Welcome back to Dark Future. It's been a long time.

Hiatus is now over. This story is now my top priority.

This is the final of three flashback prologue chapters.

CHAPTER 3
FLASHBACK 2038- THE RISE OF AN ORDER

It had been about a year since these Templars took over New York, and their power had finally spread across the whole nation.
Now they could look for whatever it is they were looking for in full force.
However, at the same time, the resistance I lead against them began to form at this time.
The Assassin Order.
There was no other name for it. A resistance group built to stop the Templars.

[21 NOVEMBER 2038]

[NEW YORK, NEW YORK]

I was walking down the street through the rain back to the place I used to sleep when I saw it happen.
A group of civilians with rifles, attacking a Templar patrol. And they were winning. Even though they were using weapons outdated by thirty years, they were dropping the templars one by one.
Suddenly I felt strange. The same kind of feeling I had back in 2030 when I used that hidden blade.
My mind was urging me to use it again.
I still had it, of course. You don't survive in a post apocalyptic world whether it be from zombies or government collapse without any means of personal defense.
In this world, defenseless people die every day.
I extended the now 8 year old weapon from my left wrist, and charged at a Templar as he was reloading his weapon. I leapt onto him, driving my blade into his chest with the force of the impact. I took his gun and and attacked the rest from behind. With them getting shot at from two directions, the rest were soon on the ground dead.
After this, all but one of the civilians dropped their weapons and ran- most likely from realizing they had just killed people.
I know that feeling. The terror that flows through one's mind when they see someone dead by their hand.
But, unfortunately, killing is something you get better at the more you do it.
I approached the man who stayed at the scene. He looked to be about 6'2". Short black hair and brown eyes.
I could tell from the way he was fighting that it wasn't his first time in combat.
"Who are you?" I asked him.
"I should ask you the same. My name is Jack. Back in the United States I served as a Marine. And your name?" He answered my question and asked his own.
"I don't have a name anymore." I answered. "After the government fell and this chaos began, I lost any use for it. They don't care about us. They're looking for something, and that's the only thing they care about here."
"I noticed they were looking for something, too. I also noticed that knife you took that guy down with. It's a lot like the one from this old game called Assassin's Creed. Come to think of it, the villains in that game were called Templars. Strange. Anyway, why do use that knife like that?" Jack asked.
"If you're from here, maybe you remember what happened in that high school eight years ago." I answered his question, the image of the kid I killed back then flashing in my mind.
"So you're the guy who prevented a massive school shooting? I think I saw your name in an article about it in the newspaper back then. It's-"
"Don't say it." I cut him off. I know what my name is- was. I abandoned my name when the States fell.
"As you wish." Jack said with a grin. "Well, since this is second time killing a Templar as an Assassin, then maybe we should really be the Assassins. Take America back from these bastards. I know more people like the two of us- willing to fight these guys. We have a small meeting place set up in the sewers beneath Times Square. I can take you to them. With their help, you and me can form a real life Assassin Order.
So how about it?" He asked, reaching out his hand.
"Bring me there, Jack." I answered as I took his hand with my own and shook.

[2 HOURS LATER]

[SEWERS BENEATH NEW YORK]
Jack brought me to see his friends. They were a lot more like me than I expected. They too had abandoned their names. They were Marines like Jack. They used their old code names.
There were three of them. Dallas, Kremlin, and Shadow.
Dallas was raised in the city of the same name. He joined the marines to be like his dad.
Kremlin was half Russian. After his family getting shit for being the bad guys in the Cold War, he decided that he would join the military to prove that even a Russian can be an American patriot.
Shadow was from Michigan. He did a lot of stealth missions, hence his name. Killed a lot of people from stealth. Before they even had a chance to fight back.

Unlike these four, at the time I had no name whatsoever.
"Well, I remember reading about that 'incident' in 2030, and according to Jack, you're a skilled fighter." Shadow said in a cold, tired, emotionless voice. I could tell that he's killed a lot of people. "If you'd have the honor of leading this little resistance group, then I suggest you use the name Mentor. It's what the Assassins in the old games called their leader.

It was then decided. This small group of five- four ex-marines, and an ordinary civilian- we would become the Assassins. We would fight the Templars. We would figure out what they were looking for and stop them from finding it.

The next two years was full of fighting them for us. We got new friends. People with the same mindset.
Now, in 2040, we are two hundred strong.

I am The Mentor, the leader of the Assassins.

This chapter concludes the prologue. The main story begins next chapter.
Thank you for reading. From now on, expect a chapter at least once a week.

-Novikov