AN: I know I know, I'm crazy to start ANOTHER story. But I just got AC Black Flag again and the feels are coming back to me. I had this idea for a story months ago, just never made it; either too busy or never got around too it. But yeah this story won't be centered around Edward Kenway, but my own OC. But I'm not gonna take away the events of the game, it takes place after he's left the Caribbean with his daughter. The only thing that is different from the game's story and this, is that James Kidd/Mary Read and Blackbeard (cause why not, he was awesome) live the events of the Man O' War and the prison escape. So without further ado, enjoy. Disclaimer, I own nothing but my OC.
(Three Months after the concluding events of Assassin's Creed IV)
"GET DOWN!" a the captain of the lone ship cried as their Brig was struck by a large volley of cannonballs.
"Loosen the sails! Evasive Actions! Man the guns!" the Quartermaster yelled. The captain was a former veteran, a former Naval commander, his hair gray after years of aging had caught up with him. His captain's hat had been blown off after the impact of the volley.
The quartermaster was much different. He was a tall, broad shouldered man; reaching at least six feet and four inches tall. He wasn't lanky, actually a very muscular form to go with his tall form. He wore only a simple Officer's uniform; he had dark brown hair that was neatly trimmed and pointed upward in the front.
Their crew rushed to their stations. The cannon's were now manned and the riflemen were armed. There were men climbing the mast and letting the sails loose. The air was filled with an unbearable gale as they were poured on by rain; cannon smoke filled the air.
"God damned this rain!" the captain yelled.
"Captain! Enemy brig spotted! She flies the Spanish flag!" the watchman in the crow's nest called from above.
"Spanish or no, if they want a fight, we'll give 'em one! Prepare to Broadside em'!" he ordered.
"Load the guns! Lieutenant, tell me when all of our cannons are prepared to fire!" the Lieutenant awaited the cannon crews.
"All cannons loaded!" the Lieutenant called, the Quartermaster nodded, looking to the Captain.
"All cannons are ready to fire sir!" he exclaimed as they ducked under another volley of cannonballs. Their brig was only armored by a few layers of iron plating, the volleys were beginning to push it inward.
"Await my command!" the captain ordered, he steered so they were now sailing directly at the Spanish brig.
"Sir?!" the quartermaster was confused.
"Trust me!" he ordered his friend. When they were close enough that they could see the Spanish crew, the Captain spoke up.
"Drop anchor!" he ordered. The ship began turning rapidly. The quartermaster understood the captain's plan completely.
"Fire!"
"FIRE!" the quartermaster yelled at the top of his lungs, his deep, husky voice straining to call out the order.
Their cannons broadsided the unprepared Spanish brig. One of their masts fell, there were several holes in their bow. The quartermaster spotted powder kegs.
"Sir! I see some powder in the bow!" the captain looked closer and saw it too.
"Swivel guns! Take aim!" the captain ordered.
"Fire!" he ordered, the swivel guns both fired, the shots found their mark; detonating the powder; the entire Spanish brig erupted from within.
"The brig's sinking, Sir!" the scout called.
They were already celebrating, cheering "Huzzah!", except the captain and quartermaster. They saw something that made their eyes widen in terror.
"Mother of God…" the quartermaster thought aloud.
They made out the shape of a Man O' War and two Brigs.
"Men! We're not done yet!" the captain called. It looked hopeless, their ship was damaged and didn't have the firepower to take on a Man O' war.
The captain sighed, looking to the quartermaster. "We go down with the ship!" he growled, drawing his sword and flintlock.
When the Man O' War was in range, they broadsided their damaged brig, tearing several holes in their hull. Half their crew died in the volley, most of their cannons were destroyed, and part of the ship had fires spreading across it. The Brigs, once in range fired several volleys at their ship.
"Captain, what do we do?!" the quartermaster asked, getting no response. He turned to look where the captain was standing...except...the captain was gone. All there was left from him was a chunk of their ship which the captain had been standing upon.
A crewman ran to him, distress in his eyes. "Marshall! What do we do?!" Marshall, the ship's quartermaster; trusted to keep a level head in these situations, had no idea on what to do. Their powder was exposed, the ship was on the verge of sinking, and they were about to be flanked by brigs as the Man O' War prepared to Broadside them.
"I...I don't know..." he choked, his mind was blank.
The ships fired, tearing the lone brig apart as the powder was now lit up and detonated. The entire brig erupted in flame.
Marshall flew off the side of the ship from the blast. He somehow landed on a stable piece of wood and began floating across the rapid waves. Above his floating form, his ship and crew burned.
(Three Days later)
A lone brig leaped over the high waves, it was a slightly faded, crimson painted brig. The sails were a grayish white. The colors it flew was a familiar Brotherhood insignia with a skull in the center.
The crew consisted of hardy men, all working to maintain the ship while singing merrily. At the helm was someone well known across the Caribbean; Mary Read, once known as James Kidd. Her true identity had been given away when the tale of James Kidd being captured, revealed as a woman before being taken to prison along with her best friend Anne Bonny and...Edward Kenway…
Kenway. The name brought back so many memories every time she thought of it.
'Edward Fucking Kenway. Abandoning us for a child he didn't even know he had." She sneered, anger filling her senses. Edward had been a key factor to their battle against the Templars. He had left the brotherhood to raise his daughter.
She had thought too much of him, he claimed before it was a pirate's life for him; would he say the same now?
Her friend and ally, Edward Teach...also known better as Blackbeard, supported him leaving, along with Anne and Adewale, Kenway's former quartermaster and an assassin of the brotherhood.
Even her leader Ah Tabai supported him leaving the brotherhood behind for his new life. She seemed to be the only one who was still pissed off at him for leaving.
"Man overboard!" someone called, drawing her mind from it's course of thought.
"Captain!" one of the crewmen called.
"What's going on down there?" she asked, her voice husky for a woman.
"We've spotted a man floating on a few scraps of wood." he awaited her order.
"Well what are ye waiting for? Get him on board!" she ordered, glad she could find something to clear her mind.
When she stepped down and they backed away, her eyes widened. This man was worse for wear. Not only was he soaked along with his clothes, but he seemed to be unconscious. He had a short shaggy mustache and beard connecting around his mouth, a messy head of short brown hair, and wore nothing but a soaked officer's uniform.
"He's alive, what do we do with 'em, Captain?" the crewman checking his pulse asked.
"Set a course for Great Inagua...he needs help." she looked back at the Lieutenant before entering her quarters.
(One day later)
Mary was focusing on the man laying stiffly on the large bed. They had gotten the man's uniform off; all he had on was a simple loose shirt, and dry pants.
Her eyes narrowed; his weary eyes began slowly opening. Her hand slowly tightened over the handle of her flintlock.
After a few minutes of him seemingly struggling to stay conscious, he opened his mouth to speak.
"Where...where am I?" he asked aloud as his dark green eyes scanned the room, locking with the mysterious woman standing before him. She smirked as he was frozen when his eyes laid upon her.
"See something you like mate?" she chuckled as he lowered his gaze, cheeks reddening a bit.
"Just teasing ya lad. You're in my home...also known as great Inagua." she answered him calmly. He seemed frozen, afraid to make any movements.
"You're lucky to be alive." she chuckled, but he suddenly remembered what had happened, the battle, the Man O' War.
"How'd you end up floating adrift on a few planks of wood?" she asked him, he sighed.
"Me and my crew were on our way from Britain to make a trade…-"
"What were you? Or...what rank were you?" she asked.
"Quartermaster." he answered simply. She nodded, seeming content with his answer.
"Continue." she remained quiet.
"We were ambushed by the Spanish. Three brigs...and a Man O' War." she chuckled.
"A trade ship...against a small convoy. Almost comedy." she chuckled.
"Not a complete trade ship. We were carrying weapons...ammunition. We were gonna be giving them over to the British military for some of the sugarcane from this harvest to take back. Our ship was an old brig, fifteen broadside cannons on both sides." she chuckled at how even his now sunk ship, was larger and more equipped than her own.
"Well...now that you're here...in the Caribbean...what'll ya do now? No ship and crew, no allies, hell no friends here...it's a good combination here for someone who ends up dead or a peasant." she was dead serious, causing his to swallow his nervousness in an invalid attempt to hide his evident fear.
"I...don't know...The British navy'll never take me back after our blunder." she was just waiting for him to ask a specific question. He just now realized, from the way she was dressed, this was no normal girl. He could make out the flag flowing in the wind outside the manor; a black flag with a skull and cross-bone.
"Are...are you a pirate?" she began cackling heavily.
When she calmed down, she wiped a stray tear from her eye. "I was wondein' when ye was gonna ask me that. To answer your question; yes. Been with this band of miscreants since I learned to sail. But I'm not just a pirate." she cut off there, causing him to grow even more confused.
"What...else are you?" he asked slowly. He puled the quilts on him down until his bare feet were exposed to the daytime air.
"Ya' really wanna know?" she smirked, he nodded slowly in response.
"Okay, I'll tell you." she gestured for him to lean close.
"Ever heard of the Assassin Brotherhood?" she asked seriously; he shook his head in response.
"Good, means we're doing somethin' right." she chuckled a bit.
"Well...to sum it up, we're an order of trained killers. Our duty is bringing down the Templars and stopping their plans." he was more confused now.
"The Templars? Who are they?" he asked, at this, she shook her head, a sneer forming.
"Bad people. If they had their way, we'd be on our knees to kiss the ground before their feet." he didn't like the sound of that.
"Oh, and when they had to change your outifits-" his eyes widened as he looked down. All he had on was a loose, white shirt, simple brown pants and a belt.
"Calm down, trust me, I wasn't the one who changed ya'." she laughed again, much to his dismay. She grabbed a half empty bottle of rum and took a quick swig before placing it back on the floor where it was.
"But anyway, what I did see, is that you've got the muscle and body to match that strength. The most ideal Assassins are quick on their feet, silent, strong, observant, and aware of their surroundings. You've got the strength to be an assassin...but it's the other things I've yet to see...so…I only have a simple question." he awaited her.
"Do you wanna know, who it was that attacked you, killed your crew and destroyed your ship?" he nodded, she lowered her head, the long strands of black raven hair on her head hiding the woman's face for a moment.
"Then another question...what would you do, if you found a way to find the people who attacked you?" she asked again.
He was stuck. "Uhhhh…" he slurred.
"Kill em'?" he remained silent after she answered for him.
"Well…you won't get far with just strength...if you're gonna fight the Templars, you need to be trained as an assassin." he was shocked at how this had turned around majorly.
He closed his eyes. After what felt like minutes to her, he opened them, a hint of a new person in his eyes.
"I have a question for you now." he spoke calmly.
She awaited him to speak, until he opened his mouth.
"When do I start?" he asked, a glare of self confidence; an entirely different man appeared before her and she grinned.
"That's more like it." she chuckled.
AN: So yeah, my first AC story. I'm curious to how well it will do. So yes, this story will evolve to a relationship/pairing between my OC Marshall and Mary Read. It disappoints me of how little the relationships for Mary Read are noticed and how great they are. So review, tell me how I did, and I'll get back to the next chapter when I'm able to.