CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT:

It Has Begun

"Em?" Tanner said, that smile still on his face. "You okay? You look like you've just seen a ghost."

I blinked a few times, trying to make sense of everything. "H-Hey Tanner, I didn't expect to see you." My eyes darted to his right arm, easily spotting the blade that rested beneath the sleeve. Abstergo really needs to stop copying the Assassin's…

He shrugged helplessly. "Well, I tried calling your cell, but it must be turned off." I reached into my jacket pocket, removed my phone, and checked to see if it was turned off. It wasn't. I brought my eyes back up to Tanner, whose eyes were lit with humor. Okay, does he want to kill me? "Or is it on silent… again?"

"It's on silent," I muttered, slightly embarrassed. Mental note, change phone number effective immediately. "How was California? Casey said that you ran into a girl that almost looks like me—?" I bit on my tongue so hard I tasted blood. Oh great move, Emma, I muttered mentally to myself. "Looks like you got a tan while you were at it.," I added, trying to pathetically change the subject.

Tanner chuckled. "Yeah, I was in math when she stumbled in. I thought she was you for a moment, but, yeah…" he trailed off, running his hand through his hair once or twice. "How're things going? I mean, you've been through a lot recently." He extended his arms out in front of him. "I guess I did get a tan after all. I thought I was part albino or something."

I laughed at the last part of his statement. "Well, I'm glad you're back." I'm so dead. "I'm okay," I answered my ex-friend's question. "I take it day by day." I pretended that he wasn't talking about Casey and that he was talking about my dad's passing.

"That's the best way to do it," Tanner replied. We stood there in an awkward silence for a moment before he cleared his throat again. "Did you hear the news?" he asked. Here it comes. I started finding possible escape routes that I could take if Tanner decided to attack me. However, the chances of him attacking me while in a crowded mall were slim-to-none.

"What news?" I asked, playing dumb.

Tanner opened his mouth to answer my question when his pocket went off. He reached for his phone, glancing at the number. "Sorry, Em. I gotta take this." His finger hovered over the "answer" button, waiting for me to say something.

"No problem," I smiled.

When Tanner turned his back to take the call, I slid back into the crowd, making my way to Casey. When I was at a safe distance (which was on the other side of the mall) I quickly dialed her number.

"Emma! Are you okay?!" Casey nearly shouted. "Don't worry, I'm in the car."

I took a shaky breath. "I-I'm fine," I said as I pushed past a woman who couldn't stop admiring a diamond necklace in the jewelry display window. "I wasn't expecting him to confront me so soon."

"What did he say?!"

"He didn't say anything about you—I think he was gonna say something, but his phone went off and I took that as my chance—."

"Emma?!" Casey nearly shouted into my phone. I turned it off as I saw Sam walking around, trying to probably find me. Oh great, first Tanner now Sam, I really hate the mall now. Sighing, I found a large group of people gathered around something, pulling myself deep into the crowd, Sam and Tyler passed by without a second glance.

"Keep it," I hissed when she passed my hiding spot. She stopped dead in her tracks. I moved to a new crowd. She heard that, dammit!

"Sam?" Tyler said.

Sam narrowed her eyes at where I was standing a few moments ago. "Thought I heard something," she muttered. "Em must've gone home. Shoot."

Tyler shrugged. "The note did say it was to help us."

"But the amount she gave us is too much, Tyler," Sam replied. "Especially after she bought you that toy gun."

"We can use it for groceries then."

Sam laughed. "Tyler, we could buy the entire store with this money!" Tyler shrugged.

I rolled my eyes. I remained hidden as Sam and Tyler continued to walk through the plaza area that I was in. I quickly sent a text to Casey:

"Hiding from Sam, I'll explain later." Hitting send, I stayed hidden within the crowd; only to nearly have a heart-attack when I spotted Tanner walking through the area.

"I lost sight of her!" he growled into his phone. "No, this won't be a problem."

I heard static on the other end of that call. Whoever Tanner was talking to, they seemed angry. Perhaps his father and mother, I assumed.

Suddenly, my mind flew to Sam and Tyler. Did Tanner see me with them? Are they going to be taken?! Scanning the crowd quickly, I was relieved to see that Sam and Tyler had taken off.

"About time," I grumbled, pulling my hood over my head. Blinking, the world warped into Eagle Vision and I saw Tanner still searching for me; while I spotted Sam walking towards the other exit; holding Tyler's hand. Why is she so bright—wait…why is she blue?!

It wasn't easy getting out of the mall with the knowledge that Tanner could possibly be following me. But I managed to get back to Casey, who was in the car, her face hidden. I rapped on the glass twice, startling her briefly until she unlocked the passenger side door for me.

"God, Emma!" Casey reached over and hugged me. "What the heck?!"

I shuddered, rubbing my hands together then placing them in front of the heater. "I'd like to know the same thing." I crossed my arms after a short moment.

Casey dropped me off at my place about an hour-and-a-half later. The roads were clogged with traffic and needless to say, my infamous sailor's mouth kicked in along with Casey's. Heather did say that we possibly descended from a couple of pirates…

"There you go, Em." Casey parked in my driveway. "Do we have patrols tonight?"

I shook my head. "With the runts out of school, we don't have to."

"'Runts'?"

I smirked. "The younger Assassins. But if we get a mission, I'll call you, all right?" Casey nodded. "Dress warm if we do go out. Doubt we will, but you never know."

"Thanks for the tip—thanks for the jacket by the way. I never got a chance to thank you." She fished in her purse before handing me a credit card. "Tell Erik 'thanks'. He loaned me his card."

"How did you get his card to begin with?" I asked.

Casey shrugged. "He gave it to me before I left the other day."

I grinned. "Heather's gonna wonder why her son bought underwear and bras at Victoria's Secret." I crossed my arms.

"She's also gonna wonder why you took out three hundred dollars for no apparent reason." I smiled. I'd told Casey about Sam and Tyler; adding the bit about buying Tyler that toy gun and giving Sam the three hundred dollars.

"She'll understand, it's not like I took out five-hundred—I was tempted to, really I was—but I decided against it," I muttered. "I don't know where my family is getting this money, seeing as how the Order was nearly wiped out eleven years ago, but, my dad told me to never question it."

Casey smiled. "Your dad's a smart man."

"Got that right." I shook my head. "Before I go, do you have a thing for my cousin?"

My words had the desired effect because Casey froze for a moment. "Um...er..." she stammered.

"I mean, it's okay if you do. I think he likes you to. What guy would loan a girl his credit card to buy stuff from Victoria's Secret? If Derek found out that Erik loaned you his card..." I smiled, envisioning several scenarios in my mind. Most of which would end up with Derek and I mocking Erik for the rest of his life.

Casey placed a hand over my mouth. "Please keep this between Erik, you, and I. Please!"

I pushed her hand away. "All right, all right. I promise."

"You better," she muttered.

_/-\_

Sunday, the worst day of the week. Mostly because I had school tomorrow and Tanner would be in attendance. But on the plus side: short week for Thanksgiving. I spent Saturday at home, training Casey with some hand-to-hand combat, along with a few lessons in blade-to-hand combat. Her free-running is up to par, but nowhere near master level. It'll take time, I reminded myself.

I was busy finishing up some math homework (while watching a documentary on King Tutankhamen) when the phone went off.

"Emma! Can you get that?!" Heather shouted from the basement. "I'm in the middle of something!"

I paused for a moment, hearing the sounds of tires squealing downstairs. "Geez mom, you're a worse driver in the virtual world than you are in the real world!" I heard Erik groan.

"I'm not as bad as your cousins!"

"WE HEARD THAT!" Derek and I shouted at the same time. The phone rang again.

"Emma, can you get that?!" Heather repeated.

I swiftly got to my feet and answered the phone. "Got it!" I shouted around the house so Derek didn't answer. "Hello?" I said into the phone.

"Emma! It's Simon, I need some information on a file that your dad had." I heard typing on the other end.

I got up from the couch and strode up the steps to my dad's old office. "What's the file?" I asked, grabbing the spare key he hid beneath his desk.

"Uh…we need the file that dates back to the late nineties/early two-thousands."

I rolled my eyes, walking to the file cabinet that dated between the nineties and two-thousands. "Can you narrow it down for me? Like a name or something?"

"Sorry, Em. We're updating the files to the computers and Stephan has a file that he'd kept under lock and key for a long time. He didn't give us a name or anything. Just the time-frame that the mission happened in.

"Probably had good reason to." I opened the drawer and groaned. "Come on, dad!" There were at least a hundred files in this drawer, almost all of them were between the year I was born and 2008.

I held the phone between my ear and my shoulder as I rifled through the drawer. Only to frown when my hand clasped around something small and sharp. Carefully, I pulled the shard out and examined it closely. It didn't seem too remarkable. Sure, it had some strange markings on it, but other than that, nothing really was of interest so I set it on the end table near the window.

A warm sensation moved from my fingers, up my arm, and concentrated in my shoulder a few moments later. What the fuck? Shrugging, I kept searching for what Simon asked for, when I suddenly felt sick. A bead of sweat trickled from my face as my vision began to darken. What the hell is wrong with me? I wondered. Shaking my head, I continued to search for the file until I found the right one.

"Found it, Simon, what do you need to know?" I flipped through the file to see initials. S. A. W? I examined the file closely and found what I was looking for. "You're requesting the file on Number Four? William's been adamant about her 'death'."

"I know, Em. But like you, I know she's not dead." Simon took a breath. "I just need a few missions."

I flipped through the file a few times. "Geez, how many did she go on?!" Simon chuckled into the phone. "No picture…no name…" I frowned. "She's like the freaking Shadow-Step or something!"

"Focus Emma. I need a mission she went on back in 2000, do you have it?" I pulled the file out.

"Got it," I replied. "What do you need from it?"

Simon asked for the information and I readily gave it to him. "Thanks Em, see you around—did Heather tell you the results of that green cloth you found?"

"No," I said, shaking my head. My vision darkening again. "I'd like to know, since the damned thing gave me a headache to end all headaches!"

"Well, Veronica figured it out. A prep school in Queens. That's all we got from it."

I pursed my lips. "No DNA?"

"Nope, it was mostly gasoline and your DNA on there."

I sighed. "Thanks Simon," I said.

"Anytime, I gotta go." Before I could say 'good-bye', Simon hung up so the beeping noise was the only thing I was hearing. I organized the file again and put it back into place, locking it in the drawer. That shard I found was still sitting on the table so I picked it up.

"What are you…?" I wondered aloud, turning the shard in my hand. Strange symbols began to appear in my vision. Symbols that I never saw before.

My vision violently darkened, but cleared quickly. "This is too freaky," I grumbled. I put the shard on my dad's desk and made to leave the room, stopping when I gripped the door-frame tightly, the area around me spinning and warping so bad that I thought I was going to be sick. "H—!" My voice faltered as my vision blurred; only to focus a few moments later.

What the hell? What's going on?! I was standing behind a woman; she was wearing white, a bracer on her left arm. She was immersed in something. Walking over, the woman's face was concealed in shadow. Her clothes were different, but there wasn't anyway for me to describe them. I made to move her hood, only to have my hand go through empty air. This is too strange...

"Hello?" I said to the woman. She kept writing as if she couldn't hear me. My eyes watched her as she wrote. Arabic? I made to touch the woman again, but the scene changed. I was in Syria—no England?—whatever was happening, I was seeing different places and it was giving me a migraine.

The images stopped, only to play out a scene where a man dressed in Assassin white was hunched over a girl. The man was holding something, a sphere that was glowing brightly, and within moments, I was blinded by a golden light.

Finally, what seemed like ages, the visions stopped. Releasing the door-frame, I blinked. I'm home, that's all that matters. Rubbing my eyes for a moment, it felt like there was a presence in my mind now.

"It has begun."

I blinked again. Where the hell did that come from?!

"Emma," Heather said as I walked downstairs, rubbing my forehead slightly. I thought the headaches my Eagle Vision gave me were bad; this headache was literally hammering my brain apart and I had no idea how I got it. "You and Casey have a mission tonight."

"What is it?" I muttered. Damn, and I was enjoying my three day vacation from work.

Heather handed me the note she made when Shaun or William himself called while I was upstairs. "There's some Templar activity in this train yard. Bill doesn't like it."

"The old man doesn't like anything." A smirk appeared on Heather's face. "But all right, I'll give Casey a call and let her know that I'll be picking her up." I read the note for a moment, making sure I remembered the address.

"Emma, are you feeling okay?" Derek said, jogging over to me and placing a hand on my shoulder. I didn't even realize he was home. I thought he had the afternoon patrols today. "You look paler than usual."

I tensed at the touch, biting my lip in preparation for the pain, but none came—none came?! Ripping myself from Derek's touch, I darted up the steps to the bathroom as I removed my shirt. I stopped in front of the bathroom mirror, my right hand gently tracing the place that the scar had been.

A warm sensation moved from my fingers, up my arm, and concentrated in my shoulder.

"We built you in our own image."

"What the hell?!" I applied different pressure to my shoulder and it felt normal. No pain, nothing. "What could've done this?" Where the hell is that voice coming from?!

Heather appeared in the doorway, holding my discarded shirt. "Derek thought that it'd be wise if I came and returned this to you."

I took the shirt, placing it on the counter. "It's healed." I ignored the statement about my brother.

Heather's brow furrowed. "Excuse me?"

"My shoulder! It-It's healed! Look!" I placed her hand on my once bad shoulder. "Squeeze it." Heather did as told, her eyes widening when she realized I wasn't cursing in pain or holding back a scream of pain.

"What could've done this?" Heather asked; removing her hand as I replaced my shirt to my being. "You didn't go to the doctor did you—?"

I frowned. "I haven't gone anywhere near the doctor!"

"Then what did you do?" Heather prompted.

I shrugged. "I was rifling through my dad's old documents, looking for a file that Simon had called about when I found this strange shard. It didn't look important so I ignored it until…"

"Until what?" Heather said tersely.

I shrugged again. "I saw a brief image of a woman with really dark brown hair dressed in white—I assume an Assassin?—writing something down. Then the image changed from that to Syria, England, and other places that I couldn't name." I bit my lip. "Then I heard this strange voice."

Heather stared at me for a moment; a sliver of fear ran through her eyes. "Emma, do you realize what you touched?"

I shook my head. "I'd like to know." I would also like to know "what has begun" and what that strange voice is!

Heather stared into my eyes, the seriousness in them made me cringe. "Emma, you touched a Piece of Eden."