Connor wakes up alone, which is strange because he doesn't remember falling asleep, or being hit in the head, and also because the last thing he does remember is fighting a dozen guards in an Abstergo basement surrounded by frozen bodies.
Now he's in a forest, alone, wearing clothes that are completely unfamiliar.
What?
It's such an unexpected outcome that when Connor climbs to his feet, he spends several minutes standing completely still, evaluating his options and trying to figure out what's going on and how he got there.
He knows where he is- a few miles from Concord, in a section of forest that's identical to the ones in his memories. This isn't the twenty first century anymore. He's back in his own time, which would be a lot more reassuring if he had any idea of how or why.
With no real idea where else to go, Connor heads toward Concord. It's nearby, and he's in desperate need of reorienting himself right now. He knows what general era he's in, but he doesn't know the exact date, and he's done enough time traveling by now to understand that the exact date can make a difference.
He's lost in thought during the walk into town, and so he doesn't hear the screams or smell the fire until it's too late. He tenses, and a second later takes off running. That is a lot of screaming. Before he makes it very far at all, though, someone comes crashing into him, knocking him off his feet and onto the ground.
Connor's instincts kick in and he lashes out with hidden blades that he realizes too late are not strapped to his arms. "Really, Connor?" A familiar voice demands. "We're doing this again? I thought we were done trying to kill each other."
"Wha- dad?" He stops struggling, and Haytham lets him up. "You're the one that jumped me."
"Because you were going to run right in without looking first," Haytham says.
"The place is on fire-"
"There's more going on than you know about," Haytham says. "I don't understand it, but something's seriously wrong."
"And there are people seriously dying," Connor says. "Can we argue this later?"
"Fine," Haytham growls. "We go in, you play the hero, and then we get out, alright?"
Connor nods once and starts to run again, this time with Haytham hot on his heels. Most of his mind is occupied with wondering what's going on and how he can help. Most, but not all- part of him is still trying to figure out how he got there, another part is wondering if Ezio and Desmond got out of Abstergo alright, and a small but growing corner of his mind is pointing out that this is the most concerned he's ever heard his father sound, and Haytham does not scare easily.
Down in the town, Connor and Haytham find a group of people trapped in a church on fire, surrounded by soldiers in blue uniforms (and who are they fighting for, anyway?). They're finishing off the last of the soldiers off when someone yells "The King is coming!"
"King?" Haytham repeats, glancing over at Connor, who shrugs. He's never seen a king. He doesn't care much for the idea, though.
"When did we get a king?" Connor asks.
"I don't-" Haytham stops, staring at something over Connor's shoulder. He tries to say something, then swallows and tries again. "I think you should see this."
Connor turns, and is met with the last sight he would have expected- George Washington on a horse, regally dressed, wearing a crown and carrying…
"That's an apple," Connor says.
"Yes it is," Haytham agrees.
Connor sighs, frustrated. "Why can't things ever just be simple?"
-/-
And have some Tyranny of King Washington. I was super conflicted about whether or not to put it in (I wasn't sure where it would fit chronologically, plus I'm not as familiar with the overall plot as I am with the plot of the main games). In the end I decided this story is already nuts enough that this isn't going to hurt, and anyway it always bothered me that Haytham didn't make it into TOKW. Time to fix that. :)