Welcome one and all to the remastered version of Shadow of the Order, renamed Rise of the Templars. I wasn't satisfied with the original version, so I opted to scrap it and start over from scratch. Like before, it'll mainly feature characters from the Pokémon fangames, as well as several characters from the Divine Conspiracy fanfiction I wrote. However, it will have a completely different plot than before, one that is more in line with Assassin's Creed. This fic itself won't be a masterpiece or anything, but if you're looking to read something that has intense action sequences, shadowy organisations filled with comically evil villains, and even a lemon or two, than you'll be in the right place! So with that said, I hope you all enjoy this story more than you did the other one.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this fic. They're the property of their respective creators.
Prologue: Welcome to Tokyo!
Gearen City: Aevium
It was a quiet day in the bustling city of Gearen, well over a year following the Second Holy War, as the media have dubbed it. The Second Holy War was a most brutal campaign, where the remnants of Japan fought against the Divine Powers and their treacherous allies for the future of humanity. And though it seemed like a neck-and-neck battle at the beginning, humanity was able to persevere against their oppressors and defeat the vicious deities once and for all. Following the war, the people of Japan had begun the slow process of rebuilding their nation back to it's former glory, motivated by the outstanding courage shown by Starlight Studios and their allies.
Speaking of which, the Angels of Aevium spent the last few months regaling the populace with tales of their war efforts, reassuring them that an organisation like the Divine Powers would never be a problem to humanity again. Inside the lobby of the illustrious Gearen Laboratory, Melia and Venam were calmly sipping some hot chocolate that the latter had made, awaiting the rest of their group to arrive for their morning briefing.
"I hope they haven't started slacking off just because the war's over; there's still a few loose ends we have yet to deal with." A small sigh escaped from Melia's mouth, resting her mug on the table before her. Her new outfit consisted of a black pinafore pleated skirt with a white button up shirt underneath whose sleeves reached just above her elbows. She also wore a pair of black stockings that were topped off with a pair of black loafers. Additionally, her long blonde hair was now done up into a single ponytail.
"Don't worry, my love. I made sure that all of them will be waking up early, lest they buy me dinner for the next two months." Venam chuckled lightly to herself. Her new outfit consisted of a red plaid jacket over a black and white button up t-shirt, a pair of black jeans and was topped off with a pair of black boots. And right on cue, the automatic doors opened wide as the duo saw their Interceptor/occasional lover deliver their sluggish allies to the table.
"There you go! It took a while but I brought the gang here!" Julius chimed in, a few of his allies shooting annoyed glances at him.
"It's nice that you're up and ready, but did you really have to drag us out of bed? Literally in some cases?" Amber asked him in a slightly irritated tone, rubbing her tired eyes momentarily.
"I apologize for dragging you all out of bed, but it was either that or get stuck with a massive bill for two months. And I'm not exactly strapped for cash at the moment." The young teen replied sheepishly.
"Well I could set you up with a temporary loan; wouldn't be that big an issue for me. As for how you could pay me back, I have a few…interesting ideas in mind." Saki shot a smirk at him, lightly slugging his shoulder.
"It hasn't even been an hour since she woke up, and already she's looking for some action…" Erin mused to herself, turning her head to face Melia. "So what have you dragged us here for, sis?"
"I just got word from Ame that she and all the others are planning a reunion party in Tokyo, at our former gaming studio. Who knows, we might be able to get back to work in the hopes of releasing our games." The blonde informed them.
"Really?! Oh wow, that's amazing! Been so long since we had a good party; will Astolfo and his pals be there?" Nim inquired, eager to get down and party.
"Most likely; they were valuable allies and friends in our war against the Divine Powers. Besides, it wouldn't be the same without them; they're some of the most upbeat and positive people I know." Venam replied casually.
"Thankfully we won't have to hear Astolfo go on about Krishna being an incel or whatever. Mind you, I expect him to bring it up once or twice but no more than that." Crescent chimed in, a small sigh escaping from her mouth. "Then again, it isn't all fun and games. Those losers in the Cult of Kosmos are still running rampant all over the place. Once this party's over, I hope that the next time we encounter them will be our last, because there's only so many times you can fight faceless rapists before it gets boring."
"Just think of them as training dummies; they're ineffectual in combat and serve as a means to hone our skills against actual opponents." Aelita suggested, only to go deep in thought for a moment. "Then again, who else could we be fighting against? Tressa and her group were killed by Tayama during his coup, only for Aurora to kill him later."
"That's the thing, I do not think she's dead, not one bit." Julius chimed in, causing a few people present to raise an eyebrow in intrigue.
"You've mentioned this to me in private before, but never gave an explanation as to why you think that way." Ren stated casually to his best friend.
"My apologies, I'll tell you all my stance on her right now. I think she set up her death in order to disband the Divine Conspiracy. She wasn't satisfied with how little progress had been made in the grand scheme of things, so she decided to start over, using Tayama's greed as the perfect scapegoat." The young teen explained, causing the others to murmur amongst themselves.
"That does sound like something she would do."
"I don't know; we would've heard something about her following the war's conclusion, but so far she hasn't even popped up as a missing person."
"Not to mention that all her followers disappeared as well. It's one thing if a single person went missing without a trace, but several dozen at the same time?"
"Furthermore, where would she be hiding anyway? There's been no mention of an anonymous buyer purchasing some tropical island to retire to, nor has there been any suspicious reports of a business buying out another business. If she did manage to disappear without a trace, then she did a damn good job of covering her tracks."
"Settle down everyone, I'm sure we can figure out this problem soon enough." Melia called out to the others to calm down, the blonde turning to face her loyal ally. "If you really think that Tressa is out there somewhere, then do you have an idea on where she could be?"
"Well…this may come across as a bit of a conspiracy, but I think she's controlling all the worlds major corporations from the shadows alongside her allies. After all, there was that incident at Blakeory Corp. that caught me off-guard. Poor Saki got robbed of the job she had earned." Julius offered a suggestion.
"Ugh, tell me about it. I worked so hard to become CEO of the company, only for it to get taken from me by that bastard stepbrother of mine. I have no idea how Thomas managed to convince the board of directors to support him over me, but I have a feeling they were paid off by some of Tressa's dirty money. She wants him in charge so that she can control the corporation from the shadows, but I highly doubt he'd be willing to take orders from a woman, much less someone younger than him." Saki vented, taking a seat beside the young man. "Knowing him, he'll probably lose the job after a month or so of running the company into financial bankruptcy."
"It's not just Thomas we have to deal with; it's those accursed traitors. They're the only members of Tressa's little cabal that have shown up on the radar. Perhaps we can form a plan with our allies to deal with them once we arrive at Tokyo." Amber suggested.
"I was hoping you'd say that; if all goes well, we'll finally be rid of that slimy bastard Geara and his arrogant sidekick Fern. I never thought those two would become the best of friends, but I guess anything could happen these days." Erin commented.
"Our flight to Tokyo will take off in over 90 minutes; the rest of our allies have already arrived at Starlight Studios from what Ame told me. I suggest that you all spend the next twenty minutes getting ready for the trip." Melia told the others, who all gave her a quick nod of confirmation as they all went their separate ways.
Starlight Studios: Tokyo: 2 and a ½ hours later
Having arrived at their destination, the Angels of Aevium were greeted at the front entrance by Ame, the older woman shooting a smile at the group. She opted to wear her usual outfit, which perfectly suited her tall and slender figure. "Welcome back, everyone! It's so good to see you all again after so long!" Ame smiled at the group.
"It's good to see you as well, Ame. I take it that you've all been well these last few months?" Melia greeted her trusted co-worker, the duo shaking each other's hands firmly.
"It's been exhausting; what with the development team making up for the time we lost during the Second Holy War. Thankfully, Astolfo and his friends were more than willing to offer us a hand with bug-fixing and the like. I didn't expect them to know all that much about game development, but considering how much they've played our games, they should be able to find any bugs with relative ease." The white-haired woman replied, gesturing her friends to follow her inside the lavish building, the group soon arriving at the main courtyard where the rest of their friends were having a small party in order to recharge their batteries.
"-And then I decked him out!" Astolfo spoke boldly to the crowd, no doubt recalling his victory over Krishna. "That pathetic incel cried about how women and minorities were ruining his hobby, but it was just the worthless bellows of some misogynistic Neo-Nazi who seethes at the thought of the fangames. But all his whining did was hand me the final victory."
"Heehee, you forgot the part about my daddy revealing his trump card!" Anna giggled lightly. "That was my favorite part."
"Now, now. I'm sure Astolfo has a very good reason for lionizing his contribution to the war. After all, it's a common trait in egotists to over-exaggerate their achievements." Connor mused, the Angels shooting him a quick glance. Like with Ren, Connor was another ally who they thought was a traitor, but was actually a member of the Cult of Kosmos masquerading as him.
"Like you're one to talk about someone else's ego!" Ava chimed in, lightly slugging him on the arm. She was a pretty young lady, with her green hair done up into two pigtails on either side of her head, as well as matching green eyes. Her outfit consisted of a green jacket and skirt, with a black long-sleeved undershirt and black pants, topped off by a pair of green boots. The fact that she looked quite similar to Charlotte from Reborn had caught a few people off-guard, leading them to ponder whether she was a relative of the family or not.
"Ah, let him have his fun. After all, his testimony played a part in that major arrest that shook the world." Micaiah chimed in, having just noticed Melia and the others making their way to them. "It's a pleasure to see you all again, most illustrious Angels!"
"Likewise, Micaiah! But what's this about an arrest?" Venam inquired.
"Seems you haven't heard about it yet. Long story short, the Japanese Police were able to arrest several members of the Divine Conspiracy, including a few of the traitors as well. It was a major news story for the last couple weeks and a few of us even provided our testimony as evidence." The Silver-Haired Maiden told her allies. "From what I heard, the prosecutor in charge of the case was promoted to the highest position in the Japanese Judicial branch, and considering all the hard work she put in, she deserved that promotion."
"The people who were arrested...was Tressa one of them?" Aelita inquired.
"No unfortunately, nor were we able to capture any of her high command. Mind you, the people we arrested were notable citizens of the world, the most notable being Prince Julius of Granvalle, so that caused quite a scandal." Sothe chimed in.
"A damn shame...not to discredit the hard work everyone put in, but it would've been great if we got one of the big fish." Nim sighed quietly, only to perk back up a few moments later. "But enough of that soppy-talk! I'm hungry for some good food!"
"Then by all means, dig in. There's more than enough food to go for everyone!" Micaiah smiled, the group making their way to the buffet and began taking whatever looked the most appetizing to them. But as Julius had finished helping Maria with her serving, he happened to catch a few of his other allies talking amongst themselves.
"I don't know if I'm the only one who thinks this, but I think that brand loyalty has grown even more fanatic than before..." Roland began, taking a small sip of wine.
"I think I know where you're coming from; just the other day I saw a middle-aged woman buy several Star Wars novels even though she didn't have much interest in reading. Curious, I inquired if she was buying them as gifts for her children, but she responded by saying something about how she needed to support Disney during this day and age. I guess the Second Holy War had caused consumers to grow concerned for their favorite companies." Serra chimed in, the older woman resting her hand in her lovers' shoulder as the blonde man shot an affectionate smile at her.
"Brand loyalty has always been a thing, after all it makes sense for consumers to go for products created by a company they know they can trust." Radomus replied, having had experience with brand loyalty. "However, I can understand why people are more devoted to their favorite brands; the Second Holy War was just an excuse for Krishna and his allies to wage a censorship campaign against the things he doesn't like, including the games we have produced. It's highly likely that the war made people grow concerned for the future of their favorite companies, hence why they opted to double down on purchasing their goods."
"Whatever, it doesn't bother me in the slightest. Krishna lost, our games haven't been censored, that's all that matters to me." Titania admitted bluntly.
"I get that it doesn't interest you, but it's still an interesting topic to ponder on. Besides, it can be seen as a benefit if more people chose to support our games at the upcoming rally tomorrow." Amaria commented, attracting Julius' attention.
"Hmmm? What's this about a rally?" He inquired.
"We decided to try our luck with a second rally tomorrow. Now that we don't have to worry about Krishna and his flunkies interrupting us, we should be able to drum up a large amount of support for our games." The blue-haired woman answered his question.
"I just know that Astolfo's going to make some grandiose speech about how he defeated the evil incel army or whatever buzzwords he decides to brand them with. It'll be mildly entertaining at least, so I can't complain." Titania added.
"We've made some significant progress these last few weeks, and I'm really looking forward to showing it off to the attendees." Serra chimed happily.
"I'm sure Julius would have a handful to deal with, between work and the desires of his masters..." Roland teased, causing the young teen to step back in shock as a flustered expression appeared on his face.
"I-I..." He began, desperately trying to think up a comeback but was unable to do so.
"I'm sure Roland would be happy to help you out, provided he still has that VR device he mucked around with back then." Radomus cracked a joke, with Roland letting out a yelp in return as a vivid blush formed on his face.
"Now the shoe's on the other foot, Roland!" Julius retorted, only for his CyberNav to begin vibrating. "Ah, I guess my masters need me for something. I'll catch you all later." He called out to them, the young teen making his way to the Angels as the party continued in the background, with none of the attendants aware that tomorrow would mark the dawn of a war far more terrifying that the previous one.
One week ago
Underground Tomb: ?
"Get down there, you little shits! Fuck, just looking at you Erden filth makes me want to puke!" A masked man barked at a pair of young children; the duo frightened by the man as he waddled down the stairs without a care in the world. His outfit consisted of a purple-short sleeved robe that reached just above his ankles, as well as a pair of simple sandals. But it was the mask that covered his head that sent chills down the children's spine, with the crown and face of the mask resembling that of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh. (Just like the outfit worn by the members of the Order of Ancients).
"Ri-Rizette…a-are we going to be ok?" The younger of the two asked; a boy who could be no older than ten years old. He had short blonde hair and amber coloured eyes, which looked at his older sister in fear over the masked man. His outfit consisted of a long-sleeved purple shirt, a brown leather vest over it and a patching pair of brown trousers topped off with brown loafers.
"Theo…everything's going to be alright, I promise you." His older sister Rizette promised, holding him closely to her. She was a very beautiful young lady of around 18 years, with long blonde hair that was done up in a ponytail and amber eyes like that of her brother. Her outfit consisted of a long-sleeved white dress that reached her thighs, the collar neatly tied up by a frilly white jabot. She also wore a light-brown leather vest over her dress that covered her small-to-average size breasts, as well as a pair of black gloves over her hands. Additionally, she wore a set of black stockings that were topped off by a pair of black boots. "Come on, we've got no choice but to follow that brutes order."
Nodding in compliance to his older sister, Theo began walking down the stairs with Rizette in tow, all while the poor siblings were subjected to horrific abuse from their captor. "You filthy brats will learn your place before the Order of Ancients; the saviours of this wretched world. We need you to open the vault for us." The masked man sneered from behind his mask.
"Savoir my ass; what horde of demons captures a pair of innocent siblings, after torturing their parents to death?!" Rizette growled at her captor, only for him to backhand her harshly, leaving a red mark on her cheek.
"Shut your fucking mouth, you brat! I'll see to it that my brother teaches you a lesson." The masked man snarled, ordering the two children to follow him further down the stairs. Eventually, they reached the bottom where they proceeded to turn left and saw four more masked men standing before the entrance, dressed exactly like the other one. One of the masked men, the tallest and most muscular of the group attempted to kick down the metal door, letting out a grunt of frustration as the door refused to budge an inch.
"Fuckin' hell…what's this thing made of?" He spat out bitterly, stepping back a couple feet.
"Kicking the door won't open it, brother; brute force doesn't solve every problem out there." A third masked man chided his comrade, his tone indicating that he was a fairly old man.
"At least I'm trying to open it. I don't see you doing anything to help." The brutish man retorted back.
"That's because I'm busy writing a report to the others. We need to be extra careful given what happened to our allies." The old man replied.
"What an amazing discovery; the contents of this vault will give the Order the boost they need to make a comeback. With this, we can end the hedonistic culture of product consumption that has plagued our world." A fourth man commented.
"Indeed. The information hidden in this vault would give us the boost we need to save this world." The fifth man commented, his eyes glimmering with greed.
"All we need now is—" The old man began, before he heard Rizette and Theo getting pushed to the ground by the first masked man. "Ah, you have returned with the children."
"Hopefully one of them has the password to the vault." He called out, snatching Rizette by her wrist and pushed her to the vault door. "You, solve the puzzle to open this door, now!"
"B-B-But I don't know the password! Pl-Please just let us go!" Rizette begged, but the masked men wouldn't accept her excuse.
"We told you to open the damn door!" The brute roared, storming up to her as the young lady pressed her back against the door.
"I-I said I don't know the damn password!" She yelled back at him, the brutish man scoffing at her before grabbing her wrist and threw her to the floor.
"We have no problem raping the answer out of you and your brother!" The first man droned, cupping Rizette's head in his hands.
"What's taking you lot so long?!" A sixth voice demanded, the masked men turning around and saw another masked man walking up to them in a hurry. From the way he commanded their attention, it appeared that this man was the leader of this operation.
"We've found the vault and captured the vault-keeper's children. However, the girl claims she doesn't know how to solve the puzzle." The fourth man informed his leader.
"Then get the boy to do it!" The leader barked, turning to the boy and shoved him to the door. "What are you waiting for, open the damn door!"
"N-No! I-I don't wanna!" Theo called out, falling to the ground and began sobbing as Rizette comforted her brother.
"Be gentle to him; the boy is scared, and his mind is unable to focus on anything at the moment." The old man attempted to calm his leader, a hint of sympathy for the children in his voice.
"Bah, whatever. The Grandmaster is about to ask for a report; we'll need to inform her of our conquest of this region." The leader called out to his comrades, the masked men making their leave of the vault, only for him to halt the first man on the spot. "You, keep an eye on the prisoners."
"As you wish." The latter replied, staying to guard the stairs as his back was facing the siblings.
*sniffle* "I-I'm scared sis, I-I don't want to die…" Theo sniffled into his sister's shoulder, lifting his head slightly and saw a glint of steel in the light. A knife was hanging loosely from the man's belt; surely if Rizette had it, they can get out of this place alive. Moving away from her, he slowly crept up to the masked man and snatched the knife from his belt, before briskly making his way back to her.
"T-Theo!" She whispered back to him, taking the knife from him. "Don't do something like that again, you nearly scared me."
"S-Sorry sis, I just figured that I could help you in some way. Y-You've done so much for me, that I simply wanted to repay the favor." Theo apologized, as Rizette's face warmed up a bit.
"You don't need to thank me. Your safety is all that matters to me." She smiled back at him, the sound of footsteps echoing throughout the area. "Here they come, stick by me."
"Got it!" Theo replied, the siblings watching the masked men walk up to them.
"Well, you solved the puzzle yet?!" The fifth man demanded.
"N-No sir. Neither of us know the answer." Theo answered, a sigh of irritation escaping the leader's mouth.
"I'm sick of waiting around, just cut his damn ears off; see if he remembers then." He barked, as Theo was snatched up by two of the men, only for Rizette to let out a battle cry and push the former away, before kicking the latter in the shin. The first man lunged at her, only for the blonde to dodge his punch and stab him in the left leg with the knife, the masked man roaring in pain as the old man ran over to check on him. However, Rizette's comeback was swiftly halted by a punch to the gut from the brute, who went around her and held her arms firmly as the two masked men got back up and snatched Theo, with the leader staring at the blonde girl in disgust. "How cute of you, to stage a comeback, however pitiful it was."
"I-I don't care what you do to me, just let Theo go!" Rizette pleaded.
"Fellows, the Grandmaster just said that we can access the vault via a second entrance. Let's not do anything hasty." The old man called out, helping his injured comrade get back on his legs. "Just let the kids go, they've suffered enough as it is."
"Let them go? After that stunt she just pulled?!" The leader barked back, squeezing Rizette's wrist before she dropped the knife, promptly snatching it for himself. "This little bitch needs to know that disobedience has it's consequences!" He roared, plunging the knife deep into Theo's chest, the young boy letting out a cry of pain as blood oozed from the wound. His eyes gazed at Rizette, an apologetic and forlorn look in them as they closed for the last time, the boy's body slumping as the masked men dropped him.
"Theo…THEO!" Rizette cried out loud, cradling his still warm corpse as tears streamed down her cheeks. "Why…WHY?! You were only ten years old; you never got to enjoy life like you should've…" She continued wailing, the leader staring at her coldly before ordering the brute to punch her in the gut once more, winding the young lady as she watched her tormentors make their way back upstairs.
"Well this was a waste of time; let's just hope this second entrance is open by the time we get there." The brute scoffed out loud, the six masked men quickly exiting the room as the sound of what could only be a fellow villager searching for her and Theo echoed throughout the vault. There was only one thing on Rizette's mind; vengeance. She will make all of those masked men and their allies bleed for taking her beloved brother away from her.
Well that's one way to start off my reboot; sure the ending is nearly identical to the original fic, but I liked it so much that I wanted to keep it. Anyway, the next chapter would have a rally like before, only this time things will got a lot smoother than before. I'll catch you all in the next chapter!
Astolfo's group:
Astolfo
Roland
Chevalier D'eon
Boudica
Blair Flannigan
Micaiah
Sothe
Rizette
Starlight Studios:
Ame
Kymmi
Cain
Aya
Hardy (Reborn)
Titania
Amaria
Julia
Alice
Charlotte
Laura
Saphira
Luna
Serra
Bennett
Adrienn
Anna/Nostra
Noel/Nomos
Radomus
Corey
Heather
Shelly
Dr. Connal
Julius (Rejuvenation MC)
Melia
Venam
Saki
Amber
Aelita
Nim
Erin
Crescent
Ren
Maria/Mariannette
Valerie
Risa Raider
Ava
Connor
Scarlett
Shiv
Aurora
Garret
Richard
Rosetta
Hardy (Desolation)
Amelia
Nora
Damian