ZACH

It was a quaint and cloudless day in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, the beautiful weather making the sturdy tudor-style home seem timeless in the crisp air. While the tudor could hold well over six people in its spaces, there were a bit more than six people staying in this home currently.

In the upstairs office room, Zach leaned back on his office chair, feet up on his desk in a casual manner while his eyes intently watched the television program on the side table. In his hands, Zach held a gleaming silver sword with a golden hilt, twirling it in his hands absently. It was a long sword, a relatively normal and double-edged model, its steel marked with nicks and marks that showed it had seen many fights since its creation, but never a single repair. Never needed it. He stopped every now and then to pick one of his nails with the end of it, as if he didn't exactly care much about it.

"Akulov is under custody, and US government officials will be questioning him long into the night, where they hope they can figure out his reasoning for this horrendous crime that has shaken both this city, and even the world." The reporter announced, straight from the scene of the crime.

Zach shut the television off as soon as the reporter was finished, the room falling to a type of interior silence that only a library could challenge. Tiny golden dust motes floated into the light, pouring around the back of Zach's head and onto the table in front of him.

He turned to the other ten people in the room that he seemed to completely ignore before. They looked at him expectantly, waiting for an order silently.

"Well, well... that's a wrap, folks." Zach grinned, his smile spreading across the faces of his captains like a twisted virus.

Ten captains, in charge of one hundred soldiers each. Well-trained to the point of being able to take down even the higher ranks of Assassins or Templars, or at least Zach thought so. Most of them came from either organization, anyway. So many defectors, so little time...

The man shifted his weight in the chair, putting his feet down and placing his elbows on the desk to lean forward, his stature meaning business now as opposed to recreation.

"Everyone is to lay low. The government may not be looking for us, but the Assassins and Templars have already been attracted to the area, and they're going to be quite confused when they figure out neither of them did it. Kingston!" Zach ordered a name.

A man of a darker complexion stepped forward, making a slight bow. He had a thick scar over his nose , and his eyes seemed to spark with excitement over what Zach had in store. Zach knew all about Kingston, of course, Kingston not being his real name. Fought in the US military for seven years, then worked as a hired mercenary after being honorably discharged, mostly sticking to services within Africa and the Middle East where tensions commonly ran high. When Zach had talked with him, Kingston immediately joined his cause. He was all too familiar with the atrocities of both the Assassins and Templars in the affairs of the countries he fought in. Zach wasn't sure whether it was his words or the sword that helped his claim to sway Kingston, but nevertheless, he had a valuable asset and eyes within the countries Kingston had performed well in.

"Yes, sir?" Kingston awaited an order.

"Your team is currently in Dubai, correct?" Zach asked, placing his sword on the table.

"Yes."

"Assemble the twenty best men you have. I want them to gather at the rendezvous in California as soon as possible, but like I said, lay low. Spread the eyes around some of the cities, get a feel for the presences there. The rest of you will order your troops to take simple contracts under the radar so we can have a fair monetary flow for the next few weeks while we prepare." Zach clarified.

"Sir, if I may ask, what's the current long-term goal now that these events are in place? Has it changed at all from the original plans since we've had fallbacks?" A captain asked. A newer captain, Zach remembered this one.

Zach scoffed. He hated repeating himself, but he sighed and obliged the captain. "We still need to lure out my brother, for one, because he holds the key to the one thing that will end this war: an Apple of Eden. However, there are two keys that I need, but I already know who possesses the other. If things fall into place as I believe they will, I'll have both keys and an Apple. The power of the Apple combined with my Sword here... The war will be over within a week." Zach brushed his fingers lightly over the silver blade.

Of course, this was not a typical sword. This sword was wielded by numerous great leaders many, many eons ago, and was a true Sword of Eden that in Zach's mind gave him the right to rule and carry out his conquest. People always seemed to listen better with that sword around, which was a typical effect of the Sword's powers.

"The end goal isn't going to be to eradicate both sides, correct? It was never made clear to me, I'm sorry sir." The captain spoke up again.

"No. I'm afraid that outcome is impossible, except if I have that Apple combined with the two other keys. One to get me the Apple, and another to let me keep it. Of course, I won't be the only one in power. All of you will have a say and a vote, but given my bloodline, I'm one of the few that's able to wield those artifacts."


"You can't, I'm sorry." Thomas slowly took the needle out of my arm, discarding the tip into the trash. I rubbed my sore forearm and furrowed my eyebrows at the man sitting next to me. Another failed attempt.

"What do you mean? Anyone can go into the Animus. I'm from a pure line, dating back thousands of years-"

Thomas snapped his head back up at me. "It won't work, how many times must I say it to you? Some blood doesn't work within the Animus, that's just how it is. You need to stop whining and start accepting things the way they are," Thomas huffed and cleaned up, rolling his eyes as he worked. "What would the Mentor say, psh..."

"Mentor? What does he matter? You practically act like you're Mentor anyway! Strutting around, ordering Master ranks like me around. We're the same rank, or did you forget when you went rogue for how many years?" I snarled at him, climbing off the Animus. "I was the one who found that Piece of Eden in the desert, no thanks to you... Mentor would have let me keep it if it weren't for you convincing him otherwise."

"It was for the greater good. That sword is not meant to be in any of our hands, but much less the Templars'." Thomas grunted, not bothering to look up at me.

"It's not even part of our ideals... Where does it say we can't hold onto things we discover?"

"Nowhere, it's just sense! God, you're twenty-one but you act a twelve-year-old... How you keep thinking this dream of Mentorship is beyond me."

"I'll get Mentor rank, Thomas. Mark my words, I can be a leader. You might not believe in me, but the Mentor does." I felt my fists clench. He was always like this.

Thomas laughed with a wry grin, "You sound so stereotypical... This isn't a movie where if you try hard enough you win and everything fixes itself. You don't know a goddamn thing... Good luck, then. That's all I can say. You also forget the Mentor comes to me for counsel, not you."

"Counsel means nothing. I'm the one out there bringing the fight to those who wrong us! That means more than talking. Actions speak louder-"

"Than words, yes yes, you're quite fond of saying that," Thomas got up and stood a few inches over me, glaring as he rose his voice. "War creates war, and there's nothing you can do to stop it, so stop living in your fantasy world and grow the hell up. You forget you only got to Master rank because of me, so stop thinking that any of this is somehow my fault. Blind hate will only lead you on a path to destruction. Don't let blood ruin you."

I kept my feet planted. His intimidating wouldn't get to me. I felt my mouth curl into a grin. "Don't let blood ruin us, brother. Blood before blood."

Thomas sighed, closing his eyes for a brief moment. I couldn't tell whether he was feeling pity or had given up with me. I didn't care anymore.

"Yes. Blood before blood."


Zach sighed.

"I want a world where there is no war. No sides, no choosing, no pointless back-and-forth skirmishes. This war between ideals has gone on long enough, and those who have tried to combine ideals or destroy both sides in the past have failed miserably. The only way we can achieve this goal, sadly, is through violence as things stand now. If there was another way to join together, I would do it in a heartbeat. In this world, however, in order to begin a new and better world, we must destroy its foundations and build it up again." Zach explained, turning his chair around to look at the sunny courtyard area outside of the tudor home.

"I mean no disrespect, but then why did those innocents have to get hurt in Philadelphia?" He heard another captain ask. Zach was quick to reply.

"As I have said, it is a sad affair that we must use violence to achieve our goals, and yes, civilians will get in the way and get hurt. This act we have accomplished needed to be executed in the exact way it did, because we needed both sides to be attracted to the area, and the eyes I have in Philly had reported one of the keys had come into play. If both sides are distracted here on the East, then we can move our next operation elsewhere. I do not wish to kill innocent people at all, that is against what I stand for. But... that is a rule for the new world, not this one. This world is tainted by this war, and we must do everything to end it, or it'll be the destruction of the world entirely. Is that clear?" Zach turned his chair again, staring at each captain with an edge of challenge in his eyes.

"Yes, sir!" They saluted in unison.

"Excellent. You know what you have to do. Dismissed."

The captains filed out of the room quickly, leaving the leader alone at his desk with his sword. A world without sides, a world where everyone knew their place and was happy in it... that was what he wanted. No corruption, no war, no sadness. A far-fetched idea for anyone born onto either side, but a very real outcome if given the right tools. And for Zach, his tools were hurtling towards him at the exact pace he wanted them to, whether they knew it or not. That's what he had forgotten all those years. Tools.

The door broke the silence a few moments later.

Veronica sauntered in late, her hands tucked into the pockets of a light zip up hoodie. "What'd I miss?" She asked, arching an eyebrow.

Zach rolled his eyes, spinning around in the chair and giving her a deep glare. Typical Veronica, he thought to himself. She was damn lucky she was one of the most brilliant snipers he'd seen in his years of combat, and also had a rare trait of not being convinced by the Sword's powers. It was annoying, to say the least.

"Seriously?" He started. "I don't give you a salary to fuck around and miss meetings. Give me the report." Zach gestured with hands open, awaiting a response.

"Give me a report... what?" She asked, not fazed in the slightest.

Zach stood up, not breaking his sight to her. "Report to me what you found in Philadelphia after you set off the charges. Or are you too busy dealing with Emily in that busy mind of yours?" He growled through gritted teeth, bringing his voice up to a higher malicious tone towards the end. Throwing Emily into the picture was quite the jab; Veronica's old mind had plagued her recently, but with her new look came a new personality. One that wouldn't fall to the same fate.

Veronica sighed. "I guess you're not in the mood to ask nicely. Anyway, Jet met with the Templar and the Kipling girl. As expected, Jet and the Templar almost killed each other, but they were stopped by the brat. Nothing really interesting to report about," she stopped briefly before she remembered a certain detail. "Oh! She had some weird necklace. Didn't really pay much attention to it until I noticed that it kinda… shines when there's no light hitting it."

"So she does have it, huh? Hmm... That's perfect." Zach seemed to muse, sitting back down while setting the sword on the table. He looked off in thought. "And Jet still has Shapeshifter? I couldn't think he'd be capable of ridding himself of the thing. Just curious though."

This time, it was Veronica's turn to roll her eyes. "He's alive. Of course he still has Shapeshifter. Was that really a question?"

"Months ago, a report from one of our eyes told me he and a Mentor named Arctic had briefly severed the bond between him and Shapeshifter using another Piece of Eden, leaving him a vegetable for a time, until he and Shapeshifter eventually recovered and bonded again. It could have been possible that its effects changed, but they hadn't. Good research for the future."

"You and your 'research'..." Veronica huffed boredly. Zach's eyes flickered slightly at her.

"You don't see me as your superior, do you?"

"To be fair, I didn't treat the Assassin 'Mentors' much better," She replied with a shrug, using air quotes around the mention of Mentors.

"No, no, I don't want you to see me as your superior. You are your own person, after all. As everyone should be. However... when the question of loyalty comes into play, I must know that you'll stick to one side." His gaze flickered to her a bit accusingly.

"You don't have to worry about me, Zach. I have too much fun blowing things up for you," she said with a smirk, "Plus, you're giving me the opening of a lifetime to make Jet's life a living hell. Can't put a price on that."

Zach chuckled, "True. I wish things could have unfolded differently, I really do... but the Assassins and Templars have destroyed too much for anything to be repaired. You let me worry about Jet. You'll have your fun too, don't worry," He sat back, arms behind his head, thinking deeply about the next move. "Meet with the others in California. I think they could use your expertise there. I'll join shortly when I finish up matters on this coast and organize a few other captains and their soldiers. I think Thomas is at the LA den, too. I knew that'd interest you, at least." Zach said after a few moments.

"So… nobody important or troubling, then?" Veronica asks rhetorically with a grin.

"At least try to take things seriously while you're there, would you? Anything else you need?" Zach sat back on his chair, stretching.

Veronica shook her head. "Nope," she said as she made her way towards the door. She paused as she opened it, turning back to Zach. "It's just me in here, by the way," she said, pointing to her head. And with that, she walked out.

Zach knew a lie when he saw one.