Welcome to the Brotherhood

This story grows more and more each day. I love it! I just wish there were some more reviews but the fact that you guys are taking time out of your day to read this, is good enough for me too. And I thank you for that. Happy reading!~


Chapter 17: Welcome to the Brotherhood

Cole P.O.V.

" You see? Do you see what's going on?"

"I do…"

He sighs. "No, not yet… but you will…"

There was a long silence, but I could still sense that he was still here and had more to say.

"Could you at least tell me who you are? Where you came from? How you're here with me?" I asked him. All the time we've spent here I have never seen a hint of his face or his body. How do I know that this just isn't my consciousness messing with me here?

I understand that he wants things to be a bit covert but it's just us here. I don't think is watching or can watch us here. We should be safe right…?

He remained silent.

"Come on! I mean, you obviously know everything about me, let's even things out here."

He let out a shocked gasp.

Did I offend him?

"You know what, it's fine. I shouldn't invade your privacy like that. I…"

" No…"

"What, what's wrong?"

" No, no, no!"

Okay now he's freaking me out here. Surprised it's now he's freaking me out, especially with everything he's shown and told me so far.

The silence was starting to eat at me. Ever been alone in the dark in complete silence, alone with just your thoughts? It's not fun.

"Sixteen?" I called out. He didn't answer.

" Stay…" He eventually said.

"I'm not going anywhere." I responded. As if I have a choice…

" Stay with us…"

"I told you, I'm not going anywhere." If he thinks I'm going to leave the Assassins, he's crazier than I initially thought. There's no way I'd join those Templar assholes. After everything they've done… everything they're trying to do.

" Stay with us…"

"I swear to you. I'm loyal to the Assassins and no other."

He didn't respond. I felt myself getting light headed and I soon collapsed.

I heard sixteen distantly whisper "Stay…"

~AC~IF~

I slowly started coming to and I felt myself to be unusually comfy. The atmosphere around me felt very mellow and inviting. And it smelled really good.

I opened my eyes and blinked repeatedly to clear my vision. I was lying on a bench and my head was being held firmly. Do I have to wake up? I could stay like this all day.

"Salute bello mio."

I looked up and saw Luisella greeting me with that beautiful smile of hers.

Make that forever.

"Come stai Cole?" She was gently rubbing my head.

"Molto bene mio caro." I responded.

"I trust that you had a great rest?"

"The best." She leaned down and kissed me.

"Now… I believe it is time." She gently helped me sit up straight. I still felt a bit woozy, thinking back to how hard I pushed myself earlier, it's no wonder I still feel winded. If only there was a source of electricity around here; that would heal me up in a flash. But oh well; make do with what you got I guess.

When looked down, I realized that I was still wearing the outfit of the Venezian guards. When I looked straight ahead I noticed an empty courtyard. Perfect.

"Scusami, I'll be right back."

"Take your time Cole." She responded.

I went into the courtyard, changed out of the guard outfit, and changed back into my robes, putting my weapons in their respective spots. I still can't believe I have a whip.

I threw the guard's armor into a nearby stack of hay. On my way out, I noticed a small chest.

Well it's not like anyone's going to miss it.

I opened the chest and took the money that was inside and put it into my pouch. You never know when you'll need some extra money.

I walked out of the courtyard and made my way back to Luisella, waiting patiently on the bench. Once she saw me coming over, she stood up and opened her arms wide open for a hug. As soon as I reached her, I gave her a big hug, almost lifting her off the ground. She kissed me on the cheek and pulled away. She reached up and placed the hood on my head.

"I'm so proud of you." She whispered. "Now to make it official. Come on, follow me. It's not too far from here."

She ran up a building and began to climb it. I followed right behind her.

After some free running, we reached a large tower and began to climb it.

"It's just up here." She said before she began climbing.

As we got higher, my concern began to grow for her. I was afraid that she would lose her grip and fall.

I don't want to lose another to the test of gravity.

Luisella and I climbed inside a little room near the top of the tower. The other Assassins' stood around in a circle. Luisella joined the circle and I took an open place near Ezio.

"Laa shay'a waqi'un mutlaq bale kouloun moumkine. These are the words spoken by our ancestors- that lay at the heart of our creed." Mario said

On our way here, Luisella gave me a brief rundown of what would happen here. One of them would recite the prayer, prompt me to recite their maxim and then they would burn the seal of the creed onto my ring finger, ending it all with a leap of faith.

When I asked her why they burn your finger, she explained that it represents our dedication and loyalty to the creed. She also added that the burning of the ring finger is an upgrade, because in the past, they would instead cut your ring finger off.

Here's to keeping up with the times.

She then showed me the burn on her ring finger. She was inducted into the brotherhood five years ago.

I don't know how I didn't notice that before.

"Where other men blindly follow the truth, remember…" Niccolo began.

"… Nothing is true." I responded.

"Where other men are limited, by morality or law, remember…"

"… Everything is permitted." I responded.

"We work in the dark, to serve the light. We are Assassins."

"Nothing is true, Everything is permitted." Everyone else spoke.

"It is time Cole." Luisella spoke. I stepped forward. "In this modern age, we are not so literal as our ancestors, but our seal is no less permanent."

She's just going to take the fact that she told me all of this earlier and sweep it under the rug, isn't she? Oh well.

"Are you ready to join us?" She asked.

"I am."

I knew what was coming up next so I stuck my ring finger out.

Antonio came over to me with a red hot heated iron. "This only hurts for a while, brother. Like so many things." The hot iron was then pressed against my finger. I'd be lying if I said it didn't hurt. It did. A lot. He removed the iron from my finger and, out of an uncontrollable and sometimes convenient habit, my electricity immediately rushed to the area in an attempt to heal it.

I heard almost everyone in the group let out a small gasp of amazement.

Despite its valiant effort, the electricity was unable to heal the wound. It died down, leaving the dark wound behind, hotter than ever. When I looked closely, I realized that Luisella wasn't kidding. They actually burned the Assassin insignia onto your finger.

"Benvenuto Cole. You are one of us now. Come! We have much work to do."

One by one, everyone began to leap off the tower, performing the leap of faith. Before Luisella went, she looked back at me and gave me one of her trademark beautiful smiles. She turned back and leapt off the tower. Panic rose as quickly as she fell.

It's okay, it's different this time. She'll have a safe landing this time.

I was shaken out my thoughts by a hand that was placed on my shoulder. Ezio and I were the only ones left in the tower.

"Welcome to the brotherhood." He said to me with a smile. I smiled back and placed my hand on his shoulder.

We broke apart and Ezio went ahead to do his leap of faith.

Is this what Sixteen meant by "Stay with us."? If it is, looks I couldn't leave even if I wanted to.

Not that I have a problem with that.

I walked up the ledge and looked at the stunning view of Venezia.

I looked down and spotted a bale of hay. It's going to be a bit far-fetched but even I miss, it won't kill me.

I got as close to the edge of the ledge as possible and crouched down. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and exhaled.

"Welcome to the brotherhood." I said to myself.

I leapt off and stretched my arms out. I flipped myself over to land back first. After some time, I landed in the soft bale of hay. I jumped out of the pile and shook off some remaining pieces of hay.

Some thunder rumbled in the distance and I saw some lightning fill up the sky. Ah I love these kinds of storms. I feel so alive, rejuvenated, like any pain that I had is immediately washed away. I feel like a new man. And now I'm Assassin. I finally understand why everyone was saying I was going to do great things. I believe that now. I closed my eyes and raised my arms up, letting myself get consumed in the storm.

"Welcome to the brotherhood." I said once more with a smile.

~*Memory synched: Sequence 11 completed.*~

Synchronization rate: 59%


Cole MacGrath is now an Assassin. YAY! =D

A little anti-climatic? Sorry *

*IMPORTANT: I am DEFINITELY including sequences 12 and 13 in here. They are simply too epic to exclude and it would just be too dang weird to do a whopping ELEVEN year time skip (this sequence ends in approx. 1488, sequence 14 starts in… 1499). Plus those sequences have given me a setup for something… interesting =3

Please review =)