(A/N: I do not own Spiderman or Assassin's Creed. That right belongs to Ubisoft and Sony).
Peter walked up to the top deck about a half hour later, a bit more presentable than he was a little while ago but still looking a bit rugged. He leaned against the edge of the boat, looking out at the ocean. The 17 year old looked down at his hand and noticing he was still wearing his Templar ring. After grimacing for a second, he took it off and just stared at it, not doing anything with it
Gwen noticed from the cockpit and walked out to stand beside him. She looked at him staring at the ring.
"So...that's the membership ring they have? I notice the other guys were wearing it throughout the week" Gwen asked.
"Yup….for about 5 minutes, I was an official Templar…" Just twisting and turning the ring.
"If it weren't for the fact that it's made by a group of cultists that want to rule the world, I'd say it looks pretty snazzy" Gwen said, joking around a bit which caused a light laugh from Peter.
After a few moments of silence from the both of them, Peter asked something.
"You know what the worst part about wearing this ring was?" Peter asked while still examining it.
"You realized you were part of some evil secret society?" Gwen asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well….that was a highlight...but really, the worst part was: The damn thing didn't even fit" He said as he threw the ring into the water.
Gwen giggled and hugged him at his side.
"That's my Peter. I'm so glad to have you back" She said as she rested her head on his shoulder. Peter wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer.
"Aw...how sweet" Rebecca said, watching the scene and nudging Shaun, causing him to look at the scene.
"Oh, yeah. Real nice" Shaun said, not really interested before turning back to driving the boat.
"You limey. Don't you have any sentiment?" Rebecca scolded, smacking his arm.
"Well excuse me if I'm not into teenage drama. I'm more interested in ensuring freedom for the world. You know, like our creed says" Shaun said, rubbing his arm in pain and annoyance
.Peter heard the banter and curiously, he walked in.
"Hey, Tiger. You changed your hair back" Mary-Jane said smiling, noticing his messy hair.
"Yeah...ponytail was getting a bit too much" Peter said, running his hand through his hair.
"Shame...I thought it looked hot" Liz said, causing Peter to blush and chuckle embarrassingly.
"Watch it, Lizzie. Peter's all mine now" Gwen said, hugging Peter's arm with her eyes closed and a big smile on her face. Peter had to admit, he did like Gwen's possessiveness of him.
Liz just shrugged. She figured that as long as Peter was happy, she was happy. Besides, if she had to lose her Petey to anyone, she was glad it was a pretty blonde.
Harry noticed that Gwen was already being much more affectionate with Peter than she ever was with him. He just sighed and rolled his eyes, not saying another word on the subject.
Alex, noticing Peter walking in, suggested that Aapo take the two Templars down to the bottom deck real quick. The Mayan Assassin agreed and picked the two up with no issues.
"Hey! Watch it!" Emmanuel exclaimed.
Aapo ignored him and Chris' protests as he carried them down to the bedroom where Peter had stayed for a good portion of the trip so far.
Rebecca stood up and went to shake Peter's hand.
"Hey Peter. I'm Rebecca Crane. You might remember me" Rebecca said, shaking Peter's hand.
"Yeah, actually, I do. You were the masseuse from the resort" Peter said, recognizing her.
"Masseuse? You got a massage, Tiger?" Mary-Jane asked, almost amused.
"Uh...yeah. I thought I'd try it out" Peter said, blushing.
Gwen raised an eyebrow in a sort of disapproving way. "A massage was all you got, right?"
"Yeah, what else would I have got….oh! Oh, come on!" Peter said, realizing what she meant and blushing furiously, causing everyone seated at the table, even Harry, to laugh furiously.
"I'm just asking here. I've been hearing things" Gwen said, raising her hands up, non-chalantly.
"Kid, it's a long way away until I'm that desperate for money" Rebecca said, chuckling even though she should be heavily offended at the mere suggestion.
"Eh...not that long away" Shaun said as he got up from the helm, setting the boat on autopilot for the moment. He walked towards Peter and shook his hand.
"Peter Parker, I'm Shaun Hastings and this is Rebecca Crane, my partner in crime. You may know me as Deacon from my letter" Shaun said.
"Oh yeah, you gave me Sofia's glass vial...thanks for that. Really opened my eyes" Peter said, glumly, looking at the floor.
Gwen noticed the look on his face and then proceeded to hug him tightly from behind and kiss him on the cheek, comforting him.
"It's no problem. Sorry about that, mate" Shaun said, patting Peter on the shoulder.
"Templars have the slimiest little weasels working for them. It's sickening what they'd do in their quest for world domination" Rebecca explained.
At that moment, Aapo came up and came back into the cockpit, standing next to Alex.
"Now that those 2 have been disposed of for now, let me introduce myself properly. I'm Aapo Tabai. I'm the Mentor of the West Indies Assassin Brotherhood" Aapo said, putting his hand out.
"Uh...yeah. Nice to meet you" Peter said, hesitantly shaking his hand, wary of the hidden blade he had under his wrist.
"You don't need to be afraid of us, Peter. We're friends. True friends that actually care about you" Aapo said, smiling at the young man.
Peter nodded, smiling slightly. "Right...Thank you"
"My name's Alex Clayton. I'm a member of the New York Assassin Brotherhood" Alex said, shaking his hand.
"Oh, cool. Uh…sorry about that mix up at the warehouse. I guess you guys really aren't…you know…making lethal toxins and using them on the authorities?" Peter asked sheepishly, guessing the answer already.
Alex shook his head with a neutral look on his face. "Not at all"
"I see…again, really sorry about that" Peter shaking, flushing in embarrassment as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"It's fine. We have a plan to remedy that little error. We'll ransom off the 2 boys downstairs in exchange for Rikkin to put pressure on the NYPD to 'misplace' some evidence and release our comrades. We'll also ask for them to scrub any evidence they have of you being Spiderman" Alex stated.
"You're going to hold Emmanuel and Chris hostage?" Peter said, his eyes widening.
"Yes we are. It's the only way we can go about our businesses as if this never happened" Alex explained.
"But…but you can't" Peter asked, trying his hardest to dispute this until he was interrupted.
"No, Peter. This is the only way. They'll blackmail you into continuing to do their bidding. You'll essentially be their slave and we need to keep New York as an Assassin Stronghold in order to protect ourselves from their oppression" Alex explained.
Peter honestly couldn't think of anything else to do so after a few minutes, he just ended up nodding.
"Alright….you're not going to hurt them, are you? They may be liars and cheats but they're still kids, my age to be exact" Peter stated, worried about the pair of them even though he really shouldn't have been.
"We understand your concern, Peter but there's no need to fret. Simply because we wear the title of 'Assassin' doesn't mean we kill everything in sight. It's only ever used as a last resort" Aapo stated.
"I mean I get that but with you guys constantly charging with those blades you have on your wrists, it's kinda hard to distinguish what you actually intend to do and what I think you want to do. Also, the fact that you guys go by Assassins gives me bad vibes, kind of like when Emmanuel and Chris first told me about the Templars" Peter said, his skeptical feelings he had days ago returning.
"Please do not compare us to them. We're not like them" Alex said a little harshly although in his head, he had to admit that his brotherhood did act like the Templars at times, his mind going back to the days of the Colonial Brotherhood when the Colonies were still in place. He remembered how the Assassins constantly broke the tenets and wanted to use the Pieces of Eden instead of guarding them like they were meant to do. It caused the death of thousands of people in Lisbon, Haiti and an Earthquake in the Arctic that lead to the dismantling of the Colonial Brotherhood for over 10 years.
"Sorry…I guess I just don't really know a lot about your group. Maybe…you could teach me?" Peter asked, curiously.
Everyone turned to him after he said that.
"Um…I'm sorry, what was that?" Mary-Jane asked, cleaning a bit of wax out of her ear a bit to make sure she heard right.
"I…I want to learn from you guys what exactly you do. I don't want to join, so to speak. Killing's not my thing but…maybe if I could learn from you guys about why you do what you do and how to identify a Templar, I may could use it to my advantage in case one ever drops along" Peter suggested.
There was a deadly silence among the Assassins. Even Shaun, who usually could never keep his big mouth shut. After several looks exchanged, they asked all of them to leave the cockpit so they could discuss amongst themselves.
The 4 teens were escorted out of the room and suddenly, Peter was then jumped on by 3 very disapproving women, a man's worst nightmare.
"You are NOT joining these guys!" Gwen exclaimed, asserting her authority as Peter's girlfriend.
"Are you out of your mind, Petey?! You're no killer" Liz also exclaimed. Even though her chance to get back with Peter was out the window, she still cared for him.
"I have to agree, Tiger. You're a bit over your head here I would say" Mary-Jane said softly, seeing the other 2 were doing a good job at the yelling bit.
Harry stood aside, not really wanting to get in between 3 angry women.
"I...I'm not joining them. I'm just learning from them...some techniques and tricks in case these Templars come back in my life" Peter said.
"Why do you need to learn anything from these guys? You're a Superhero!" Gwen exclaimed.
"That won't cut it against these guys. They've been around for thousands of years, have influence in business, government and more. They're sleezy and tricky. I need to be prepared just in case" Peter explained.
The 3 girls looked at each other as if they were speaking in some non-speaking female code of theirs until after a while, they all nodded.
"Alright...we guess it's ok...but you better not push yourself too hard" Mary-Jane said, poking hard at his chest.
"Or else" Liz added, darkly which caused Peter to gulp, not wanting to know what she meant by that. He decided to just let it go. He really needed to make more guy friends
Speaking of which, the brunette turned and saw Harry leaning against the side of the boat, looking out to the ocean. He gave a glare. While he did appreciate him coming all this way for him, he was still on the fence about him.
Gwen noticed the glare and held Peter's arm.
"Will you please just talk to him, Peter? Please? For me? After that, if you still can't be friends with him, we'll both just move on. Alright?" Gwen asked, looking up at Peter with those beautiful blue eyes of hers. Peter looked at her for a bit and after a while, just nodded.
"Fine" Peter said as he sighed and braced himself. Gwen kissed his cheek and thanked him in response.
Peter untangled his arm from Gwen's and proceeded to walk next to Harry, leaning against the boat alongside him.
Harry turned to look at Peter for a second and blinked for a second before turning back to the ocean.
The both of them didn't say anything for a while before Peter decided to break the silence.
"Hey" Was all that Peter said.
"Hey" Harry said as well, twiddling his thumbs.
It proceeded to get awkward again with the both of them not really saying anything before Harry decided to take the initiative this time.
"Uh...Peter. I...I really am sorry...for everything. Really" Harry decided, deciding to address the elephant in the room.
Peter just let out a long sigh and shook his head.
"Harry…I...I don't know what happened to you. I've known you since the 2nd grade. Neither of us were good at socializing so I guess that's why we got along together so well...you were my best friend for all of elementary and middle school...but come High School, you changed. You suddenly started caring about what other people thought of you and wanted to fit in with a crowd we used to hate. What was worse was you started using that Goblin Serum your dad created just so you could be good at football" Peter said, looking at Harry.
Harry lowered his head. That was all true. However, it seemed Peter wasn't done.
"Then came the situation with Gwen. I'm sorry I made Gwen want to break up with you for me but you knew how we felt about each other and you decided to not only make me miserable but her as well just so you could make you feel better about yourself. Also, if that wasn't bad enough, you abandoned me. Me, your best friend that you spent all summers together with...except for this one. I never thought you would be so petty as to let something like that get in between of a friendship we had. It's no wonder I fell for Emmanuel's and Chris' scheme. I was hurt when Gwen decided to stay with you but what hurt even more was thinking you stopped caring about me " Peter declared, giving a slight glare.
"I...I always cared, Pete. Really. I...I was just so angry. With my dad dying, you and Gwen conspiring against me, the football thing falling apart, you getting all the attention from girls like Liz, MJ, Gwen while I could hardly hold on to one girlfriend that didn't even like me that way. I...I just wanted something good to happen for me just once" Harry said, trying to explain himself.
"My life's no picnic either, Harry. Just remember that. Your dad may have been a piece of shit but at least you had someone to call a dad. I never got to know either my dad or mom and I'll never be able to get over the death of my uncle...but I knew that as long as I had people like you in my life that...that I would hold on to a sense of worth in my life. I...I didn't get that from you this summer...and I was devastated" Peter said, shaking his head.
Harry sighed and lowered his head in shame.
"I know, Pete. I really do and I'm really sorry. I'll...I'll do anything to get the friendship we had back. I'll change. I really will. I won't use the serum anymore. I'll stop trying to impress Flash, Sally and all those guys. I...I just want to keep both you and Gwen in my life. You guys are my best friends. I know I don't deserve a second chance and I'm not trying to beg for one but...I'm asking for one….you're my best friend, Peter" Harry said, pleading his case.
Peter looked to Harry and saw a sort of sincerity in his eyes that he never eally saw from Harry before. He couldn't believe what he was about to do but he figured since it would mean the world to Gwen, he might as well.
"...Thank you, Harry. I don't really think I'm ready to go back completely to the way we were just yet...but...I'm willing to start over sort of...if you're up to it" Peter said with a very small smile.
Harry looked to him with a raised eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"Well...maybe we can start by sitting together at lunch, then maybe spending some time at the Silver Spoon and over time, we can start hanging out at each other's places again like we used to when we were younger...then maybe we can get back to where we were before….would that be ok?" Peter asked, his smile widening slightly.
Harry at that moment got a little emotional as he let out a little tear and smiled.
"Yeah...I would...thanks, Peter" Harry said before hugging Peter.
Peter hesitated for a second before giving Harry a hug back and patted his back.
Gwen watched from a distance and smiled, happy that her boyfriend and friend had made up.
"It's really sweet, isn't it?" Gwen asked Mary-Jane standing right next to her.
Mary-Jane shrugged. "I still say he's scum". She then saw the smile on Peter's face as she watched them hug and smiled herself. "Although I guess people can change"
They soon parted and Gwen went between them, happy that she had the two of the most important men in her life again.
"I see you guys are all good then?" Gwen asked.
"Yeah...we're good" Peter said, smiling at Harry who smiled back.
"...You guys aren't going to kiss or anything, are you?" Gwen giggled, noticing the looks they were giving each other.
Peter and Harry gave disgusted looks to Gwen and scooted away from each other, causing Gwen to laugh again.
At that moment, Alex and the others came out of the cockpit with the boat still on Autopilot.
"Peter, could you come here for a second?" Alex asked.
Peter nodded and walked towards them. Gwen followed him, feeling like she should be involved in this.
"Uh...this is a...private conversation" Alex said, smiling sweetly at Gwen, telling her silently to go the hell away.
"No. This potentially could involve his safety and I'm using my authority as his girlfriend to know what exactly he's getting himself into. I'm not going anywhere" Gwen said with determination and authority in her voice, holding Peter's arm.
Alex raised an eyebrow and looked to Peter.
Peter shrugged. "You expect me to send her away?...You don't know her, dude. It's not a good idea"
"It's really not" Gwen said, agreeing with a smirk on her face
Alex then turned around towards his comrade for help.
Rebecca smiled and nodded, Shaun shrugged, not really caring and Aapo didn't say or do anything but didn't show any objection which pretty much meant he was fine with it.
Alex rolled his eyes and turned around. How was this his life?
"Fine. Peter...after quickly speaking with our boss, we decided that we will teach you everything we know about our history and our methods. In doing so, you'll need a mentor and that would be me" Alex declared.
"Good luck, kid. He's an even bigger pain in teaching mode" Rebecca chided playfully.
Alex did a quick glare to Rebecca who just smirked with no regrets to the young assassin.
"I'll give you a schedule of the time and place we meet every week. Twice on weekdays, once on the weekend. Each session will be 2-3 hours long. Is this acceptable to you?" Alex asked.
Peter nodded. "Yes it is"
"Just make sure it's not Saturday night. That's our new date night" Gwen said, smiling.
"Since when?" Peter asked, looking at Gwen before she gave him 'the look'. He quickly shut up and moved his head back towards Alex.
"You heard the lady. Not Saturday night" He said, slightly gulping.
"...Right. Anyway, we'll be teaching you all about our creed, our history and our techniques that maybe you could find useful in your fights against criminals and other Templars should they happen to find themselves around NYC (And they likely will). You can even be an associate of ours if you wish" Alex suggested.
"I'm...not really ready for something like that. I'm no killer nor am I wanting to be an accessory to killing. I suppose I understand why you have to….but that's not for me" Peter said, explaining his position, a bit uncomfortable with the thought.
"Fair enough. Either way, maybe we can keep in touch even after I've taught you all I can. We can be resourceful in New York and we'd like to see that the criminals are continuously taken care of...on your terms, of course" Alex said, smiling at him.
Peter smiled back. "Yeah...that'd be good"
"Good to hear. Thanks again for your help, Peter. You saved us all from being slaves to these people. Now we can get back to our regular fighting" Alex said, somberly.
"Will it ever end? This never ending war between you and the Templars?" Peter asked.
"I don't know...it probably won't be in my lifetime...but I'll fight like hell to make it happen" Alex said, looking down at the ground.
He didn't know whether or not he wanted to be an Assassin for the majority of his life. Assassins like Altair Ibn La Ahad and Ezio Auditore had been Assassins their entire lives and both suggested regrets doing so, despite all their accomplishments in the brotherhood. He wanted to settle down and raise a family at some point in his life and he hoped he'd bee young enough to see his kids grow up.
"Well...I hope everything goes well for you" Peter said, shaking his hand though carefully, still not completely comfortable with the hidden blade thing.
"Thanks, Peter. Anyway, me and Aapo have to discuss some things. Shaun and Rebecca have to get back to navigating the boat. You can continue to chat amongst yourselves. We'll talk later" Alex said as he and the rest went back into the cockpit.
"So...you're fine if I spend some time with these guys?" Peter asked Gwen, turning towards her.
"No...but if it's what you feel you have to do, I'll support it" Gwen said, hugging him from his side. Peter just smiled and patted her arms.
At that point in time, any future consequence of his fallout from the Templars seemed unimportant to him. All that mattered now was spending time with his friends and getting home where he felt a bright future was in store for him.
(A/N: I feel there'll probably be one more chapter after this. I don't see it going further than that. Just thought I'd let you guys know).