A/N: Welcome to the newest story from yours truly! Yes, I know, another one? Look, I have to do something between getting inspiration for writing STLD, LATS, WTBC & any other stories I have coming down the pipeline, I sometimes write other stories to satiate my need to write. And recently, I was struck with a new addiction; the American McGee's Alice series. And since I've been playing this series, along with Assassin's Creed, over on YouTube, I decided to mesh the two. Ergo, this story. This will be one of two chapters I will upload tonight.

So, without any further ado, I hope you enjoy the first chapter of Creed of Madness, Embers.

CREED OF MADNESS

Chapter 1 - Embers

London, 1863

"Mother? Father?"

"Lizzie? Get your sister, and save yourselves! Get out of the house!"

"Okay, Father!"

"Lizzie, how do we get out?"

"The window! Jump, Alice!"

"'THUD!'"

"L-Lizzie?"

"Brother, we've got two survivors!"

"They okay?"

"Yeah, they're breathing. But we can't stay here."

"Agreed. Get them in the carriage. We'll take them with us."

"You sure? What about..."

"Later. For now, let's just get them out of here. Before we get company."

"Yes...of course."

"L-Lizzie..."

"Hold on, Brother, this one seems to be moving."

"Alice? Alice? Can you hear me, Alice?"

Present Day...

"Alice!"

Gasping in surprise, Alice Liddell shot up out of the bed she was laying in, only to begin falling towards the floor, which was halted by an arm catching her. "Easy, easy." A gentle voice said, causing the young woman to look up, straight into the green eyes of her twin sister, Lizzie.

"L-Lizzie?" She asked, getting a smile and nod from her sister, before she launched herself into her arms. "Yes, Alice, it's me. I'm here. See?" The older sister said, gently rubbing her sibling's head. "Where are we? Where's Mother? And Father?" Alice asked, noticing that her sister's face fell. "Alice, Mother and Father, they're..." Lizzie started to say, before looking to her sister.

"They're dead."

Immediately, Alice's world shattered at these words. "D-dead?" She asked, causing Lizzie to nod solemnly. "Was it...the fire?" Again, another nod. Silently, Alice looked down at her hands, fighting to hold back tears.

"Where..." She started, only to choke back a sob. "Where are we?" She asked, after composing herself. "I don't know. I only just woke up myself." Lizzie replied, causing Alice to look at the pristine nightdress her sister was wearing. Her eyes widening, she looked at her own body, which was clad in a dress of its own. What concerned the two women, was the fact that these were not the same ones they had been wearing previously. "Have we...been kidnapped?" She asked fearfully, before they heard the door to the room begin to open.

Swiftly, Lizzie had picked up a book which lay on Alice's bedside table, and ran behind the door. After it was fully open, the two girls saw a man in black robes with red highlights enter the room. Clutching the book tightly, Lizzie raised it above her head, ready to bring it down on the man's skull. However, she was caught off guard by what he did next. Looking to Alice, who had remained stationary on her bed, he smiled.

"Drop the book, Lizzie. You and your sister have nothing to fear from me." He stated, catching the girls off guard. "How...?" Lizzie asked, book still raised above her head. "Come on..." He replied, before turning to face her. "You know me better than that." He said. As soon as her eyes locked with his own, Lizzie's grip on the book loosened, and it fell to the floor. "I can't believe it..." She said, stepping closer to him...

"Adam?"

A year prior...

"Lizzie, come over here! There's someone I want to introduce you to!" Arthur Liddell called out, causing his oldest daughter to nod. "Of course, Father." She replied, turning back to the three young women she had been talking to. "Excuse me." She said, bowing her head to them, a gesture all 3 returned, before she walked over to her father, who was standing talking to two young men.

"Lizzie, I'm presuming you remember Angus here?" Arthur asked, gesturing to the brown-haired man of the duo. "Indeed I do, Father. Pleasure to meet you again, Mister Bumby." She said, curtseying to him, getting a smile from him. "Oh, the pleasure is mine, Miss Liddell." He said, before Lizzie's gaze was caught by the young black-haired man on her father's other side.

"Ah, yes. Lizzie, I'd like to introduce you to another student of mine. This is Adam Robertson, a transfer from Scotland. His mother and I are old friends." Arthur stated, gesturing the other man forward. Stepping up, the individual bowed to Lizzie. "Adam, my eldest daughter, Lizzie." Arthur continued, before Lizzie extended a hand. "A pleasure, Mister Robertson." She said, as Adam took her hand. "Enchanté, mademoiselle." He said in reply, before delivering a quick kiss to the back of her hand, an act which made Lizzie smile, her cheeks slightly pinkening. "He knows French? Not only that, he's such a gentleman. Well, might as well reply in kind." She thought to herself, before a playful smirk showed on her face. "Merci, monsieur." She said, bowing to him after he released her hand. This exchange made Arthur chuckle slightly.

"Lizzie, I was hoping that you would give Adam a walk around the garden? I have some business to discuss with Angus." Arthur asked, getting a nod from his daughter. "Of course, Father." She replied, looking to the young man in question. "Shall we, Mister Robertson?" She asked, stepping to the side and gesturing out the door. "Lead the way, Lady Lizzie." He replied, before both of them left the room...

Back in the present...

"Oh, thank God!" Lizzie said, hugging Adam tightly, which the young man returned. "You okay?" He asked, causing Lizzie to nod after pulling back from the hug. "Yes. Shaken up, but I'm alright." She replied, getting a smile from Adam, who then looked to the other Liddell sister. "And you, Alice?" He asked gently, before the girl smiled. "I'm fine. Thank you, sir." She said, causing the man to laugh. "I'm no sir, Alice. Besides, it was no trouble." He stated.

"Excuse me, Adam..." Lizzie started, drawing her friend's attention. "But where exactly are we? And where did these come from?" She asked, gesturing to her nightdress with the second question. "You're at the home of my family. As for the dresses, after we brought you here, my mother, Lisa, tended to any injuries you two had sustained, then clad you in those new dresses. Your old ones were filthy, so they're being washed." Adam explained, before all three of them jumped at the sound of the door being knocked. Whirling round, they saw a man standing there, clad in the same robes as Adam, only his were in a dark red colour with black highlights, and a peaked hood was pulled up, obscuring his face.

"They're ready for you, Shadow." He said, causing Adam to nod. "Thank you, Harbinger. Tell them I'm on my way." He ordered, getting a nod from the other man, who walked off down the hall. "That was my older brother, Jamie. Don't mind him." Adam said, getting a nod from the Liddell sisters.

"Sorry about this, girls..." Adam stated, turning to face Alice and Lizzie, "But could you stay here? This shouldn't take too long." He asked, getting a nod from the two girls, before he pulled up his own peaked hood, and left the room, closing the door behind him. Immediately, Lizzie ran over to the door, placing her ear to the wood.

"Lizzie?" Alice asked, pushing herself off the bed and walking over to her sister. "Come on." Lizzie replied, taking her sibling's hand, before opening the door and peeking out. "Where are we going?" Alice asked, as she was pulled out of the room by Lizzie. "I want to know what Adam's hiding." The elder sister replied, as they walked down the halls of the house they were in. "So, we're going to eavesdrop on him." This made Alice nod. "Alright." She said, following closely behind her sister...

Downstairs...

"So, what's our plan going forward?" Harbinger demanded, causing the three other occupants of the table to sigh. "Jamie, you know that we don't have the ability to make any moves because of this. Besides, you know as well as the rest of us that we have a truce in place with the Order." A blonde girl on the side of the table said, causing Harbinger to scowl. "Libby, surely you don't think that the truce can still be in place, especially now?" He asked. "Well, if I may..." The older woman sitting opposite Libby said, before placing a file on the table.

"What's this, Mother?" Adam asked, as he took the file and began to read through it. "The official report from the police. Apparently, they're placing the blame for the fire on the family cat. According to their report, the cat knocked over some books, which in turn smashed a lamp. The oil then reached the fireplace, and...well, I don't think I need to go any further." Lisa explained, causing Jamie to raise an eyebrow.

"A cat? Seriously? Come on, that's bollocks, and we all know it! The Order's responsible for this, they have to be!" He stated, causing his mother to shoot him a glare, as Adam sat the file back on the table. "Jamie!" She hissed, causing the man in red to look to her. "So, you're telling me you want that to be our story? How do you propose we tell those girls that their parents are dead, because of a fucking cat?" Jamie spat, before Libby slammed her fist into the table. "Jamie, that's enough!" She said. "Remember, you may be the eldest, but Adam's the highest rank here."

This caused those in the room to look to Adam.

"What's your verdict, son?" Lisa asked, making Adam sigh. "We don't need to worry about telling Lizzie and Alice anything." He said in a low voice. "Why, you just going to keep this from them?" Jamie asked, which made his brother smirk. "No..." he said, before jerking his head over to the door behind his brother.

"It's because they're standing right outside the door."

Immediately, Jamie whirled round, and threw open the door, revealing the crouched forms of Lizzie and Alice. Scowling, he grabbed them both, and pulled them into the room. "Spying on us, were you?" He demanded, before Adam rose and held out a hand to call off his brother. "At ease, brother." He stated, before looking to the two girls.

"How much did you hear?" He asked, causing Lizzie to look briefly to Jamie, then back to Adam. "Enough. So, the police believe Dinah's the one responsible for the fire?" She asked, making Adam exchange a look with his family members. "Well, that's what the police believe. Fred, my contact inside the force, assured me this report hadn't been tampered with. So, officially, yes, your cat's been blamed." Lisa explained, before Alice scoffed.

"That's impossible!" She said, drawing the attention of the room's inhabitants. "Dinah couldn't have been the cause. She was sleeping upstairs in my room with me! She was even the one who showed us how to escape, through the window." She continued on, making Adam raise an eyebrow. "So, if this Dinah isn't responsible, that means there was some kind of foul play involved, if this wasn't a freak accident." He said, causing the rest of his family.

"You think this was a murder?" Alice asked, causing Adam to nod. "Yes. But the main problem, is who would do such a thing. I mean, killing a man's bad enough, but to kill his family? That's evil, by all accounts. So, who'd fit the bill?" He asked, only for Lizzie to say one word. Just one.

"Bumby."

Looking to Lizzie, Adam asked, "Come again?" "It was Bumby. I know it was. He broke in, committed a crime, then set the fire to cover it up." She replied, making Adam raise an eyebrow. "What crime, specifically?" He asked, causing Lizzie to pale "H-he...he..." She stammered, before Alice placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Take your time, Lizzie." Adam said, before his friend nodded, took a deep breath, and looked him dead in the eyes.

"He...violated me." She said, before Adam's face darkened. "What?" He asked, venom lacing his voice. "He snuck into the house, and forced himself on me. I tried to fight him, but I wasn't strong enough. All I could do was make it look like he had killed me, so I could help Alice escape." Lizzie stated, as Adam's fists clenched, tightly enough that his knuckles whitened.

"He's a dead man." He spat, which made Jamie smirk. "Much as I want to help you, Brother, you go after Bumby, and you'll bring the full wrath of the Order down on the Brotherhood." He said, which made Libby and Lisa glare at him. "Jamie!" The latter scolded, looking to Alice and Lizzie, only to raise an eyebrow when she saw that they were both wearing confused looks.

"Excuse me, but what do you mean by the Order?" Alice asked, making all the Robertson family members look to her and her sister. "The Templar Order." Libby said, only to sigh in realisation when both Alice and Lizzie stared at her, their faces blank. "You mean, your father never told you?" Jamie asked, drawing the girl's attention.

"Tell us what?" Lizzie asked. "About who he and your mother really were." Lisa replied. "Our father was a university dean." Lizzie stated, which made Lisa sigh. "Dammit, Arthur..." She said, looking to her younger son. "They don't know." She stated, getting a nod from Adam. "I know. Because I asked him not to tell them." He said, which caused his family members to be stunned silent. Well, almost all of them.

"Why the fuck would you ask him to do that?" Jamie demanded, making his brother look to him. "Because they're not part of our war. They shouldn't get involved if they don't want to." Adam replied. "Excuse me, but what are you all talking about?" Lizzie asked, making Adam look to her as he rose to his feet. "There's no easy way to tell you this, girls, so I'm just going to say it..." He said, placing his hands on the table and leaning forward.

"Your parents...were Assassins." He said.