the Animus seen the most ugly things, but he couldn't hide the fact that he felt sick. Whether it was because his head boomed with someone else's memories or because of Shaun's poor driving skills were unclear, but one thing was certain, he had yet again escaped from the Templars and was now bound for a temporary hiding place up in the north. This meant not that his work was finished, but perhaps they could now get a little work done. Quietly. Suddenly a phone rang and Desmond looked up at Lucy, who gave the phone to Rebecca.
"Hello? Alfred! Good that you called back! What took you so long to respond? Well no matter. We are heading up north and..." Rebecca was for a moment silent. "What do you mean by that Mikael's team also are there?"
Lucy and Shaun saw in a moment worried at each other before Shaun's attention again turned to the dark path, and Lucy grabbed the phone.
"Alfred? What is the meaning of this? We have the Templars in hot pursuit here! And Mikael's team is there too?"
Desmond could not help but to look like a question mark and turned his attention to Rebecca as she sighed.
"Who is Mikael?" asked Desmond.
Rebecca looked at him. "Mikael is one of our team leaders, who also are looking after the pieces of Eden."
"And? Is it bad? "
"It depends on how you look at it. Mikael and Shaun is very similar in their opinions, but otherwise they are profoundly different. Mikael is one of the oldest and one of the first who copied the Animus and ... "
"Copying the Animus?" Interrupted Desmond. Was he not the first? He knew that many had been in the machine before him, but that there was a third machine and maybe even more. He frowned his forehead and Rebecca continued.
"As I said, Mikael is one of the oldest. His team have searched various locations in Scandinavia, and with great success. They have solved several puzzles about brotherhood's past, mysteries, rituals and much more."
"And how has he got all these results?"
"Very simple. Some years ago we rescued one of Abstergo's prisoners, better known as 'Subject 12' who also are a descended from Altaïr and..." Rebecca looked quickly at his mouth and stopped to talk, with gaze frozen at the Desmond while he let his jaw drop. When he had gathered a little turned his gaze towards Lucy.
"Did you know this Lucy? Without telling it?"
"I'm sorry Desmond. I .. never found the right time to say it. Warren in fact doesn't know that she is alive. "
'A woman?' Desmond thought as soon as the word 'she' hit him and suddenly he forgot his nausea and had more questions than there was time to get the answers to all of them. The rest of the ride Desmond remained silent, however with the idea of another like him. One who was in the same situation, caught up in a war which none of them had anything to do with. Suddenly Shaun stopped the car and got out. They looked around. There was a faint light of a hut a little further down the hill, and with tired legs, they went down there. Lucy asked them to wait until they knew it was not a trap, so she went ahead. She peered through the window, took a sudden unexpected hand her mouth, gasped, and ran toward the front door and tore it up. The others looked at each other and ran toward the house. While Rebecca and Shaun ran through the doorway stopped Desmond suddenly and then suddenly saw knights from Altair's time walked around them like in their last hideout. Not in doubt that he saw visions, he went very quiet ahead as he suddenly tripped over something. The illusion vanished and he was trying to see what he had fallen over. At his feet lay the corpse of a young man covered in blood with a hidden, broken blade at his wrist. Desmond turned quickly and tried to find a pulse, but it was useless. He turned to the others and to his surprise there was more equal than he had anticipated.
"They are still warm..." snapped Shaun and kicked into the wall. "We must get away quickly. The chance that the enermy may be outside right now is too big for us to stay here. Everything of value was taken I guess..."
"Not everything ...!" interrupted Rebecca and displayed a small box that resembled a memory core. "And also ... No. 12 is not here .. "
'No 12 'said Desmond. "Does she not have a name?"
"Yes," replied Rebecca. "But we don't know it. After all what Abstergo did to her, she don't know who she is. You can probably call it 'memory lost'. So until we know her name, we call her twelve. Desmond looked around and observed. There was no woman among the dead, but the body of team leader Mikael was in the middle next to the Animus.
"He must have fought until twelve got away safely ." Sighed Rebecca. "Hey, the Animus is not extinguished. I will check it out. "
"Perfect. Simply perfect. We have lost six men, this Animus are now useless plus one of our 'keys' to the past. Besides the area is probably full of Templars, and our key is almost blind!"
"Blind?" Desmond suddenly asked and raised an eyebrow.
"Pull yourself together Shaun!" Snapped Lucy and went to Desmond. "See if you can locate her outside... She is perhaps still in the area and... we will pack what we can."
Desmond nodded, ran outside and looked around. He jumped up on the hut roof and turned around by the smallest sounds. He opened his eyes a little more focused and out into the darkness. His eagle vision was not much use, but no red figures came as it was a good sign. He jumped down again, looked at Lucy and shook his head, but suddenly heard a sound behind him and turned around. Everyone's senses are awakened and their eyes surveyed the area for any movement, but nothing appeared. After a few minutes Desmond sank his arms and walked backwards towards the car.
"Jump in." ordered Lucy, and shut the door after Desmond had set himself. Shaun turned the car, stepped on the accelerator and evasive with barely a small gathering of trees.
"What a sight..." sighed Rebecca.
"What do we do now?" asked Desmond.
"There is not much else to do but to go to the vice headquarter..." double sighed Lucy.
"A vice headquarter...?" asked Desmond, looking at Rebecca.
"Well, you know, as a headquarters. A vice headquarter is a base where we gather ourselves. None of us knows where the headquarters is located, because of security of course." Answered Rebecca.
"Yes, that is. A vice headquarter is almost our home since none of us who can't live on a normal address, unless we have a premature death wish. "added Shaun.
"Hmm ..." Desmond began, but did not have time to say anything before Shaun shouted: "Down!" He made a sharp left turn, so sharply that the car hit a tree and rolled over. After a revolution it turned, and was on its wheels again. Everyone was quiet but not for long.
"Shaun!" Rebecca began by saying angrily. "What is the point?"
Both Lucy and Shaun looked out of the wind shield, without saying anything, it could suddenly be heard from the outside: "Assassins! We know you are in there! Come out now!" yelled two men.
A deep silence began to spread and Lucy turned to Desmond. "If it becomes necessary Desmond, then fleeing. It is more important that you survive if the world should have a chance." Rebecca nodded and a feeling of uncertainty aggregate rapidly in Desmond. He was certainly not going to flee for his life even if it was at stake, he would stay and fight. By thinking thought number two, he didn't knew where he should go if the others were dead.
"Out of the car," shouted one man, and all hesitated and looked at each other. "Now!"
Shaun was the first to open his door and then Rebecca, Lucy and eventually Desmond. He went in front of Lucy but held his hidden blade out of sight as the one man quickly hit him into the ground with a gun to his jaw.
"Argh ...!" he gasped when he hit the cold, hard ground.
"Desmond!" exclaimed Lucy, but was held back by the second man.
"We've what we came for." He said with a grim smile and turned his gun to Lucy's head.
"No," Rebecca screamed and closed her eyes.
"Argh!" exclaimed the man suddenly and lowered the gun slowly. He let go of his grip on Lucy, who fled a few meters away from the man before he walked a few steps toward Rebecca and Shaun until he fell to the ground. All looked at the man who was illuminated by lights from the car and after a few seconds started a clear lake of blood pooling under him.
"What in the world..." Shaun started to break the silence.
"Hey," cried Rebecca, and then looked around for the other man. "Where was another one right?" They looked again at each other, Lucy shook on the head and hurried over to Desmond to help him up. An unknown sound struck their ears and all looked around. The same sound was heard again, and Desmond felt an arm around his neck with a sharp object plug into his back.
"Argh!" Exclaimed Desmond when he could feel the knife sticking through his skin a few centimetres. He clenched his teeth, closed his eyes and gasped from the sudden pain. He grabbed on the unknown arm, but it was too strong to allow him to tear himself free from it.
"Desmond!" Exclaimed the others. Shaun grabbed the gun, the unknown man had lost, and turned it against Desmond.
"Do not shoot! You will hit Desmond," cried Lucy desperately, and at the same second the predator loosened it's victim and pushed him away.
"Desmond!" Rebecca gasped and ran to him. Shaun term still to the figure in the darkness without blinking an eye.
"Wait, Shaun ..." whispered Lucy very quiet. The figure did not move. "Subject 12?" Whispered Lucy quietly. Suddenly the figure began to whistled slightly and Lucy answered back with the same sound. Out of darkness and into the light came a woman out, exhausted, confused and covered in blood from head to toe. At first glance it was obvious that she was in great pain, but no obvious wounds. Lucy approached the woman slowly. Desmond looked, but from his ankle could he not see her face because of the lights from the car.
"Can you see them? Are they moving?" Lucy asked the second woman nodded, clapped her hands up in front of your eyes, collapsed on her knees and began to grin like crazy person. Lucy took off her jacket and laid it over her head and led her to the car with a serious expression on her face. Meanwhile, Shaun and Rebecca had got Desmond into the back seat where he now, with Lucy and the woman sat squeezed. Desmond's wounds were not bad as it could have been, but it was non the less painful. They were all very quiet in the car, apart from the subject 12's small insane laughter now and then.
"What with her?" Asked Rebecca and looked at Lucy.
"She must have been affiliated with the Animus when the attack occurred. Her mind can not tell the difference between past and present. It will require a second Animus to make her normal again. Perhaps that was why she put you down Desmond," Lucy started and looked at the wounded man. "She must have responded to you in one way or another."
"She probably thought that he was the enemy." Teased Shaun, but Lucy shook her head.
"No, she uses the bleeding effect to see in the dark. She would immediately be able to see if Desmond was an enemy."
"Why did she put him down then?"
Lucy shook her head lightly. "I do not know, maybe we find out when she came herself again."
Desmond hesitated, but then asked anyway. "Is she completely blind?"
Again Lucy shook her head. "No, she has little of her common sight left, but it is much weakened. Especially in the dark she uses the bleeding effect to see people, but she's also blind to everything else in the meantime, but she can see the outlines when shown in the light."
Desmond nodded, he understood well what she meant.
"How do you know so much about 12?" Asked Rebecca.
Lucy hesitated, but answered, "I know 12 because she was the first I get into to Animus when I was hired as Warren's assistant in Abstergo ... In short ... she was my first victim ... "
Everyone's eyes turned to Lucy, while her own gaze dropped to the ground. Shaun coughed to break the silence. "What is done is done Lucy. It's like 16, you can not undo the past. "
Lucy was silent, but nodded. Her guilt. Desmond knew well was something that drove Lucy inwardly. With difficulty he fought his arm over her shoulder and caught her gaze. He said nothing, but looking at her, hoping that she could begin to think of something else. They put their foreheads together, closed their eyes and and took some deep breaths.
"It'll pass Lucy." Whispered Desmond making and Lucy nodded slightly in response. The next few hours they were talking back and forth about possible theories, and listen to 12's small laughter like it no end would take. Out of the blue Shaun's phone begin to rang, he handed it to Rebecca because he believed that phones and driving in the dark without lights was some good combination. Rebecca took the phone to her ear and had to say to say hello when a clearly agitated man yelled from the other end. Rebecca put it on speaker so everyone could hear it.
"Where the hell are you? Mikael team does not respond and ..! Yes, everything is chaos!"
"Quiet now, Alfred. We are going to the vice headquarter. We have 12 and ... "
"12! What is she doing with you?"
"It's a long story Alfred. I will explain it all when we arrive to the vice headquarter" Interrupted Shaun and shook his head. "Mikael and his team has been wiped out, but we have 12's Animus memory, so if you can have an Animus ready when we arrive? They did not disconnect her when the attack took place and now she sits here and... well is like a insane person to tell the truth."
There was suddenly quiet on the other end. "Uh ..? Alfred?" asked Rebecca very slowly. The whole situation was unstable, all tired and exhausted.
"Sorry ..." sounded from the other end of the phone. "But hurry up and come. We'll have an Animus ready." After that the man put the phone down and you could hear the usual tone when you no longer had the recipient.
"Poor Alfred ..." sighed Rebecca. "That he had find out about it this way."
Shaun and Lucy nodded while Desmond sat was a bit confused until Lucy whispered to him that Alfred and Mikael were brothers. Desmond, who didn't have any siblings had never had a relationship with someone like that, but could well imagine that it might hurt. After some hours they came to what Desmond would call for a hole in the ground, and he was quite right. The entrance to the vice headquarter was located at the foot of a hill which Desmond could not see the top because of the darkness. They stepped out of the car as unknown people started walking towards them. Lucy, Rebecca and Shaun showed them some cards and Desmond did not understand what was happening.
"We have not made a card for Desmond yet. Time has not exactly been on our side." Confessed Lucy opposite the other guards and they just nodded to her words as though they were told by God himself. They were led inside while others began to carry their stuff inside.
"Where are we going now?" asked Desmond. Rebecca lowered her pace and walked alongside Desmond.
"I think that Lucy's first priority is to find an Animus to 12. Shaun will have look after one of the technicians, while I'll see what I can do with your Animus sections. I would go with Lucy, if I were you. You and 12 have certainly something to talk about and you need some to look at your injury."
Desmond nodded, looked over at Lucy who still held her jacket over 12 head so he could not see her face. 'Why a jacket over the head when she was blind? " Desmond thought, and by accident walked into a relatively small man.
"Oops, sorry. I ... "
"Yes, you did not see me right? That much I can figure out." Snapped the man sarcastically at Desmond, but turned his attention to Lucy.
"Lucy, Lucy ... That we should meet each other again like this..."
"Are you ready?" She asked impatiently with a serious look on her face. The man nodded and knew the way forward. Rebecca pushed slightly in Desmond and pointed at Lucy. "After her." She whispered and Desmond walked after Lucy, 12, and the unknown man.
It was the first chapter and I hope you liked it.