Hello again guys, I am about to start chapter 4. Just had a really tough week of exams… I just wanted to ask 1 question: how many of you are getting "Assassins Creed Unity". I know it probably sounds stupid. I just wanted to ask because I am a big fan of assassin's creed. BTW, if any of you are on console (ps3) I would be more than happy to add you on PSN.

Anyway, enough of me rambling, lets begin Chapter 4.

A matter of life or death

When people think about the physics of one of the oldest composite projectile weapons ever made, it is simply mind blowing. As the shooter pulls back the strings and nocks the arrow, the 2 arms of the bow bend back and collect energy. Obviously, the bigger the bow, the more energy it can store. As the shooter lets go of the string, the arms suddenly fling forward, releasing the stored energy and tension and delivering its deadly projectile across the air at a speed of around 200 mph. During its short flight, the arrow continues to pick speed as it soars across the air, eventually falling, and hitting its designated target with pinpoint accuracy. All in all, the bow and arrows was a weapon of wonders.

The same though, couldn't be said for assassin the hooded man had fired at.

In a blink of an eye, the arrow had entered through the side of his neck and had severed his major artery and his windpipe. Blood spurted out in all directions. The assassin dropped to his knees, sliding his hands up to his neck in an attempt to compress the wound.

Despite his best efforts, his attempt was futile.

He was losing too much blood.

The poor man gurgled and spat out blood, trying his hardest to suck in precious air.

A fraction of a second later, the assassin was lying on his back, a pool of his own blood already forming beneath him. The world around him had now become nothing more than a blur. He saw little black spots in the corner of his eyes getting bigger, slowly consuming his vision.

In one final attempt, the assassin turned his head just in time to see horrified look on the Queen's pale face.

He had failed his task…

He had failed to kill the Queen of Arendelle.

The man closed his eyes, never opening them again.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Less than 50 meters away, a hooded figure moved swiftly through the panicked crowd. Sweat poured down his face, pooling inside his hood. His eyes stung from his sweat, his head throbbed from exhaustion, his chest burned, lacking its supply of oxygen… even his feet hurt.

Nevertheless, the man was determined to protect the Queen.

He wished he had had more time to think of a plan of attack. Literally 5 seconds after his "shoot-first-ask-later" plan, the crowd surrounding the Queen had ignited like a powder keg, after seeing the unlucky assailant drop dead on the ground, wriggling like a fish, with blood spurting out of him and a 30 inch arrow sticking out of his neck.

The town square was now nothing more than a mess. People ran in all directions, screaming as if it was Judgment Day. The 4 remaining assassins all looked around the square madly, trying to ping the guy who had shot their mate.

Their hard efforts were cut short as a hooded man, dressed in black, suddenly rocketed out of the crowd.

The assassin the hooded man was aiming at, turned just in time to see him jump and bring the hard pommel of a sabre a couple inches above his eyebrows. He stared… shock written clearly across his face. He didn't say a word. He couldn't. All the hooded man heard was a loud crack as his skull split and he crumpled to the floor next to his dead mate.

Without wasting a second, the hooded man spun around, and clipped the guy just to his right. He got the good just above the temple. He groaned collapsed just in front of the Queen's feet.

She whimpered and moved back a few steps.

Good for her.

The man finally turned to the last two. The bugger nearest to him was still some distance from Planet Earth, still unaware of what was going on. The man ran into him. He staggered back, arms wind milling, and crashed into his mate with a bandanna.

They had no time to recover.

The assailant which Bandanna crashed into was unlucky enough to be at the sharp end of the hooded man's sword when he slashed at him. He screamed and dropped onto his knees and gripped his now open stomach to try and somehow hold what was left of his torso back together. It was useless, the blood wouldn't stop running. The ground beneath him was a pool of red as the last of his life was sucked out of him. The man's eyes became grey and lifeless, his chest struggling to suck in the last bits of precious air. A few seconds later, he stopped moving leaving his arms and legs jutted out at awkward angles. His ragged and heavy breathing stilled as the last of his life left his body. He was dead...

As the hooded man turned to end the very last assailant, the guy with the bandanna, he was met with a gloved fist colliding with his face. For a second he was stunned as tears blurred his vision. He felt a small trickle of blood run down his stinging nose and onto the hard concrete down below. The hooded man never got to brace himself for the second attack, a powerful kick that sent him flying back a few meters and landing on his back. Now the trouble came. Momentarily paralysed as the pain and shock registered, the man lay totally defenceless as his enemy slowly trudged forward to finish him. He had to do something, something that would catch his enemy off guard.

So he waited...

Then he could hear it. The heavy breathing of his tired opponent, the hiss of the blade as the sword slid slowly out of its scabbard. The man waited until he could see the silhouette of the assailant's arms bring the sword above his head, poised like a deadly viper, ready to make the finishing strike.

Now...

With nearly inhuman speed, the hooded man rolled to his side just as the blade hit the spot where his head would have been less than a second ago.

Bandanna, the guy who just witnessed something that was close to impossible, stared dumbly at the ground where his target was just a split second before. It was impossible for a man to move and dodge a blade at that speed. It scared Bandanna, really. It seemed that the black hooded figure he was fighting had the tendency to move as fast and as quietly as a ghost. He'd seen how quickly and easily it had taken him to kill all of the other assailants. It was a skill that no man ever possessed.

A glint suddenly caught the corner of Bandanna's eye, and he turned just in time to see a sword dive into the side of his body, making a squelching sound as it penetrated the layers of skin and bone, finally going out the other side. At first Bandanna felt nothing, just a little tug as he felt the blade being pulled from his body. He felt his knees buckle and his body shudder.

Then he felt the pain.

It felt like he was being stabbed and cut by a thousand needles and knives all at once. Bandanna's scream was cut by the blood that clogged his throat, threatening to spill out any began to gurgle and cough up chunks of his insides and blood. Foam had begun to pool out of the corners of his mouth. His eyes bulged and seemed to break free from their sockets. The man's howls of pain had turned to animalistic snarls and screams. It felt like his guts were being dug out from his body. His whole body seemed to look like it was going to explode any minute.

Deciding to end the his miseries quickly, the hooded man pulled out his pistol and fired at the wailing figure in front of him.

The screaming suddenly stopped.

The crowd was deathly quiet.

All eyes were all turned toward the hooded man, who was still clutching his pistol and sword. He in turn, stared at the Queen and Princess of Arendelle, trying to somehow get words out of his mouth.

He couldn't. All that came out were some strange groaning noises.

Damn, he thought, I must sound like I'm constipated or something.

He was probably right. The Queen and Princess dumbly stared back at him, mouths wide open, still unable to process what they had just seen… and to figure out what the hell was wrong with the hooded retard in front of them.

The man suddenly felt himself being lifted into thin air and slammed back first into ground. He struggled trying to kick off the 300kg idiot on top of him.

All he got was a head butt in return.

Painfully, the man opened his eyes. He was aware of the steady trickle of blood running from his nose, though he could do nothing about it. His hands were pinned by his side. He was stuck.

"Wait… wait…we can sort this ou…." The man was suddenly cut of from the punch that connected with his jaw.

Now, totally defenseless, all the man could do was watch…

He saw men in purple uniforms talk with the Queen briefly, their mouths moving at a rate faster than the speed of light.

Arendelle guards… the men in the green and purple uniforms were actually Arendelle guards, the man realized.

One of the guards had suddenly turned and pointed at him.

The man's heart literally stopped beating.

He saw the Queen nod and the guard salute.

Oh no… they're going to kill me.

The hooded man was now in total 'panic mode'. He started to wriggle and squirm trying to break the iron grip that his arms were in.

His efforts were useless…

He saw the guard bring his weapon up…

But instead of it firing fire the deadly projectile that would most likely blow his brains out, it started a decent back down the way it had come.

Relief flooded the man's veins.

Phew, thank God, he's not going to…

A sharp pain suddenly filled the man's head, and he jerked to his right immediately.

The guard had hit his head with the butt of his gun.

The man groaned. He opened his eyes but he couldn't focus, the world was spinning too quickly. He saw little spots and fleck at the edge of his vision; they were getting bigger, consuming him.

Then he saw nothing… the world had gone black…

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Darkness… it was the thing the he had lived with, trained with… survived with. Now he was in it again. He wasn't scared… no, the darkness felt somewhat familiar… like an old friend he once knew.

Now, the darkness was shifting. The man could make out the blue sky and the tall trees. The wet dew on the grass glistened in the sun. There were birds singing and insects humming. It looked just like a perfect summer morning.

But it wasn't…

There was smoke slithering around the trees…

And where there was smoke, there was fire…

Suddenly he was back… to the last place he ever wanted to see. He could see a small cottage amidst the all the smoke. It was burning. There were flames licking the wooden exteriors and foundations. The whole place was going to collapse any minute.

And there they were. A small boy along with his mother and father suddenly broke out of the burning door. They were dirty, covered in soot. Their hairs were matted and they were coughing their lung out.

With the burning house in the background, the father, mother and son looked as if they had just walked straight out from hell.

The flames started to intensify, eating away the remains of the cottage. The small family had all stopped, their sore feet and polluted lungs stopping from going any further.

The flames were now searing hot and they was slowly spreading...

An explosion suddenly rocked the earth, and burning debris flew in all directions.

"RUN! GO!" the father's voice only came as a hoarse whisper, but it was enough to get everyone slowly moving again.

They weren't fast enough…

The second explosion sent everyone sprawling. The impact of the fall was enough to knock out a bloody giant.

No one moved… they couldn't. It felt as if their guts had been wrenched out.

As the little boy looked up he could see his mother lying not far away. Her limbs were jutted at an awkward angle and there was blood running from her nose. She lay there… silent and still.

What was worst was the sight of the boy's father. His legs were now burned stumps at the knee. His torso was only a mix of black and burnt flesh and blood. His face was burnt up to the point where it was no longer recognizable- just a crisp circular shape with eyes, nose, ears and mouth.

As the boy turned, he saw his father move ever so slightly to face him. His unrecognizable face was enough to give him nightmares for the rest of his life. The boy could see his father's mouth slowly move, his voice barely more than a whisper.

" Go… before… it… to late. The men… who did this… will… come… back…"

As his father coughed what was left of his stomach, he could only lip his last few words.

" Remember… I… will always… love you…"

And with that the boy got up and ran. He didn't care about the unbearable pain in his gut, or the searing pain in his feet.

He just ran…

It was the third explosion that stopped him in his tracks. The boy turned just in time to see the endearing flames engulf what was left of his mother and father…

That was it…

He couldn't take it any more…

The pain was unbearable…

The boy buckled to his knees and looked up toward Heaven.

He screamed!

It was a cold-blooded scream. Not one of fear, relief or anger… but one of hopeless despair.

As he knelt around the burning carnage, it didn't matter how much his lungs burned, or how much his stomach ached… nothing could seem to stop the boy from his endless screams of despair… nor from his angry curses that he seemed to hurl toward Heaven.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was the same cold-blooded screams that suddenly woke the hooded man from his nightmare and sent him sprawling off his bunk. He lay there for a moment panting, trying to catch his breath.

He hadn't even realized that he was screaming in his sleep.

Sweating, tired and smelling like the rear of a donkey, the man got up and looked around. For the first time he realized that he was that he was actually in a dark cell. It was just a metal box with a door. There was mould and cobwebs in the corner and something that insanely looked like human waste in a bucket.

Heck, there was even blood on the floor, probably from the last unlucky prisoner.

He took a step forward.

Clang

He moved less than a meter.

The man looked down to see that his hands were chained to the wall. He no longer had weapons (just his hidden blade was left, duh…hidden, get it?) He inwardly groaned.

Great, just what did I do to deserve this. I saved the Queen. I coulda at least had celebration and a hug…

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of the heavy steel doors being opened.

" Ha, you're awake, you better get yourself ready. The Queen really hates waiting."

A fat guard with a face as round as a sunflower had suddenly walked in. To be honest, he would have had a better reputation if he worked at the donut shop down the road. His uniform was at least three times smaller than his size, making his belly and tits do somersaults as he covered the short distance to the cell. Sunflower looked as if he wanted to show off in front of a few girls. His hair was oiled back and parted and his arm muscles bulged in his tight sleeves.

The only bad thing was that Sunflower had spent too much time lifting weights but had skipped out on the exercising bit, and instead took the time to 'chill out' by eating donuts.

Sunflower reached down and unchained the man… before putting on another set of shackles on him.

Just freaking great!

As he pulled the man up to his feet he called out the door to another guard.

" Eh, Johannes get your lazy arse in here will ya!"

A second later a tall, lanky guard who the man assumed was Johannes, entered. He was literally the opposite of Sunflower. He was skinny and had a zit covered face. He had an Adam's apple the size of a coconut and his body seemed to be lacking the necessary muscles that it needed to have to survive. All in all, Johannes looked like a dope. His eyes were only half open, and he looked like as if he was finishing his one hundredth yawn that day.

The guards had now grabbed each of the man's shoulders and were dragging roughly him across the dungeons. As they passed, the man saw the other cells in which the prisoners were held him. They were all chained, sitting down and looking down at the ground… their eyes were lifeless.

A minute later, the trio ascended a flight of stairs and past a heavy iron door.

Instantly, the surroundings were much more friendlier. Portraits hung on the walls, maids moved in every direction. There was even an ice chandelier hanging off the ceiling!

This place looked bloody epic, thought the man.

No longer had he thought that, the guards had stopped him outside a set of double wooden doors with an ice crystal embedded into it.

Sunflower walked up to doors and did a sequenced knock.

Knock knock… knock knock

A second later, a feminine voice called out, "Enter." There was authority in her voice, and it strangely sent a chill down the man's spine.

As he was led inside, the man took stock of his surroundings. To his sides were massive sets of arched windows. A long red carpet led up to a small platform at the end of the room, where a massive throne stood facing the doors. An elegant, beautiful woman with blonde hair sat on it, and next to her stood a girl with pigtails looking slightly bored. Both their expressions were unreadable…

They look really similar. The only difference is that Mrs pigtails had brunette coloured hair and had a bit more freckles than the blonde sitting next to her.

As the guards brought the hooded man to the center of the room, the brunette and blonde woman got up and walked toward them.

"Please untie the prisoner… and take off his hood." Her voice was stern, but strangely kind and full of authority.

Ok, great, now everyone will know how I look like, I am sooooo dead…

In less than a second, one of the guards, which happened to be Sunflower, wrenched the man's hood off.

There was literally a gasp from everyone who was present in the room.

The hooded man, or rather now, the unhooded man was left on his knees with his face fully exposed, staring hardly at the floor. His features were surprisingly attractive. He had brown curly hair that went all the way down to his shoulders. His face had rough, but good-looking features. What stood out the most, were the man's emerald green eyes. They seemed to glint, as if the sun itself was shining on them.

For a short moment, no one said anything. It was the Queen who finally broke the silence.

"Guards," her voice seemed to tremble slightly, "wait outside until I tell you to come back in."

Sunflower and Johannes immediately complied and left the room. Now it was just the man, the Queen and the Princess.

"Greetings stranger, I am Queen Elsa of Arendelle," she pointed to her sister, "This is Princess Anna of Arendelle.

"I hope you realize what is going to happen for what you did today. You caused quite a commotion. You risked the lives of my sister and me and could have harmed the citizens of Arendelle. I hope you know what punishment you're in for."

The man continued to stare at the ground and said nothing.

"What is your name?" The Queen's voice seemed to push him into the ground.

No answer.

"You don't want to tell me?"

No answer.

"You're making this harder for yourself."

"S..Shane," the man's voice was barely audible.

"Excuse me, I didn't get what you said."

"My name is Shane,"

The Queen paused for a moment, seeming to take this all in.

"Ok Shane," It was the Princess who broke the silence this time, "My I ask why you wanted to kill me and my sister?"

Kill… what! I didn't even try to hurt them. What retards!

"I didn't try to kill you… I was protecting you." Shane answered quietly.

" Then how do explain what happened at Town Square today?"

" If it weren't for me, you and your sister would be dead, those men wanted to kill you."

" Why? What for? We didn't do anyth…"

The Princess was suddenly cut off from the sound of the windows smashing.

Both Elsa and Anna screamed as 3 hooded assailants suddenly swung in, immediately adapting into their fighting stances.

"Well, Queen Elsa, it seems you were lucky that this young man saved your life by killing my friends. It seems like we'll have to finish the job for you this time…" The voice came from the assailant who was assumed to be the leader of the group. Unlike the other two, he had a metallic skull mask that totally covered every inch of his face, leaving nothing exposed other than his eyes, which were hidden from the shadows of his mask.

AN: for all those who still don't have an idea of how this guy looks like. Google: the assassin from the game Dishonored.

As expected of course, the doors of the throne room were suddenly flung open, and both Sunflower and Johannes barged in, weapons at the ready.

Sunflower locked on to his first target, sword drawn, face set into an angry snarl…

Well, of course, his whole little commotion lasted less than a second, because by the time he got his weapon up and all that… he had looked down to find a throwing knife embedded in his chest.

Sunflower dropped dead like a fish to the ground, his body going spastic. He had a surprised look on face, like he still didn't know what had just happened. Well, too bad for him, because he probably will never ever get to know how he died. His body had suddenly become still as the last of his life finally drained from him. His eyes were still wide open with shock by the time he was dead.

Around two seconds after Sunflower had gone down with a knife in his chest, Johannes had instantly leapt into action. He had directed his attacks at Skull Mask, trying to slash him across the gut.

Shane had to admit, Johannes was good, better than Sunflower at least, but no way near as skilled as Skull Mask. He was wielding duel daggers and seemed to block all of Johannes' attacks with ease, as if he was sparring with a mate. In less than a full minute, Johannes was already sweating like pig. His attacks were getting slower, his defenses were getting weaker. He was going not to last a lot longer…

Deciding to make the most of the distraction, Shane leapt up and aimed for the other two assailants. Both instantly turned and attacked him. The first one aimed a jab for Shane's throat. He sadly found the true fact that a hidden blade had stuck up his 'willy'.

There was no time to waste.

Shane instantly pivoted around to face his second opponent, and aimed a back kick to deliver the good news to his head.

He unfortunately missed

Smash!

Shane suddenly felt the air get knocked out of him and doubled-over as the opponent's knee collided with his ribcage. His head would probably be rolling on the ground if it weren't for his quick instincts.

Shane immediately somersaulted forward, just as the opponent's sword came to deliver it's final strike… it instead collided with thin air.

Shane ducked as the opponent swung his sword, aiming for his head…again.

He kneed the assailant in the crotch making him bend over in pain. Without pausing, Shane jabbed the man's throat and swung a right hook at his face. Blood suddenly splattered all over his face.

The man's eyes bulged as the pain finally registered

Shane stepped on the man's calf joint with the heel of his foot.

The crack of bones breaking and the man's howls could be heard from half of the castle away.

As the assailant dropped to the ground, Shane brought his foot up and smashed it on the man's skull.

There were no more screams.

All that was left of his head was a puddle of bones, brains and blood…

To his right, Shane heard screams and looked to see Skull Mask drive both his daggers into Johannes' chest.

Both Elsa and Anna had their hands over their mouths to stifle their screams as Johannes dropped to the ground and laid still, a pool of blood starting to form around him already.

Without thinking, Shane lunged forward and extended both his hidden blades.

Clang

The sound of metal hitting metal filled the room, as Skull Mask parried Shane's attack.

Shane suddenly found himself hitting thin air, as Skull Mask sidestepped him at the last second. He was about to attempt another strike, when he suddenly felt a flash of pain across his stomach.

He looked down to see his own clothes already soaked in blood.

He'd been stabbed

Shane dropped to the ground as he suddenly felt his head spin. His vision started to blur and he felt his head throb uncontrollably. He turned just in time to see the Queen release a volley of icicles toward Skull Mask.

Apparently, none of the icicles hit their intended target, as Skull Mask suddenly disappeared out the window.

The Queen now turned her attention toward Shane. He was aware of a small puddle of blood already pooling beneath him. He looked up just in time to see the Queen look at him and say something.

He couldn't hear a word she said

With the pain in his stomach to hard to bear, Shane closed his eyes just as he felt the world of darkness envelop him…

Well, that is the end of chapter 4. I hoped you all liked it. Please give me reviews. For the next few days, I probably will not be able to post any chapters since I will be away on school camp. This is why I posted a big chapter this time. Anyway I hope you all enjoyed and I will see you when I get back.

OneZer0