I stood as I saw Conner walk over and Haytham got up with me. I took one look at his attire before bursting out laughing.
"You look ridiculous!" I giggled "That uniform is waaaay to small for you. Sorry Godzilla." Conner rolled his eyes and Haytham went to straighten Conner's coat.
"That should suffice." Haytham mumbled "Follow me." We followed him to the entrance of the factory.
"Halt strangers. You tread on private property." said the guard "What business have you here?"
"The Father of Understanding Guides Us." Haytham said smoothly. I raised an eyebrow, must be a Templar password or whatever.
"You I recognize, not the savage or the girl." The guard spat. Conner and I both tensed slightly.
"He is my son." Haytham stated "And she is my ward." Conner and I both looked at him in surprise.
"Tasted of the forest's fruits did you?" The guard asked slyly. I silently groaned in my head. Haytham didn't respond and the guard knocked on the gate, causing it to open.
"Off you go then." The guard told us. We went inside and stopped in front of the factory gate.
"It's locked." Haytham informed us "Give me a moment." He kneeled to pick the lock and I exchanged glances with Conner. He leaned against the wall and I sat down unceremoniously on the dirt.
"Alice! You'll get dirty like that!" Haytham scolded. I rolled my eyes.
"As convincing as your performance ago was, I am not your ward." I grumbled "Leave me alone Old Man and focus on your task." Haytham looked at Conner.
"She is rude, isn't she?" He asked her. Conner shrugged.
"She isn't one who follows order lightly." He replied. There was a few moments of awkward silence before Conner broke it.
"Must be strange for you, discovering my existence as you have." He told Haytham coolly.
"I'm actually curious as to what your mother might have said about me." Haytham replied "Always wondered what life would have been like if she and I had stayed together. How is she by the way?"
"Dead." Conner snapped "Murdered." He got off the wall and I watched sadly. He had told me that his mother had passed, but he never told me how.
"I'm sorry to hear that." Haytham said sadly.
"Oh, You're sorry?!" Conner snapped "I found my mother burning alive! I'll never forget her face as she sent me away! Charles Lee is responsible for her death by your order! And you're sorry?"Conner's shoulder gently.
"That's impossible." Haytham replied "I gave no such order, I spoke the opposite in fact. I told them to give up the search for the precursor site, we were to focus on more practical pursuits!" I got up and stood between them.
"Guys." I whispered "Let's just-" Conner moved me roughly to the side and then shoved his father. I lost my balance and fell to the dirt.
"What is done is done!" Conner said loudly "And I am all out of forgiveness." I got up as Conner went into the factory.
My eyes watered slightly, which I told myself was just because of the dust I kicked up from my fall. I waited before I followed Conner inside the factory without a word, Haytham following close behind.
"Are you alright?" He asked. I glared at him.
"Does it matter?" I snapped, then I took a breath "Sorry, it's just... I'm worried about him. He's always been the silent type, but with you he's showing a lot more emotion than he usually does. I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad one, but it scares me and it probably scares him too. He's my only friend here and I don't want to see him hurt." I wiped away the wetness in my eyes.
"Let's catch up, shall we?" I asked with a forced smile.
Haytham stopped Conner as we approached Church, who had his back facing us.
"Benjamin Church." Haytham addressed the man "You stand accused of betraying the Templar Order and abandoning our principles in pursuit of personal gain. In consideration of your crime, I hereby sentence you to death." The man turned to look at us.
"NOW!" He yelled. Men surrounded us and I glanced at them. Okay, so this was a trap. Brilliant.
"You're too late, Church and the cargo are long gone." The man told us "And I'm afraid you won't be in any condition to follow." Okay, so the man was an impostor. Double brilliant.
"I really hate my life." I sighed and the guards charged at us. Conner pulled out his tomahawk and got to work. I flicked my wrist and my hidden blades slid out. Haytham actually helped us this time in killing off the guards. The impostor dude was babbling about something, but I didn't really pay attention. One guard ran at me with a yell and I side-stepped and then tripped him. While he was down I plunged my hidden blade into his neck.
"Where is Church?" Conner asked the impostor after we finished off the guards.
"I'll tell you, anything you want if you'll promise me you'll let me live!" Cried the impostor. Conner glanced at Haytham and me and Haytham nodded his head slightly. Conner yanked the man to his feet.
"You have my word." Conner promised.
"He left yesterday for Martinique." said the impostor "He took passage on a trading ship called the Welcome, loaded half of it's hull with the supplies he stole from the patriots. That's all I know I swear!" I jumped when the man cried out. Haytham had plunged his hidden blade in the man's back.
"You promised!" the man gasped.
"And he kept his word." Haytham replied "Let's go." I frowned, wow, that was intense. Guards came in and I tensed. This day couldn't get any better, could it?! They aimed to shoot at us and Haytham tackled Conner to the ground. Wow, talk about father bear. I smirked and dove to the side as well, getting out of the firing range. The guards shot at the far wall and something exploded. There must have been gun powder over there!
"Yay!" I cheered "Not dead!" The wall burst into flames and I rolled my eyes.
"OH COME ON!" I screamed "THIS DAY IS TERRIBLE!"
Haytham brushed his coat off and went to stand next to the second level doors.
"Stuck." He announced after trying the door "See if you can find something to pry it open." I glanced at Conner and he gestured at Haytham.
"Do it." I smirked.
"Conner?" Haytham called "Alice? What are you up to?" Conner got into a running position.
"Ready, set..." I said as Haytham's eyes widened.
"No. Don't do that!" Haytham commanded "We have no idea what's on the other siiiiiiiiiddddddeeee!"
"GO!" I cheered. Conner barreled into Haytham, breaking through the door. I ran to look over the edge just as they fell into the water.
"We do now!" I called down to them as they resurfaced. I backed up and ran, jumping over the edge. I swam up to breathe and grinned at them.
"Thanks boys!" I smirked "You really know how to show a girl a good time!" Haytham glared at me and I looked back innocently. We got out of the water and I was wringing out my hair when I heard a familiar voice.
"Lass?" asked an Irish accent. I turned to see Timothy.
"TIM!" I squealed "How's it going?! Wow, you grew, like, two whole inches! Good for you! Have you been drinking milk?!" Haytham and Conner were having a conversation behind us, not really caring who I was talking to.
"Who is that man?" asked Timothy "And hello Conner." Conner waved vaguely and continued talking with his father.
"That's..." I started, then thought about it "A friend?" Conner grabbed my arm.
"Let's go Alice." He said. I looked at him.
"Yeah, ok." I agreed "Bye Timothy! I'll catch you later!"
I stared at the ship, turning a little green.
"I think I'll stay here." I told them "On dry land, away from ships. Have fun you two." I turned to leave, but Conner caught my shoulder.
"Alice..." He said "I'm sorry about pushing you back at the factory. I let my emotions get out of hand." I smiled.
"Don't worry about it." I chirped "Honestly, it's fine. I just need to go back to the Homestead, away from ships and family. I need to think." I removed his hand gently and then kissed his cheek.
"Don't let Haytham boss you around." I told him "And... Try to get to know the man. He is your father and I'm sure there's some good left. Come and get me after you're done with Church and then, when all of the ships are out of the picture, I'll come." I smiled once last time before I left.
I entered the Homestead.
"Hello?" I called "Achilles?"
"In here, child." He responded. I followed his voice downstairs through the open passageway into the secret basement. I descended the stairs.
"Is Conner not with you?" Achilles asked. I shook my head.
"He is following Church by sea." I replied "And since sailing... upsets my stomach... I have chosen to return." Achilles nodded and then smiled.
"That reminds me." He said. He hobbled over to a chest and unlocked it. When he opened it, he pulled out a sword in a leather sheath.
"This sword has been passed down from generations of assassins." He told me "And now I want you to have it." He handed me the sheath and I gaped.
"Go ahead." He urged "Take a look." I pulled the sword out of the sheath and admired it. It looked like a steel and silver combination forged into a beautiful rapier. It had a leather grip and the handle was etched with a small lions head.
"It's gorgeous." I breathed. I did I few moves with it that Conner taught me. The sword was well balanced and when I sheathed it, it slid in perfectly. I strapped the sheath to my side and smiled at Achilles.
"Thank you." I told him "It's almost to good to be true." Achilles smiled, the skin around his eyes tightening.
"I thought you might like it." He replied "Now let's go upstairs and discuss your mission over a cup of tea."
That night I opened the letter Haytham gave me from my brother.
Dear Alice,
First off, I know you're probably mad at me for joining the Templars, but they are fighting for the right things. We all are, it's a matter of perspective.
Second off, this isn't real. I know, I know, but let me explain.
We are in a game called Assassin's Creed, a game I used to play a lot. These people you meet aren't real, the time here isn't real, your training isn't real. Alice, Conner isn't a real person. He is a video game character that a company called Ubisoft created. The fight between Templars and Assassins is made up, a fictional world that nerds can get lost it. Like Harry Potter or Narnia. You have to believe me! This isn't real and we both need to get out of here! I don't know how we got trapped here, but we need to leave before this game turns us both into something we're not!
Write back to me as soon as you can.
Love,
Nate
I re-read the letter over and over to make sure I read it right the first time. What? How could this all be fake? Everything here was so lifelike, there was no way it could be a video game. Was this some sort of prank? No, Nate wouldn't, not when he had Haytham Kenway over his shoulder. Did he think we was telling the truth?
'Choose.' cooed a voice in my head. Ok, now I'm crazy. I thought about my life before I met Conner. My parents were dead, I lived with my uncle and brother, I had no friends, and the only person who spoke to me was Nate and that was either to yell at me or tell me nerd stuff. If this wasn't real, then I didn't want reality back.
I felt white hot anger flare up inside me and I marched downstairs and threw the letter into the fireplace. I watched it burn into ash and almost smiled.
Good riddance to bad rubbish.
A/N- Whew! It's finally done! Sequence nine is complete! I actually had a lot of fun writing this and I hope you were at least entertained! Wow, so Nate tried to tell Alice huh? And now Alice is a bit messed up. This is getting intense guys!
Replied to Reviews!
Noxy the Proxy- Here is what happen next! I hope you enjoyed!
Konnoronhkwa- You poor thing! I hate when internet spazzes! Alice and Nate are horrible and if they ever meet again in this story I'm pretty sure someone's gonna die.
BC2016- I think I will do a sequel with Evie and Jacob, they seem to be all the rage! I've also already seen all the cutscenes and gameplay so that might be what happens. Thank you so much for that beautiful suggestion!
Anywho! Remember to Favorite, Follow, and Review because it makes me smile!
Chao!- Savespot