Author's Note: This is my very first fanfiction and I'm hoping to improve my writing skills. The story is in response to the emotional events that happen later in the game so there will be spoilers! All characters belong to Ubisoft, except my OC's! The plot of this story and the OC's belong to me. Rated T for mild language and some gore and violence. I hope you enjoy the story!

Chapter 1: 11 Years Later

A young man, in his early twenties, approached a dilapidated house in the middle of the night in High Grove, Chicago. He was wearing dark blue jeans, black sneakers, a thin white hoodie, and a dark grey overcoat with black gloves. On the outside, he seemed calm, but he was actually nervous on the inside. He hasn't been back here for the past eleven years as his mother never brought them back for fear for both of them. Well, nothing was stopping him from visiting now.

He entered through the backdoor, as quietly as possible. Nothing much has changed aside from the poor condition of the house. The whole house was dark except for a dim light coming from the front of the house. He wrinkled his nose in disgust as a bitter smell permeated the kitchen. The smell lead to one of the rooms, which happened to be his former room.

As he peeked inside, the smell became almost unbearable, but he was determined to see who was in his home. The light was coming from a small lamp by the bedside table, which hadn't been turned off. The room hadn't changed either aside from its poor condition and was spartan, save for some picture frames that sat on the table. A small table was nearby with several empty bottles of alcohol sitting on it.

The young man glanced down on his bed and saw a sleeping figure with their back to him. He then picked up one of the picture frames and suppressed a gasp when he recognized a younger version of him, his dead sister, his mom, and his uncle all smiling. He then placed it back on the table in the position he found it and carefully walked around the bed.

As the young man studied the sleeping man on his bed, he instantly recognized him as his Uncle Aiden. His uncle had aged much over the last eleven years so that he looked older than he really is. The sight of the state of his uncle was enough to nearly shatter his heart. He knew that he and his mother had no choice but to leave Chicago all those years ago; he later learned it would have happened sooner or later anyways due to his uncle's past, but it didn't make it any easier to leave. His mother, Nicky Pearce, was heartbroken for a few years before she learned to accept it and move on with her life. It was harder for him since many events happened in the course of a year; he was nine when his sister was killed in a car accident at the age of six and when he was ten, he and his mom had to leave behind his uncle and Chicago for good.

All these events including the discovery of Clara Lille's betrayal and her death and having no one to trust or lean on all these years have definitely changed his uncle for the worse. Not to mention those fixers that might've gone after his uncle during these eleven years, including Jordi Chin.

He immediately felt guilty for not trying to persuade his mother to visit his uncle during all these years away since she seemed adamant on not seeing Uncle Aiden ever again. His uncle had lost her trust and respect and his for a time too. He had questioned whether his uncle was the good guy or the bad guy since he saw him kill those men all those years ago. That had scared him, as he didn't expect that from his gentle and caring uncle.

All these thoughts ran through his mind in the space of a few seconds as he heard the click of a gun and immediately backed up with his hands up to show he didn't mean any harm.

"Who are you?!" a deep and gruff voice asked him. The young man was surprised at the speed his uncle moved for his age and because he was probably drunk or sleeping it off. Amazingly, his uncle wasn't that drunk as far as he could tell.

"Uncle Aiden, it's me, Jackson," answered the young man, as calm as possible. His uncle slightly lowered his handgun, still wary, as Jackson approached him so that the light of the lamp illuminated his features. Aiden scanned the young man's features for signs of dishonesty, but when he didn't find any, he took in the same serious green eyes that he had, that stubborn set to his jaw just like his uncle, and the same messy brown hair. He was tall now like his uncle, at six feet and had an athletic build. It really was Jackson, just more mature and had a deeper voice.

"Jacks, is that really you?" Aiden lowered his gun and put it on his bedside table. He turned back to face Jackson again with tears forming. "I thought I'd never see you again," Aiden said. Jackson took this opportunity to give his uncle the biggest and longest bear hug in his life. Both men cried for a while, one of the rare times they let themselves be vulnerable.

After the tears were over, Aiden asked, "So how have you been?" Jackson took that moment to update Aiden on his life after he and his mother left Chicago. They went to live with relatives in Massachusetts for the past eleven years. Life was hard without Lena already, but when they had to leave Aiden and their home behind, both were devastated, but Jacks' mom understood why. Jacks explained how his mom was paranoid about going back to Chicago after they both discovered he was the vigilante everyone was talking about for a year and how his uncle was doing dangerous work even though he never told them anything. Moving to a new place was hard on both Nicky and Jacks, as they didn't have much to begin with. Nicole still worked as an event planner, while Jacks entered a new school. They both needed some normalcy in their life. As Jacks grew older, he began to understand why Aiden did what he did in order to protect his family, even if the means were extreme. He had read various articles about Aiden; to an extent, Aiden's means were justified no matter how many times Jacks analyzed them. Aiden only killed to protect, never just for the sake of killing.

"How is your mom nowadays, Jacks?" asked Aiden.

Constructive criticism greatly appreciated! :)