Disclaimer: I only own Kennith, Linzie, Tod, and their mom. I only own my plot line and elements. I have no ownership of anything that's Assassin's Creed. Don't sue the poor uni-student.

R&R Please (:}D)K

Chapter 1: Juno Screwed Them All

"What's wrong with this?! I think the game hates me!" I cried angrily. Throwing the controller at the pillow near my side in frustration, I glared at the screen. I had died again! For some reason, one of the supposedly easy tasks of the sequence kept throwing me off. I'd do everything right, but still fail. Then I tried other things, to see if that was the problem, since my playing was superb. I'd changed my batteries, controllers, restarted the Xbox, and even my entire entertainment system. I'd even borrowed my friend's disk, but this hadn't helped still. So, here I was, now in that friend, Linzie's, basement on her Xbox and her disk attempting to play; and STILL it wasn't working. Linzie huffed at me.

"What the heck is going on Kenny?" she asked me. I rolled my eyes, growling in frustration.

"I have no CLUE! I've tried everything now! Why is this suddenly so hard?! I was breezing through this! Even the fort was a piece of cake! Why does this keep happening!" I shook my fist at the ceiling, as if cursing some deity, but more my self-ineptness.

"Maybe because you're a girl, Kennith." A masculine voice mocked. I turned to wither Linzie's younger brother, Tod, with my violet colored glare. He flinched under the daggers. "Sheesh. I was just kidding Kenny. But something is just screwed up about this." He relented. I rolled my eyes and turned away.

"I know I'm bad with technology, but really? I must've been cursed or something for my luck to be this crappy." I grumbled. Linzie patted my arm in sympathy and handed me back my thrown controller.

"I think it's time to call it a day Kenny. Your mojo with tech isn't going to improve when you're bone tired and frustrated." I nodded, then she smirked, "But really Kenny," the smirk grew into a smug grin, "but let's face it. You are better suited to Conner's time anyway. What, with all your freakish martial arts and scimitar training. It makes me wonder…" She teased. I groaned at her. But she was right, sometimes I felt out of place, but that's how every college student, let alone young adult felt.

"Okay. But all the disease, and no electricity or instant hot water, or soda?!" I wined, trying to ignore the thrill I felt at the thought of living in a time when history was being made. I'd always loved history, though I was more into music and far from a history nerd know-it-all.

Linzie's eyes sparked suddenly and she snatched the controller from my limp grip and restarted the game. She laughed as I watched with tired eyes as she passed the point with ease and went on.

I didn't even bother arguing about her playing and mocking my hard work, because I was too tired. Tod left after a while to grab us dinner and then came back to eat with us as Linzie kept on. I wasn't going to jinx her progress by taking over the playing, so our trio watched as each mission brought us to that shocking end.

The credits rolled and I stared at the screen.

"What the hell!" I screeched, ignoring the stupidity of my taking it so personally. "Juno played u—I-I mean, them!" I stuttered. "The b—"

"Language Kenny, language!" Linzie snapped, elbowing me in the ribs. I growled at her, trying to stifle the nonsensical outrage boiling through my veins. No one should have feelings this passionate about a video game; even for one as awesome as Assassin's Creed. She huffed. "But you're right. That was a twist I didn't see coming…" she agreed.

"Yea, talk about a sucky ending… poor Desmond…" Tod agreed solemnly. Then he perked up and turned to me, "Well, guess we'll find out the rest if and when the game creators do the next one. Can't wait for that!" he gave me and Linzie a giddy smile and sauntered back upstairs for his room.

"That boy…" Linzie muttered with a shake of her head, then looked at my watch. "What time is it? I can't read it from upside down, let alone remember military time." I shook myself out of my outraged revelry, and smirked at her.

"It's 2300 hours, Linz. That's 11pm." I laughed. "We were playing all day." She laughed with me.

"Well, since its so late Kenny, and you're already brain dead, go ahead and crash here tonight on this couch. I'll ride with you to campus tomorrow." I nodded at her.

"Good idea. Not smart to drive when I'm this tired." She winked at me for saying that and wandered to a closet and grabbed a pillow and blanket.

"Here Ken. Just remember to take out the game before you doze off. I'll let my mom know you're down here. Night." And with that she left.

I smiled at her back as it disappeared up the stairs and behind a closed door. Linzie was a cool chick, and I was glad she'd been my friend since we'd literally knocked into one another our freshman year at university. We were almost exact opposites in personality and appearances, yet we were good for each other. She was short, 4'8", with pin-straight waist long black hair, and Asian features, as her father had been Chinese. She was all around petite and bubbly. I, on the other hand was 5'8", and had shoulder blade long chocolate brown, with russet accents, wavy hair. My eyes were violet and my built was slightly chubby in the stomach, despite all my martial arts and scimitar training, and had broad shoulders. My hands were big, large palms and long piano fingers, and my feet were large too, for a woman. I was far more serious in personality and was good at foresight when I wanted/needed to be. I would also often act like a teenager when the immature impulse suited my tastes. Linzie and I really were an odd pair.

She lived in her family's home that was near by the campus with her mom and little brother. Her mom had raised Linzie and Tod on her own after their dad had died of cancer when the two had been really little. She was awesome, and had pretty much adopted me when I'd become friends with Linzie.

I myself had grown up in my own loving family till after I'd started college. I had grown up moving a lot, and was familiar with the world and its cultures. I even spoke German as a second language. My father was a government worker, serving as a diplomat for the US. I'd moved some much in my life that home really was wherever my family and heart resided. I was quick to adapt and accept things, and made friends and assimilated with the society of where ever I lived. Well, assimilated enough when it was necessary to blend in. I loved to travel. My family was amazing. And I was the first child to leave home, being the oldest. I had four younger siblings, two brothers, then a brother and sister who were twins we'd adopted from one of the many countries we'd lived in. It had been a crazy and chaotic, but happy time in my life.

They had dropped me off at college, before they'd gone on the rest of the way to where they were moving next: India. I'd been excited to live on my own and grow up, then visit them for Christmas and summer in one of the world's coolest countries. At least, that had been the plan.

As they'd flown across the pacific, their plane had malfunctioned and crashed into the ocean waters. The black box was all that had been recovered, and it confirmed there had been an attempted hijacking by a skinhead-the-government-is evil-conspiracy-theorists groups. How they'd been able to even get on the plane I don't know. The day they died, I had gotten a phone call and spoke to them before the line had been cut off as they'd been lost to the water. I inherited over $2 million in life insurance and will money. Their funeral had been me burning and spreading the ashes of a copy of my family photo album from atop the Rocky Mountains. I'd built a memorial in a gravesite near my university campus for them.

That had been 5 years ago, and I'd postponed starting university until 4 years ago after getting my life in order again and moving forward. This had been my last semester I'd attended, and I'd graduated with my Master's degree in vocal performance. Linzie was graduated with her PHD in medicine. Tomorrow we'd be saying a final good bye to all our professors. Life was moving on.

I could've burned away my life, but instead I'd stayed strong and done my family proud. I had adapted, again, as I always have. The memories and the grief still hurt, but it only pushed me to do better. Healing completely would take a lot more time anyway.

Linzie and her family had become a second family unit to me, and they'd helped navigate the darkest hours of my life. However, as one acquainted with grief, and it being so stark and fresh, there was a rift separating me from them. Their family had only lost their father, while I no longer had any.

I shook these thoughts away and ejected the game from the Xbox, and shut everything down. My dismay at Juno was forgotten. I went over to my bag that had been sitting out of the way by the stairs against a wall, and brought it over to sit by me on the floor by my place on the couch. I pulled off my sweater and put it inside the large duffle bag with my scimitar and training equipment, and Xbox controller and my own copy of assassin's creed 3, and Xbox controller. I then turned off the lights and lay on the couch, closing my eyes. Conner lost everything in the end. Juno used him. She used Desmond.

Juno had screwed them all.

All that damage for her selfish endeavours.

I knew there was a reason Minerva had been my favorite in mythology since elementary school.

Wisdom over tyrannical bitches any day.

…...

I drifted off at last.

"The truth is fluid. Show them." A voice murmured and a golden flash enveloped the sleeping form and her belongings.