Willoffire123:…
Arno: Ta silence m'énerve.
Shay: She must be planning something devious.
Willoffire123: I'm in college now; I'm too old for such foolishness.
Connor: Liar.
Willoffire123: WHY YOU-
Edward: And it took two seconds for that mask to break. Right then! Willoffire123 doesn't own Assassin's Creed.
Jacob: On with the chapter!
Edward: Wait, who-
"Où est le mec?"
"Viens ici!"
Arno scrambled even further back into his hiding place in a guard watch house. He'd started having second thoughts about crashing the party the second he almost got caught.
"Arno? C'est tu?"
Then again, he really wanted to see Elise. Arno took a deep breath and slunk out of his hiding place then, with greater speed than he'd ever needed before, shimmied up the wall to where his radiant redheaded beauty was waiting for him.
"Arno!" she said eagerly as he climbed, "It is good to see you but you really shouldn't…"
Her voice trailed off as Arno reached the balcony. That beautiful smile he'd seen from the ground melted the second she got a look at his face. She looked horrified.
"Arno?" she said in a small voice, "Wh-what's wrong with your-?"
"Elise? Où est tu ma petite?" came the voice of her father from somewhere in the distance.
"Désolée, Arno," said Elise, "But I-I think you should go."
And like that, Elise disappeared back into the depths of that magnificent mansion just as Arno realized that he'd forgotten to turn off his second sight.
Arno watched his beloved as she crossed the vast mansion to reach a group of her father's friends on the other side before he leapt out the window. As he left he tried pondering just how exactly he was supposed to apologize to Elise for being some sort of monster.
Seeing Monsieur de la Serre's bloody corpse on the ground when he landed, Arno knew that was a problem for another day.
Connor woke to the acrid stench of sweat and blood hanging in the air. Dazed and in a world of pain, the young assassin barely noticed being carried on Arno's back as the assassin ran down the hall with his Templar father and a man he didn't recognize.
"Are you sure Bishop's dead?"
"He collapsed in a pool of blood! How could he possibly still be alive?"
"Can't you hear him shrieking behind us?"
"Who cares? Just run!"
The world fell apart around them to the shrill cries for blood barking at their heels, and Connor felt nothing. The darkness crept in from all sides, consuming all thought and feeling. As he drifted into the recesses of his mind, one single thought permeated the numbness: I'm going to die.
With that, Connor sank back into the abyss.
Oblivious, or perhaps forcefully ignorant to the status of the man on his back, Arno surged through the falling debris. The two Templars struggled to keep pace in the narrow corridor.
"What's that?"
Arno peered through the darkness to see three shapes closing in fast. Running for their lives, Arno and the two Templars couldn't slow down until it was too late. The guards bristled, ready to charge and skewer Arno and the others with their spears.
Arno tightened his grip on Connor. If there were any moment for Haytham and Shay to prove themselves trustworthy, now, with one dying assassin on the back of one with no free hands, would be the moment of truth.
"Get back!"
"Kill the intruders! Kill the prisoners! Kill them all!"
Despite the shrieking snarling man screaming for their death, Bishop's guards dispersed in a fit of panic.
"What was that?" demanded Haytham.
"Master," said Shay with a grin, "The cavalry's arrived."
Moving as one, three hooded assailants lunged at the soldiers with the ferocity of wounded animals fighting for survival.
One leapt into the air at a terrified soldier and brought the man to the ground. Arno saw a flash of gold from beneath the hood before the hidden blade deftly buried itself into its prey's jugular.
The second soldier narrowed in on Arno as the most vulnerable assailant, and charged. The man made it two steps before another assassin pounced, snarling as his sword drained his victim's life.
The final soldier, brave, foolish man, speared the third assassin only to gut thin air. Moving with a hypnotic grace, the third assassin sidestepped his attacker, rested the barrel of his blunderbuss on his attacker's skull, and blew the man's brains out.
Arno grinned. Edward Kenway was covered in blood and guts of his victims, and the pirate looked absolutely elated to see his son and his grandson.
"It's about bloody time!" he greeted Arno. "We were getting bored."
"Showoff," Shay grunted.
"It is good to see you three again," said Haytham, "But we must hurry. Connor-,"
"Needs immediate attention, we know," said an assassin Arno did not recognize, leaning heavily on another assassin Arno did not know.
"We should go," agreed the third assassin, "I can hear Bishop closing in quickly."
"Yes, of course," said Arno, "I'm sorry, who are you again?"
"Oh sod off," scoffed Haytham, "You know exactly who they are. Now get a move on."
Arno had an idea, but he was hoping someone would prove him correct. Surprisingly enough, the most surreal moment of the mission so far was standing in front of two of the most legendary assassins in the entire brotherhood. Arno was almost overwhelmed. Almost.
"Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, Ezio Auditore, it is an honor," said Arno, "We should-"
The crack of a gunshot scattered the band of assassins and Templars.
"NOBODY MOVE," roared Bishop, "HOLD STILL SO I CAN KILL YOU!"
The slash wounds from Arno's sword bled sluggishly, staining Bishop's robes a murky brown. His white mask was cracked and crumbling, showing one eye glowing with unhinged rage.
Arno glanced behind him. He could see the crack of daylight over Connor's shoulder. Just a little further…
"I SAID NOBODY MOVE!" shrieked Bishop.
"Why are you doing this, Bishop?" shouted Shay. "Surely the money isn't worth all the death and destruction?"
Bishop chuckled maniacally to himself. "Who said anything about money? Believe it or not, I am not in charge of this gang. Our King and Queen have the same powers as you freaks. I only joined their stupid gang so I could claw out their eyes and dissect them myself; you were merely practice."
Arno felt someone bristle with rage beside him.
"You monster," growled Edward, "I know exactly who you're talking about. It's a miracle I didn't figure it out sooner. What have you done with the twins?"
Bishop cackled even harder. "It's funny, you know. They're my bosses and I haven't the faintest idea where they are!"
BANG!
Another shot went off at Edward's feet.
"Maybe if they were here," Bishop said softly, "MAYBE IF THEY WERE HERE INSTEAD OF RUNNING OFF TO INDIA! EVERYTHING WOULD BE FINE IF THEY'D JUST STAY IN ENGLAND FOREVER!"
Arno felt the ground underneath him shake.
"We must go," he urged the others, "Now."
Willoffire123:…
Arno:…
Leonardo:…
Ezio:…
Edward:…um…
Shay:…
Willoffire123: Until next time!