Thank you, WhiteZephyr, for contributing to a shared idea.

2032

—Seras:—

It took me all of five minutes to understand that I was lost.

In California.

Alone.

I cursed my stupidity and looked at the map on my phone. For some reason, the signal where I was decided not to cooperate, and the little arrow that was "me" was flying across the globe. Apparently, I had superpowers, according to my phone.

I groaned and pocketed it, taking a sip of my water. It wasn't early, probably only eleven or so, and I'd agreed to meet Walker at a shop he liked. "Village Java", I think it was called.

Well, I got lost. I'd met Walker at a Halloween party, and we'd gone on a few dates before we made it official that we were going out. Unfortunately, he had to move for his schooling, so I'd agreed to come to California for a bit. I was staying in a hotel, since our relationship wasn't far enough along that I'd stay at his place.

I sighed in frustration and glanced around the bustling street. People were on their phones more often than not, so it was rare for someone to actually be paying attention to what was in front of them. I rubbed my irritated eyes, moving my contacts around slightly. I had to wear them, since my natural eye colours always unnerved people. Yeah, colours. My left eye was blue as a sapphire, and my right was liquid-gold. I was doing people a public service.

I stopped in the street, stretched my arms, and began to search for a map. It proved difficult, but I eventually found a gas station and looked one over. That finished, I left the station and restarted my search.

"I knew I should've called for a ride..." I grumbled.

I was innocently rubbing my head when the hairs on the back of my neck rose. Someone's watching me, I thought automatically. I looked to where my instincts ordered me to and glimpsed a blur of white. I held my gaze there, looking for movement again, but when none came I moved on. However, I kept glancing over my shoulder. I felt someone following me.

I turned a corner and hid behind the wall of a small bus cubicle. Three people in white hoodies walked past me. They blended into the crowd so naturally that my eyes almost overlooked them, but they had leather bracers of some sort on their forearms that drew my eyes, and an intricate "A" symbol on them.

I didn't want to risk staying there, only to have them look back and see me. My heart pounding, I sprinted onto the street, dodging the swerving cars until I got to the other side of the street. Unfortunately, I hadn't thought clearly enough; the honking and cursing of the drivers had drawn the people in white's attention.

So I made a beeline for safety when I saw them sprinting after me.

I felt bad for having to shove people out of my way, but I didn't want those people to catch me. I didn't know why I absolutely had to run away from them, I just knew that if they caught me, it wasn't going to be good. After all, they'd been watching me and stalking me!

I tossed my water bottle back over my shoulder and grinned when I heard a grunt. I threw my black sweater's hood over my head and pumped my legs, continuously pushing people out of my way. I swerved around a corner and chanced a look back at my pursuers.

There were only two chasing me.

Had my water bottle made the other trip? Well, frankly, no.

Because I got tackled.

From above.

In a back alley.

Air rushed out of my lungs as the person in the white hood straddled my arms to my back. I struggled, spitting curses that'd make their grandparents roll in their graves, until a blade was pressed against my throat.

I stopped moving and froze, my body rigid. The person on top of me was panting, though not so much as any regular person would have been. They were obviously conditioned for chases.

"All right," came a woman's voice, "got 'er."

"My ass!" I snapped. "Let me go, dammit! What the hell'd I ever do to deserve this?! Is this how Californians greet people?! Goddammit get the hell off of me!"

A man laughed. "How 'bout letting her get to her feet? There's nowhere else to run, and the buildings are too smooth to climb."

The person on top of me hefted me to my feet after tying rope around my wrists and shoved me against the wall of the alley. I blinked once and realized that my contacts were falling out. I'd never been much good at putting them in.

"You knocked the contacts right outta me," I told the woman sarcastically. "What's next? The hood too?"

"Great, we caught a smart-ass," the other woman, who stood beside the man, groaned.

I sighed. "Geezus, would you at least let me take them out properly? They're friggin' annoying."

The man came up to me and deftly plucked them out of my eyes, throwing them on the ground. "There," he said. I frowned. My eyes felt violated.

"Who are you?!" the woman holding me against the wall demanded.

"Shouldn't I be asking that question?!" I retorted. "I was the one being chased, for God sakes!"

"You were running away!" she countered.

"Casey..." the other woman cautioned.

The woman, Casey, sighed. "I'm not at liberty to reveal that information."

"Okay, Casey." I snickered, and she frowned under her hood. "What? I have ears. Best to use them, no?"

Casey shrugged and hit me against the wall again before releasing me. "All yours, Emma," she offered.

"Oh, great. Another playmate," I said, sarcasm dripping off of every word. "Well, sorry to say, but I'm late. For a very important date, might I add."

The other woman, Emma, groaned for a second time. "I hate it when Templars have a mouth..."

My brow furrowed in confusion. "Templars?" I repeated. "Like, the Crusader guys?"

"Crusaders and Templars are different," she chided.

"Oh, well, sorry I don't know my history correctly." I smiled smugly as I realized that her hoody was wet. Score one, Seras, I thought.

"Why don't we take this hood off?" Emma asked, reaching for my hood. "It'd be best for questioning if we can see your eyes."

I manoeuvred my head from her grasp. "Yeah, sure. Tell you what? You guys take off yours, and I'll take off mine." None of them moved. "No? Well then, that settles that."

Emma came closer, the hand that wasn't pinning me up against the wall reaching for my hood. I slammed my head against hers, hard enough for her to release me and fall backwards onto the concrete. I began to sprint to freedom when Emma yelled, "Joel!"

I found myself on my back, groaning in pain. The man, Joel, had clotheslined me. Bloody clotheslined me! My hood had fallen from my face when I hit the ground, letting my long brown hair with natural red highlights escape the confinement of my hood as well. They let me writhe on the ground in pain for a few seconds before I finally turned onto my stomach and glared at Emma.

Emma was on her stomach too, glowering at me, until she looked at my right eye. Suddenly self-conscious, I looked away from her to Joel's shoes until Casey pulled me onto my feet again.

"Ow..." I grumbled as she shoved me against the wall again. "I'm really starting to dislike you guys. And I thought we were going to be great friends..."

—Emma:—

After everything, William still insisted that I return to California. My own kids seemed rather happy to go, which was a good thing. I, however, was not. It was a weekend and I had patrols! Back in my youth, I wouldn't have minded such ordeals, but now that I had a family… I needed to consider them. I was securing my left hidden blade over my newer hooded jacket—I had to trade in my old one for a subtler version—and I checked the left blade and gun. I flicked my wrist and it came out just as smooth as it did when I first got it.

"Em," Casey's voice called, "let's go!"

I rolled my eyes and she saw me walking to the kids rooms. I kissed Lilly and Scott good-bye, knowing that I'd be back in a few hours. They were aware of what I was, and they always worried—when I wished they wouldn't be. I walked downstairs to see Joel waiting for me. Casey and Joel received hidden guns as well after the battle. Our right hidden blades were under our sleeves and everything else was still normal.

I drove us to an abandoned parking lot and we started patrols on foot.

"So, do you think we'll see any action?" Casey whispered. I looked at my life-long friend. Even though we are nearly twice the ages we were back in 2012, we don't look any older than twenty-seven. And even after everything, there are still Templar loyalists out there that we need to take care of.

"Maybe," I answered as I activated my Eagle Sense—a painful reminder of what awaited me when I died—and I saw something strange. A young woman, about twenty or so, was glowing white. "We got something… or someone," I whispered as I pointed at the person wearing a black hoody.

"Templar?" Casey and Joel said with a little too much enthusiasm.

I shook my head. "Not sure. Let's check it out."

We followed the woman at a distance; she was obviously lost and was starting to get frustrated. We followed her to a gas station and we sat on a bench, just blending in. I was watching intently as the woman rubbed her head then spun around. Thankfully, I could read body language—came in handy when I would have to interrogate my children—and we bolted just in time so that all the woman would see was white.

The woman started moving at a faster pace; she knew she was being followed. "Casey, be ready for a chase," I whispered as Joel nodded.

"Got it," Casey acknowledged with a nod.

We continued to follow her but we lost sight—well, Casey and Joel did. My Eagle Sense told me she turned beside a bus terminal but I ignored it. I was going to coax her out. However, when I heard car horns honking and saw the woman bolting, the three of us sprinted after her. I was still the fastest out of the three of us, but I wasn't expecting to see a water bottle heading towards me. It hit me in the head—soaking my hood—and I grunted as I fell to my left knee. "Em!" Casey hissed.

I waved her on. "Go!"

I was starting to catch up when I saw Casey leap up a fire escape and follow our target via roof. I caught up to Joel and the woman turned back, confusion splayed across her face. When she turned into a dead end, Casey jumped her from above.

The woman was swearing so much it would put Suna to shame. I smirked a little at that. Memories… However, whatever this woman said pissed Casey off enough to make her draw her hidden blade. That shut the woman up.

"All right," Casey grunted, "got 'er."

"My ass!" the woman snapped. "Let me go, dammit! What the hell'd I ever do to deserve this?! Is this how Californians greet people?! Goddammit get the hell off of me!"

Joel laughed. "How 'bout letting her get to her feet? There's nowhere else to run, and the buildings are too smooth to climb."

Casey got off of the woman and restrained her hands. "For the record… we are not Californians."

The woman glared at Casey. "You knocked the contacts right outta me," the woman quipped. "What's next? The hood too?"

"Great, we caught a smart-ass," I groaned.

"Geezus, would you at least let me take them out properly? They're friggin' annoying," the woman complained.

Joel walked up to the woman, took the contacts out quickly and tossed them on the ground. "There," he said.

"Who are you?!" Casey demanded as she held the woman against the wall.

"Shouldn't I be asking that question?!" the woman barked. "I was the one being chased, for God sakes!"

"You were running away!" Casey hissed.

"Casey..." I snapped, warning her that she was playing close to the line of fire.

Casey sighed. "I'm not at liberty to reveal that information."

"Okay, Casey." She giggled. "What? I have ears. Best to use them, no?"

Casey shrugged and hit her against the wall again before releasing her. "All yours, Emma," she offered.

"Oh, great. Another playmate," she retorted, sarcasm dripping off of every word. "Well, sorry to say, but I'm late. For a very important date, might I add."

I groaned. "I hate it when Templars have a mouth..."

The woman frowned. "Templars?" she repeated. "Like, the Crusader guys?"

"Crusaders and Templars are different," I scolded.

"Oh, well, sorry I don't know my history correctly." She smiled smugly as she took in my wet hood. She obviously felt some pride in taking out an Assassin, even if it was one of the higher ranking masters.

"Why don't we take this hood off?" I asked as I reached for the hood. "It'd be best for questioning if we can see your eyes."

She moved out of my grasp. Agile son of a gun! "Yeah, sure. Tell you what? You guys take off yours, and I'll take off mine." None of us moved. "No? Well then, that settles that."

I came closer, moving my free hand towards her hood, when she butted heads with me. I fell onto the ground, quietly groaning as I rubbed my head. I sensed her sprinting. "Joel!" I yelled.

One second later, I heard her groaning in pain. I gave a smile at my husband. I was still on the ground, dazed from the blunt attack. Maybe I should recruit her… The thought ran through my mind. I was glaring at the woman and she was glaring back at me. I then looked at her right eye and I just stared at her. No… way. She looked away first and her gaze lingered on Joel's shoes. Casey glided over and pinned this woman against the wall. Over the years, the Assassins—mainly us three—became more aggressive (due to the fact that we have kids). We still followed the Creed.

"Ow..." the woman grumbled. "I'm really starting to dislike you guys. And I thought we were going to be great friends..."

I got to my feet and marched over to her. "What's. Your. Name?" I hissed into her ear.

The woman glared at me and for a moment, and I considered something. "Joel!" I shouted. Joel came running over. "Take my hood off."

"Emma…" he cautioned.

I shrugged. "Just do it."

Joel sighed and took my hood off for me; my medium length brown hair fell to the middle of my back. When the hood hit my back, the woman stared at me. I activated my Eagle Sense and she gasped when she looked at me. "You said that you wanted me to take my hood off. Well, I did. Now what's your name?" I asked, gentler, like I would if I was talking with my children.

The woman didn't answer I sighed angrily. "Casey, Joel, hoods off now."

"But—!" they both argued.

"Now!"

They grumbled as they pulled their hoods off and gave the woman a clear view. "What's your name?" I repeated for the third time, thankful that we were too far into the alley for anyone to see us.

The woman stared at the three of us and I let her go. She crumpled to the ground and Casey gave her an ice pack. "For the headache and swelling," Casey offered.

I continued to look at her right and left eye. "Well," I said gently, "I guess you aren't the only one with weird eyes."

"What?"

I deactivated and reactivated my Eagle Sense. "See how my eyes change colour? I was born that way."

"Is it some freaky gift or something?" she asked rather sarcastically.

Casey, Joel, and even I chuckled at that. "I guess you could say so."

I crouched down, not in an offensive position, but in a position of power, and tilted my head at her. She put a hand up to stop me. "Seras," she groaned.

Seras? "That's a nice name," I commented as I deactivated my Eagle Sense and my eyes returned to brown.

She scoffed at me. "What, you beat me up and now you're being nice? What's stopping you from finishing the job?"

I looked at my friends and they nodded. "The Creed."

Seras looked at me. "The what?"

"The Creed."

Seras shook her head. "Do me a favour: get away from me!"

I shook my head. "We can't do that, Seras. What's your last name?" Seras swung a punch at me and I easily stopped it with my hand. "Nice try. Just answer the question."

"Over my dead body!"

Casey flicked her wrist and Seras shuddered at the recent memory. "Casey, ease off, okay?" Casey backed off. "Hale. My last name is Hale. Er... It's Summers now. I married a few years back," I offered her.

Seras looked at me; curiosity was lit in her eyes, those familiar eyes. Even the blue one had a spark of life. "H-Hale?" she stammered as she got up.

I threw my hood up over my eyes again and Casey and Joel followed my lead. "It was nice talking with you. The Village Java is just down this road and to the left. You can't miss it."

"T-Thanks?"

I nodded and started walking, Joel and Casey acting like ravenous wolves and walking next to me when Seras gripped my arm. "Why didn't you kill me?" she asked again.

"It's against the Assassin's Creed, and if you ever need anything or anyone taken care of," I emphasized the 'one', "don't be afraid to call." I smiled. She let go of my arm and I followed Joel and Casey into the crowd. I could sense her trying to follow, but we had years of practice and she couldn't find us. But I knew where she was, and I knew she would hear these words. "They kept their promise after all." I smiled. Joel and Casey looked at me. I shook my head. "It's nothing."

We continued our patrols when Joel came across an alley that was across from the Village Java. "I'll be right back," he said as he bolted for the café.

Casey and I waited on a bench and a few minutes later, he ran back with a smile.

"What'd you do?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I apologized to her date that she was going to be late. Thankfully, the bruises won't be noticeable."

"You left an eagle feather?" I asked.

He nodded. "Should've seen his face. But the strange thing is, he seemed familiar to me, like Seras did. Casey?" Joel asked her.

Casey nodded. "I was getting vibes from Seras that only happens when I meet someone that I think I know."

I gave a nod, not revealing the crucial piece of information. We did know Seras. A long time ago.

We continued our patrols and for some reason, I felt better. More complete knowing that my soul—my will, freed those who were enslaved.

That's what I needed since 2012. One thing and one thing alone:

Closure.

—Seras:—

"Ow..." I grumbled as she shoved me against the wall again. "I'm really starting to dislike you guys. And I thought we were going to be great friends..."

Emma, the woman on the ground, got to her feet and marched over to me. "What's. Your. Name?" she hissed into my ear.

I glared at her, opting to keep my mouth shut. I'd never really been one to crack under pressure, and so, when I was a kid, it let me get away with a few things.

Emma looked thoughtful and then seemed to come to a decision. "Joel!" she shouted. The man, Joel, hurried over to her. "Take my hood off."

"Emma…" His voice was cautionary.

Emma shrugged. "Just do it."

Joel sighed and removed her hood. Her medium-length brown hair fell to the middle of her back. When the hood hit her back, I stared at her. I felt something in the back of my mind tell me that I recognized her, but I wasn't sure from where. Maybe just another face in the crowd? Her eyes, brown once before, were sharp and gold. My thoughts immediately went to my own golden eye, but I remained as stoic as possible.

"You said that you wanted me to take my hood off. Well, I did. Now what's your name?" she asked, much gentler than before.

I kept my mouth shut firmly and in a tight frown. Emma sighed, obviously a little peeved, and looked at her companions.

"Casey, Joel, hoods off now," she ordered.

"But—!" they both argued.

"Now!"

They were grumbling when they hesitantly removed their hoods. None of them looked old at all; just older than I was. I took my chance to examine their faces, in case I happened to "run into" them again.

"What's your name?" Emma repeated for a third time.

A few seconds passed in silence before Emma released me. My knees buckled and I hit the ground, suddenly thinking how great the ground looked if I wanted to sleep on it. I felt something tap my head, and so I looked up.

"For the headache and swelling," Casey offered.

An ice pack. I wondered where the hell she pulled it out of, but I wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Casey untied the rope and put the ice pack in my hands, and so I placed it gently on my forehead. Emma had a really thick skull...

Emma smirked. "Well, I guess you aren't the only one with weird eyes."

"What?"

She changed the colour of her eyes, somehow, from gold, to brown, to gold again. "See how my eyes change colour? I was born that way."

"Is it some freaky gift or something?" I quipped, trying to avoid her eyes, but I was kind of fascinated with them.

The three chuckled at me. "I guess you could say so."

Emma crouched in front of me and tilted her head expectantly. I groaned and rolled my eyes, holding a hand out to stop her from getting a little too close for comfort. "Seras," I answered.

"That's a nice name," she commented. I pretended not to pay much attention, but her golden eyes quickly faded back into brown. I wondered suddenly if I could do that. It'd save me some trouble, at least.

I snorted at her incredulously. "What, you beat me up and now you're being nice? What's stopping you from finishing the job?"

Emma glanced at Joel and Casey. They all nodded in unison before Emma answered, "The Creed."

I blinked. "The what?"

"The Creed," Emma repeated.

I shook my head at them. Great, my welcoming committee are a bunch of crazies... "Do me a favour: get away from me!"

Emma shook her head. "We can't do that, Seras. What's your last name?" Suddenly defensive, I swung a punch at her. She just had to move her head and shoulders out of the way to dodge it, and made it look like child's play. Frankly, because I'd learned how to fight since I was young, I was a bit surprised. "Nice try. Just answer the question."

"Over my dead body!" I snapped.

I saw Casey flick her wrist. A blade launched out of the leather bracer on her left arm. I shuddered as I thought about the blade that had been pressed up against my neck not a few minutes ago.

"Casey, ease off, okay?" Emma asked. Casey retracted the blade with another wrist flick and stepped beside Joel. "Hale." My attention went back to Emma. "My last name is Hale. Er... It's Summers now. I married a few years back," she admitted.

I studied her without holding back now. "H-Hale?" I repeated.

Emma smiled and replaced her hood onto her head. Joel and Casey followed. I confirmed that Emma was likely their superior. "It was nice talking with you. The Village Java is just down this road and to the left. You can't miss it."

"T-Thanks?" Emma stood up and began to walk away with her friends. I sat on the ground for a few seconds, nursing my head, until I leapt up and grabbed Emma's arm. She turned to me, the shadows of her beaked hood obscuring her eyes. "Why didn't you kill me?" I asked.

Emma smiled knowingly. "It's against the Assassin's Creed, and if you ever need anything or anyone taken care of, don't be afraid to call."

I released her arm, and she and her friends merged into the crowd when they exited the alley. I felt the cold pack in my hand and realized that I needed to return it, so I followed, but I lost sight of them within only a few seconds. They obviously knew their stuff.

"They kept their promise after all."

My eyes narrowed in confusion at the voice as I continued to search the crowd, but when no results came up, I gave up. I had a feeling that I'd run into them again sometime, though.

It took me only a few more minutes for me to get to Village Java, but my mind was already racked with excuses for Walker. I didn't know if I should tell him the truth (that I was chased by three psychos in white hoodies) or say that some idiot (me, incidentally) ran across the street and almost caused a major collision, so I had to leave my taxi.

Walker stood up when he saw me, chocolate brown eyes softening as he wrapped me in a hug and met my lips with his. His black hair was as unmanageable as always, and he was wearing his usual attire of black T-shirt and faded blue jeans. "Are you all right?" he asked.

"Look, I'm super sorry that I was late, but I have a really, really good reason—."

Walker smiled and shook his head. "I don't need to hear it. Someone already came in and told me."

I blinked. "Huh?"

He motioned for me to sit down, so I sat across from him. "A man came in and said that you'd be late because of an incident with traffic. You got him to come because you were occupied with bartering with a taxi driver, and so he came. I'm guessing that the ice pack is for a headache." Walker held up a white feather and twirled it. "He also left this."

I snorted and gently took the feather. "An eagle's feather?"

Walker shrugged. "He said that it's supposed to mean something to you."

I smiled and twirled it around. "Does it ever," I told him. I decided on the spot to tuck the feather behind my ear. "How do I look?"

"Like a gust of wind will take you away from me," Walker quipped. "Hey, didn't you say that you were going to wear your contacts today?"

I rolled my eyes. "Damn, I must've forgot to put 'em in..."

Walker shook his head and leaned over the table to kiss my forehead. "I like it better this way, anyhow. Try to 'forget' a bit more often, okay?"

"Just because you asked nicely." I smiled at him and glanced out of the window as he began talking about how one of the waitresses had tried hitting on him while I was gone. Not that I wasn't paying attention, mind you; it's just that I thought I saw a blur of white. But when I looked at the place I thought I saw it—a bench across from Village Java, incidentally—there was no one.

Of course, I didn't rule out the fact that those three hooded hooligans could have been there. I made a silent oath that I'd find them again, if not to return their ice pack, but for a little payback.

Just to make me feel better, WhiteZephyr came up with the idea. They are also responsible for the cover and title of this fanfic.