Chapter 9

Hunter x hunter

Despite the little 'incident', Eli's training had continued as usually. Surprisingly, he still showcased the same amount of confidence that he displayed the first day I started training him. I took it easy on him at first, but as the days passed by, I started to get tougher on him, so he didn't get overconfident when he was deployed to the field like me. You could be many things while behind the lines. Cocky can't be one of them, and 'nice' was a close second.

December 6th; we caught wind that our brothers in Russia had managed to launch a counteroffensive and drive Germany from the Moscow suburbs in a chaotic retreat. This news alone was enough to make me smile, since the last I heard from our brothers, Germany and her allies had managed to capture three cities and lay siege to one.

If only I could see the look on those bastard's faces when they saw that their Russian brothers didn't come to help back them up. Hehe, I bet their reactions were priceless.

December 8th; we caught wind that something unthinkable had happened in the states a day ago… From what I heard, the Japanese had staged a surprise attack and practically laid waste to the U.S. Naval Base Pearl Harbor. The attack was apparently so sudden… Not even our brothers from the states could make it their in time to support them. Because of this, the Japanese had unfortunately awoken the sleeping giant and now the America had entered the war.

How fortunate for us that our brothers from the states would be joining us in this new war, despite their sordid past.

December 11th; just as I had predicted, Germany and her Axis allies had declared war on the United States. Hehe, hope Abelard's ready, him and the rest of those roustabouts are in for a hell of a fight.

January 1st, 1942; the war was officially in full swing. Old allies and old enemies at each other's throats once again. And all the while, the brotherhood waged their war against the Templars within the shadows of his damnable conflict. What's more… Since this year had started, things had been… Quiet for me. I've spent a lot of my free time training my cousin as well as building up my platoon of commandos. Thank god I didn't have to train any of them.

May 30th, our brothers had informed us that Britain bombed Köln. Hehe, looks like we've took the fight to Germany's front door for the first time. Eli continues his training a little more under my guidance after I had finished assembling my platoon of commandos, Dzięki bogu, nie muszę ich trenować (Thank god I don't have to train them); Eli is starting to show a lot more confidence, which means I don't have to hold back when the two of us spar. Though it was a slow process, Eli's skills with a blade are quite sharp, if not sharper thanks to his retained knowledge of fencing. His marksmanship is… Well, it's a lot to be desired.

Regardless, he's shown a lot of resiliency during his training whenever he found himself in situations where he would have his moments of hesitation and he continues to show that he isn't afraid to spill the blood of the enemy.

May 31st, I was in my bedroom reading; I told Eli that I would let him take a break from training so that he could rest up, didn't want to wear out the poor boy.

"The Tracer," I thought as I looked at the artifact, "so this thing is designed to seek out other artifacts… No wonder it's so important for us to find the pieces."

I frowned.

"Question is… Where the fuck are the rest?" I thought, "actually the real question is… How many other artifacts are hiding in the world?"

I turned my head as I heard a loud knock at my door.

"Come in," I said.

The door opened.

"Well, well, well, I didn't peg you for a reader," said a voice.

I turned my head again and gasped.

"Hello kiddo," said the assassin.

"Oberon!" I piped.

I jumped off my bed, raced over and jumped into his arms, giving him a big hug.

"Ich habe dich vermisst (I missed you)," I said happily as I looked at him.

"Sag das nicht, du wirst mich dazu bringen zu wollen, dass du nie gegangen bist (Don't say that, you'll make me wish you never left)," he said as he poked my nose.

I blushed and giggled… What? Oberon and I aren't dating or anything, we're just uh… Uh… We're just… IT WAS ONE NIGHT OKAY!? SHUT UP!

"What brings you by I thought you were in Britain helping our brothers with the war effort," I said.

"I was," Oberon when he shut the door, "but unfortunately, Britain's little escapade upset Germany quite a bit."

"And by 'upset' you mean…" I started to say.

"One of my associates in Germany had informed me that the Templars are working on something, something that will 'knock Britain back to the dark ages'," said Oberon.

I felt a sudden chill go up my spine.

"What… What could they be working on?" I asked slowly.

"I don't know, all I know is that this project is supposed to knock Britain out for the rest of the fight," said Oberon, "I tried to bring this to the attention of the assassin leader in Britain, but he said we're too stretched this as it is, what with helping the allies in the Pacific and looking for another piece of that damn Tracer."

"So, in other words, you're the only one investigating what the Templars are cooking up," I asked.

"Actually, that's why I'm here," Oberon said with a smile, "…Ari… I want you to come with me."

"Wait… You mean… You want me to come with you on an investigation mission to find out what the Templars are working on?" I asked.

"That's what I said," he said with a chuckle, "don't worry, I got finished talking with your mentor, he gave me his blessing so long as I bring you home in one piece."

I beamed.

"Ha! I would've said 'yes' whether you asked him first or not," I said, "give me a minute to get geared up and grab my cousin as well."

"Your cousin?" Oberon asked as I went over to my wardrobe.

"Yeah, I've been training my cousin to be an assassin, I figured I would bring him so that way he could earn some battlefield experience," I said as I started to get dressed.

"Oh…" said Oberon.

"That's not going to be a problem… Is it?" I asked with a teasing grin.

"No, no, no… No problem… I just… I was just… No," he said.

I giggled and ran off to go get Eli after I got geared up. After I grabbed Eli, I brought him back and introduced him to Oberon.

"Oberon, this is my cousin Eli," I said, "Eli, this is Oberon Drescher."

"Hey there, kiddo," Oberon said with a smile.

Eli looked down.

"…He's a little shy around company," I said, "so… Where are we going?"

"…Well," said Oberon.

No words… No words could describe what was going through my mind as he stood a top the building in the city we were in… No words came to mind… None. Not even my cousin could find the words to describe what was going through his mind.

"…Oberon," I said slowly, "what in the literal fuck are we doing here in Stettin? Are you aware that Germany is the heart of the AXIS? That this is strictly Templar territory?"

"This is where one of my associates heard what the Templars are working on," said Oberon, "our job tonight is figuring out which one of these bastards is the guy that has the information we need to figure out what the Templars are working on."

"Then I would recommend we stick to the rooftops," I said, "if any of these Hurensöhne (sons of bitches) catch us on the ground, they'll scream faster than we can silence them… And as much as it pains me to say it… We can't afford to kill any citizens."

"Agreed, best we can do is keep the Axis's crosshairs on the allies," said Oberon, "…I say we split up."

"What?" I asked, looking at Oberon like he was crazy.

"Just hear me out, if we split up, we'll be able to double our chances of finding this guy," said Oberon.

"And what happens if we get into trouble?" I asked, putting a hand on my hip.

"I thought you would ask that," said Oberon.

Oberon reached into his coat and pulled out two electronic devices that each had an antenna.

"What is this?" I asked as he handed me one of the devices.

"It's like the radio that the Allies use, except it's a bit on the smaller side," said Oberon, "your friends in Britain made them in hopes of giving each of us a way to communicate with each other out in the field."

I looked at the device in my hand.

"These don't look very… lightweight," I said, "in fact… They feel a bit heavy."

"They're prototypes," said Oberon.

"Oh," I said, "so… How do these things work?"

"Ari?" asked Eli.

"Well, it's kind of tricky," said Oberon, "see first you have to pull the antenna here."

"Ari?" asked Eli.

"And then you need to turn this knob here," said Oberon.

Suddenly, I felt Eli knock me to the ground with a tackle.

"Owwww…" I groaned, "Eli, what was that-"

But I stopped when I saw a bullet hole just a few inches in front of me.

"A bullet hole?" I asked.

I started looking around.

"Where the hell did-"

I stopped instantly when I saw where the bullet came from.

"Snajper (Sniper)!" I exclaimed in fear.

The boys and I scattered as the sniper fired again. I grabbed hold of Eli's hand and kept him close. I wasn't about to let him get killed while out in the field. I would never forgive myself. I saw Oberon run behind an exhaust generator while Eli and I just ran and pressed ourselves to the wall of the roof, in hopes of getting out of the bastard's line of sight.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

Eli gave me a quick nod.

"Zostań tutaj (Stay here)," I said.

I pulled out my Colts and counted to three, before rolling out into the open and jumping to my feet, my sidearms flashed out in front of the sniper and I started squeezing off shots, forcing him to duck for cover. I holstered my guns and started to go for a grenade when I stopped.

"…No," I thought as I moved my hand away.

The sniper rose to his feet and looked over at me. I started to go for my Colts when I stopped. Though it was dark out, the light from the street below gave me just enough light to get a good glimpse of the shooter's face. He was in his mid-20s and had a bit of stubble around his face, he had long dark brown hair and piercing blue eyes. He wore a navy blue armored Templar coat and an officer's; and appeared to have a weapon clipped to his hip.

I let out a surprised gasp when I saw who it was.

"Damien!" I yelled.

The shooter jumped back in shock, then he ran off into the night. I holstered my guns and gave chase. The last thing I could hear, was the sound of Eli calling my name.

"Get back here you son of a bitch!" I roared.

But Damien kept running, not even stopping to look back at me. He might've been fast, but I doubt he could be able to keep his distance from me, that I knew for sure.

"Where are you running Damien!?" I demanded, "don't tell me you're afraid to fight a girl!"

This time, Damien glanced back at me before jumping onto the next roof. I jumped right after him, rolling across the next rooftop, jumped to my feet and continued the chase.

"Hang back, and make this easier on both of us, pal!" I called out.

Damien stopped for a moment. I smiled, thinking I had him, but he jumped again. I made my way over to the edge of the roof I was on and saw that he landed on a fire escape. Damien looked up at me before he… Broke open a window and climbed into the building!

"You've got to be kidding me," I thought.

I jumped and grabbed onto the railing of the fire escape before climbing in after him. I looked around and saw that I was in someone's bedroom, I turned and saw a young German girl shivering when she saw me.

"Ich suche einen Mann, einen französischen Soldaten in deutscher Kleidung, wo ist er (I'm looking for a man, a French soldier wearing German attire, where is he)?" I asked.

She pointed to her bedroom door. I started to run out when I saw a man coming down the hallway. He had a shotgun. Shit… Guess this guy was the girl's father.

"Sie! Attentäter (You! Assassin)!" he barked as he started running towards me.

I gritted my teeth and charged. The man pulled the trigger, but I kicked the shotgun up towards the ceiling as he pulled the trigger, before delivering a palm strike to his chest and roundhouse kicking him in the side of the head, knocking him into the wall and causing him to fall to the ground unconscious. The German girl screamed in fear. Damn… I think she thought I killed her dad.

"Er wird leben (He'll live)," I said as I continued the chase.

I charged out of the apartment and looked around. I was in the hallway. I started to activate my Eagle Vision when I heard gunfire coming from my left. I ducked and ran back into the apartment, I unslung my Springfield and started firing off shots of my own, forcing Damien to make a run for it again. I slung up my Springfield and gave chase once again.

"You're certainly living up to your people's standards!" I mocked as I came sliding down the stair railing.

I saw Damien running through the street this time, moving past car after car as they came flying down the road. I gritted my teeth again and followed suit. I don't know what happened afterwards, only that I somehow managed to end up on the other side of the street and still hot on Damien's heels.

"Don't make me break your kneecaps when I catch you Damien!" I threatened.

But he didn't listen, instead he just turned and ran into another building… A pub. I groaned.

"Are you kidding me?" I thought with a shake of my head.

I went into the building-

"DUCK!"

I ducked down as I heard a gunshot; before I knew it, I charged back out of the pub as Damien kept firing off shots at me. I looked around the corner and saw him taking off towards the kitchen. I growled.

"This limp-dicked, French fuck is really starting to piss me off," I thought angrily.

I charged back into the pub, only to be met with chaos as people were screaming and running around after hearing Damien fire on me. I growled and walked out of the pub and instead, I went around to the side, where I saw him heading down an alley.

"Damien!" I roared as I chased him down again.

This time, I pulled out my Colts again and started firing on him. Damien ducked and ran behind cover, where he pulled out his rifle and started taking potshots at me. I ducked around the corner and quickly reloaded before jumping out behind cover. I gasped when I saw Damien climb over the fence at the end of the alley and kept running.

"I'm literally going to kill him," I huffed as I holstered my weapons and kept running.

The chase went on for… God knows how long, until I saw where he was heading. I didn't know what made him want to lead me to the water… But I wasn't about to find out. I pulled out my main hand Colt one last time.

"Stand traitor!" I barked as I stopped and raised my weapon.

This time, Damien came to a stop, right in front of a parked car. He turned around and looked at me.

"...Silver Blade," he said, "I would rather die by your hands than let the assassins lead me to slaughter."

I frowned and took a step forward, not lowering my weapon.

"Who has taught you these lies?" I asked.

As if on cue, the door to the car opened and someone stepped out. A Templar. A high-ranking Templar. A Templar... That I recognized during the Battle of Britain.

"Bruno Eberhart?" I asked.

The Templar Field Marshall turned his head, taking a puff from his cigar as he made his way towards the other side of the car.

"Hello child," he said, "you look well. I heard you've made quite a name for yourself from your most recent feats."

"Well… I'm not one to boast about my feats… Unlike you Templar dogs," I said.

"Oh? Well, aren't we the humble type," said Bruno.

"Ask the Field Marshall about the artifact, how the assassins would sacrifice us all for nothing," Damien said firmly.

"What the hell are you talking about?" I asked, "what do you mean the assassins would 'sacrifice' us all for nothing?"

"I'm glad you asked that because I wanted to take this time to explain what he's trying to say," said Bruno.

In a flash, Bruno pulled something out of his coat. It was a Mauser C96!

"Fuck," I thought.

I soon took off running for cover Bruno started firing off a few rounds my way. When the shooting stopped, I looked out from around the corner and saw Bruno holster his weapon.

"The meeting is over Damien… Let's go," he said.

Bruno climbed into the car. Damien stepped forward.

"The assassins are blind, hypocritical bastards Silver Blade!" he barked, "but I… will make them see."

I heard him snap his fingers, I popped my head up and out of the car came a small squad of...

"Oh, fuck me... I hate hunters," I thought.

"Vous avez vos ordres ... Ramenez-la en vie si possible. Morte si necessaire," he said.

Damien climbed into the car and the vehicle drove off. I looked at the five hunters before me and let out a heavy sigh.

"Come quietly, Silverblade!" barked the first hunter.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline!" I barked back.

"Then we're afraid you won't be coming back a prisoner!" the first hunter back, "...prends-la."

Now I don't speak French… Or understand it… But judging by the way these guys were coming at me… I knew that shit was about to get messy. I holstered my Colt and drew my Karabela.

"Et c'est parti (Here we go)," I murmured.

Author's note: Pretty funny title right? Since they're both hunters of their respective factions...? Okay I'll stop...