Author's Note: I got the research for this bit off of Wiki; a large majority of this chapter consists of actual things that happened in the battle of Lexington and Concord. I even had to use a bloody map so I knew which direction to come at this at! I'm changing a few things though, just really small things. It's like a three way mixture of actual fact, Assassin's Creed fact, and my brain. You'll see! ^_^

P.S: Sorry this took so long to post! T_T With Mid-Term Exams coming up, the holidays, and my usual hobbies it's taken me a while to finish. I even had to cut this into two pieces. But in the mean time I sure have heard a lot from you guys! And I really appreciate it! I love you guys and Merry Christmas and or any holidays you might be celebrating! Also I'd like to know if you guys would be interested in a Christmas One-shot of this, if so let me know!

Special thanks to:

Portrait of a Scribe

Alpha Lima One

SylphJr

BloodyOrchid

TheNurdyGurl

Maverick Hunter Phoenix

Spaarky

ShioriOokami

Cereza101

flamefoxvixen

GingerNinja26

Godskeybladewarrior

AdamantiumDevil

Silver Shadowbreeze

MixedAssassin7

121741e1

Pixelshadow

Corrosionpanda

Athalia97

ENJOY! With all my LOVE to you, Merry Christmas to you guys!

-X-

Revolutionary Tactics

Chapter 3: Lexington, Concord… And Kyle?

One would think that when you're sent back into the seventeen hundreds from modern day there would be culture shock involved at some point, that it would be hard to adjust. Well when that person who's been thrown back in time is used to roughing it in the woods with their dad for weeks on end, nothing but tents and sleeping bags, it's less culture shock more culture frustration.

'I'll take a manor over a tent any day!'

One would also think that riding a horse for the first time would be difficult, but when you've watched your step dad ride horses almost everyday of your life, and when you're riding a very well trained horse itself, it's much easier than you'd think. It does however still hurt considerably, sitting on a hard leather saddle for an hour while the animal you're on is racing at full speed.

Achilles was right though; Shadow was indeed one heck of a fast horse. So, now all I had to worry about was not getting lost. Originally I thought a lot of navigation would be in order, but there was one dirt road and wooden signs everywhere. As long as I watched the signs I stayed on track.

Lexington and Concord are only three hundred meters away from each other, being as both towns are located on Massachusetts' border. But the ride from Davenport to Medford was an hour long and several miles away. Medford is about five miles away from Boston; British reinforcements began marching at Cambridge and circled around Roxbury and Boston then started their assault at Menotomy. The rebels held their ground at Lexington, fled when out numbered, then strategically held the line at the North Bridge in Concord.

When coming from the direction of Davenport, Medford is the first place you would hit. It's only ten kilometers from Menotomy and was completely vacant of all life. I imagined the residents of the area had heard about the march of Redcoats coming their way and vacated the premises. Medford, however, was not on the British's marching path; it was just out of their range. So I was safe, for now.

Really, during the hour I had, while heading toward Medford, I was trying to mentally prepare myself for what was to come. I mean; I was walking into a war here! A real war, not a paint ball war or a laser tag war like what I was used to. There was going to be real corpses, blood, killers, guns, and the whole she-bang!

Not only that I had to find a killer amongst killers. How was I supposed to know what the Templar Agent was going to look like? Most likely it would be a man, as then he would have the home field advantage over me, this being an anti-feminist era and all. He could easily blend in then, and the Agent could be disguised as a rebel or a Redcoat for all I knew!

During the hour-long race against time I had plenty of things to think about, and now that I really do think about it, I'm terrified! How was I supposed to survive through this? Why did I have to save Connor? Why did Minerva choose me? I am not a hero; I'm barely a girl, let alone anything else! Minerva can shove it! I'm not doing this for her; I'm doing this for Connor!

'Wait? What? I'm doing this for Connor?'

I guess so, who else would I charge head first into danger for? Mind you this isn't a sudden devotion, more of a sentimental one. Connor is the one who's been training me for something like this since the get go after all. Connor was the one who trusted me. Connor was the one who taught me Mohican. Connor was the one that saved me on day one. Connor's the one that gave me a new place to stay. Connor's the one that stood up for me. Connor's the one who believed in me.

'If you don't fight for a person like that than who do you fight for?'

It was the final ten meters before Medford. My spine ached and I couldn't feel my butt anymore, even Shadow's movements were beginning to become sluggish after our race across the map. Medford was truly a ghost town; something about the presence of the place was so cold. Only a thin forest and small river separated Medford from Menotomy. I could already hear the screaming, gunfire, and fighting from across the way. The gunfire cracked through the silence of the forest, the screaming ripped through it like a sword slicing the air. It made my heart race and I wasn't even in the battle zone yet.

I wasn't ready for this; I closed my eyes as I took a deep breath of the last bit of fresh air I might ever breathe. I was really not ready for this. I was inches away from having a panic attack as Shadow galloped up onto the streets of Medford. The town was eerie, not a soul in sight. The brick streets were devoid of any sign of life, all of the houses and buildings boarded up. I was so not ready for this. A shrill chill ran down my spine.

I had to go straight through Medford and over a small wooden bridge to get to Menotomy. As soon as I'd hit Menotomy I'd be surrounded by British forces. I found myself frozen at the thought, stilling the horse by reflex. I couldn't summon up the courage to continue, images of blood, severed bone, snapped spines, gunshot wounds, corpses, and death passing by my eyes. I wasn't ready for this, I just wasn't ready!

'But I don't have a choice, do I?' I thought as a deep and heavy sigh passed from my lips. I found my sweaty palms gripping the reins tightly. Shadow whined and I kicked her to continue in a slow trot. 'If I don't do something now Connor might die. If Connor dies then Desmond is never born, and in the long run we're all screwed! It's more than that though, it's about me betraying Connor like that, it's about me not even trying to save the one person who has faith in me right now!' I felt like Atlas at that moment, carrying the world upon my shoulders.

I gritted my teeth together, eyes shut tight in concentration, trying to summon what little courage I had, as Shadow hoofed it across the bridge. I could hear them now, all of those cries of pain and despair, I could smell and feel the tension of death rising, it was almost tangible. I had to open my eyes to see and when I did all I saw was red.

It was a massive sea of Redcoats; they covered the hills, marching in small groupings or squads. Their muskets were at the ready, bayonets sticking up in the air as they carried their rifles on their shoulders. I could hear drums and screams, gunfire and shouting. I had heard about it all and now I could see it. And let me tell you; reading about it is one thing, seeing it is very much something altogether different! A teacher or lecturer could never truly capture the feeling of the battlefield. You had to be there to truly understand it, to truly know it.

On the battlefield there is an insurmountable amount of tension, every soldier thinks their next second is their last. But among those cries and screams, hidden deep in the darkness, there is hope. Hope is what keeps them all fighting, not orders or duty, but hope that after it all they might see their families again. Hope that in the future they might all be free.

If boys younger than me could believe in this hope, if men older than my grandfather weren't afraid to fight for it, then why should I be? Sure I'm not a soldier, I don't have a musket or a gun, but I could still fight. I could at least try! 'And that's what it all boils down to; trying. Because when tomorrow comes and dawn breaks, at least I could look Connor in the eye and say I tried.' I thought rather bitterly as Shadow made that last gallop onto the battlegrounds of Menotomy.

You know how they say that the sun was shining that day, during that battle fueled by morality and hope? Well, their wrong, it was raining that day. It was dark and dreadful, bitter and so very tension filled. The winds swept by the grass and the rain drenched the dirt and turned it to mud. This was a bitter place with only that one thread of golden hope keeping it all together, just waiting for destiny to cut it in half with a knife.

Blood soaked into the ground, three corpses strewn at Shadow's hooves. It was a family, a little girl and her mother and father, dead because they stood with the idea of freedom. Or maybe it was just because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. The horse stopped before crossing over them, and I felt something…break inside of me.

I cupped a hand over my mouth, something inside of me shattering just a little bit at the sight. How could anyone do this? How could someone kill a little girl? How could people slaughter each other endlessly just because of a disagreement? Why was humanity so violent? As an Assassin I shouldn't fear the dead, but the old teachings of the Creed, back in Altair's day, said to respect life. How ironic that the Assassins themselves caused as much death as the Templars they fought.

All this, to me, was just insanity. It was greed in its purest form, the darkest parts of humanity out where everyone could see it. And I wanted no part of it, but I had no choice. Life or death, innocents lost or not, this fight was not mine to bear arms to, but it was about to be.

"The British are taking prisoners!"

"Run!"

"God help us!"

Suddenly a shot rang out, louder than life itself. In slow motion Shadow buckled underneath me. Then she reared up and slowly, slower than I thought possible, I watched as helplessly I was thrown from the saddle of the horse. My back hit the cold, wet, and blood soaked ground. I would have screamed had my lungs not been frozen in terror. My body was numb and I found myself unmovable as I watched Shadow run off, across the bridge, back towards Medford.

The cold rain hit me like sharp crystals, it stung my face, blurred my vision. It felt like time itself had stopped. I couldn't breath, I couldn't feel my heartbeat, and my legs were completely numb. It only got worse as I lightly turned my head, cheek touching mud, to see the British only getting closer.

If I was captured I'd be killed just like all the others, Connor would be a sitting duck, and it would be all my fault that the world burned in the end. All because I was too scared to stand up!

"Move!"

Suddenly my heart started beating again, rapidly, from where time had slowed; it was now so fast I couldn't keep up with what was going on. The world was a blur of gunshots, rain drops, and mud. I heard men yell out in pain, I saw them fall all around me, yet I was untouched.

I could feel someone carrying me, holding me up as my arm was slung over his shoulder. My hood hid my face, shrouded my sight. I could only make out the man's words as he yelled. Well, I could kind of make them out; they were somewhat of just a roar in my ear. Everything was too much of a blur, sound and sight slurring together.

"You okay son?" I blink and there is a man standing over me. His eyes are a deep blue, peering into me with a concerned gaze. His hair was dark but hidden underneath a soldier's hat. He had the blue uniform of a rebel and a rifle slung over his back. "That horse bucked you off, if you hadn't noticed. You're lucky I grabbed 'ya, or you'd been completely swarmed by Red Devils." His southern accent is thick, his facial features appealing, and his arms strong.

I look around, confused, still in shock. My body was trembling, my vision still blurry, everything slightly warped around me. I could feel that I was sitting, the man having dragged me away from the direct line of fire. I felt so light headed, I felt like I was going to… going to…

My head, by reflex, went over my shoulder, and suddenly my stomach couldn't hold it back any longer, I finally puicked up my guts all over the drenched ground. After there was nothing left to gag on I started to dry heave. The man beside me started to rub my back, trying to help me pull myself back up from where I was laying on my elbows.

"Good God son, your damn green aren't 'ya? Never seen a soldier go frozen just to throw it all up a second later. You might want to stay out'a this one." The man calmly informed me, yelling over the noise of battle, and gently helped me to my feet. "Might sorry about your horse, but I guess you'll be walk'n home." He patted my shoulder and was starting to turn me around; but I stopped him before I began to face Medford again.

I grabbed his arm and took many deep uneven breaths. I shook my head hurriedly, holding his arm tightly. "I…. I can't." I said and swallowed down the urge to dry heave again. My body was shaking so badly, it had been the whole time, which really I was surprised I was still standing at all. My stomach felt like there was a huge gaping hole in it, and my head felt like it was about to fall off my neck.

"You can't what son?" The man asked, grabbing my shoulder to steady me. I was so glad then that my clever, and unintentional, disguise was working. The man probably wouldn't have spared me a glance had he thought I was a woman, and right now he was the only thing keeping me up, literally.

"Can't…. I can't-…." I took another deep breath. "Abandon…. him." I was finally able to croak out. I looked up at the man to see him nodding, sympathy in his eyes. I wondered then why he hadn't questioned my hood, why he wasn't curious about my strange clothes, or my accent. Maybe the battlefield really did take away the line, the invisible line that divided all. Right now he was probably only thinking about one thing; fighting the British, just like every rebel here he had the mind of a soldier.

"I got 'ya." He nodded, a grin on his face. "No abandoning a brother." 'Oh he had no idea!' "I understand." The man then slung my other arm over his shoulder again, and he helped me walk a little farther. Then his hand went into a pocket on the inside of his coat; he pulled out a canteen. "Here, this ought 'a put some strength back into your legs." He opened the canteen with his free hand and put it to my lips.

So, what do you think was in that canteen? I can assure you it was not water! I nearly choked when I tasted it. I drank it anyway though, I was too thirsty not to. It burned all the way down my throat and made me feel even lighter headed. I got about three gulps of it before the canteen was put away again. I coughed and the man patted my back, laughing at my discomfort.

"What…. what was that?" I shouted exasperatedly. There was a bit of a wobble to my step now. The man helped me straighten up and let go of my shoulder. The trembling was gone now, my stomach quieted, and I felt a bit out of my mind. But at least I could stand on my own two feet again.

"My own home remedy for green, boy!" The man hollered, southern accent so thick I was worried he was going to call me an idjit. He was grinning now though, a full on grin that made me worry that he might be a little insane. He pats my shoulder vigorously and then pulls the rifle from his back over his shoulder and into his hands. "You know how to use that bow?" The man motions towards the flat bow secured to my back.

I nod. "Uh-" Deep breath. "-huh." I'm still stumbling a bit over my tongue, but every second that passes I begin to feel better. I pull the bow from my back and I noticed then that the feather tips of my arrows are covered in mud. I'd have to knock the mud off of each one before I could use them. So instead I put the bow back over my back for later and pulled out the dagger from in my pocket. I flip it in my hand and catch the handle with my palm. My dad had taught me how to wield a knife a long time ago, I only hoped I could remember his lessons.

"Good." The man then pulls out a short bayonet from his other coat pocket. He sets the rifle butt down on the ground and screws the bayonet on the front of the musket. "'Gonna need some range on these bastards. The boys in Lexington are just a cover for the firepower we got set up in Concord at North Bridge. If we can make it that far without get'n ripped open we'll be fine." When the bayonet is completely screwed on the man looks back up at me and holds the rifle like a sword. "We got brothers hidden along the skirts of Menotomy. If we can meet up with them, well that'd be even better." He explains while pointing out the direction the hidden rebel troops should be in.

My grip tightens on the dagger. My legs may have been standing strong but my resolve was crumbling slowly. Let me paint you a picture to explain why. All along where the hidden rebel troops should be, well, to get across to Menotomy we'd have to cut right through a garrison of British troops. Each one of those soldiers were armed and ready to fire, or perhaps ready to shish kebab me again. I really didn't want to relive that experience to it's fullest.

When the man noticed my hesitation he patted me roughly on the back. I nearly jumped out of my skin when he did that. "Name's Isaac." He stated, smiling, trying to encourage me into some well courage.

I smiled back with shaky lips. "Kyle."

"Well Kyle, better now than never." Isaac said, a gleam in his eyes. His smile, his bravado, this man was fighting for something and hard. He wasn't afraid of death, if this suicide mission was any consolation. "Lets go kill us some British panty waists!"

'Wait? What? Panty waists?'

Before I could blink we were running and, against my better judgment, I was staying with Isaac all the way. He ran right through the garrison of soldiers as if it was just a crowd of people. When a Redcoat would get in his way he'd just run them through with his bayonet. Me, however, I was just staying as close as I could to the guy, trying to breathe evenly and not have a panic attack. When movement blurred into action, adrenaline making everything slur together, I found myself grabbing a musket from a confused British soldier, and hitting him over the head with the butt of his own rifle. Why did I do that you ask, well I have no idea!

The dagger was back in my pocket, and the rifle was now my memento to keep. I had no idea what I was doing at all, logical sense out the window, running off of instinct alone, I was just going with the flow. Between me and Isaac, soldier after soldier was going down. Half of them were falling unconscious; the others were stabbed in the lung. We only had the upper hand because of the element of surprise and confusion. The Redcoat soldiers weren't expecting to get hit in the side by two lone rangers; they didn't even have time to load their muskets before they actually saw us. Everything was going so fast I didn't even notice all of the dying soldiers I was jumping over, or at least, I was pretending not to notice.

"Stick with me kid, and you'll get places!" Was yelled over Isaac's shoulder at me rather snarkily, alerting all of the Redcoats around us. I gritted my teeth and started running faster, rain and wind pushing against me. Now was the moment those laps were really coming in handy.

"Hopefully to the other side!" I shout back, not being able to control my own snarky side any longer. Isaac's strange grin seemed to be contagious, as now while I was knocking Redcoats out with the back of my rifle, I was smiling.

-Zoom-

A bullet passed by my face, scratching the side of my hand as it went. It left something akin to a paper cut behind, my knees got shaky as I looked back to see a firing squad lining up behind us. Looks like the Redcoats had finally caught on about what was up.

"Oh! Now he-" I interrupted Isaac before he could finish.

"Get down!" I shouted and jumped forward, pushing Isaac down with me. Both of us fell to the ground with an audible 'oof!'. We both ended up face first in a mud puddle, half of me splayed on top of Isaac. Just as we hit the ground bullets flew passed us, missing us by a hair's inch.

Isaac recuperated first, pulling me up by the collar of my shirt. "Come on boy! No time to rest!" He pulled me to my feet and pushed me forward, I nearly stumbled but he caught me by my arm and started dragging me along. We ran two more feet before ducking behind a building that seemed to have materialized out of nowhere. More bullets hit the building, the last of the British fire missing us.

I was taking the deepest breaths of my life. I gripped the rifle in my hands tightly and just stood there, covered in mud, in the rain, sweating. As I tried to steady my heartbeat, just getting over the rush of my life, Isaac started laughing. When I say Isaac started laughing I mean he was laughing so hard I thought he was going to keel over and die! He just stood there, trying to breath through his hiccups of laughter. I looked over at him like he was completely mad. I mean, level with me here, who laughs like that after nearly get ripped to bits by gunfire?

It was minutes later that he finally stopped and wiped the tears from his eyes. He just looked up at me and grinned. Then, suddenly Isaac grabbed my shoulder gently and shook me as if he thought I was losing it! "Good job green-boy! Looks like we made it to the other side after all!" He cheered, that grin of his just forever plastered on his face.

I smiled back reluctantly, still looking at him as if he was a ticking time bomb, and nodded. "I guess so."

Isaac then stood up straight, slung his rifle back over his shoulder, and took a deep breath. "Alright, lets go find that fat old bastard Heath!" He announced and started walking into the mass of buildings. I just stood there and stared at him. He looked over his shoulder, sensing I wasn't behind him, and motioned me to follow. "Come on!" He called.

I had to shake myself, trying to get over what had just happened. Who would have thought that'd I'd make it this far? I mean; I know we haven't even gotten to Lexington yet, but hey I survived the preliminaries! And really that was a miracle in itself. I was lucky that Isaac had found me, so very lucky. I watched Isaac's retreating form and smiled; after this was over I seriously owed him a drink.

"Hey! Wait up!"

-X-

Menotomy is a small town located beyond a hill and a large expanse of valley. In modern era you'd know Menotomy better as Arlington. The British reinforcements came right through the valley and over the hill but didn't touch the town. So some rebel troops, back up units for the squads located in Concord, hid behind some of the buildings. As dumb as that sounds it seemed to have worked, the British didn't suspect a thing, not even after our rampage!

The rebel troops were waiting for a signal. They were waiting for a messenger to tell them of the fall of Lexington. When that happened they'd make their way around Lexington and directly to the North Bridge and Concord, to give back up to the barricade located down there. It was the hidden ace up their shirtsleeve.

"Heath!" Isaac called to, as he had said, an old fat guy on a horse. Heath, from what I could see, was surrounded by other rebel troops. I'd say this group was the size of a garrison. So, yeah, that's a good bit of people. The Minutemen must have been over a few handfuls of people, maybe more.

Isaac, him being covered in blood and scratches, neither of us having made it out of the fray without losing at least little bit of blood, walked up to Heath and saluted him.

"Captain Davis, where have you been?" Heath sounded snobby, more of a proper English accent on his tongue. He looked over at me and sneered but only for a moment, before his gaze went right back to Isaac. Just from that one glance he deemed me unimportant and unworthy of his attention, him having looked down his big fat nose at me.

I wasn't paying attention to Major General snob though. I was more of very surprised to hear that the guy I just nearly committed suicide with was The Captain Isaac Davis! If you know your history you'd know that this guy was pretty big during the Revolutionary War, The Battle of Lexington and Concord especially. But I'm…. I…. I kind of don't remember why he was famous. It seems to have slipped my mind. How odd.

"Major General." Isaac addressed Heath very seriously then began to grin again, but this time there was an angry gleam in his eyes. "Well some how I ended up back at Medford, picking up the tracks your fat ass left. Cleaned that up then found this young man about to have his bones picked clean by Devils, sir." Isaac addressed the man as if he was trash, Heath had done the same, and something told me these two didn't get along.

Heath looked undisturbed, as if he was used to insults being slung at him from Isaac. He instead turned his fat face to look at me, he analyzed me again and I shivered under such intense scrutiny. Heath looked down his nose at me then frowned. "Those are strange garments you're wearing, young man. Why would you intentionally hide your face? Are you a spy?" As soon as the word spy flew from Heath's mouth the massive amount of soldiers around him turned to me and glared.

I gulped and held my arms up in surrender. I hate to have come all this way just to be killed by the side I was actually on! 'Well that didn't last long.' I thought irritably.

Isaac then suddenly stepped between me and Heath, his arms crossed over his chest, that angry gleam burning brighter in his gaze. "Now wait just one damn minute!" He yelled, glaring very pointedly at Major General Heath. "Why in the Hell would a British spy help a rebel Captain cross a stream of their own soldiers? He saved my hid Heath! Your dogs even try and touch him and there'll be a rifle up your fat ass!" Isaac yelled confidently, standing up for me even though he barely knew who I was.

'But why?' I found myself warmed by his protective stance with me but I was also very confused. Sure we were even now, he saved my life and I saved his, but I could still be anybody! Bigger question; would he still care if he knew I was a girl?

Heath glared down at Isaac with as much venom as a snake. The soldiers now looked confused, Heath had trained half of the garrison, Isaac had trained the other half, and they were divided in their trust and loyalty. Isaac had been a soldier in the French and Indian war; he was a soldier long before Heath was.

But when the Continental Army had wanted to promote Isaac he had declined stating that he was a soldier and would do better on the battlefield then barking out orders. So, because of Isaac's decline the job was given to Heath. The two still ended up training their own men but Isaac even made his troop's muskets himself, him being a gunsmith and all. Point is, Isaac didn't think Heath deserved the position, but to rub it in his face more Heath treated Isaac like dirt. So explains the bad blood.

"If he is not a spy then let him prove it!" Heath argued. "Let us see your face!" The fat man demanded as he finally turned his glare to me again, every soldier that was gazing at me looked as if they agreed with Heath's demands. Isaac even looked over his shoulder with a sigh and nodded.

My gut rolled with tension, my stomach flip-flopped. I decided that if I lived through this reveal that I would take another long chug from Isaac's canteen. I took one long breath and dragged it out, as there were at least fifty eyes on me. I'd hate to admit that I have stage fright, but that didn't really matter anymore now did it? Slowly, as slowly as my shaky hands could, I removed the hood from my head. When there was no longer a shadow over my eyes I looked up. There were gasps among the crowd, my feminine features being too blatant for anyone to not think I was a woman.

But I didn't care about what they thought; I was looking right at Isaac instead. He had turned to me and just been watching as I had pulled the hood from my head. This was the moment I was expecting him to shun me; this was the exact second I was expecting him to frown and yell and shoot me. He didn't though, he just had that same old grin on his face again, that grin that was so freaking contagious.

"Well I'll be damn!" Isaac smiled, taking his hat off to put it over his heart. There was something else in his eyes now, something unrecognizable. "You sure do look like my little Lucy!" He shouted happily a light tone in his voice it was almost gentle sounding.

"Lucy?" I asked, tilting my head in question. The two of us seemed to be completely ignoring the astonished looks around us, almost like they didn't even matter.

"My youngest!" He exclaims. "I got three little girls wait'in for me at home. Lucy's only ten years old, but she's got the greenest little eyes. You look a lot more like her than I thought you would!" Isaac says this as if he wasn't surprised to see I was a girl at all, as if he had known all along but pretended not to for my sake.

'So much for clever unintentional disguise.' I thought, rolling my eyes with a smile. I was just glad that the one person's opinion that I actually cared about hadn't shunned me just because of my gender.

Heath, however, looked flabbergasted. His cheeks were puffed out, his eyes fiery, his face a deep red. He basically exploded. "A-a … girl! How dare you! How dare you! I'll-" Isaac cut him off, his head spinning around to pin Heath with another dark glower.

"You'll what Heath? Condemn someone for help'n just cause they're a woman!" Isaac shook his head, controlling the anger that wanted to boil over in him. There was disgust in his eyes when he looked back at Heath. The other soldiers dared not say a word. "If Parker can vouch for an Indian boy than I can vouch for a woman!" He stated strongly, and no one seemed to want to argue with him, as there was a dead silence among the masses. "And that's exactly what I'm gonna do!" He added with a nod, more then confident in his decision.

It seemed like now I owed Isaac two drinks. Because of Isaac's words not a soul said a thing about my gender, matter of fact some of the other soldiers came to thank me for saving their Captain. It seemed Isaac was well thought of, loved, and respected among his men. I completely understood why.

-X-

Talking to soldiers who had enlightened minds even in this era was very interesting. Apparently Isaac wasn't very strict about gender regulations. There was a long story to explain why but the gest of it was that his wife had always been a tomboy and had showed Isaac just how strong a woman could be. Ever since then he never doubted the strength of any one individual person, no matter what. He had taught this understanding quality to his soldiers as well, it was the beginning of a truly free America.

So yes, I got to converse with soldiers who didn't care I was a woman. I kept saying girl but since I was eighteen I was technically a woman in their eyes, actually I would be classified as an old maid. But let's not go there.

Because of my conversing, time passed by quickly. Before I knew it the message of Lexington's fall had been delivered and the garrison was moving out. Isaac found me as I walked with the rebels, he suddenly pulled me out of the grouping and we began walking alongside Heath's horse. I didn't question why, I was just happy to be following him again. How strange that a soldier's feelings of loyalty were already instilled in me.

"I need 'ya to come with me. I gotta bet I want 'ta settle and I could use your bow." Isaac pointed at the flat bow on my back, and during while I had been conversing with the others I'd cleaned the mud from my arrows. I had had a feeling I'd be using them some time soon, looks like I was right.

I nodded but felt a bit on edge. Why would Isaac need my help? What bet was he talking about? I didn't know but something told me not to ask. "Alright." I agreed and just continued to follow Isaac like a puppy. I really didn't know where else to go, and it seems the Templar Agent from the future had temporarily left my mind.

The troops with Heath were heading toward Concord, me and Isaac however split off and started heading back to Lexington. I glared at the back of Isaac's head as I followed him. What was Isaac doing? Why were we heading back towards British marching grounds again? Was he insane?

It was still raining and by now I was completely drenched, not to mention freezing. I just prayed I wouldn't start sneezing any time soon; sneezing might just be the death of me. So, Isaac and I were making our way to the road leading to Concord just a little passed Lexington. Each small town we passed was completely empty, dead bodies strewn everywhere, I nearly gagged from the smell and sight several times over. That dark foreboding tension was back, but this time I had a feeling it wasn't going away.

"Isaac?" I called, holding the rifle with one hand and stretching my other out to touch Isaac's shoulder. He grabbed my hand before it touched him and turned to me suddenly. I tensed up for a second until I realized he was just shushing me. I let out a sigh as he signaled me to move into some bushes. I walked over to where he was pointing and settled. Isaac however took another moment to look at our surroundings before following me.

But then swiftly Isaac came to sit beside me in what was like bramble bushes. I gritted my teeth as we tried to hide ourselves from what looked like some camped out Redcoats. They were on the road, making sure no one passed their makeshift roadblock. There were at least twenty of them, protecting what looked like cases or chests that sat in the middle of their little soldier made circle.

"Hey," Isaac shook my shoulder as I stared at the Regulars. I had to wet my tongue my mouth was so dry from the tension. I looked over at him and he gave me another one of his award winning confident grins. "You climb trees?" He asked and I nodded. "Good." Isaac then pointed out some tree branches that hung above us. "See if you can't get up there. Get a bird's eye view of the place, you'll need it." Isaac explains, but only vaguely. I looked at him like he's crazy and all I get in return is a Cheshire grin of reassurance from him.

I shake my head with a sigh but find myself sneaking out of the bushes anyway. Oddly, I felt like some kind of Robin Hood, having to sneak around and climb up trees with my bow and arrows. Sure I had a gun but I left that with Isaac, I couldn't really sneak around with a big rifle in my arms now could I?

The tree I climbed up was a big strong oak, only a foot away from the brambles. I shimmied up it like the Indian that taught me how, though I had to balance on the balls of my feet and keep my hands out in front of me. I only climbed about three feet up but even then I was worried I was going to fall. The branches were slippery from the rain and my leather boots didn't have much grip on them. So I used my hands and my feet to secure my weight. When I got to the point where I did indeed have a bird's eye view of the British soldiers I stopped.

I settled myself down and made sure I wouldn't fall. Bow in hand, arrow at the ready, I watched as Isaac made his way into the small encampment. He stayed low as he snuck around the Redcoats using the forestry as cover. He made sure that no one could see him but when he ran out of bushes to hide behind I took the initiative.

Shooting an arrow at a person is just like shooting one at a deer, as long as your aim is true and steady the arrow will hit it's mark every time. However, I didn't like the idea of killing them, none of the soldiers stationed here were any older than me, they didn't deserve to die. So I shot them all in the knee. 'Can someone say Skyrim reference?'

"What the bloody Hell?"

"My knee!"

"We're being attacked by Indians!"

"Bullocks!"

"Ahhhhh!"

Hearing extremely British guys yell out in pain is actually pretty funny, seeing a sharp arrowhead go through flesh however is not! Some of them stumbled, some tripped, a few all out just went rigged and fell over in pain. I think one of them even started crying! I felt so cool yet kinda cruel. I mean; now they'll never be able to go on adventures again! 'Ha-ha, Skyrim humor.' Oddly,I found myself smiling manically.

Even Isaac ended up laughing his way to one of the chests after seeing ten British soldiers fall over in pain. Looks like I wasn't the only one that thought it was funny. I rolled my eyes at the suicidal man though, he'd never learn. I really did question where he learned how to sneak. Didn't anyone tell him that stealth requires silence?

When Isaac was actually able to lock pick his way into the chest, which I didn't even know he could lock pick, he pulled something out of it and strapped it around his waist. I couldn't get a clear view of what it was from here, but I had this feeling…

"Kyle!" Isaac suddenly shouted my name from across the road, completely shattering my thought. I closed my eyes and let out an exasperated sigh when he alerted the rest of the Regulars to both of our positions. "I've got a horse! Well, I've stolen a horse! Come on!" He added as he threw himself over and onto the saddle of a black horse, matter of fact that horse looked very familiar.

"Shadow!" I yell whispered, now very frustrated to see the horse turned traitor here at a Redcoat encampment. 'Well at least now I can take her back to Achilles now.' I thought as I jumped down from the branch, bow on my back, I ran toward Isaac. Musket fire could be heard, the other ten Redcoats alerted to our presence, and suddenly I was skimmed in the arm by another bullet. I hissed out in pain, but I had gotten lucky this time. This time the skim was literally as small as a paper cut. Out of fear I picked up my pace though. There was no way I was dying now, not after everything!

"Come on!" Isaac yells, holding out his hand to me as he sees me getting closer. When I'm finally close enough I grab his arm and he pulls me up into the saddle. Isaac kicks Shadow into a full-fledged run as soon as I'm on, and I have to be quick to situate myself behind him.

There's shouting and shooting going on behind us as we gallop away from the roadblock. Shadow is running at her full speed and for the second time that day I feel like I'm going to fall off of her. Isaac must have sensed this as he lets go of the reins to grab my shoulder and help steady me. I nod my head in thanks and yet again I'm greeted solely by his grin. I smile at that and suddenly we both begin to laugh hysterically, I start to laugh first actually but Isaac is quick to follow suit.

Had you been a rebel scout watching the eastern side of Concord that day. Then you would have seen a man and girl, riding a horse, the both of them covered in mud, scratches, and bruises, laughing hysterically like madmen. And if you had been that scout you would have given an incredulous look at the two and pretended it was just your imagination.

-X-

In the long run the two of us actually made it to Concord, we even made it before the British garrisons did. Time works oddly like that I guess. I didn't end up asking about what it was Isaac had stolen from the chest, being as now I could see it. While I was practically hugging Isaac from behind; so to steady myself, Shadow going way faster than I remember her being able to go, I saw the holsters. Around Isaac's waist were two twin holsters, in those holsters were two twin specially made muskets. Something told me they used to be Pitcairn's, emphasis on 'used to be'.

The two of us rode all the way around Concord then came up from the east, the outskirts of the town. From the dirt path we road up we could see the rebel barricade at the bridge, James Barrett, William Dawes, and Connor.

'Wait! Connor!' Something finally comes to the front of my mind, seeing Connor reminds me that I had forgotten something very important. My eyes go wide when it finally hits me like a ton of bricks. 'The Templar Agent! Holy crap how could I forget about that?' I felt like smacking myself across the head, but instead I buried my face in Isaac's back. He smells lightly of musk and suddenly I'm very envious of Misses Davis.

Due to all of the running, near escapes, suicide missions, smells, corpses, blood, gunshots, wounds, and arguing I had completely forgotten the reason why I was here! Minerva, Minerva had sent me a vision saying there was a Templar Agent from the future here, and that his target is Connor and me. The whole point I had jumped into this war, nearly pissed myself several times, gotten drunk, thrown off a horse, and been shot at was to save Connor from something he wouldn't see coming!

'Oh, I feel very stupid right now.'

"Captain!" I heard James Barrett call over the rain. It sounded muffled to me as I was still hiding behind Isaac; being as I knew as soon as Connor saw me there would be a tomahawk in my skull, this time for sure! I could feel us riding up to them, the three standing around, waiting.

"James! Good to see you're still alive!" Isaac shouted; I could hear a light and happy tone in his voice, his body going lax. He greeted James very differently than Heath. I was glad there was at least one higher up Isaac could get along with.

"To you as well Isaac." A similar tone was echoed back in Barrett's voice.

The two of us rode up to the three of them until we were just alongside them. Then Isaac carefully slid down from the saddle; reluctantly I had to let go of him so he could get down. When Isaac was on his feet, eye-to-eye with Barrett they saluted each other with grins on their faces.

"So, where are we at?" Isaac asked James, looking to and from Dawes, Barrett, and Connor. He held his hands behind his back, schooling his usual child like expression, ready to play soldier again.

Barrett looks up at me before addressing Isaac. "First, who is this? Heath tells me your vouching for a woman but…" James looks to Isaac for confirmation and Isaac's grin returns again.

"Ah!" I yelped as I fell down from the saddle suddenly, tripping over the stirrups, ending up on my back in front of three of the Revolutionary War's most important participants. Mud squelched around me, I furrowed my brows as I realized I had just fallen into a mud puddle, my hair getting completely ruined, and my hood down away from my head. I looked up at the four, upside down and smiled embarrassedly. 'Nice going genius, smooth move!'

"Kyle!"

"Kyle?"

Isaac swiftly helped me up and swatted some of the mud off of me. After he does this he turns to Connor, who also called my name. He looks at him questioningly and then looks back at me again. I shrug and try not to look him in the eyes.

"So, you two know each other?" Barrett asks, also looking from me to Connor. His eyes are narrowed and he's tensed up. He only just barely trusted Connor before, now I might have screwed our chances of not getting shot, again.

"Yes, she is my apprentice." Connor states bluntly and glares at me, suspicious of why I was there. I felt like face palming myself; even I knew that was a bad thing to say!

Isaac looks surprised. He's got a scrunched and questioning look on his face, as if he's trying to figure out what Connor means by apprentice. Then suddenly his eyebrows shoot up and his mouth is making an 'O' shape, as if he just realized something. He looks over at me and grins, as usual. I raised a brow at him and he points to Connor whispering: "This must be the brother you couldn't abandon."

I feel blood rush to my face. I nod my head to him and try to pull my hood back over my head, or I would have tried could I have even moved. At the moment three very powerful very vicious men were glaring at me suspiciously, I was frozen in terror at this point.

"Well then!" Isaac shouts cheerfully, slicing through the lightning like tension with his voice. Everyone turns to him, and I scoot closer to him stealth fully, hoping if anyone lunged for me that Isaac might be able to stop them. Isaac claps his hands together, making sure he had everyone's attention, and continues. "As I said, where are we James?" He asks, his eyes squarely on Barrett.

That question seems to snap everyone out of some strange frenzy of aggravation and confusion that had swept over them. James went 'ahem' to clear his throat and straightened himself out, as did the rest of the gang. Some how Isaac had cast some sort of spell that made everyone forget about my presence as he and Barrett began to talk business again. For the next ten minutes no one even looked at me, they were solely focused on war strategy. I was very thankful for that.

-X-

"Sir!"

It's what feels like moments later when a rebel soldier calls out to Barrett. The conversation between him and Isaac comes to a stop as everyone turns to the bridge. I gap like a fish at what I see. It looked like hundreds upon hundreds of Regulars were marching straight for us, not but a few feet away.

"MAN THE BARRICADES!" Barrett bellows over the rest of the shouting.

Connor taps me on the shoulder, sneaking up on me like a ninja; I tremble as he whispers in my ear. "Survive and we will talk." The words are growled and I can tell that he is very upset with me, but Connor doesn't have time to discipline me right now, and he was too busy listening in on battle strategy earlier to either. Actually, the fact that he thinks I might not survive this is what makes my stomach churn.

'Although he does have a point.'

I shake my head at the thought and watch as Connor gets in the saddle of his horse; Yakohsa:tens. The horse whines and he pulls on the reins, turning her towards the bridge. Connor's about to take off but Barrett stops him abruptly.

"No." Barrett grabs onto the reins of Yakohsa:tens and speaks hurriedly to Connor, desperation in his eyes. "Ensure my men hold those positions! If the Red Devils break through, we're finished!" He commands, loosening his grip on the horse.

"What would you have me do?" Connor asks, looking the other man eye-to-eye, waiting for direction.

"Listen carefully." Barrett insists. "The Redcoats will form firing lines. Order the men to shoot just before the line is ready. Too soon and they'll miss their targets. Too late and the enemy will open fire first." He explains; pointing out the areas near the bridge he was talking about as he spoke.

"Understood." Connor nods in understanding as he readies his horse. He then begins to ride off and I feel as if I'm getting left behind.

"And if any of those bastards make it through engage them. You must keep my men alive!" Barrett yells as Connor rides off, all I can do is watch and listen as everything begins.

-X-

War isn't exactly easy. Soldiers have a lot to bear when engaging an enemy. The Minutemen were the most courageous I had ever seen. A bunch of farmers with stolen guns fending off an army, the feat was a memorable one, and each of these men would be forever honored in American history. In the mean time I was hiding behind a tree, my rifle most likely left in a bush back at the roadblock.

From where I was I watched Connor and Isaac fight at the bridge. I tried to stay out of sight and out of the line of fire. Bullets were flying everywhere; men were dying with gasps and pained yelps, even with screaming echoes. I could smell the blood, gunpowder, and dirt and I desperately tried to close my eyes and go to my happy place.

I found myself backed against a tree slightly rocking, the rain pouring down onto me. There was a knot in my stomach the size of a bowling ball, my palms were sweaty, and my hands were playing with the hem of my hoody. I was just trying to imagine I wasn't there, that I was back at home, in my game room, watching a very loud war movie with my brother.

"KYLE!" I heard Isaac shout but had no time to open my eyes, me having had my lids tightly shut, before a considerably strong force knocks me over and onto the muddy ground. The air rushes from my lungs and when my eyes open widely in shock the first thing I see is a bullet embedded in the tree trunk right where I had been standing.

The next thing I see is Isaac hunkered over me, trying to smile. Another gunshot rips through the air, this one sounds different from musket fire, it's louder and stronger sounding. Isaac spasms but stays where he is, I can't see anything past Isaac and his smile but when I start to hear drops and feel something warm and liquid land on me I look down at Isaac's stomach. 'OH MY GOD!'

"Isaac!" Now I'm shouting, trying to move out from under Isaac, but he's still stronger then me, and is keeping me pinned underneath him. When he sees the look on my face, which I imagined to look like panic and concern, he smiles but this time there is blood on his teeth. "I-I-…. Isaac…no!" I stutter out as my vision begins to get blurry, tears pricking the edges of my gaze.

"It's…" He coughs and his body wretches forward, putting our faces closer together. "N-n-noth'in." He states, I try to roll out from underneath him but I can't, I can however feel his arms weakening. When I look back up at him that smile that's always been on his face is gone and there are tears in his eyes. "You-…." He takes a deep shuddering breath. "You're a g-good woman…. Kyle." There's something different in his eyes now, a glimmer of something deeper. "And I-I," He swallows but blood still dribbles down his chin. "And I know you'll survive."

I can't hold back the tears now, through everything Isaac had been there for me today. It felt like I had meant him years ago instead of hours, it felt like we were old friends and that we had gone on mission after mission together. Today had been the longest day of my life and the most important. Isaac had gone out of his way to save me even when he knew I was a woman, he had stood up for me, protected me, and I could only wonder why. 'Because he's a good man.' And really it was just that simple.

Now Isaac was dying because he had bit the bullet for me again. I remembered then, of all the moments, what I had read about Captain Isaac Davis so long ago; that he died today and that there would be a monument created in his memory. It would stand here in his honor and tower proudly over Concord. Yet, even though I knew it was a part of history I didn't want Isaac to die. The worst part was that this great man, the first truly understanding man in America, was and dying and it was all my fault!

My tears were falling in streams now, no rain hitting my face. I felt like someone had gently touched my heart then ripped it out and shred it to pieces. I couldn't look Isaac in the eye, his blue stare even brighter now. I tried to wiggle away, not being able to take the intensity of his look, but I didn't have the strength. When a dirty calloused hand started wiping the tears from my face though something tugged on my heartstrings. It felt like I was a puppet all of a sudden, not being able to control my own movements.

Isaac's lips were actually soft, softer then I thought they would be. He had a light stubble and it tickled my skin as I moved my lips against his. He seemed surprised at first, stiff and unmoving, but it was only for a moment. That eternal grin came back to his face and I could feel his lips twitching up. When he began to kiss back it was deep, understanding, and gentle.

When we parted, the taste of blood in my mouth, the first thing Isaac says is: "I- I love my… my wife." It was a statement but not a refusal of my kiss, just a simple statement that meant nothing but what he said.

I nodded, shivering and trembling. "I know." I replied just as simply, going back in for another kiss. It doesn't last as long this time as Isaac falls over, his limbs finally going numb. I look into his eyes and that sapphire blue has dulled, the glimmer gone. The tears fall faster and I stay at Isaac's side as he tries to tell me something, gripping the holsters on his waist.

"G-give th-these t-to that ba-bastard Putnam. T-tell him…. I win." As soon as the last words leave Isaac's mouth his eyes go completely dull, his hands that I've been holding go lax, and his head lays in the mud, that smile on his face even in death.

I bite my lip as it trembles, tears still falling from my eyes. There's still a war going on behind me but I don't notice it, all I feel is broken. Suddenly I feel as if I've been left to be completely alone again. It's not the first time I've felt this pain but it feels so much worse then the last time.

Isaac shouldn't have trusted me so much, Isaac shouldn't have protected me, Isaac shouldn't have-

"So, you done yet?"

My head wipes up and it hurts my neck I move so fast. My vision is still blurry but I can still make out the man standing in front of me, and the first thing I notice is the Abstergo symbol on the pistol he's holding. He's wearing a Regular's uniform but the silver streaks in his hair and the color of his eyes don't fit. His gun looks like something out of science fiction novel, yet a normal clip of bullets showed from it's reloading end.

"No reason in mourning him. He was going to die anyway." He twirled the gun in his hand, a sadistic smile on his face. "I just helped it along."

That's when it clicks, the sound of normal gunfire, the way the wound was, the bullet in the tree, it was him that shot Isaac, he killed him!

I have never felt such blind fury grip me so tightly and so quickly before in my life. I clenched my fists to the point where my palms began to bleed, I growled deep in the back of my throat and felt my lip turning up into a snarl, my sharp K-nines showing.

"You!" My tone was deep, voice laced with venom and absolute hatred. "You shot him!" I pointed and stood, my muscles tense, shoulders up, chest puffed out. "YOU KILLED ISAAC!" I couldn't keep the volume of my voice under control, my blood literally boiling at this point, and yet my heart was a little lighter. I had someone to blame for Isaac's death now, no more self-loathing, just uncensored fury. "YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" Speaking of uncensored.

The Agent jumped back as I lunged for him, dagger out in the blink of an eye. He was fast but I was furious. Again and again and again I lunged, suddenly my energy was boundless, adrenaline pumping through my veins like pressurized air through pipes. When finally I realized there was no point in lunging again I just threw the dagger like a throwing knife. It landed squarely in his stomach and he howled out in pain but only stumbled.

Now The Agent was glaring at me in anger. He withdrew the dagger from his stomach, which looked rather painful and fairly gory, and threw it at me; I dodged it but made the mistake of trying to retrieve it. By the time I had the dagger again his gun was out and there was a bullet buried deeply in my shoulder. I hissed in pain but refused to scream, my throat already dry from yelling so much.

"Just die you stupid Assassin bitch!"

I put my hand over the pouring wound and squeezed, blood covered my hand as I looked up at The Agent from where I was on my knees. The pistol was leveled with my skull, now touching my forehead. The metal of the gun was hot, still steaming from the bullet leaving the barrel. I was frozen, fear like ice in fiery veins. There was a stinging sensation going through my body but I ignored it as I glowered down The Agent as darkly as possible.

"You first." I hissed quietly, not even noticing the sudden lack of the sound of gunfire from around us. Instantly after I shifted and, me using my shoulders to plow down The Agent, knocked him onto his ass. He yelped as I had hit his wound head on, I pinned him then, using the last bit of strength I had left as blood was continuing to flow down my shoulder and arm. Before I could blink I had the dagger to his throat, my breathing so deep, quick, and shallow that I could barely hear anything over it.

"You think you can change anything?" The Agent began to speak, his breathing almost as labored as mine. "You think you can save those Indians? Free the slaves? You think you can be some big Goddamn hero and save the world? That anything will change just 'cause you're here? Well reality check dumbass, you can't change anything! Their always gonna die!" He yells, wiggling underneath my hold, squirming under my gaze, the dagger only digging further and further into his neck.

Sure, he might be right…but…but- "I. Can. Still. Try." I say behind grinding teeth, trying to bear the pain that was starting to overwhelm me. I had no choice, I didn't want to kill anyone, I wanted my hands to stay clean. But what was I thinking? This wasn't some cartoon where all you do is reprimand the villain and then they go away. There is no black and white here, no good or evil, this is all gray. This was all about survival. And the only way to survive here was kill or be killed, and call me selfish but I wanted to live.

I slice his neck before I lose my drive to do so. I can only slice so deep and in the end it takes five minutes, his body writhing in pain, desperate gasps of lifeless breaths wheezing out, before he finally dies. If I could have I would have at least ended it quickly for him, but I couldn't, I wasn't strong enough.

I find myself falling back, pain increasing, my trembling turning to shuttering, my hand grasping harder at the hole in my shoulder. I want to think, my eyes looking up at the sky, the clouds raining down drops but it only lightly sprinkling now. I want to keep my mind off the fact I might be bleeding to death, I might be dying here and now. I want to think about anything, expect for the fact I had just killed someone, and except for the fact Isaac's dead. But those are the only things that are coming to my mind, so now I'm dying and crying and begging for my Tsi'a to come and either comfort me 'till I die or save me. And at this point I wasn't going to be picky about which one it turned out to be.

I turn my head from the clouds as I think of Connor, I see British troops retreating and rebel troops whooping in victory and I smile. We won, dead or not at least I saved Connor. Suddenly I see Yakohsa:tens riding up the hill, Connor victorious and happy while riding toward me. But when our gazes connect his disposition instantly changes and he's riding toward me as fast as he can.

I think then that I might live, that maybe Connor will tenderly rub some salve into my shoulder and scold me then let me sleep for a week. But suddenly there is a shadow looming over me and when I look up all I see is a red uniform and the butt of a rifle coming down on me, then everything fades to black.

"Khe'kén:'a!"

-X-

End Notes: SORRY! I did not mean for this to take so long, but for your waiting this chapter is 2,000 words longer then any other, and I still had to cut it into two parts! I've just been so busy lately and my Internet has been down. I tried my best on this and I really hope you all liked it.

Dun dun duh! Cliffhanger! Originally I didn't have this cliffhanger planned and I wanted to put in something to explain Connor's quick trust of Kyle, but that'll have to wait 'till next chapter. I have no idea when I'll get to that but I'll try to as fast as possible. Some of this was a bit unbelievable and I had to pull it out of my butt but I hope you still enjoyed reading it!

I also want to thank all of you for following, favoring, and reviewing! I want to wish you guys a Very Merry Christmas! (And or any holidays you celebrate during the December month.)

Speaking of Christmas tell me in either a PM or review if you might be interested in reading a Christmas Special One-shot. If I get around 5 requests for it I'll start working on it soon, keep in mind it'll take me longer to work on chapter 4 because of that though.

R&R PLEASE!