Assassin's creed doesn't belong to me. It belongs to Ubisoft and the many talented people who work on it. I am merely using its characters for a story I thought would be good.
My name? I don't really think my true name matters very much. For a long time I didn't really think I mattered. I was wrong. I mattered the moment I entered the Animus, and relived the memories of a man long dead. When I found myself living a battle that many didn't even know had ever happened, much less was still happening.
My true name may not matter, but my adopted name does.
"Cormac, come in, over." A voice came in over my earpiece. I ignored the voice and patted down the pockets of my coat, an exact replica of the one the Assassin turned Templar Shay Cormac, the man whose memories I had relived. A side effect of spending so much time diving that one set of memories was the "bleeding effect". I had learned much of the skills and abilities of Shay Cormac. Often Abstergo, the company the Templar's used to conceal their actions and use as their front, tried to move their users around to avoid significant bleeding effect. A few of their top guys has suffered mental breaks from too much bleeding he had heard. But no one else could adequately dive into Shay's memories, there had been no choice but to allow the bleeding.
It hadn't been seamless. After I had discovered much of Shay's life, I had to go back to the earlier years in order to relive his initial training. Without those crucial first steps in training, it had been difficult to utilize the larger training he had gained in real life scenarios. Some had been opposed to allowing me to gain more ability. Such as the voice still trying to get his attention.
"Cormac? Are you there? Does anyone have eyes on Cormac?" After I had exposed a major revelation in the past battles between the Assassin's and the Templar, I had been offered a choice. Join the ranks of the Templar order, or die.
And best of all they gave him a few days to decide. He had joined naturally. While he may have some issues with how they handle things, he knew the best thing to do was join in. At least then maybe he can be a voice of reason in some moments…oh yeah. And he didn't want to die. He only had two requests.
XXXFlashbackXXX
"So, you've had time to think. Now, what's your choice? Join, or die?" Otso berg, one of the Templar's he worked under asked, placing his hands on his hips, to subtlety show off his pistol. I took note of the presence of the Abstergo Entertainment CCO Melanie Lemay, but I saw no sign of Violet da Costa. Which he was fine with. Violet's constant "numbskull" remarks had become aggravating about five minutes after she started using the nickname.
Raising the bottle of water to my lips, I took a drink, then with a skilled flick of my wrist sent the bottle at berg, hitting him in the face, surprising him. Reacting with Shay's instincts, I jumped, dropkicking berg right onto a couch in Melanie's office. Landing on my hands and springing back up, I pounced and had one hand on Berg's wrist, preventing him from drawing the gun, and another inches from his throat.
"If you're going to go to the effort of threatening someone with a gun, don't leave it strapped in the holster." I told him.
"So, your saying no?' Berg asked.
"What? God no. That'd be stupid of me. Pulling this then saying no. I wouldn't get three steps before I got taken out. If I was going to say no I'd have split town." I responded.
"Then what is the point of that?'" Asked Melanie.
"To prove a point. I'm not a pretty face. If I'm in, I want to matter." I said, getting off Berg and offering a hand. The older man took it and got up.
"You want to fight assassins? That what you're saying?" Berg asked, squeezing his hand hard enough to make a joint pop.
"I'm saying I want to matter. If that's how, then point me at them." I replied, squeezing back.
"Ok then. You're in. You'll be helping here for now. But if we need you, we know where to find you." Berg told him. Melanie handed him a box, holding a templar ring. Berg gave it to their newest member.
"I actually have two requests." I added, putting the ring on.
"Oh? And what would those be?" Berg asked, curious.
"I'd like to be known as Cormac from now on. Might as well be." I said.
"I think we can do that. And the other?" Melanie asked.
I paused, scratching my neck. Not sure how to ask this one so here goes.
"How hard would it be to get a coat like his?"
XXXBackToThePresentXXX
"There you are. What the hell is wrong with you? We've been trying to get your attention, numbskull." Violet yelled at him as she walked over, holstering her gun. Apparently I had taken too long to answer and they sent someone to check on me. She relayed that everything was fine to berg and walked over, slapping me upside my head. "Why didn't you answer?!"
"I was told not to." I replied, using the binoculars I had gotten from my pockets before to look at the skyscraper across the street.
"By who?" She asked.
"you. Remember on the way here. "For god sakes numbskull, just shut up." It was your birthday surprise. I was listening to you." I told her.
"It's not even close to my birthday." She said, trying to contain her anger.
"Hence the surprise." I reasoned. I don't think she ever wanted to shoot me as much as at this moment. And that's saying something. "It's fine. I'm doing the short exposition."
"the….what?" She asked, in a voice that said she probably didn't want to know but couldn't help but ask.
"Exposition. You know, when you're doing something and you feel the sudden need to explain how you got to this point." I explained, switching on the night vision setting of the binoculars.
"That sounds like something out of a video game, or a book, or a fanfic-"
"Fourth wall." I cut her off.
"What?!" She asked, exacerbated.
"There's movement. Fourth wall, top floor." I told her, passing her the binoculars. She peered through them.
"Does anyone have a clear view of the top floor, fourth wall on the south side?" Violet asked over her earpiece.
"I will in a moment ma'am."
While she and I await confirmation, I pull up the collar of my coat and recheck my hidden blades. Let's see….where was I….oh yeah. So, here we are. In Tampa Florida. Where we are waiting for a possible Assassin offensive to get some documents from the Abstergo building there. Myself, berg, Violet, and a few others waited at different buildings nearby. If the Assassin's made a move, we'd get them.
"I can't confirm movement, but if I had to put money on it someone is up there. Wait….a couple of security guards are on that floor. Looks like as part of their standard building sweep."
"Do we call them off?" I asked into my earpiece.
"No, if there are assassin's up there the guards might get them to show themselves. And if we call them off now it might tip them off something's wrong." Berg said over the line.
So…we waited. Our eyes were locked onto the top floor as the guards lights swept over the building….then.
BOOOOOOOOM
An explosion rocked the top floor, a fireball going out the shattered windows.
"Bloody hell." I spoke aloud. A bit of Shay Cormac's accent coming through. I got the feeling we all were trying to collect our thoughts.
"What did they just do?" One of the members of the team asked.
As we tried to figure out what happened, a window on the floor below shattered, a figure standing there, pointing a rifle at our building.
"Numbskull and I have eyes on target, an assassin on the floor below top. Using a rifle to launch a zip line. That's how he's getting out of the building." Violet said as she and I took off running to try and intercept.
"Figures, he's landing near where you were." I said as I jumped over a mailing cart someone had left in a hallway. Very unsafe if you ask me.
"Shut up!" she growled. We arrived back at her spot just after the assassin landed, glass from the window all over the floor. We could see the door he used closing and took off.
Suddenly a movement to my right caught my attention. I looked as Violet took off after the assassin. One of the security guards had tried to use the same zip line to escape, obviously not thinking straight from the panic and explosion. But the claw of the zip line was starting to give way on my end. He wouldn't make it.
"Hang on!" I yelled, running over. As I got there the claw of the line came out of the wall, but I managed to grab it, wrapping it around my left arm. My coat and gauntlet kept the cable from digging into my arm to much as I slammed into the window, trying not to fall out. I reached down.
"Listen, take my hand!" I shouted. The guard, who looked about late 30's, reached up. He was inches away, his fingers brushed mine, when he lost his grip on the cable, sliding down. I grunted, trying to pull him up, the cable was squeezing my arm so hard I would probably be bleeding if not for my coat.
"You've got to climb up so I can pull you in!" I shouted down. I looked down to see how he was doing, but the man's hands couldn't hold any longer, and I watched him fall, several stories to the pavement.
I was silent for a moment. Then I stomped once in fury. Unwrapping the cable from my arm, I took off, hoping I could catch up with Violet. That assassin was going to pay.
XXXpagebreakXXX
I caught up with Violet and the assassin, fighting near a staircase. As I ran over, Shay's mind took over and I found myself analyzing the opponent before me. He wore a long white and blue duster coat with a hood, much like the assassins centuries ago had often worn. Curious, I don't think I've ever encountered a modern assassin wearing one. They usually went for hoodies in order to blend in more. Even more curious, was the sight of a sword near the stairway door. The assassin must have been disarmed by Violet during the fight.
Who used swords anymore?
As I ran over, Violet had grabbed the Assassin's left arm and was twisting it. Probably to break it or something. As she turned to get the leverage to snap his arm, her back was exposed, and I saw something inside his right sleeve reflecting light.
I knew immediately knew what it was.
"Violet, he has a hidden blade get back!" I yelled. My yell surprised both her, causing her to twist herself a bit to look over to me, and the assassin, who looked at me as he put the blade to Violet's body.
The blade went into Violet's torso, but luckily the blade didn't seem to hit anything vital. As it was she was hurt bad. The assassin pushed her away and turned to face me. I slid to a stop and shifted my hands, extending my hidden blades….well, blade. My left blade didn't eject like it should have. With how tight that cable had been wrapped around my arm, it was likely damaged. I'd have to make do with just one.
The assassin and I rushed each other, slamming into each other with such force we bounced off each other. Hidden blades clashes as he and I grappled, trying to get the advantage. I kneed him in the side, but he stomped on my foot and kicked me away, slamming me into the wall. He swung at me, and I knew he wanted to end this. I managed to turn, the blade barely missing me and stabbing into the thin wall. I used the momentum of my turn to spin and kicked his arm, breaking the blade, then slammed my head into his face, sending him back, then kicked off the wall and drop kicked him away.
"your not that bad mate." He said, an English accent in his voice. "but what do you want more? Me or your girl?"
He turned towards her and I dove trying to get between them. He seemed to anticipate my move and rolled across my back, and bringing his legs down across Violet's side, his heel hitting her right in her stab wound, making her scream. He took off running, grabbed his sword and bolted into the stairway as I ran to Violets side, grabbing a cloth from my pocket and pressing it to her side.
"The Assassin is getting away. He's in the staircase. Violet's hurt bad." I spoke into my earpiece, trying to staunch the bleeding. It had been bad to begin with and that impact hadn't helped.
"How bad is she? Where are you two?" Berg asked.
"I just said Bad. Stab wound to the side, then bastard stomped on it. It's bleeding profusely. We're on east side of the building, near the stairs and elevators." I told him.
"Blast. Ok, stay with her. I'm on my way. Keep her stable until we get there." He told me. I stayed with her, doing my best to keep Violet awake. Soon, berg and a medic arrived.
"She'll be down for a while. But she'll live." The medic said after giving her a quick examination and something to help with the pain. "We need to get her to a hospital."
"A chopper is on the way." Berg said.
"Did we get him?" I asked.
"No. Somehow he gave us the slip. The other ones to." Berg told me.
"Who the hell was that guy?" I asked aloud. Berg shook his head, not having an answer. Something about that assassin was bugging me. The way he fought, how he talked…something was off.
I was roused from my thinking by Berg, who told me it was nearly time to go. The chopper arrived on the roof, and the medics got Violet onto a board and took her up, and to the hospital.
"Cormac, head back to Abstergo for now. Report in. I'll be along after Violet's tended to, and we'll plan from there." Berg told me. I nodded and stepped away from the chopper as it took off. I rendezvoused with the rest of the team headed back to Abstergo, and we got onto another chopper, which took us to an airfield. After that I separated from the rest of the team and flew on a small plane to Montreal. I used the few hours of flight time to look over the reports the rest of the team had hastily cobbled together on the way to the airport, and made notes for the official report. Apparently there had been 2 others besides the one I fought, with the others ID'ing them as Shaun Hastings and Rebecca Crane, assassins who had been a thorn in the Templar's side for years.
XXXpagebrealXXX
After I arrived back at Abstergo Montreal, I went to the top floor to meet up with Melanie and give the official report. I explained what happened, and why berg was still in Florida, and a description of the Assassin I had fought.
"the guy had a hidden blade. How many people use those anymore? What a dumbass." I said, then paused as I realized that sentence had been uttered while I worked on repairing my own broken hidden blade. Melanie smiled as my accidental insult to myself.
"So, what were your thoughts on him?" she asked.
"I'm not sure. Honestly…I don't know." I told her.
"Well, what about the other two?" She asked me.
"I didn't encounter them, they got out a different way. But the other operatives visually confirmed the other two assassins present as Shaun Hastings and Rebecca Crane. They both got away. But this guy. Ugh!" I grunted as I sat up from the coffee table I was using to repair my hidden blade.
"He got to you that much? Was it what happened with Violet?" Melanie asked.
"No. Maybe. A little bit. But there was something about this guy…" * I ran my hands through my hair and looked around, trying to find words. As my eyes found a small poster of the Assassin Aveline de Grandpré from Abstergo's "Liberation" game, I realized what I've been trying to say. "This guy fought old school."
"What do you mean old school?" Melanie asked, confused.
"I mean old time, like the ones I fought in the Animus. The ones from the past. It was like fighting someone who was trained in the older styles." I tried to explain to her.
"That's a stretch. I mean, isn't it?'
"Maybe. But it's all I got." I told her.
We ordered some dinner from the Abstero kitchens as we went over various reports. Berg would be back within the hour and would have a report on what the assassin's had taken from the Tampa Abstergo facility.
When he arrived we learned what had been taken, a list of upcoming Abstergo construction projects.
"Why would they want this?" I asked as I read a copy of the list that had been stolen. "This won't be useful for a while. I believe in forward planning but this is absurd."
"Kid's right." Berg said. "The soonest project on this list won't even start for another few months, nothing will be complete for a few years."
"It's hard to tell but they wanted that list for a reason." Melanie told them. "I'll make some calls to see if anything on this list sparks an interest. In the meantime, it's late. Why don't we meet up in the morning?"
We said our good nights and left, Berg and I leaving first as Melanie had to finish up some stuff first.
We stood in the elevator for a few moments in silence.
"So how's Violet?" I asked. I didn't like her but she was still part of the team and to be honest I felt little guilty. I had left her alone to try and save the security guard, which I failed at, then was unable to protect her after she had been initially wounded.
"She'll be fine. Won't be in the field for a while but she'll make a full recovery with no long term damage." He told me.
"That's good. I don't know who that idiot was, but I'm gonna take him down." I told Berg.
"We get an idea where he is, and I'll do my best to make sure you have a crack at him." The older man said.
After leaving the building, I drove to an upscale apartment building not far away. Abstergo may have issues, but they certainly took care of their assets. Even when diving Shay Cormac's memories I wouldn't have been able to afford even half of the rent of a place like this, but after joining the Templar's and proving my worth they footed the bill and also various expenses deemed important. Good dental plan to.
I made myself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table. 4 fatalities during the mission. A security guard killed in the explosion that the assassins caused, the guard who I had failed to save, and a pair of agents killed by the Violet and I fought. Apparently both had been killed despite having been neutralized and unable to stop the assassin.
I had fought a handful of assassin's since joining the Templars. I hadn't hated them. They did what they felt was right. However mistaken they were, I could respect their willingness to risk their lives.
But this….it was murder. He wasn't an idiot, he knew his side had blood on their hands, but something about this guy got under his skin.
Sitting back, he looked outside at the half moon.
"Best sleep well you son of a bitch" I said out loud.
XXXpagebreakXXX
Well, this is an idea I've had kicking around for a while. This is my story of what happened after Assassin's Creed Rogue. I hope to have another chapter out soon, but that depends on my work, stress, and what ideas I have.
I hope you review and like the story. If you have suggestions feel free to let me know.