Blacklight Thief

By: Aubrie1234

The Docks seemed to be calm that day, with workers bustling about and getting things done. One of the ships rocked slightly from the waves that brushed against it, but the wave wasn't a normal one. Out of sight of those working, something crawled out of the water and hid behind some crates. The thing was only known as Alex Mercer. He looked to be about 29, but his clothes stood out from everyone else's, having a shirt with a hood, pants made of a tougher cloth, and shoes with strings. He panted, coughing up water and holding his chest as he tried to get his bearings. He had just gotten the nuke away from NYZ and had regenerated himself, but was now in a completely unfamiliar place.

Going through the endless memories and knowledge of those he had consumed, Alex knew that he was somehow in a medieval-like place. Medieval places like this one should only exist in Renaissance fairs and such, but he knew this wasn't the case. Somehow, the explosion of the nuke had sent him back in time; it was the only explanation given from all the facts. Knowing that he could learn more if he ate someone, he waited until a dockhand came close before muffling the man and consuming him. Transforming into him, Alex learned the man's name and everything else about him, including where he was and what year it was.

The year wasn't really known, since no one cared about it, and he was in a place only known as the City. The City was run by the corrupt and uncaring upper class, the middle class was in between as usual, but there was also quite a bit of the lower class and its beggars, street urchins, and thieves. In fact, there was a thief that seemed to stand out from the others, known only as the Master Thief. He was the best at what he did, apparently, but not much else was known about him from the man's memories and knowledge. Curious about the Master Thief, Alex went deeper into the City to learn more about him and the City.

As he consumed others, Alex learned of the factions and religions that engulfed almost everything about the City. There were the Hammerites, the Mechanists (a now-dead faction that came off of the Hammerites), and the Pagans. Metal versus Nature, causing a sort of steampunk feel about the City. Alex could see this from the electric and fire lamps that stood side by side and the cameras he saw around the richer houses. Magic was also prevalent, or at least it used to be. There used to be a lot of it all the way up until a year ago, where it suddenly disappeared. But who cared about anything as long as you had money? That was something Alex found in common with almost all of the people he had consumed from this time. Greed was all they cared about, nothing else mattered to them. They would sell out their own family, children, and friends for the slightest bit of coin. It almost disgusted Alex as much as the real Mercer did.

The Master Thief also came up a lot once again, though Alex still didn't learn much about him. He was the best at what he did and only went after the hardest and richest of challenges, but it was unknown who he worked with, where he stayed, or if he loved anyone. It was just as well, seeing as how many wanted posters were of him and how much money people would give for him, dead or alive. Maybe if Alex consumed a few lower class people, he could learn all of this. There was nothing else for him to do, was there? Except maybe find a place to stay, since the sun was starting to set.

Looking up, he saw a clock tower in the distance. His knowledge told him that the tower was undergoing repairs after a war between the factions, so it would be a perfect place to stay for now. Not wanting to attract attention, Alex walked to the tower and hid in its shadow. Once he was sure no one was watching, he began using his Wall Climbing power. He scaled the tower, switching back to his normal form as he did so until he came across the first window he found, where he entered and turned on his Thermal Vision. To his surprise, he spotted a small bonfire and another warm body, human-shaped, coming down the stairs towards him. With no Infected possible in this time, Alex didn't bother switching to Infected Vision and readied his Shield. He turned off Thermal Vision to get a better look at his enemy and saw mostly darkness, with only a notion of something moving in the shadows.

"Who are you?" asked the human. The shape of a bow moved in the darkness and Alex knew the man (it was a male voice that had spoken) was drawing it, he could hear the bow creaking slightly as it bent.

"Who are you?" Alex shot back. He was tired and, though he didn't show it, nervous.

"Someone you don't want to be on the bad side of." the man said, "Answer my question."

"I'm Alex." Alex decided to be truthful, because he honestly didn't want to cause trouble, "Now answer my question."

"No." There was a small twang and Alex quickly moved to the side, narrowly missing an arrow. It hadn't been sharp, though, mostly a short leather cylinder tied to the end of the stick.

"Impressive." the man commented, nocking another arrow, "But I won't miss a second time."

"I could go all night dodging you, but I don't prefer to. All I want is a place to stay where I don't have to pay."

"Find somewhere else, then."

"No." Alex allowed his eyes to flash red, expression his own irritation at the standoff. The man blinked but did not back down. He was either stupid or not afraid to do it, possibly both.

"...What do you do for a living?"

"What?" The viral monster was caught off guard by this.

"Don't play dumb."

"...I don't do anything. I have nothing to do and no money."

"Alright." The man in the shadows nodded, but kept his eyes on Alex and never lowered the bow, "If you promise not to tell anyone and allow me to keep an eye on you, I can teach you how to survive and you can stay."

"Really now?" Alex raised an eyebrow. He had never imagined this turn of events.

"Yeah. But if you don't..." The bow creaked once again and Alex got the picture.

"I understand. But who are you?"

"You really have no idea who you're talking to, do you?" The man shook his head and stepped into the light of the window. He was wearing dark clothing, a cape, and a scarf was covering most of his face. Despite the fact that the bow was pointed away from Alex, it was still nocked, "I'm Garrett. People call me the Master Thief, but who has time for titles?"

"Not you, apparently." Alex took a step closer, "May I come in?"

"Be my guest." Garrett stepped aside, "Just don't touch anything." Alex nodded and looked around. As he had seen, on the second floor there was a small bonfire going in a cloister, but there was enough light from the rising moon to make out other things. Items were on display, ones Garrett had probably stolen, and there was a table off to the side piled with various arrows. It was most likely where he worked on his equipment. Looking at the workings of the clock, Alex whistled.

"I'd heard this thing was under construction for repairs, but it seems you've got it working all by yourself."

"It's a hobby." Garrett had followed him, "The sounds it makes help me sleep at night, I found." Something suddenly occurred to Alex, causing him to turn to the thief.

"You haven't asked about my clothes. My clothes aren't normal here, you should have asked about them straightaway."

"You have your secrets, I have mine. Besides, if I asked you, I doubted you would answer. Sometimes it helps to wait a while until they speak to you, even if they don't know it. You can get some good information that way." Now that Garrett was out of the shadows, Alex noticed something else. The thief's left eye was brown, but his right had a green iris and pupil, as well as a silver sclera. Also over the right side of his face, directly above his strange eye, was a thin, jagged scar.

"Mechanical eye?" Alex asked. This world was more steampunk than he had thought.

"Yes." Garrett slowly walked around him, "The bed's upstairs. I'm getting out a cot for you. Stay in place and don't touch anything." In a sudden swift movement, Garrett was gone. Alex did so, but he turned his head to keep looking. Back to the table, he saw various glowing crystals that were in the middle of being tied to the heads of the arrows. Softly glowing blues, crackling oranges, and hissing greens that gave off small bits of mist. Alex guessed that, as impossible as it seemed, they may have had elemental properties, so they could possibly help Garrett when he went out stealing.

"Done." Alex looked up to see Garrett looking at him over the edge of the banister. Alex went up to the second floor as he was told (implied silently by the thief's glare) and found a small cover and pillow on the floor right beside the bed, which looked just about as comfortable as the floor.

"Get some rest." the thief said, "Tomorrow night I'll be taking you out to see what you can do. I'm also getting you some new clothes so you don't stand out so much."

"That won't be necessary." Alex advised, "I'll make my own clothes tonight."

"With what?" Garrett raised an eyebrow, "There's nothing here for you to work with and I'm taffing sure you can't do anything with the scraps downstairs. I use them to patch my clothing and there's isn't enough for even a shirt."

"You said we both have our secrets." Alex looked down at his clothes, which weren't even real, "I have a way to get my own clothes without leaving here or even using your things." Garrett was silent. Suddenly a flapping sound was heard and a magpie came to the open window. It dropped a small matchbox and flicked it towards them before flying off.

"Looks like I've got work to do." the elder man said (he was older than how Alex appeared, had to be at least in his late 30's to early 40's), going over to pick up the small red box, "Don't do anything that'll get us both killed, kid." Alex smirked.

"Don't worry." his eyes flashed red again, "When you get back, I'll be sound asleep."

Well, I have officially entered both of these fandoms. Even though I haven't played either of them or watched many videos of how they're played, I hope I got these two in character. But from what I've read and seen, I've made my own personal headcanons on this: One, Prototype 2 doesn't exist to me; Two, Garrett's circumstances in the Clock Tower from Thief 4 have become part of the epilogue to Thief: Deadly Shadows. What I mean is that Garrett has found the Clock Tower and, since he doesn't have to pay rent, has started staying there. Thief 4 isn't going to happen just yet, either, since this is set 400 years in the past from the reboot. But what happens in this crossover is going to change Thief 4 in ways that are a bit unexpected.

Alex, Garrett, and other characters from the Thiefverse may also seem OOC since I don't know much about either fandom at this time. If I make a mistake, correct me on it (with no flames, please) and I'll fix it. As it is, please read & review! I've got other crossover ideas with Prototype and the Thiefverse in the works, so hope they come out soon!