Chapter Eleven: Vague Voices
Julian sat on the edge of the rooftop and watched the storm clouds as they crested over the horizon meandering their way across the sky towards the city. A crack of distant thunder and a wicked breezed brushed past him ruffling his assassin cloak. He rarely wore the old assassin robes and armor but tonight it seemed somehow fitting. He'd only just returned from giving a speech, a concession speech offering Emil Nemico his blessing as newly elected Mayor of City 12. The Templar's had won, the Assassins had lost.
Julian had thought the old robes would offer him some comfort, some link to his heritage and his past. But rather than fluff his ego they merely made him more melancholy. How long had this feud between their orders boiled? Centuries? Millennia? How many generations of Assassins and Templars had fought and died for what they thought were honorable causes? Was it all truly a lie? The entire thing seemed an exercise in futility to the young assassin who had spent his entire life fighting.
In many ways their struggle against the Combine seemed equally hopeless to him then. It would likely last for decades and long after he was dead and buried human children would still be cowering in fear of the Combine. Children. The idea brought hope and fear simultaneously into the young man's mind. There was more to fight for now than mere survival. More than the selfishness of individual freedom for every adult. There was the freedom of children to worry about, as well as their lives.
Julian felt the first drops of rain hit his hood and roll down to drip from his cowl. He wondered if he should leave the city behind him. There was no doubt that City 12 was far from safe, their encounter with the alien killer Ressian Malil had proved that. Jara Aldi, one of Julian's closest friends and allies, was now dead. They'd buried her the day before in a cemetery just beyond the city gates. Julian's concerns about City 12, about the assassin order and about himself and Allison swirled within his mind. Desmond had always told him to keep the right priorities but right now he wasn't sure which priorities were right and which were wrong.
Would the City be safe in the hands of Emil Nemico? Would the children be safe? Would it be dishonoring the Assassin Order if they fled the city? Would the rest of the Assassins follow him out? Hassan Aldi was still in control of the Order although the man had become even more reclusive than Julian these past three days since the passing of his daughter.
Julian took a deep breath to center himself. He felt something then, something profound. It was as if within him was a seed, a link to the past. He shut his eyes and let the wind and rain roll over him as the storm hit with full force. His skin was flushed with sensations but he pushed it all away and was lost, drown in a place deep within. He wasn't sure how, whether it was some residual effect from those sessions he'd had in the Animus years ago or something innate to himself, but he wasn't alone on the rooftop anymore.
"I cannot stay long," Desmond said, "Our connection is weak."
"I never thought I'd miss you old man," Julian admitted with a grin, "But I do... and I need your help now. I need to know what to do."
"You must do what you feel is right."
"Right for myself or right for the world?"
"This war has been going on longer than you can imagine," Desmond said as if answering a different question, one burning in Julian's mind, "Do not think you can win it yourself or that every life is yours to save son. Do what you can to protect them but there is nothing that you MUST do. Your path is yours."
"Nothing is true," Julian nodded as the image of his Father faded, "Everything is permitted."
Lightning streaked across the sky as the assassin streaked across the rooftops. With fire in his footsteps he ran toward his home. They'd moved to the other side of the city closer to the citizens hoping they would be shielded now that the world knew they were alive. They were still living on the outskirts. How Julian longed to see Allison's burning blue eyes as another indigo bolt of lightning smeared across the ominous nighttime sky. He would take her, he decided, and any who wanted to go with him, he would leave City 12.
He could see the small house as he rolled down to ground level. Something caught his attention then, a streak of lightning illuminated something in the sky. An object that was hurtling toward them. A resounding thud that sounded more like an impact than thunder came a few moments later followed by another and another. Yet another flash of lightning came revealing a sky polluted with these objects. Julian rushed for his house as one of the shells crashed through the roof throwing debris in every direction.
The young assassin nearly stopped cold in his tracks by the devastating blow but he didn't. He ran for the door of the barely standing structure and threw it open shouting for Allison as he rummaged through the debris and batted aside a headcrab emerging from the capsule. He found her soon after reaching her hand from under a small pile of planks. Julian pulled her out as gently as he could inspecting her from head to toe as they exited into the night. She seemed fine, with only a few nicks and bruises most of which she got on the climb out over broken glass and splintered wood.
They were running into the inner city, running from the shells. Most of them, Julian noted, were landing outside the city wall or in low population areas. Still it wasn't a good prospect, when the Combine launched a shell attack of this magnitude it was often a precursor to a larger attack. With that in mind Julian rushed into the city with Allison close behind. For a fleeting few seconds Julian thought they might leave now and escape the city before the zombies had infested the outskirts but then they ran past house after house and heard the cries of babies and small children. Suddenly everything was as unclear to him as it had been earlier and his moral compass felt lost in the storm of possible decisions.
Emil Nemico felt as if he was waking from a dream into a nightmare. He was only one day away from being made Mayor of City 12, he'd already won the election by an incredible margin. Everything seemed as if it was finding a balance and as he'd drifted off to sleep he felt that everything in the world was right. But the next day had shattered his calm once more with the news that City 12 had been shelled. Zombies were already reported within the city walls and soldiers had been called out from every corner of the city to deal with the problem.
The zombies themselves were only issue number one, they were a symptom of a larger problem. Usually a shelling meant that the Combine was going back on the offensive. The Empire of aliens, though insidious in its enslavement of the human race, was slow to deal with them. Emil Nemico thought it might have something to do with the Templars and where their allegiances might lie. But now with zombies crawling through the city wreaking havoc he wasn't so sure.
He chewed his fingernails nervously with Pyotr, his body guard, looking on. The man had never seen his boss quite this broken up about anything. Indeed Emil Nemico felt very apprehensive and at that moment he wasn't sure he cared who knew it. He thought back to his last conversation with Vera, the night of the failed assassination of Julian Miles. He had only seen the woman once since then but they hadn't spoken. Now he feared she might be out of the city altogether. Had she foreseen this new development? Was the shelling an act of vengeance for failing to kill Julian?
With puzzling possibilities buzzing around his head Emil Nemico decided he would survey the damage the shelling had done for himself. If he was to be Mayor of the City he would need to show some initiative. Perhaps he could salvage the situation yet.
Julian sat watching his assassin robes dry. The small room would have seemed cramped with just a handful of people but they'd managed to get a nearly a dozen into the small space that had come to serve as a meeting place for assassins since the attack. Alyx and Allison were seated across from Julian with Hassan leaning against the wall behind them. On Julian's right General Shephard paced to and fro often having to squeeze between some of the other assassins because of the tight space.
"We can't just leave the city," Shephard argued, "City 12 has been our home for years now, ever since the fall of Clear Water."
"The city is no longer safe for us," Julian explained, "With Emil as Mayor and the Templars in charge it won't be long before the rest of us are hunted and down and killed. There are too few assassins left in this world."
"But where would we go?" Allison asked, "The nearest base is Orion but we'd have to pass through far too much Combine territory to get there."
"We could go to City 19," Alyx suggested, "Things have improved a lot there since we took out the Administrator... or I should say since Gordon too him out. Doctor Kleiner would be glad for the company."
"If only the Freeman were here," a vortigaunt standing not far from Hassan said, "I saw him fight once below ground against a horde of antlions that would have shaken the vortessence right from my bones."
"We don't want to run too far," Julian said offering Alyx a smile, "Thanks for the offer though."
"Wait a second," Alyx said her face suddenly brightening, "Theta Prime."
"Hunters Fall," Allison nodded.
"We brought trouble to their door once before though," Julian reminded.
"So we ask nicely this time," Alyx replied standing up as if all was settled.
"We can't just abandon the people here," Shephard argued in a tone so serious that Alyx sat down immediately locking gazes with the stone cold eyes of Adrian Shephard, "This city is humanity's last best hope."
"There's no guarantee that City 12 will even be attacked," Hassan argued back taking the words right from Julian's mouth, "And if it is there is no guarantee it will fall. If we stay and fight we may merely end up dying with the city."
"Shephard has a point though," Julian said, "We shouldn't abandon them. We'll take what we can with us. Then we get out."
"Won't the Templars notice a whole bunch of their citizens walking out on them?" Shephard asked his stern expression lifting momentarily.
"We'll need to capitalize on the chaos caused by the shelling," Julian admitted, "With the soldiers preoccupied with zombies we should be able to get some families out of here and on the road to Hunter's Fall."
"What of the Combine's alien assassin?" Hassan asked suddenly changing the direction of the discussion, "She was wounded but not killed, she will be looking for revenge, just like that other bounty hunter was."
"We know her weakness now," Julian answered, "And we can deal with her when the time comes. Though I'm still not sure how that piece of knowledge came into our possession."
"Your guess is as good as mine," Allison offered with an innocent smile but Julian shook his head with a smirk and she nodded, "It was another vision, a flashback."
"To an ancestors life?" Julian asked though he knew the answer before she nodded.
"I knew once I saw the distinctive type of sword," she replied, "The steel is a special alloy that cannot be made on Earth. One of my ancestors has encountered this race of assassins before. They are known as the Maldragons. I'm not the only one that had something strange happen in that fight, you were able to break free of the Apple's pull!"
"I'm not sure how," Julian admitted, "But I've done it twice now."
"The Pieces were designed to keep humans docile, a slave race," Hassan explained, "I did not think breaking their pull was possible for an ordinary man."
"Perhaps the Julian Miles is no ordinary man," the vortigaunt interjected again.
"Get word to Theta Prime," Julian suggested to Alyx who, he noted, blushed red at the mention of the woman's name, "Let her know we won't be alone."
"Where are you going?" Allison asked.
"To follow in the footsteps of my Father, Desmond 'Moses' Miles," he replied, "I'm gonna go ask the Pharaoh to set my people free."
Julian picked past the man's guards with relative ease slipping in and out of the deepening shadows as the day came to a close. It was clear that Emil Nemico had priorities of his own and his own safety didn't seem near the top of that list. Julian wasn't sure whether to chalk it up to arrogance or a change of heart. The man seemed intent on cleaning up the mess the Combine's shelling had made and even now as night was falling the future Mayor was helping his team clean up debris. Nearly two dozen zombie corpses littered the area nearby their stench almost unbearable wafting through the warm air of early Summer.
The young assassin was close now, dangerously close. Something struck him then as a warm breeze hit him. How was he this close to Emil Nemico this easily? He began darting his sharp eyes in all directions searching for some sign that it was a trap but he found no evidence of one. No synths seemed lying in wait and all of the men who were with Nemico, though most of them were Templars, were not the sort usually employed in the art of combat. Though it felt at odds with everything he'd learned growing up Julian Miles stepped out into the open and addressed Emil Nemico openly.
"Need any help?" Julian asked alerting all to his presence, he tensed imperceptibly as all eyes turned to him ready if he needed to defend himself.
"Assassin," he heard one man mumble under his breath angrily.
"Not from the likes of you!" One man, a short man with broad shoulders and a bald head shouted approaching menacingly but Emil waved the man away.
"If you've come for revenge I have no desire to fight you," Emil said throwing Julian off-guard for a moment at that declaration, "I'm not the one who hired that damned bug."
"But you're in league with the people who did," Julian reminded without a hint of anger in his voice, "A friend of mine died because of you. Not to mention a little rumor going around about who it was who killed my Father. Tell me Emil, was it worth it?"
"I'm not sure yet," Emil said again his response surprised Julian, "I thought I would feel powerful but I don't. I feel... trapped. Trapped in my responsibility to the city and the citizens. So if you're not going to kill me why have you come?"
"Information," Julian said as Emil waved away the others causing them to scatter out of ear-shot, "I want to know where the Pieces of Eden are, the ones that were stolen from my home."
"Gone," Emil said flatly, "Likely in possession of the Combine already."
"How?" Julian asked without betraying his fear and anger at that revelation.
"Ressian Malil," Emil said spitting every word as if it was venom on his lips, "She wasn't loyal to the Templars. She took them with her I imagine, to offer an apology to her overlords for failing at killing you."
"I thought you ordered the hit," Julian said but Emil was shaking his head with every word.
"I was tasked with getting you killed," Emil clarified, "When I failed they went to the Combine, they went to Ressian Malil. The Combine wants you dead even more than we did."
"Did?" Julian asked again surprised though his face betrayed none of it.
"Fucking cowards," Emil said under his breath, "Most of the Templar leadership have run. They're hiding somewhere because of some deal they've made."
"With the Combine?" Julian asked and Emil's expression confirmed that his guess was likely correct.
"I wouldn't let your guard down though," Emil suggested and this time Julian's expression did reveal his surprise, "The leaders may be gone but the hit is still active and the rewards will be great for whoever brings you down. What will you do?"
"I'm leaving," Julian admitted and this time it was Emil who was surprised, "And I'm taking my people with me, as many as I can. Enjoy your power while it lasts Nemico, I hope it was worth all the damage you've done."
And with that the assassin was gone. Emil thought to sick some loyal Templar bounty hunters after him. Perhaps there was still a chance to regain his honor in the Order, keep his position as Mayor and collect even more booty in the process. Or perhaps he would hunt down the assassin himself and kill him. He didn't do it though instead he turned to the desecrated homes around him bathed in the glow of the setting sun with the distant sound of zombies growls and gunfire telling him there was still much work to be done. Templar or not he was Mayor now and as far as he was concerned Julian's fate was now up to Ressian Malil and the Combine Empire.
Allison felt dark eyes on her as she reached the site. She wasn't sure whether it was the zombies that now ambled through the area just beyond and just inside the city walls or something else entirely. The eerie feeling subsided for a moment as she looked upon the sullen stone glinting in the moonlight. Carved into the surface was the name of long fallen friend, Michael Cameron. Only a few feet away sat another stone, this one newer with the carving fresh and the soil still disturbed. Jara Aldi.
Allison knew it was dangerous being out after dark especially only a day after the shells had fallen but she felt he had to see them. They were leaving the city behind after all just as they had left old friends behind. Or was it the other way around? She wondered if it was Jara and Michael who had left her behind to visit some unknown world beyond this one. The idea of an afterlife seemed a bit silly to her though she knew the comfort that it could bring. How badly she wanted them back from beyond the soil that bound them.
She rose from her feet brushing the mud from her black HEV suit's knees. She stood in the moonlight bidding them a silent farewell. A flash caught her attention. Figures ahead of her moved in the treeline. At first she thought it was a flashback, she thought she might be seeing Vietcong through the jungle but soon the truth of it became clear. Combine soldiers, dozens of them, possibly scouts judging by the uncommon green and brown uniforms. She froze in place when she saw they had a Hunter synth with them.
Allison turned and ran keeping her steps as quiet as she could. The ground was muddy, her boots sunk deep making each step away from them that much harder and that much louder. They had already been fairly far away from her but that was no excuse to be sloppy in her escape. Her frantic heart pounded as she cut through the trees and neared the gate. A wayward root reached up as her foot came across. Down she toppled into the mud.
Another flash crossed her eyes but this she knew was not the shine of a Combine's light. This was one all too familiar to her of late. She was back in the jungle again, in the Temple. The Maldragon had been defeated it seemed, or at least pushed back, and her team had taken the temple at the G-Man's behest. She could see the illumination, the glow around the mouth of the temple as she approached. The surface seemed of polished blue steel with glowing white line creasing the floor and walls in cryptic patterns. Images appeared along those walls that told a story long forgotten, long forbidden, one that had haunted man's dreams. One that dwelled within the fabric of all mankind, woven into our genes in the form of ancestral memories.
Allison awoke with a start, a familiar voice urging her to snap from her trancelike state.
"Rise and shine," the voice hissed softly, "We can't have you and that baby of yours falling into the hands of the Combine. You're far too important for that."
Julian knew Allison would likely be infuriated by his absence but he hadn't wanted to waste time. He'd spent nearly the entire night visiting the homes of nearly every citizen he knew was friendly to the assassin order. Due to the efforts of the Templars that number was drastically low compared to the size of the city and the number of citizens. Many had refused to leave their homes. City 12 had stood for years as a bastion. It had been taken from the Combine by forced, a city reclaimed for mankind and it undoubtedly had the largest population and was the most fortified Resistance base that existed in the entire world. It's reputation had only grown after the fall of Golgotha allowed families to begin breeding again for the first time in more than twenty years.
To suggest that City 12 was in any real danger was tantamount to admitting defeat to the Combine as far as many were concerned. Julian watched the sunrise knowing that he'd done his best but still feeling far from satisfied. Only about four dozen people had agreed to accompany them out of the city and very few who had agreed had children. They would be leaving the city of some 80,000 people, at least 5,000 of which were children below the age of two. Once more his moral dilemma reared its ugly head and once more Julian beat it back assuring himself he was making the right choice.
He turned back into the city hoping to make his way back home and to be in bed before the sun was fully up above the horizon.
Allison awoke in her bed startled. Her heart fluttered and she sprung up with arms flailing as if defending herself from attack. Slowly her heart rate slowed as she considered the room around her. She turned to see Julian somehow asleep in the bed beside her snoring soundly. How had she returned to their home? She looked around at the small apartment they were temporarily using since their first house had been attacked by Ressian and their second had been crushed under a headcrab shell. Had it all been a dream? Surely the trip out to the cemetery had been real enough and seeing the Combine soldiers too but after that it all seemed a blur of bright flashes and vague voices.
She walked to the bathroom and washed her face in the mirror looking down at her belly. A smile somehow emerged on her young beautiful face as she washed away the dirt with a cloth. Only a few years earlier she hardly had any grasp on reality at all. Though she was still plagued by strange visions of her ancestor's lives she had indeed come a long way from the broken psyche and shattered personality she had once been. She recalled what it was like to feel like less than a real person. At least now when flashes of the past came to her she always returned to herself. She had a self. And now she was only a few months away from bringing another self into the world. She looked back to Julian and hoped that she could do it safely.
The smile washed from her face like the dirt that she wiped away. The Combine were coming to City 12. It couldn't have been a dream. Yet why would Julian have been slumbering peacefully beside her? Wouldn't he have returned home last night to find her missing only to track her down? Was that what had happened? Had he tracked her down and brought her back and laid her in bed when he saw she was alright? She remembered something than, the nature of the voice still echoing in her head.
"I believe you have something of mine Miss Rogue," she recalled the voice saying, "Stolen from Emil Nemico though it was not his."
Her heart skipped a beat as she rushed into the bedroom and grabbed for the chest Julian kept beneath the bed. She opened it quickly and breathed a sight of relief when she saw the Apple still sitting there. It's golden surface shimmered in the sunlight as it filtered through the window.
"Return it," she heard the voice saying and for a moment she felt compelled to obey as if she'd heard the voice so many times before and always responded to its call. She shut the chest up tight and locked it before pushing it back beneath the bed. Perhaps she hadn't come as far as she had thought from the paralyzed half-person she once was. It seemed that not all the demons in her head were dead, especially ones wearing blue suits.