[ A/N:
Hello again! benie here!
It's been a while since I last updated and lately there has been a lot of stuff on my plate... No worries, there will still be updates from time to time, but no guarantee on the standard and quality of writing. haiz. So if you can, or want to, please add reviews on anything to help me out, or just say hi! Short ones, long ones, funny ones, heck, I'll even take flames since I've been away for quite a while! (I'll get some cold water for that burn first hahaha...)
Now, on to the Sequence!
So, this sequence was kinda inspired by Splinter Cell: Blacklist in terms of the storyline but I've changed some if not most of the elements to suit this Xover. (I think...lol) The chapter names are kind of inspired by the general perception of snakes like deception and cunning because it was kind of a passing interest thing... Not much fighting if that's what you were hoping for but there's stealth in this one. I don't know how my mind game thing will eventually work out but I'm sure it's worth a shot.
Timeline for this Sequence starts a very short time after the Fighting Festival arc and ends right before the beginning of the Edolas arc. (Sorry dudes who expected to see Nirvana, I try not to touch pilot characters as much as three consecutive paragraphs.)
I give you: The Gallowstown Conspiracy sequence!
*insert dislaimer* (I do not own Fairy Tail, Assassin Creed, nor it's affiliated content and material. This pure work of fiction bears no ill intention towards persons whose names are in this work of fiction and any harm caused is purely unintentional.)
Read Enjoyably, Review Cons-
Scratch that.
Read Enjoyably!
benie
]
FOURTEEN: The Python's Constriction
"Where are you going, Vergil?" Mirajane's voice called after him as he stood in the doorway of Fairy Tail's guild hall.
"What do you mean?" he asked back in reply as she stood behind him as he faced the cathedral a distance away.
"Are you coming back soon?" her concerned voice pressed him for an answer.
"I do not expect to return anytime soon from wherever that I am going."
This was top secret stuff, Mira knew, but it still did not stop her from being her motherly and caring self especially when this outsider of the guild named Ghost was concerned. Despite the fact that the both of them had relayed their feelings to each other a few days prior, they wanted to keep it a secret, not wanting anyone to know about the pair of them just yet.
Life would still be more or less normal for the barmaid but it was the Assassin that had to compensate for all the trouble that would most likely befall on the two of them.
"Keep in touch," she gently patted him on the shoulder with a whisper. Vergil turned around and looked into her eyes.
"I am sure the communication lacrima at the counter is not bugged and stationary, is it?"
"Huh?" Mira tilted her head to one side in confusion.
Gallowstown
Ghost sat down in his train compartment, trying to piece together the several jigsaw puzzles that lay in front of him in the form of notes and documents. He had his codex open in front of him and he began to make notes and draw mind maps to see if there was any correlation between two topics that were beginning to scratch the surface of the purpose of this routine mission that he was sent in to conduct as a replacement for some other Assassin.
Earlier, he was at Era, home to the headquarters of the Magic Council to collect information about the new military faction that had risen up from the pages of obscurity into a budding defense corporation that was currently being privately funded. The main reason why he went there was because of the kinds of soldiers that went in to enlist; mages of all kinds had sprung up out of nowhere and had begun under the tutelage of some of the country's best war veterans from the past year's Ca-Elum invasion. He was there to find out if the Red Cross Guard were in fact related to the Knights Templar network, claimed by a few rookie Assassins who said they had witnessed an inner working of the organisation in question.
The claims were refuted by many other Assassins as soon as it reached their ears but Ghost decided to investigate for himself, seeing that his first encounter with them was before they became well known to Fiore, in the city of Crocus. It was there that he had dealt the first strike in retaliation for the purge of Assassins from the capital in the form of Kirintio Soncha's assassination. He had brought this up with Lady Bianca and she agreed to let him find his own sources and answers for all the sudden flurry of claims and questions.
Templars here and Red Cross there…the Assassin scribbled into the codex.
Now, which aspects of the two are similar, if not same?
He began listing down as many characteristics of the two individually, before joining the similar traits with a line; a dotted line for connections that he was unsure of.
Here and here, these two are the same… I am not sure about this one though, it could need some more investigation into. And this one-
Light from the window had suddenly been replaced with the darkness of caves before a rhythmic presence of lanterns passed the train window as he went deeper. He began packing his things and notes just as the train showed signs of slowing down, signalling that he was only minutes away from disembarking onto his destination.
Finally placing his codex into his pack, the train pulled out of the cave into a larger underground expanse, revealing a multi-tiered train platform held up by iron poles and frames. The station of Gallowstown city was well lit by the large hole in the cave's ceiling, allowing sunlight to come in and illuminate the train station.
Gallowstown City
-Description
Gallowstown city is a nucleated settlement that is situated in the north western parts of Fiore, a few miles of the western coast and directly facing the North-western Sea. The town has a variety of names: the Jewel in the West and The Oasis in the Desert to name a few. The city's population numbers roughly 2,000,000 inhabitants and various people from all walks of life can often be found wherever one can go around the city.
-Location
The city is located in between the desert and the North Western Sea, about twenty miles in between either. For its strategic value, Gallowstown has often been the envy of enemy and friend alike for the ease of ability in defending it. However, due to the amount of land in between the city and the sea, there is neither port nor immediately readily accessible point for water, forcing Gallowstown to rely mostly on the import of resources from neighbouring towns and cities.
-History
Gallowstown city derives its name from its history for being an infamous fort that used to only conduct hangings for all the criminals who happened to pass through its gates. Its other names were given to it long before the once sprawling town became the infamous fort it was once known for. Given its location, it was previously used as a stopping point for smugglers and countless outlaws sneaking into Fiore from the sea before continuing on to Era, current home of the Magic Council.
During the Dragon Civil War in X391 – X401, it was reconstructed into a fort to supply the humans' effort against the dragons as well as a holding and execution ground for traitors to the survival of humanity. Betrayers were often hung on any available support beam that was visible to the naked eye and the nooses were intentionally left as they were to warn other would be traitors that this would be their punishment should they continue.
Gallowstown was also a heavily contested fort due to its ability to host multiple dragons while being so close to the sea. The city has been sieged roughly forty thousand times since before the Dragon Civil War.
-Trivia
Names of traitors were found on the numerous nooses that decorate the city's museum, indicating that not only did the perpetrator brought shame to himself, but also to his family.
The city's only entrance and exit out of its walls is only accessible by train, due to the randomness of the city's location compared to its neighbour like Dawn City.
The symbol of Gallowstown is none other than the noose.
Gallowstown has been under the rule of at least forty-two different bloodlines since its conception.
The city was once considered to be the capital of all underground dealings in drugs, weapons and human trafficking.
[Last updated: January X784]
Vergil Teivel
He made his way out onto the train platform and stretched his limbs since he had been on the train since early morning, having broken into Magic Council HQ in the late of night and left just before the change of guard shifts at four-thirty in the morning. Ghost yawned without restraint since no one could see his face as he made his way towards the station exit, leading him into Gallowstown city. Once he was out of the exit, the first thing he saw was a statue of a heavily armed man in a pointed hood, a sword brandished in his right hand raised toward the sky. The plaque that was screwed to the pedestal read: Johnathan Teivel, founder of Gallowstown.
Ghost knew that his ancestor would not take kindly to the attention that the Ghost bloodline was receiving in the form of this statue but he would definitely have no say in it; the rulers of Gallowstown had erected this statue up after having deposed the bloodline and when "Ghost" retaliated, they created the statue to "appease the restless spirits".
Vergil tore his eyes away from the statue of his ancestor to view his surroundings and immediately recognised that he was within the outermost wall of Gallowstown, in the poorest district.
Picked a fine time and exit of the station to get reacquainted, I suppose.
He inwardly kicked himself for not remembering the numerous exits that would lead him where he wanted to, initially wanting to head straight to Bianca Mansion to deliver his report and hopefully finish up on his deductions before then.
Right before him were square houses carved out of huge rocks that lined up pretty orderly to have a distinguishable road weave in between them amongst the vast expanse of red sand. Children in tattered clothes were running about playing games with their own peers while their mothers were chatting up, sitting in the shade where the hot sun would not be able to burn their chaffed skin. Street merchants were pulling their own carts and peddling their own handmade goods as the Assassin strolled along the way to the second wall within the city. Vergil could have sworn he saw a typical run-of-the-mill blacksmith successfully swindling some tourists to the area that a poorly designed kitchen knife was more suitable as a weapon rather than a common household item, making him chuckle a little.
Tourists were beginning to be a more common sight in the poor district and Ghost found himself at the reason for all the strange tourist behaviour.
The Blood Marble, Gallowstown's only perfectly round boulder that is the colour of dark red wine. Or blood.
He deftly avoided the tourists by darting into an alley before climbing up onto the stone house up two storeys with his hidden rope dart.
Most of the houses were the same; stone, blocky, at most two storeys and full of poverty. Vergil knew that Lady Bianca had done everything in her power to alleviate poverty by giving them access to fresh water and sanitisation as well as a monthly pension that covered the needs of the families and the dormitories around.
He traversed the rooftops and soon met with the second wall, the White Legionnaire guards stepping aside to let him through into the middle-class district.
It was a drastic change of scenery from the poor district; there were actual roads and buildings that were higher than two storeys made from concrete. Rickshaws, trishaws and the occasional car roamed the streets while local law enforcement were conducting their rounds, patrolling in groups of four. Children were still seen playing about with their ever-watchful mothers keeping an eye out for troublesome behaviour, particularly when they noticed the Assassin/White Legionnaire milling about the shops to get something to eat. Push carts were touting their wares and some were kind enough to let Ghost try some of what they had to offer.
Thanking a kindly old woman for a bun (to which she refused payment but he still insisted anyway), the Assassin continued walking down the street before emerging into a square where there was a little gathering of several families enjoying a hearty meal, the parents chatting over food and drinks while the children were playing games with each other.
"Hey mister!" some of the children noticed Ghost and called him over. When he tried to shy away inconspicuously, they chased after him and asked if he would play with them.
"I-I-" Vergil stuttered.
"Come on!" the young kids pleaded.
"Children! Don't bother the White Legionnaire while he's on duty!"
"I am not on duty!" said Ghost quickly.
"Then play with us!" the children cheered.
"Would your mommies allow me play with you? I do not want to get you into trouble after all," he spoke concernedly.
"Can he? Can he?!" truly, they were little bundles of barely contained energy. Vergil laughed to himself, remembering once that he was just like that, only with real weapons.
"As long as he wants!" one of the mothers cheered the Assassin on.
"YAY!"
"Alright, alright," Ghost patted around him to lower the noise and gain attention. "One or two games before I have to go, okay?" he spoke in a lighter tone than his usual one, adapting to the fact that he was in the presence of children.
"Okay!" the children shouted with glee.
Haha… They truly are barely self-contained bundles of energy.
"What game shall we play?"
"Catch!"
"No! Monkey!"
"Monkey?" Ghost asked. He had never heard of this game before.
"Like catch," one of the older boys explained, "but the monkey has to try and intercept the ball as its being passed around."
"What if the monkey catches it?"
"Last touch becomes the monkey!" several of the children chanted out loud.
"Okay, let us play!"
Before he knew it, he was surrounded by the kids in a circle, confounding him.
"White man's the monkey!" one little girl teased to the invitation of others who joined in. Ghost took all of it in good stride and played along, purposely missing easy interception opportunities and stumbling about as he did so to make the children laugh. He was however, careful not to catch the rubber ball with his left hand, knowing that instant contact would most certainly burst it.
After that game, the children decided on a game of hide-and-seek.
"Mister white man, you're it!"
"Count to ten! No peeking!"
Sigh… if only Mira could see this now…and probably get a good laugh out of it with a camera lacrima in hand.
Ghost counted slowly all the way to ten and began looking around, noticing that there were bobs of hair peeking over garden pots and around pillars where some of the children went to hide behind.
Slowly he began to hunt down the missing children, looking first at the centre of the square before looking and spreading his search outwards. Sometimes he pretended not to see the obvious children darting below his field of vision, or turn around when he knew that some of the kids were taunting them from behind. Eventually, he found all of them and bade farewell as he continued on through the middle-class district to meet the third wall just a long walk fifteen minutes away, deciding to pass up on the rickshaws and trishaws that offered to let the Legionnaire ride free of charge.
He passed a school on the way and saw young children being taught a history lesson about the city's origins and slightly shook his head when Johnathan Teivel was not even mentioned in the slightest of hints.
Nevertheless, he was now passing through the gates of the third wall which separated the middle-class from the rich. Taller buildings began filling the sky and there were more cars than bicycles previously and Ghost saw that the general townsfolk here were well dressed. Here, he saw no children running about; he assumed that they would still be having school or stuck at home completing homework before going out to play in the evenings. Restaurants and convenience stores dotted the wide sidewalks and the occasional hotel could be seen within a couple of blocks from each other. The occasional horse or purple pig drawn cart gradually passed him by on the road with one or two mages in it, most likely accepting a request from one of the owners of the numerous lavish houses. Several landmarks were strewn all over the rich district, some being local police stations, others being community centres and a few others being shopping chains.
Ghost walked through the rich district without batting an eye to the many events that were occurring all around him; he did not care much about the welfare of the rich nor its day to day activities and it bored the living daylights out of him. He weaved through four public parks and gardens, bypassing most of the rich folk and eventually made his way to the last and final wall of Gallowstown that housed the famous city centre – known for its commerce and trade hubs, several business corporations and enterprises as well as the tight hold of security the local police and volunteer watch were keeping within it.
It was after he passed through the lacrima scanner guarding the rich from the business district that he met with the tallest buildings in the city, almost having to crane his neck to see up high. It was the same everywhere else in the district.
His destination was Bianca Mansion and to get there he had to try and remember where the only access point to the mansion was within the city centre. The only way that he was going to remember where to get to was by climbing his way up the tallest buildings and synchronise with the area around him before eventually finding where the mansion's access point was.
Where the eagle makes her nest, high up above the snake's own burrow.
The Assassin looked around for any high vantage point above the skyscrapers and saw that it was difficult to just see which one of these in his immediate vicinity was the highest.
"The snake's own burrow…"
He looked again at the buildings to see what he could find before having to settle with a pharmaceutical company, a bank office and at least three more business firms that he had no clue about.
These buildings would make very good vantage points to secure the city with a very powerful rifle but where is the connection to the snake?
Wait…some medicines are made from the poisons of certain snakes…and medicines are manufactured by pharmaceutical companies. This would mean that the building that should be housing the Bianca mansion entrance somewhere is this one, Ghost looked up at the pharmaceutical company building before walking through its glass doors to get to the roof. He knew that he was going to have to climb the last few hundred metres up to the tip of the building before finding the expected Assassin route into the Bianca mansion.
Once he had reached the pinnacle of the tower, he found a long line from his current position that led all the way down to outside the city, ending within the walls of the Bianca Mansion at a compound just southeast of the city.
He grabbed on to the rope with his left hand and let himself fall, causing his form to travel freely downwards, guided by the zip line toward his destination that was known to him as Assassin HQ. He did not make another thought as he sailed through the air, locking his claws so that he would not fall prematurely before he had reached the mansion. The sand below would have cushioned his fall but there was no way to get into the gateless compound by foot.
Reaching the end of the line, he let go of the rope and fell, landing in a safety roll on green grass and ending in a three point crouch before standing up to view his surroundings.
Silo after silo stood in front of him, standing in a sort of wall surrounding the inside of the compound which he knew was the inevitable Bianca mansion.
Bianca Mansion
Privately owned by the Bianca family for several generations, this beautiful and pristine mansion is one of the key landmarks of Gallowstown city. Built by the Biancas in X523, this lavish castle has been the envy of many royals and battle tacticians.
Comprising of a tall gateless wall surrounding it, the mansion provides ample defense against invaders from all sides of the compound without attracting any form of attention towards a specific point. Beautiful grasslands and forests adorn the land within as well as the Gallowstown city silos being situated in a well-protected corner of the mansion area. Bianca mansion hosts a different variety of natural landmarks as well as numerous terrains in its rather small space compared to the vastness of Gallowstown due to the amount of lacrima magic that it has, stored for wartime emergencies and such.
The mansion is built with the same architectural style as that of Mercurius palace, Crocus, with several changes to the colour scheme. Most of the mansion is white instead of the usual dark and rich, royal formality that Mercurius hosts to all its guests and tenants. It is rustic, yet elegant and it is rated seventh in the Sorcerer magazine's most expensive and lavish homes.
Bianca mansion is a lavish place, both in terms of materialism and in its history. Many art pieces are hung on the walls and the numbers of delicate artefacts that lie in plain sight are the same as its many curious inhabitants, the White Legion. Tunnels lie beneath the mansion, leading out towards the city while there are sub-levels that delve deep into the earth and sand underneath, supposedly for storage of personal trinkets and family heirlooms.
The mansion is also known for housing the most lethal and secretive military faction known to Fiore and all her surrounding neighbours, the White Legion. Known for their near perfect rating in field missions involving reconnaissance, infiltration and recovery, the White Legion is led by the Bianca family and often follow their orders without question. The layout of the underground below the mansion had been built that way, hosting a great military presence without scaring the nearby populace into submission.
[Excerpt taken from Great Cities of Fiore by Mihlon Tannier]
Vergil Teivel
Ghost had walked past the silos and into the main courtyard where he met two White Legionnaires guarding the main door that was wrought with steel. As he trudged up the steps the two guards stopped him in his tracks before speaking a phrase.
"Nothing is true," the two spoke in unison.
"Everything is permitted," Ghost recited the countersign.
"You may enter," said one of them as they stepped aside to let him pass, knocking on the door's steel knocker as he did so.
The doors opened for him to find many other Assassins dressed like him training in the mansion's antechamber, several were climbing, others were sparring and a few were doing both, climbing and sparring at the same time, apparently trying out a new manoeuvre to test survivability during missions. He could not see any master Assassins present overseeing the lesser ranking Assassins during their training and decided to leave them be, remembering that he had a report to submit to Lady Bianca. He made his way into the underground, heading towards his private quarters at the very bottom fourteen floors down.
The rest of the journey down to his quarters was uneventful, except for an interesting event that was happening in the lower level training arenas. The Ghost Assassin had to cross it to get to another staircase leading down, so having a little bit of entertainment would not hurt him at the least.
What he saw in the training arena was one of the Fioran Assassins sparring with another who seemed to be from another country, possibly from Pergrande Kingdom, given the exquisite material of the robes that he was wearing as well as the quality of the armour.
"What is going on?" Ghost neared the commotion as blades clashed above the noisy cheering.
"The Assassins from Pergrande decided to pay us a visit, including their Mentor," the nearest Fioran Assassin replied with glee all over his face. "He suggested that we spar for a bit before heading upstairs to speak with Lady Bianca."
"Is that…" Ghost craned his neck. "Is that Master Assassin Mathu?"
"Yup! Mam seems to be doing well against their mentor. GO MAM!"
MAM. Master Assassin Mathu. You horrible and playful people, Ghost laughed to himself, unseen by anyone.
In an instant, MAM was unceremoniously thrown to the ground by a toss. He picked himself up and admitted defeat, all with a smile on his face and greeted the mentor before he disappeared elsewhere, probably to watch over the group in the mansion's antechamber upstairs.
"Ah, I still have time for another!" the Mentor roared with more good hearted laughter. "How 'bout you, since you seem so interested?"
All eyes turned on Ghost as he gazed intently at the Pergrande Mentor with some interest. He stepped forward into the arena, his steps signalling to the trained eye that he was not just some other Assassin brought up by the Creed. It was apparent that he was different.
"You seem interesting," the Mentor mused, his eyes falling on the prosthetic. He extended a hand out, "Name's Ginorem Univielt, what's yours?"
"I am known as Ghost," said Assassin took his hand and shook it. The both of them stepped back a few paces and raised their fists, keeping in mind that it was only a spar and no weapons were allowed.
"What kind of armour is that?" Mentor Ginorem bounded forward without warning with a left hook that was seen and dodged by Ghost, who tried for a sweep immediately after and was evaded by the Mentor rolling out of the way.
"You're quick," Ginorem commented. "Never had to react that fast before."
The spikes on Ghost's arm flexed dangerously before continuing their little spar. The two circled each other like wolves before the Pergrande Mentor tried for another attack, this time a straight punch to the face.
With lightning reflexes Ghost sidestepped out of the way and delivered a clean punch to the gut, throwing the foreign Assassin off balance and begun preparing himself for another attack, this time trying for an elbow to the back to send the Pergrande Mentor to the dust.
Many of the White Legion cheered as Ghost deftly avoided strike after strike, occasionally blocking here and there, the Ghost Assassin now looking for an opening in his sparring opponent's defences and calculating his options. They circled about each other, before a gong resounded and down came Lady Bianca from the nearest stairwell.
The Fioran Assassins immediately bowed to greet her, as did Ghost, while the Pergrande Assassins did nothing but place a hand over their hearts, following their Mentor's lead.
When Ghost raised his head, he was surprised to see Lady Bianca giving him an oddly mild-mannered quizzical look, to which he shrugged his shoulders in reply. It was then that the foreign Mentor made his way over to her before she could walk over to him to catch the Ghost Assassin in the process of trying to mingle around with her guests.
It was at this time that Ghost made his quiet escape down to his quarters while Lady Dina Bianca attended to her own matters, particularly where there was a fellow Assassin Mentor involved.
Dina Bianca
"Mentor Univielt, I trust your acquaintance with my Assassins have been eventful?" she asked him jovially, her hands fiddling with the folds of her dress.
"Please call me Ginorem," he laughed as he introduced himself, "Dina, I think you're trying to make me feel old are you?" the man joked.
"That depends on how you see it," she smirked," Papa's friend doesn't get the same treatment from his little girl you know," she teased.
Amidst the crowd of Assassins in front of them both Mentors could see that both kinds were mingling around but there was no sign of the earlier Assassin who Ginorem had sparred with.
"To business then?" Ginorem rid Univielt gestured toward the exit.
"To my office, uncle Gin," she replied.
"Uncle?" he gasped at his new name, "You really want to make me feel old now, do you?"
She laughed out loud as they walked up the stairs, accompanied by four Assassins as they headed to her office. They made small talk about their own recruits' successes but once the office door was closed and bolted with a complex lock, the mood became suddenly serious.
"What's this about snakes, uncle Gin?" Dina asked as she sat down in her seat, motioning to an armchair in front of her desk for him to rest for a bit.
"It seems that there is a rogue group of mercenaries from some mages' guild looking to take over Gallowstown and make it their headquarters," the man replied, rubbing his stubble chin as he sat down, pulling down his hood to see the young Mentor easily.
"Templars?"
"I suspected them at first, knowing that Gallowstown was the stronghold of Assassins here but no one I know is foolish enough to come and attack the city since the time of the dragons."
"Where and when did you hear of this?" she pressed, now wanting to know what was in store for her city.
"On the way here from Seven's borders," he replied, "and as we passed through Rose Garden. It was a common topic in the underground circles from what my informants could gather."
"Do you have a name?"
"The Altruists."
Knock knock KNOCK knock KNOCK KNOCK knock KNOCK.
A pause.
"Come in," called Dina, "Guards, you can leave us alone for now."
The door opened to reveal none other than Ghost, a paperback file in his hand and stripped of his weapons except for his personal dagger, his bombs, and the three kunai tied around his right thigh.
"My lady Bianca," the Assassin greeted.
"Ghost," she returned the greeting. "Have a seat."
"Wait," Ginorem turned around in his chair to look at the same Assassin he had been sparring with. "This is Ghost? The man of legend even in Assassin circles? The one who does not die?"
"This is the one and only Ghost I spread the rumours about," she replied to the Pergrande Assassin. "Rumours of which all are true."
She saw the Ghost Assassin just standing there and waiting for something else to happen, although under the mask and hood she knew he was probably fuming for revealing information about him. She had to, otherwise it would cost her the friendship of other Assassins outside of Fiore when the secret of his existence got out.
"I cannot believe that I am able to see such a great Assassin as yourself, friend," Ginorem rasped in admiration.
"I aim to please from the darkest of shadows, Mentor Univielt. I trust you can keep what you have just seen and about to hear a complete secret," she heard his baritone voice calmly talking to her fellow Mentor.
"I will, and I hope that you can teach me some of that fighting that you were doing earlier."
"It is still a work in progress, Mentor," Ghost scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I can show what I know."
"Alright boys, back to business," sighed Dina. "You have something to tell me, Ghost?"
The hooded man placed the file he had been holding onto her desk and began speaking in earnest, his calm demeanour strangely radiating a subtle sense of urgency.
"As you may or may not have known, there was a claim made by a few Assassins roughly a few weeks prior to this report, a claim which said that the newly and mysteriously formed Red Cross military group is a branch of the Templar network here in Fiore. Most of the other Assassins had dismissed them as pure and useless rumour and while these claims were being ridiculed and passed over, I could not help but remember the assassination of Kirintio Soncha in Crocus city. It was there that I had met the Red Cross first hand and encountered the levels of security at which they were capable of."
"You've met them before?" Dina cut in. "You did not mention anything about the Red Cross in that report you gave me."
"I had assumed then that they were just another mercenary faction for hire," Ghost replied, "prompting me to overlook that particular detail. I can go and amend the report if necessary after I finish here."
"That won't be necessary," Mentor Univielt spoke. "Please, continue."
"Armed with that knowledge that I had, I began to investigate on my own," Ghost continued. "I started my search at Era and went through all the registered military organisations before finding more documents in their offices."
"Their offices?" Ginorem interrupted, not quite understanding what the Ghost Assassin meant.
"The Magic Council of Fiore," she explained, before motioning Ghost to continue on.
"The documents proved useful but I was not entirely sure that all points of investigation were covered. I made calls to all known Templars, disguising myself as a fellow Templar to gain more information on the Red Cross as much as possible. It was difficult for I had only found out about their future plans and no known relations whatsoever."
"So that's it?" Dina asked.
"No.
"There was something else that I had discovered while conducting my investigations in Era. It so happened that I found out about an attack that would strike Gallowstown city, when and how I do not know."
"What?!" Dina exclaimed.
"The Templars have already planted agents in Gallowstown to try and bring down the Assassin brotherhood from within and they plan by striking the innocents to draw us out."
"Now I see…" Mentor Univielt spoke. He turned to her saying, "There is a reason he is here instead of writing the report on his assignments. This time, it is to draw attention away from himself and to use the opportunity of handing the report in so that he may speak with you and ask you for your next steps."
Dina turned to look at Ghost, her young eyes, scrutinising him closely for any more hints that he may have placed before coming up empty.
"Are you sure about this?" she asked the Ghost Assassin.
"I would not be here otherwise," said person calmly replied, his demeanour backing up his words with quiet confidence. "I might ask what your next course of action may be, considering that I only found out about this impending attack last night."
"That was what I was going to ask you as well," the Pergrande Mentor agreed. "If you need my help I will be willing to offer it and if your Legionnaires feel overwhelmed, rest assured my Assassins will aid yours."
Dina Bianca was confused now. It was only moments ago that this verbal report turned into a grave warning with only a few words. Ghost certainly had power over that which he could control, although not anything on a whim but everything within his power to the best of his abilities.
It was only by the way that he said it that triggered an emergency response.
"I need teams Xi and Upsilon of Mongoose company to investigate the city-"
"I would strongly advise against that, milady," Ghost interjected. Without waiting for her to ask him to explain, he spoke, "we do not know how many Templars there are outside in the city. The two teams may be overwhelmed or ambushed, allowing out enemies to take our weapons and our robes in disguise. Sudden activity from HQ would certainly pique my curiosity if we were Templars waiting to infiltrate the Assassin ranks."
"You two may leave now, thank you." Dina got up from her seat, rubbing her temple in deep thought. "I need time to think this through carefully if we are going to make it out of this with no casualties."
She looked at their backs as they exited through the door and closed it behind them.
Ginorem Univielt
"What is your plan should Dina's fail?" he asked the Ghost Assassin as he followed the latter down into the underground.
"I know what to do," the Ghost replied softly. "My response is based on my enemy's."
"What happens then, if your counter-attack fails?"
"I read and write in a book."
No doubt confused, Ginorem followed the Ghost down to his private quarters for the young man to take some things before presumably heading out of the mansion. When they were at the bottom most level, the Pergrande waited outside the door for a short period of time, the other Assassin emerging out fully armed with a long rifle on his back and an additional pouch to his three existing ones, probably full of bombs. There was no armour on him other than the left arm and from what he could gather about the Ghost's fighting style, it was either remain unseen or be killed.
"You are heading out, I believe?" Ginorem asked.
"Yes," the Ghost replied. "Those teams that she sends out to investigate will be ambushed and massacred before they can even reach the poor district. Only certain people are trained to think very differently than normal conventional means."
"While you're out there, I suppose staying here and keeping an eye out for any suspicious Assassins would be a good idea," said rid Univielt.
"Just lay low and do not attract attention whatever you do," cautioned the younger man.
"You forget who you're talking to," he slapped Ghost's back with a hearty laugh. "I'm the Mentor of Pergrande kingdom's Assassins, remember?"
"It would not hurt to be a little bit more cautious Mentor, even for a highly trained Assassin such as you," said Ghost as they approached the stairs up before disappearing into the shadows, leaving the Mentor behind on the thirteenth floor underground.
Now left alone to his own devices, Mentor Univielt began roaming around Bianca mansion, his senses on high alert for any sign of enemies lurking about.
Vergil Teivel
He had returned to the walls of Gallowstown by the underground passages leading into the sewers of the city, emerging through one of the many manholes and to find himself in the middle-class district.
The moment he poked his head out of the manhole, he saw a little boy with his mother. The little boy stared at him while his mother continued walking on, holding to his hand.
"Mommy! Look!" the little boy pointed at the Assassin, who took the opportunity to get out slowly due to his not wanting to attract any unwanted attention. He skilfully emerged out the hole and put back its cover before anyone else could look.
"Nonsense! There's no one who would come out of the sewers just to visit here!" the mother dismissed her son's claims and whisked him away to wherever they were heading.
Poor boy, but that was close. I do not want to be attracting attention already while conducting my own investigation.
Ghost began walking around and blending within the crowds to make himself less conspicuous and enabling him to comfortably utilise his Eagle Sense to weed out any possible Templar agents before anything drastic happened.
Crossing the street into the next avenue, he spotted a few men chatting happily here and there and ruled them out as innocent civilians, incapable of the next immediate threat which would be an attack on the city.
An attack on the city… It can only happen on the inside for it to be remotely successful. If there was to be an attack within the city walls, the only way to get into the city would be the train station.
Wait… The train station. I could go there and look for clues before any of Lady Bianca's investigation teams come and mess things up.
He immediately made his way onto the rooftops and ran all the way to the nearest possible train station entrance, using cargo lifts to quickly get up and traversing cables across large streets to get to where he needed to be. He crawled his way up a pipe and pulled himself over the ledge of several landings and scaffoldings before being able to see a hint of the train station entrance in the middle-class district.
Looking around once more to assess the level of danger in the streets, he saw a small church with a high steeple before noting a bell tower that was considerably nearer to the train station but had no viewpoint. Resigned to the fact that he could not always do things the way he expected, he began climbing up the church, synchronising his mind's map with the updated layout of area before leaping down into a haystack and rushing over to the top of the bell tower.
Once he had reached the top, he activated his Eagle Vision and perched himself on one the out jutting beams, his eye trained on the train station entrance, occasionally looking out for suspicious targets.
That was when he felt it, a rumbling tremor that seemed to originate from the underground. The tremor shook the earth and for a brief moment the Assassin was thrown off by nature's force, managing to catch the next lowest landing by the tips of his fingers before frantically puling himself up and readying his blade shortly thereafter.
What in the world was that?
It was not long before he received his answer in the form of panicked civilians running out of the train station with thick black, choking smoke trailing behind them not long after. Several more tremors ensued and it was shaking the train station entrance, causing tiles to drop off and light lacrimas to shatter, enveloping the entrance down in complete darkness.
Without another thought, he leapt off the church roof and ran into the station, his weapons ready and his senses on high alert.
Ghost kept his head low, his body in a crouched positioned as he moved stealthily under the cover of the black fog. Keeping his back against the wall to avoid patrolling enemies, he slowly moved, his feet not making a single sound as he progressed through the stairwell leading into the main concourse area of Gallowstown train station.
"Quickly! The attackers may still be here yet!" the Ghost heard several voices, Assassins no doubt as they rushed past him and onto the train platform.
Damn it! The attackers will flee now and there will be no more opportunity to catch them in the near future! Damn you Dina!
Ghost inwardly cursed and eventually made his way to the concourse area where there was less smoke and the multi-levelled train platforms could clearly be seen.
It was the same frame-like structure that he had alighted from just a few hours earlier but this time several beams were hanging, grotesquely bent and warped from the force of the explosions. Most of the multi-levelled platforms were untouched by the explosions but quite a handful was in complete disarray with panicking civilians and Assassins inbound to rescue and conduct their own investigations.
His eyes followed the rails until they were almost out of the train station only to see that the exits had caved in, the boulders no doubt a result of the earlier explosions that took place. To make matters worse, the rails were split apart, seemingly before they were blasted for good measure.
No more resources from here on out for Gallowstown city until this perpetrator or perpetrators are stopped. This city is in trouble.
He activated his Eagle Vision and began to see that many Assassins had already found their way into the train station and were silently sneaking themselves down to the platforms in a bid to ambush whichever enemy that was still there.
Not a hint of red anywhere…
Deciding against joining his brothers and sisters, Ghost leapt off the banister he had been leaning against and down into a conveniently planted desert bush below him before sneaking out and making his way to one of the blasted rail exits. Once there, his Eagle Vision flared to life and began showing and highlighting points of interest for him to investigate.
He began first by examining the blasted rail up close, noticing the scratches on the metal beams that scarred it and found a few pieces of shrapnel that matched them nearby.
The bombs were created…but there is no remains of the fuse with which it was lighted up, unless the fuse was magically provided. An explosion this big would require a lot of power since the gunpowder residue from the blast is minimal. When does fire have that much destructive capability?
His attention was directed by Eagle Vision to another point of interest, this time being an inconspicuous tunnel entrance just a short walk away.
Hold on… Where did this tunnel entrance come from?
He slowly and cautiously ventured towards the tunnel entrance with his dagger in hand. He began to see tracks in the sand that were left behind by the attackers with Eagle Vision and deduced that the attack was planned to the very second, judging from the distance of one footprint to the next. It was also becoming clearer that there was more than one person who was tasked with activating the bombs from the several tracks that converged into a fork in the tunnel road that led down into the tunnel system carefully guarded by the Assassins.
Damn. They are hiding among us now. This will take more time than I originally thought.
Going deeper into the tunnel, Ghost saw that although the tracks were fresh, there was no point in continuing his pursuit of the attackers, since they would most likely head back to the mansion and try to pin the blame on the next Assassin that arrived after them within the next hour or so.
They have been in Gallowstown for quite a while now… These tracks seem well placed by feet who have taken these tunnels before. I must be careful not to give myself away.
It was then that Ghost decided to head back to the HQ to report his findings, walking out the same way that he came in,
Only to realise that the other Assassins that were at the platforms earlier had found the escape tunnel and were barking orders to one another to give chase and apprehend any person in there.
Damn.
Thinking quickly, Ghost extinguished the torchlights by covering his left hand over the flames and enshrouding himself in darkness. The incoming voices were still far away but he was not taking any chances and began strafing along the tunnel walls until his eagle eye found a rafter beam he could climb onto and let his fellow Assassins pass below him without being noticed. It was a questionable thing that he did, not helping his fellow brothers but this was something that would definitely escalate into chaos if not dealt with properly.
He soon found himself back at the bomb site and saw that several Assassins were posted along the platforms to catch the attackers if any of them decided to escape out through the main entrances which the Ghost Assassin highly doubted.
"Anyone run out of those tunnels yet?" Ghost's ears picked up a little hint of conversation just as he reached the platform, quickly hiding underneath it to avoid detection.
"Not yet," another man replied. "If I knew any better, our enemies may be disguised as one of us, probably wearing a mask so that he wouldn't be easily identified by the time he came back to HQ."
"Good point," the first man replied. "So that means we stop anyone who comes out except those that we know and capture them for information?"
"Seems that way."
Ghost knew then that he was not going to be able to get out of the train station by any conventional means. If he went back through the dark tunnel he realised that even he himself would not be able to make it out safely to Bianca Mansion in one piece or without incident.
There were too many Assassins on guard and Ghost knew that attacking his own kind would not bide well with his superior and began methodically finding loopholes in the defences before exploiting them to their greatest use.
Currently hiding in a bush and using his Eagle Vision to mark out his fellow Assassins, he saw that there was a suitable opening in the form of a vent that led upwards to the higher platforms and immediately took it, darting out of the bush that he was hiding in and creating a distraction for the other Assassins nearby before hoisting himself up into the dark and small passageway before closing the grate behind him to cover his tracks.
That is one level up, two more to go.
Emerging out of the other end of the vent to meet more Assassins patrolling around he quickly ducked his head back inside and began to rely on his ears, tracking the movements of his fellow brothers and sisters in the Creed before emerging out once more and darting straight for the nearest piece of cover, his plan being to flank the entire guard patrol by sneaking his way across the rails before leaping down into a haystack, seeing a route in the cracks of the rocks that he could climb up relatively undetected.
With his back against a crate, his ears picked up footsteps from behind his position and he peered around the corner to see a female Assassin approaching his way. He kept still and silent, continuing to hear the footsteps as they approached closer before moving in the opposite direction around the crate silently and managing to pass the sister Assassin without incident, before having to quickly dart behind another piece of cover, this time a concrete barrier to stay out of the line of sight of two Assassin veterans. He sneaked past the two of them and leapt off the platform and down into a conveniently placed haystack.
"What was that?" came a nearby voice.
Shit.
"Go and investigate, I'll wait here if any of those attackers come from the tunnels."
Ghost could see that this Assassin recruit that had picked up the source of disturbance. The lad drew his long sword and had aimed the very tip at the haystack.
Come closer you alert son-of-a- -
At the last minute, the Ghost Assassin sprang out of the haystack and his left hand pulled the lad closer while the right hand covered the mouth before pulling him into submission back within the thick hay.
"Shh… sleep little one, there was nothing here," Ghost knocked out the recruit.
"Mnngghhh!"
Without mercy, the Ghost Assassin tightened his hold on the poor recruit's neck, forcing a state of unconsciousness on the poor boy.
"I apologise but this is for the greater good," whispered Ghost softly. He let out a whistle to attract the other Assassin who turned instinctively at the sound of the distraction.
"Are you hiding in there? This is not the time to—Mnnngggghhhh!"
"Sorry to you too," Ghost whispered.
He got out and began running up the wall and found a suitable crack in the rock face as a handhold and began climbing up, knowing that there would be no more hindrances to stop him from exiting the train station.
Easily making his way to the top of the rock face unseen and unheard, he looked behind his shoulder and saw the third level platform, guarded by the more experienced Assassins who wielded higher quality weapons and held firearms. The highest threat to him now would be the snipers in the catwalks above the platform if he were to be detected and questioned on the spot.
He would most likely be apprehended, mainly due to the fact that he always worked alone and the Assassins in Gallowstown always worked in teams or in pairs. Only Master Assassins worked alone but that was rarely the case nowadays.
The third level was more difficult to handle; there were frequent patrols that ran in random routes and the snipers were on full alert. To top it all off, there was an Assassin stationed right next to the alarm lacrima switch should any sign of conflict occur.
Ghost ejected backwards and landed safely and soundlessly onto the railway track before getting up and blending with a group of patrolling Assassins by walking up behind them unnoticed, following their seemingly random route. The ruse worked; the snipers had not spotted anything unusual and the other patrols were relatively calm.
The group neared the exit which was blocked by two Assassins. Ghost decided to leave them be and continue on with the group before looking for another way out. He quickly joined a group that was passing by that headed straight for the alarm lacrima switch.
If I disable it, there will be no alarm which will make things easier for me but if the attackers were to pop out and try to escape it will also be easier for them. I cannot have that.
His eyes soon found an opening up and out of the train station but it was a risky one: the vent hatch above the alarm switch, guarded by that one Assassin.
The group made another round pass the alarm switch and Ghost followed them quickly and left the group when he had found a blind corner to distract the alarm switch Assassin with. With a whistle, he managed to attract the Assassin's attention before flanking him stealthily pass him and quickly jumped up into the hatch before anyone else could notice.
He climbed upward as silently as he could before seeing sunlight poking through the vent grate. He punched the vent grate off its bolts and emerged onto the roof to see several columns of smoke, all of them marking the location of the train station entrances through Gallowstown.
A signal… There are traitors within the Brotherhood.
He immediately began to run back to Bianca Mansion to report his findings and it was at the grand doors that he me Mentor Univielt, somewhat looking displeased as he paced about the long porch in frustration and irritation.
"… What's with this girl? Can't she just see that she needs help?" Ghost caught the Pergrande Mentor muttering to himself. "Who's ther—oh, it's you."
Ghost walked to the Mentor quietly before the latter asked in a hushed whisper, "What did you find my friend?"
"Betrayal among us. I do not who and where to start," Ghost rubbed his chin in thought. "How about you?"
"There were a few groups of Assassins that came back just about a half hour after the explosion. I suspect they may have a hand in this. Unfortunately, they left just as soon as they returned and I had no Assassins of my own on hand to go and track them."
"What would your next course of action be?"
"We tell Dina with the quietest confidence before any of this gets worse than it already is," Mentor Univielt replied.
"What if she does not trust our word?"
"She will," Ginorem replied with certainty. "I have known her long enough to know that she will not refuse the truth."
The both of them headed into the mansion, Ghost giving the password at the doors and made their way upstairs before entering through Dina's office door to see that she was currently in the midst of paperwork.
"Dina," Mentor Univielt. "Your Ghost has news of the attack on Gallowstown's only train station."
"You accompanied the investigation teams?" she looked up from her work, seeing that both Assassins in front of her were standing, Mentor Univielt with his arms crossed while Ghost's facemask gazed intently at her direction.
"I went alone just after the explosions occurred. Milady, if I may—"
"You may not," Dina cut in. "I thought I had specifically assigned teams to go and investigate your claims? What were you doing there at the train station?"
"Let him finish Dina. If you don't agree with him at least respect him," Mentor Univielt warned. "Please, continue," he gestured to Ghost.
"There is more than one attacker and they know how we travel around in the underground. Highly accomplished mages attacked the train tracks with bombs and fled through the tunnels. They escaped before I could catch up to them."
"How can you be sure of this? The other Assassins have not returned yet," Dina questioned.
"I saw it with my own eyes milady," Ghost replied, "You have to trust me on this. The evidence will be too late if there are more attacks such as these."
"And until I see some, I will not go on a wild goose chase for an enemy we don't know about. I will not waste resources where they are due and right now it goes to the efforts of those Assassins in the train station trying to figure this attack out."
"I have already told you what I have discovered! Is that not enough?!" Ghost burst out in anger. "You trusted me when I assassinated Kirintio Soncha in Crocus, you asked for my advice when I infiltrated Era, why not now?!"
"I will not be spoken to like this!" Dina yelled at Ghost.
"Enough!" Mentor Univielt placed himself in between the quarrel and it immediately died down.
"Shame on the both of you!" he scolded. "Put your differences aside and talk this through with a calm mind."
"I have, uncle!" Dina whined. "I need evidence before I can act! Without it, my hands are tied!"
At this, Ghost turned tail and stormed out of the room, although wanting to make the loudest stomps that they could hear, he could not, his feet already too used to padding themselves on the ground and producing no sound at all. He roughly pushed the door open as Dina yelled after him in spite, "Bring me some evidence while you're out there! Don't bother coming back without it!"
Ghost's anger was blinding his cognitive processes; he would not be able to do anything productive for the next few hours. Deciding against a sparring session, he opted for a walkabout in the rural district to cool his blood.
His temperament simmered down considerably as he roamed the rural district, watching the terrified citizens running about anxiously to get to their homes for fear of their families' lives. Ghost saw two women and their children scurrying about in the streets to quickly get home and check on their possessions and other family members like their grandparents and infants. His anger changed from being against the indecisiveness of his superior to combating the threat that was assaulting his Brotherhood and his home base.
His senses flared to life as he realised that his anger had found and newfound way to vent itself and automatically marked and highlighted two suspicious men, who were trying to blend in with the crowd by running around aimlessly before one of them checked his watch and signalled to his partner that it was time to go.
The Ghost Assassin instantly picked up hints of conversation and began trailing behind after them, taking to the rooftops to eavesdrop on the two unsuspecting men.
"…what did they say?" Ghost heard one of them ask the other.
"Success. We're supposed to head back half an hour ago but there were some complications that they are willing to overlook."
"Complications? There weren't any while we were here," replied the other in between breaths as they jogged.
"At the attack zone, doofus. It seems that there was one of them White Legionnaires that quickly caught on or knew about the attack before the strike was carried out."
"Did we get him?"
"Apparently not," the former replied. "Otherwise we wouldn't have had to push the attack forward to an earlier date."
"Which means the rest are also pushed up as well?"
"Keep your tongue in control!" the other man smacked his partner across the back of the head. "You never know who's listening!"
"Everyone's running like headless chickens!" the other man replied indignantly. "There's no way anyone can hear over this chaotic din here!"
"You have a point, but still stupid!" the man gave his friend another smack on the back of the head as they continued running through the streets, unaware that they were still being followed closely from the rooftops above. The branch that he was perched on creaked a little under his weight and the Assassin quickly leapt out of view onto an adjacent rooftop and lay prone at its edge to break the line of sight.
"Have we been spotted?"
"Stupid! What are you just standing there for? Run before the announcement is made!"
Announcement?
They were suspicious but Ghost had let them run off, having heard enough and not wanting to compromise the amount of information that he had by trying to interrogate them. He sat up on the roof and took out his codex and began recording whatever that he could remember about the conversation: the attacks, the kind of people most likely to be involved and any other possible leads of investigation that may prove useful to stopping the enemy.
Once he was done, he began to make his way back to Bianca Mansion to analyse and ponder over the agenda of the attacks, not to mention the next specific moment of the next attack, if there were any. His mind returned to the strategic points at which the attackers had used to immobilise the rail network system from Dawn City to the Mining Camps in one swift instant.
Bzz. Bzz.
Ghost pulled out his communication lacrima in a flash to see that his device had been seemingly hacked, showing a silhouette of a figure with a light shining behind him or her and obscuring the face with darkness.
"We have cut off Gallowstown from the rest of the world, and we have the means to raze the city down to the ground without warning." The person stopped for what seemed to Ghost as dramatic effect before continuing on, "We are the Altruists, a secret group of mages and skilled warriors who have defied the odds, even against that of your pathetic Magic Council and still live to tell the tales of how they were sent running back to Era with their tails in between their legs."
Not so secret anymore, since you are announcing it to the whole of Gallowstown…
"We highly doubt that your White Legionnaires have the abilities needed to stop our onslaught should we begin an invasion right now and it would be pointless to try and sack the city for resources so we offer a choice to you, Lady Dina Bianca," the person within the communication lacrima seemed to peer into the camera lacrima lens before taking a deep breath.
"We have one condition: hand over Gallowstown city to the Altruists. If you don't, we will attack once every week until there is nothing left of the city to take by force. Any attempt to resist will be taken as an act of war and will be met with heavy and lethal retaliation. How painful the handover will turn out is completely in your hands, Lady Bianca. Until then, the next attack on Gallowstown commences in 07 days, 00 hours, 00 mins, 00 seconds."
As the figure swirled out of view within the lacrima orb, Ghost saw that the countdown timer had begun and another report below the numbers indicating that "Python" was a success. He returned to his codex and began working hard, his Eagle Vision not sparing him the peace of having repeatedly flaring to life from time to time.