Note: I do not own the cover image, nor the two series that of which this work of fiction is based on. They all go to their respective owners.
They weren't where they were supposed to be, that much was obvious. The room that they had previously been standing in had been completely replaced by some form of large and ornate hallway. The floors that they stood on, which only moments before had been made of old wooden planks, now appeared to be made of a beautifully pristine marble floor so clean that the two Assassins could see their reflection upon its surface. The same went for the walls, they had been turned into fanciful stone that was covered into decadent tapestries, and banners.
It was obvious that they were somewhere important, every minute detail about their surroundings nearly shouted that whatever this building was, it was important.
"Well, it did something," Arno breathed as he took in the room and found himself thoroughly confused.
Connor, on the other hand, had already pushed his confusion aside and had begun scanning the hallway, and nearby rooms, for any form of danger using his Eagle Vision. What he found, he didn't like. The door directly in front of them had two guards standing at full attention and appeared to be holding some form of strange weapons. Not only that, but the other rooms were also locked, or equally well protected.
But there was still something even more worrying about what he saw. The door ahead was marked as a point of interest. No matter how much he didn't want to, he was going to have to open that door.
"Arno," Connor began, his voice becoming cold and calculative as he began to approach the large wooden doors. "What do you see directly ahead of you?"
As the Frenchman was pulled from his dazed state, he turned to look at Connor for only a moment before the question registered and he turned to stare at the door before them using his Eagle Vision. "Shit."
"Exactly," Connor replied. "I'll take the one on the right, you get the one on the left."
"Got it." Arno confirmed as he crouched and began to approach the door in almost perfect silence.
As one, the two opened the doors just enough to allow them entrance. They moved in perfect synchronization as they walked up to their respective targets and placed their right palms over the guard's abdomens, then their left hands over their mouths. Next, they ejected their hidden wrist blades into their opponent's mid-sections, and then removed them only seconds later before moving the bodies back behind the doors, and closing them.
Turning to the rest of the room, they found themselves at the back of a crowd of what looked to be either politicians, or noblemen. Each one wore ornate, and well-made clothes that showed their importance. The two glanced at each-other in silent confirmation before subtly making their way into the crowd. Making sure to stay close, the two activated their Eagle Visions and scanned the crowd for anyone of importance.
As they came to the front of the crowd, they found what they were looking for. A man, who sat upon a decadent throne that looked as if it had been made for god himself, and a young boy that appeared to be no older than ten who stood before him at the foot of the throne. The man, most likely some kind of ruler, seemed large and imposing with a chiseled jaw covered with a neatly trimmed beard. Upon his head was a powdered wig, much like the ones many of the other nobles in the room were currently wearing, His eyes were a rich purple and his clothes were obviously made to be the most intricate and imposing attire in any situation. His appearance ensured that no one could possibly mistake him for anything less than royalty and it said a lot about his character before he even said a word.
In contrast, the small boy had a rather angular face with ebony black hair atop his head. His clothes seemed to be a slightly less decadent version of that which the man wore, and he seemed almost inferior from his position at the bottom of the intricate set of steps that lead to the throne. The only thing the two seemed to share in common were their eyes which both held the same deep purple color.
"Hail father," The child began in a formal tone that held hints of anger. "My mother, Empress Marianne is dead"
"Old news, what of it?" the man, now confirmed as the Emperor of wherever Arno and Connor apparently were responded.
The boy's face contorted into an expression of outrage as he looked to his father. Arno and Connor looked to each other with raised eyebrows before returning to the scenario that continued to play out in front of the massive crowd of nobles.
"What of it?" The boy questioned, his rage easily heard in his tone.
"Did you request an audience with the Emperor of Britannia just to say that?" His father asked in a dis-interested tone that made the situation seem all the more cruel. "Bring in the next. I don't have time to play with children."
Arno cringed at the words, and Connor shook his head in disgust. Both Assassins had father issues, but this was just horrid.
"Father!" The boy shouted as he began to run towards the throne. Two guards ran to block his path, but were stopped by a wave of the Emperor's hand.
"Yes, your majesty!" The two shouted in unison as they returned to attention.
The boy, unperturbed by the showing of the guards, continued in utter fury. "Why did you not protect mother?!" He shouted loud enough for all those present to hear. "You are the Emperor are you not?! You are the greatest person in this country, are you not?! You should have been able to protect her! At the very least you could have visited Nunnally."
"I have no use for the weak." The man responded, keeping a cold, and uninterested look upon his face.
"The weak?" the boy questioned, unable to believe the words leaving his own father's mouth.
"That is the true nature of the Royal Family." The supposed "father" replied.
Arno and Connor, still watching from the crowd, couldn't believe what they were witnessing, neither knew what to make of it. They simply watched as the situation became more and more cruel as it was allowed to play out. The boy looked like he was prepared to break. His father had flat-out stated he had no need of the boy's sister, and that it was simply that things should be. "Then I don't need the right to succeed the throne." He said.
The Crowd let out a large gasp at the youth's words. The two Assassins found themselves equally ensnared by the scene.
"I've had enough of it!" The child continued in an outrage. "I won't succeed you, or get involved in any more conflicts!"
"You are dead," came the icy reply of the Emperor. "You have been dead since the day you were born. Who gave you those clothes that you wear on your back right now? Your home, your food, even your life. I am the one who gave those to you! In other words, you have not even once truly been alive! And yet you show such insolence?!"
As the monster of a man spoke, he rose from his chair with an expression of unkempt anger. His imposing, and furious visage terrified his child to the point of falling back on his back in unbridled terror for the creature before him.
"Lelouch." The monster continued, sneering at the boy. "A dead person like you has no rights. You will go to Japan with Nunnally. As Prince and Princess, you will be good trading material. Now send in the next one!" The monstrosity concluded before returning to his seat and preparing for his next appointment.
The child put up no fight as two guard grabbed him by the arms and began to whisk him away to make room for the next person that had an audience with the thing posing as a man.
Arno and Connor instinctively followed the boy and his escorts out of the room, knowing already that this child was going to be the focal point of whatever it was they were meant to do in this strange world. Making their way out of the crowd, and into the shadows in order to keep themselves out of the view of any wandering eyes. They continued to tale the guards as they made their way to the exit of the building.
Once the guards had made it outside, Arno and Connor proceeded to hide in the nearby shrubbery that was spread all over the massive front garden that would give Versailles a run for its money. They proceeded to tail the trio down the walkway for several moments, being sure to keep to a safe distance.
"So what's the plan?" Arno asked Connor, who was silently watching as the guards placed the boy in some strange shiny black metal carriage that seemed to be lacking horses.
Ignoring the strange sight for the time being, Connor replied, "We follow the child and keep him alive. He's definitely important."
"Really? What gave you that impression? The fact that he was highlighted as a PERSON OF INTEREST?!" Arno mocked, as they made their way to the back of the Carriage and opened a small compartment at its rear.
After ensuring that no one was in present to witness their actions, the two climbed inside and closed it as quietly as they were able.
"You do know if this is safe or not right?" Arno whispered to Connor as the contraption made a strange humming noise and began to move.
"Nothing we do is safe, we're Assassins." Connor replied as the car turned to the right and began to speed up.
"Oh, that's good, thanks for helping to calm my nerves." Arno said in a voice filled with sarcasm.
"Just shut up, and be still, we just have to wait until they get to the docks. Japan is on the other side of Asia, so they'll need to take a ship." Connor grunted out as Arno squirmed next to him in the confined space.
"Why is it that you insist on putting me in confined spaces for extended periods of time? What did I do to deserve such hell?" Arno whined.
They sat in uncomfortable silence within the small, cramped space for around twenty minutes before the carriage made a stop and finally became quiet.
"Were already there?" he asked, finally becoming still as the two listened to the opening, and closing of doors.
"I don't know," Connor answered as he re-opened the small space's door, allowing light to flood into the space. "But there's only one way to find out."
Exiting the compartment, the two lowered into crouching positions behind the carriage and begin to scan their surroundings. The carriage had apparently stopped on a large field that seemed to be made out of, from what Arno could tell, concrete. On the far side of the field was some form of strange two story building covered in massive windows. Then there was the metal fence which surrounded the field only about a foot away from the edge where the concrete was then replaced by desert. But what the two were most focused on, was what was upon the concrete field. Several more of the strange carriages were strewn all about the area and each one had it's own strange shape and size. People were moving about quickly, carrying and moving things about. Yet what caught the majority of the Assassin's attentions, was the large bird-like machine that lay in the center of all the other strange carriages, and people.
"What is that, and how the hell do you seriously expect me to trust it?" Arno whispered to Connor as they peered at the strange object.
Connor, without bothering to reply to his friend's pointless question, began to dash from carriage to carriage, making sure to stay well out of sight.
"That crazy bastard can't be serious," Arno mumbled as he moved to follow his compatriot.
As the two went along, using Eagle vision to keep tabs on anyone who might raise any alarms, Connor began to devise a plan as to how they would get aboard the mysterious craft. Looking at the machine from front to back, he took note of two entry points. The first of which, the two guards from the palace they had come from were using to get the boy into the thing, and the second where some type of luggage was being loaded on.
"There's our ticket on." Connor said as he pointed out the second entrance.
"If this thing kills me," Arno began angrily as Connor moved forward and knocked out the man who was loading the luggage, then proceeded to hide him in the back of a nearby carriage, "I'm dragging you to hell with me."
"Duly noted," Connor grunted as he began to push Arno up the ladder that led to the cargo area, "Now get in the damned thing before I have to drag you on board unconscious."
A/N: And so the deadly duo meet their newest ally, Just how exactly will this play out? find out next time at (not) the same murderous time, at the same murderous place! yay references! Any way, if you find this chapter to be too short, or not very well fleshed out, let me know. I tried to make Arno seem like he was way less okay with the whole "Don't know where we are" thing. Let me know if you enjoyed it, and leave a review... Please! Always use the magic words children. thanks, and see you soon!