Hey guys! Sorry to keep you waiting so long for a chapter, this ones been in the works for a while now. After this, Alex will be doing a lot more assassin-y type things, so be ready!
Thanks to all the new readers, reviewers, and my beta-reader evilgoodguy!
Disclaimer: Ubisoft owns Assassin's Creed.
Date Undetermined, 11:09 hrs
Location: The Farm, South Dakota
"Why do we do this to ourselves?" I asked Rudy and Jill. "Why subject ourselves to a life of secrecy, a life of killing?"
"We kill only to preserve peace. We kill to subdue the Templars." Jill said confidently.
"Not quite," I said in a reassuring tone. Teaching initiates was probably one of my favourite things since my induction. Reminded me of my roots. "But nice try nonetheless, Rudy?"
"It is our duty, as Assassins, to create peace, not only within the world, but within ourselves. To achieve this peace it is necessary to contradict our own philosophies." Rudy said, reciting the Revised Codex.
"Exactly." I smiled, pleased with my students.
June 8th 2008, 20:37 hrs
Location: The Farm, Ontario
"Down this way, watch your head," Kenny said leading me down the spiral staircase. "Don't worry about Walker, he's usually a cool guy, just don't bring up the Purge with him. Touchy subject."
I stopped and turned to my brother. "Hey, I'm sorry for giving you such a hard time earlier. I know it must be tough for you, if its this bad for me then I can't even begin to imagine what it is for you. The fact that you had to kill two men today doesn't help."
He put his head back and looked up taking a deep breath. "I've killed before. Mom knew what she was getting herself into, trying to integrate fully back into the normal world. We discussed what would happen, me, her and Dad, just never thinking it would. We prepared for the worst and now the worst has come, and we were ready." His face remained neutral, but the tone in his voice gave away his inner sorrow and his pain.
I hugged my brothers tightly and after a few seconds let him go. "Hey, we got each other to get through this, right? And Dad will be back soon and we'll get through this together. Now who did you want me to see?" I smiled at him as best as I could.
We reached the end of the stairs and turned left to a dimly lit corridor. There was no noise whatsoever coming out from the hallway. I looked to the other side, still following my older brother, and heard the distinct chatter of many people and the clanking of pots and pans. "Uh Kenny, are we going the right way?" I asked.
"Yup. Other side's the kitchens, then further down there the dorms. Rueben likes to sit himself up in the Archives, although he claims it's 'cuz he's near the weapons storage." he said without turning his head.
"That's where we're going then...?" I asked puzzled.
"You betcha."
We continued to walk in silence down the long corridor. The floors were cement, lit with flickering florescent lights on the ceiling. There were many doors walking down, each being labeled with an A or a W followed by a number. It seemed to go for another hundred meters then split off after that.
"Lets see... Rueben likes to sit in A-201, he likes his World Wars..." Kenny muttered under his breath, as were walked past W-9, sublabel SIG-Model Assortments.
He stopped abruptly at a door and opened it, "Come on, you have a lot to learn."
I sighed, "Great, just got out of school, now back to learning."
The room was relatively small. A single desk and lamp lay on the far right corner, it was the only light on in the room. A computer and laptop sat near it, however, both were on their power saving modes. The walls of the room were unpainted, although unseen, due to the rows upon rows of filing cabinets. On top of the filing cabinets lay wooden bookshelves, completely filled.
A largely built man sat at the desk, completely oblivious as to what was going on around him. He had shortly cropped brown hair, and what looked like a growing beard. He sat analyzing an old scrap of newspaper.
Kenny cleared his throat. "Rueben, I brought someone to see you."
The man moved his head and waved his hand over, "Ken, look what I found!"
Kenny rolled his eyes ad gestured for me to come over. "Yeah man, whats up?"
"Okay, so you know all about Adam Cassel and his adventures in London right? Justinien and the bunch?" Rueben said excitedly, without looking up, without even noticing my presence. "Of course you know, anyways, I found an article about the London Tower bombing that they did! Incredible..."
"Yeah, I know. Alex and I are Cassels by blood, remember?" Kenny said, facepalming, "Anyways, Rueben look up!"
He looked up, he looked to be in his mid to late twenties, around Kenny's age. "Woah dude, you didn't mention anybody being with you."
"Yes I did, you were too busy being a bookworm and peeing yourself over a newspaper, now down to business. Alex, this is my friend -and the Assassin's biggest nerd- Rueben Hastings. Rueben, this is Alex, my little brother."
Rueben's face immediately broke out in a smile, "Nice to meet you, I've heard so much."
"Can't say as much for you," I laughed, shaking his hand. "To be honest, can't really say much about this place in general."
"That's why I took you here Alex," Kenny said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "If its ancient history, to the war on terrorism, Rueben's the guy to talk to. And by that I don't mean the boring history from school, I mean the history nobody knows about. The way it really happened."
"And on that note, get out." Rueben said bluntly, "I'm teaching."
Kenny patted me on the shoulder, "I'll bring some food later, it's been a long night little brother." And he turned and walked out.
"So," Rueben began, rolling up the newspaper and putting it back in it's tube. "How much do you actually know about us?"
"Next to nothing, Kenny ran me down with a quick lesson on the way here," I answered, scratching my head.
"Sit down, we're gunna start from the start now." Rueben said, pulling up a chair. "I guess you could say it began before history even began. Adam and Eve."
"The two naked people from the Bible?" I asked, "Sorry, not religious."
Rueben laughed, "They were definitely real people if that's what you're asking. Long ago, thousands of years ago, we were not the only sentient species to roam the planet. In fact, you could even say that we weren't even sentient back then. Merely slaves, to a race far more powerful than ours, Those Who Came Before."
He paused to take a drink, then continued, "They had us build Temples and cities and monuments in their name, they were far more powerful and advanced than us. But they were less in number."
"Wait, then how did they control us?" I asked.
"Wait, wait. I was getting to that!" Rueben yelled, "Anyways, they created pieces of technology, far more advanced than we could dream of inventing. These bits of technology we call 'Pieces of Eden' or PoEs. They allowed the First Civilization to control us. But Adam and Eve were hybrids. A mix of human and First Civilization DNA, and this allowed them to resist the PoE's power and start a rebellion."
"So they were the first Assassins then?"
"In a way I guess, but not officially. They began a war, a war that last ages and left both races weakened. But the war kept the First Civilization from noticing that something bigger was upon them, and a terrible catastrophe occurred. Now our historians- including me- believe that it was some sort of solar flare that left the Earth unstable, but it doesn't matter. Many of Earth's species went extinct, and the world began anew, with Humans and the First Civilization working together."
"But they don't exist anymore."
"That's correct. The war and the solar flare left the First Civilization so crippled that they eventually became extinct..."
Rueben continued on, explaining how the First Civilization preserved themselves by breeding with humans, creating hybrids who possessed a special sixth sense called Eagle Sense. These hybrids eventually lost touch with their First Civilization DNA, except for a select few, and these were the one who formed the Assassins. The Order of the Knight's Templar however, was formed when Cain - one of the sons of Adam and Eve - killed his brother, in order to obtain the Apple of Eden.
"The Templars seek to create a perfect world, but do so in a manner that controls and oppresses people. We as Assassins believe in free will and this is why we oppose each other." Rueben finished.
We sat in silence for a few moments, as I thought about what I had just learned. It was obvious that the Templars needed to be stopped, there was no doubt about it. But there was one nagging question on my mind... "If we are still fighting a war, how comes I've never heard about it before?"
"The Templars keep a very tight hold on the media. Plus they stay hidden in plain site, using our own Creed against us."
"Hidden? How?" I asked.
"Have you ever heard of Abstergo Industries?" Rueben asked.
I nodded, remembering Ian Waldorf and his gang.
"The whole company, which had become a corporate giant, is just a Templar front. Many, if not all its employees know of our battle, and yet choose the Templar side, and their sheer numbers and power is what is making us lose this war." Rueben got up and stretched, looking at his watch. "It's nearly ten, we still got a lot to do. Follow me."
He walked out of the room and down the hall, all the way to A-111. He pulled out a key and unlocked the door, leading to a much larger room, lit by flourescent lamps hanging from the ceiling. The doors were greeted by two statues of men.
"Alex, I'd like you to meet Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad and his son Darim Ibn-La'Ahad, probably two of the most prominent Assassins in the 11th Century. Altaïr himself wrote the Codex that set the foundation for all future Assassins, we still use some - if not most - of the techniques developed by him today."
"So I'm just gunna go off a hunch but, I guess he's important right?" Alex joked.
Rueben laughed, "I see you have Kenny's humour. And yes, he is very important. The Order's leader, William Miles, considers him the wisest of all the Assassins to ever lived. But we have more statues to visit." He walked out, leading me back down the corridor, but not as far as the WWII room, instead bringing me to A-151, and opening the door to yet another large room.
This time I was greeted by a man and a woman statue. "Who are they?" I asked Rueben.
"Ezio Auditore da Firenze and his litttle sister, Claudia. He single handedly (well almost) eliminated the Templar threat from Italy and the Ottoman Empire, establishing a formidable Assassin presence in Europe. He also worked closely with Leonardo da Vinci to re-write a revised Codex."
"And his sister?"
"She was the 'behind the scenes' help. She aided Ezio in the restoration of their Villa in Monteriggioni, as well as helping to run the Brotherhood while Ezio left to Constantinople. Miles considers him the most agile and skilled of all Assassins."
I nodded. This was all a lot to take in, but given the circumstances... I needed to avenge my mother.
"One more statue to visit Alex, follow me." Rueben said, exiting the room and walking further down the hall, closer to where we started in the World War II room.
We stopped at room A-181 and walked in. Like the two other times before, I was greeted by a statue of a young-ish looking man, however, he was much more built than Ezio or Altaïr. Instead of waiting for Rueben to speak, I walked up to the pedestal and saw the name Ratonhnhaké:ton. My heart leaped.
"You can read it, can't you." Rueben said with a smile, crossing is arms and leaning up against the wall. I swallowed and nodded.
"He whose life is scarred." I said quietly. My mother taught me Cree when I was younger, and some of my friends taught me a bit of Mohawk. They were surprisingly similar.
"Scratched, actually. That's the literal translation anyways. Kenneth said the same thing. Looks like you guys are both rusty on your Mohawk." Rueben chuckled.
"What happened to him? Why have a name like that?" I asked, both scared and intrigued at the same time. Was this the man that Kenny had mentioned earlier? "Could we actually be related?" I thought.
"He was raised by a single mother. His father... was an outsider to the tribe. Both of our tribes, if you catch my drift."
I thought for a second, then realized, "His father was a Templar!"
Rueben nodded, "Ratonhnhaké:ton's father was a Templar, yes."
I looked back at the pedestal. Under the name Ratonhnhaké:ton was an inscription saying:
Ratonhnhaké:ton
Also known as Connor
Assassin from 1772-Death
Mentor of American Assassins from 1782-Death
Rest in Peace
"You and your mother's side of the family are directly related to him. At some point in history, Connor's relatives migrated to Canada and joined the Cree. Kenny has investigated this thoroughly, but still hasn't found your direct ancestor. Now before you ask how we know that you are even related in the first place, let me explain." Rueben said. "You see, there's this incredible machine called the Animus. We stole the designs from the Templars back in 2005, and our tech experts have been making upgrades ever since."
"So what does it do? Takes you back in time?" I laughed nervously.
"Well... yes." he answered. "Kinda. Come on, follow me. I'll show you our resident Animus."
The room was actually rather small, but there was extensive security measures guarding the room. Upon entering the room, there were two guards, both clad in full tactical gear, armed with military grade rifles. A biometric scan and I.D. card was needed to pass them. Once in, another two guards, less heavily armoured frisked you and put you through a metal detector. Throughout the room were cameras, catching every angle missing nothing.
The room itself was like a gigantic laboratory, all white, lab benches and tables with various devices on top of them.
In the centre of the room was a very peculiar looking device. It looked much like a chair, but had a headpiece at the top which definitely was not a feature on the ordinary chair. There were three scientist-looking men and women in the room, either inspecting the machine or filling out reports at the lab benches.
"Our Animus has been upgraded by the Order's head technician, Rebecca Crane. We actually only got our hands on the blueprints for it a few months ago, but she claims that she can do a lot more with it." Rueben said.
"Is she here? Because maybe she can actually tell me what this damn thing does!" I said frustrated. It seemed with these people, extracting answers was like walking on water. Near impossible.
Rueben looked surprised, but his face lightened up. "No, I haven't even met her. She lives down in the U.S. helping at the original Farm. And as for the machine..."
I looked at him expectantly.
"It might be best if Yuri explains it. He's our head of genetic memory up here." Rueben said, gesturing to the closest man in a lab coat. He had shortly cropped greying hair, and a chinstrap beard. He looked at me as if there I was something to be pried open and looked at for knowledge, not a human being.
"Ah, you must be Alex, I presume?" Yuri said with a slight Russian accent. He extended his hand towards me. "I work with your brother from time to time, my name is Yuri Vershinin."
I shook it, and Rueben said, "Alex, there's some things I have to do. I think Yuri will complete your introduction, Kenny should be by here soon. You have a long day tomorrow. See you around." He turned and walked out of the door.
Yuri waved to Rueben, and turned to me, sitting down at one of the tables. He gestured for me to sit down as well, and I did. "So Alex, do you know what a memory is?"
"Uhm, something you did in the past, that you remember now?" I guessed. The question was rather random, but then again nothing compared to the rest of the day. My heart sunk, as I remembered earlier today. "Mom..." I thought. The only thing that kept my from collapsing and breaking down is the promise I made to her, to avenge her and kill whoever was responsible for her murder.
Yuri's chuckle broke my thoughts. "A recollection of past events to be exact. But that's not the point. What if I told you that you could not only access the memories of today, as in the years you've been living, but the memories of the past. Your ancestor's memories."
"That's impossible," I immediately said bluntly.
"And yet, you stand before the very machine that allows us achieve such wonders. Think about it Alex. Isn't it impossible that you can detect a hidden landmine with your vision alone? Impossible that we have been waging a war for thousands of years without a single word on the news? In our reality, Alex, the impossible becomes possible." Yuri said.
"How-?" I stammered, not knowing how he knew about my so called, 'Eagle Sense'.
"Kenny made us all watch, he thought he would 'show you off' were his words." Yuri smiled, "I must say though, you were very impressive. Out of my eleven year working at this establishment, you've mastered the mines the quickest. But anyways, back to the Animus."
"This machine allows you to access the genetic memories stored in your DNA, and relive them as your own. Abstergo thought it very useful to use these memories to get PoE's, trying to trace them back to ancient times." Yuri said, "They started testing the machine in the 1980's starting with Subject 1, one of their own employees."
"The machine itself doesn't sound all that bad..." I mumbled to myself.
"That's because it isn't! If released commercially sold to scientists, researchers and universities, the information that could be uncovered would be incredible. However, prolonged exposure to the Animus results in what we call the Bleeding Effect." Yuri said, and before I could say anything continued, "Your mind begins to get confused as to which memories are yours, which memories are you ancestors and eventually lead to insanity."
He walked over to one of the computer screens on a lab bench across the room, I followed.
"Here. Look at the footage that we have uncovered on Subject 1, back in 1981." Yuri said, pointing at the black screen. A large Abstergo logo appeared on-screen with a light blue background.
The image flickered and the screen turned black once more, showing only the date and time of the recording: November 24th 1981.
"Subject One, what is your name?"
"Harold Driever. 38 years old."
"Who is your ancestral link?"
"Moises Fernandes, Spanish Conquistadors."
Subject One's voice was happy and upbeat, the researcher's cold. The screen flickered again, again only showing a black screen and a date: January 5th 1982.
"What is your name?"
"Uhm... Mois-Harold. Harold Driever."
"Who is your ancestral link?"
"... Fernandes. Moises Fernandes."
Subject One's voice was strained this time, his voice still had that happy tone, but was beginning to fade. The screen flickered, showing a date of February 18th 1982.
"Subject One, what is your name?"
"Moises."
"No, it's Harold."
"Oh, yes. I knew that."
"Who is your ancestral link?"
"..."
*Ahem* "I said, who is your ancestral link?"
"¿Dónde estoy? ¿Quién es usted? Sácame de aquí!"
The recording abruptly ended.
"What happened?" I asked, turning to Yuri.
"Harold killed himself with a nearby pair of scissors after destroying the recording machine. The Templars kept him in for weeks at a time, his brain could not distinguish between memories of his life, or his ancestor's life." he said, looking away. "That is the one danger of the Animus. Such a beautiful device, one that could change the world forever, being misused for evil. It is truly shameful... Anyways, would you like to give it a try?"
I sat astonished. "The Animus? !" I sat for a second, thinking about the recording I had just seen, thinking about the things I could discover in this machine. "I could use some new fighting techniques, Rueben did say that Ratonhnhaké:ton was the greatest fighter the Assassins had ever seen..." I thought.
"Let's do it."
Yuri smiled, and called over the two other workers, one man and one woman. He let out a quick flurry of Russian and the other two scientist got to work, flicking various switches and configuring various controls on the computers. After a few seconds the Animus' headpiece began to glow and the fan turned on.
Yuri turned to me, "Ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be, let's do it!" I said excitedly. Half-running towards the Animus, and sitting in it. The HUD lit up with LED lights and the graphic user interface popped up on screen.
A strand of DNA appeared on screen, as the Animus began analyzing my DNA. Many of the the strands said "Memory Locked" and thus could not be accessed.
"What does that mean?" I asked, "How comes those memories are locked?"
"Your subconscious would reject it. Your body couldn't handle going straight into a such a traumatic or emotionally strong memory. We'll start from the beginning, start at the basics. Hopefully this works." Yuri said, with a quizzical look upon his face.
A weak electrical shock surged through my body, giving a jumpstart to my nerves, and my eye blanked.
The room was blue. Just blue.
"Where am I?" I thought.
"The loading screen." Yuri's voice emanted throughout the room, which seemed infinite. "The Animus is just preparing the training program, that's all. Now lets see..."
"Huh." I thought, walking around. The room- if you could even call it that now - had a flat floor, odourless, and from what I could see, all blue. "I like what you've done to the place!" I yelled at Yuri.
His laughter resonated throughout the room. "Here we go Alex."
The room flickered, and I felt my body grow smaller. "WOAH!" I yelled, as my hair began to grow out more, my skin became darker and my clothes began to morph into what looked like some sort of brown fur.
The room began to change as well, trees began to sprout from nowhere, the ground turned into dirt, and wierdest of all, small children sprouted from the ground.
"Welcome to Kanathséton, Connor's village in the early 18th Century. You'll be reliving his childhood memories for a bit." Yuri said, his voice fading.
"Ratonhnhaké:ton! Come on!" one of the children yelled.
I waited for Ratonhnhaké:ton to move, but he didn't. The Animus began to turn red, and I panicked and ran. Suddenly, the red flashing stopped, and the kid yelled at Ratonhnhaké:ton to keep going.
"Wait a second..." I looked at my hands, and saw they were small, the skin a light mocha colour. "Woah. I control him! This could be fun..."
September 1st 2012, 17:09 hrs
Location: Hidden
"I think that it's safe to say that my first day with the Assassins was far from uneventful. However, compared to the adventures, the events that were to unfold, it was nothing," Alex continued, sitting on an old dusty couch, re-telling the story of his first day with the Assassins.
"But still, it was one of the most traumatizing days of my life. My mother dead, being thrust into a war that I never knew existed... The Animus. It was really all a lot to take in. I was, after all, only seventeen," he concluded, shutting off the voice recorder. He knew that someday, after this was all over, the memories would be useful. Alex just didn't know why, or in what way, but they would be used.
Getting up from the couch, he walked over to the near-empty, dilapidated closet that he called a pantry and opened it. He stood for a second thinking to himself, musing over how much things had changed. Not only was he a near master Assassin, Alex now was 5' 11'' with a hastily trimmed beard, and what little baby fat he had before was now gone.
"Dude where are you going? Finish the story, I like it," Laurel said from the couch. A box of Kleenex lay beside her. She normally wasn't the type to cry over a story, but apparently Alex was great at it. Of course she recovered quickly and was now the annoying pseudo-older annoying sister that Alex never wanted.
"I've changed so much from that day you know," he yelled back, "Four years changes a man, and the world with it. Only a few months ago, I was training new recruits at the Farm... and now..?"
Alex looked around at the beat up shack that they was staying in and sighed, "And now we're on the run."
"Yeah yeah, I get it, now lets finish the story. Talk about your training, the missions! The bomb in Cairo, the green dog mission! Oh I love that one."
"We don't have the time, Seth should be back soon and then we gotta move again. Its not safe to stay here for too long, no matter how hidden and secure it is."
Laurel turned on and threw Alex the voice recorder. "Then at least to how we got here, at least talk about Protocol Seven."
Next chapter, we'll delve into Alex's memory some more, but not too far back.
However, I do have a question for you guys (and girls, if you're reading). Would be up to seeing more Animus stuff, with a different ancestor perhaps?
Thanks guys! ~Chinqs