Zoe's POV
I scanned the area using night vision while remaining undetected in the shadows. The Delta team and Taskforce 141 are covering me. I whispered,
"Sandman, Grinch, Price, flank left. Frost, Truck, Yuri, flank right. Wait for my signal." They nodded and followed my instructions. I fired my grapple and hid in the darkness. Below me, ten men, equipped with MP5s, are below, conversing with each other. All of them have an unknown symbol on their uniforms. I drew my knives and leapt down on one of them, taking them by surprise. Taking advantage of that, I leapt to the next one and slit his throat and went to another and repeating what I just did, killing three enemies instantly. When the soldiers snapped out of their surprise, they raised their weapons and prepared to fire. But, six precise shots killed six of them, leaving the last one alive. I knocked the machine gun out of his hand and drew my pistol and hissed, my hood making me look like a demon.
"Talk. Who are the ones who ordered the attack? My finger is getting itchy." To prove my point, I twitched my finger, drawing closer to the trigger. The man quivered in fear and stammered,
"It….It's Vladimir Makarov. He is the one who ordered the attack. He was given the order. I don't know who. Please, don't kill me." I gripped the trigger and said,
"Sorry. No loose ends." And I fired, killing him instantly. I radioed to dad and said,
"Warpath. This is Nighthawk. I have intel on who was the one that ordered the attack." The radio crackled and dad replied,
"You and I are going to have a talk young lady. Send the intel over, and get your ass to the bridge. It's secured there." I sighed and replied,
"Yes dad. Phoenix out." With that, I closed the commlink. Sandman placed a hand on my shoulder and said,
"Hey, don't worry kid. Your father understands. That does not mean that he won't be worried about you. You are about a week old after all." I gave Sandman a glare and he chuckled, saying,
"That does not scare me Zoe. I've seen worse." I sighed and replied,
"Let's just go. Before my dad chew out my ass." With that, Metal 0-1 and I walked out of the room. But not before rigging the room with C4 explosives. We headed to the bridge, maintaining stealth until we reached the door. I kick it open and threw a flashbang in. Before it can explode, a blur picked it up and threw it out of the window. I look in, and saw dad and mum looking at me expectantly, waiting for an explanation. I sighed and said,
"I know what I did was wrong and reckless. But I got a lead on the one who ordered the attack." Dad look at me and said,
"We are not angry Zoe. You wish to help, but no more reckless moves." I nodded. He continued,
"Send me the data." I opened a remote link and send the intel to my dad. After a while, he said,
"While I am not happy that you disobeyed my orders, you have done a good job obtaining the data. Well done Zoe." I nodded my head and replied,
"Thanks dad." He nodded stoically and walked away. I sighed and headed up to the top of the bridge, allowing me to see over the entire ship. I stood on the balls of my feet, keeping myself balanced as I thought on what happened in the bridge. The sound of a grapple being fired shook me out of my thoughts. I look over and saw that it is Gideon. I said,
"Hey Gideon." Gideon chuckled and replied,
"Don't be too hard on your dad. He is very stressed on hunting the Kingpin down." I nodded and replied,
"He doesn't have to be that stoic right?" Gideon walked up to me and place a hand on my shoulder and replied,
"He is always like this when it comes to his missions. You probably would not remember, but when he is carrying you when you are just a baby, he had the biggest smile on his face. Give him time kid." I scowled and replied,
"I'm not a kid." Gideon chuckled and replied,
"You are to me kid." With that, I look on as he grappled to the deck and headed below deck to rig the ship. All of the weapons and vehicles are already transferred to the Falcon and the data is being transferred. I sighed and headed back down to the captain's bridge. When I entered, I saw my dad standing at the controls, transferring data. I walked towards him slowly and said,
"Dad?" He turned and look at me and asked,
"Zoe, what is it?" I sighed and replied,
"What's wrong with you? Why are you so emotionless?" He sighed and replied,
"Just wondering on different things in my head. Go on ahead to the Falcon. Help the Team to get the remaining equipment on board." With that, he turned and continued to transfer data to the Falcon. I sighed and walked out of the bridge. I leap off the bridge and used the landing assist on my Exo-suit. I landed with a light thump as Mitchell walked up to me with a chest of variable grenades. He said,
"Hey, you ok?" He placed the chest on the deck and look at me with an eyebrow raised. I replied,
"I'm fine Mitchell. Just a lot of things on my mind and all." He smirked and said,
"Worrying about your dad eh? Don't worry kid. He is always like this. He will be like this until we find somewhere safe." I frowned at being called a kid and said,
"Let's hope we will. Let me help you." Without waiting for an answer, I lifted the chest of variable grenades and we walked through the air lock and boosted to the Falcon. I placed the chest into the armoury and helped Mitchell in the weapons crate. Once everything is set up, Mitchell said,
"Come on, let's go" With that, we walked out of the armoury and the door slid close silently.
Warpath's POV
I watched as the data transfer from the Harbringer to the Falcon on my wrist computer. I shut down the window as soon as I saw that the data transfer is completed. I walked out of the bridge and headed to the air lock. My ring glowed and Venia appeared on the ship's deck. Venia said in my mind with a gentle voice,
"Percy, I felt your emotions while I'm in the ring. Are you ok?" I sighed and sat down and lean against her wing. I said,
"I'm fine Venia. Just that my daughter is a little concerned on how I displayed my emotions." Venia chuckled lightly and replied,
"Perhaps you should allow her to help you Percy. You know as well as I do that Zoe is a skilled fighter thanks to your memories during her time in the animus. Not to mention that she has mystic arts training from your memories." I sighed and replied,
"I have been too hard on her aren't I?" Venia snorted and replied,
"That is an understatement. You have been focused on keeping your family safe that you forget that they are skilled fighters as well. You are an Assassin and Dragon Rider Percy. Zoe is an Assassin in training and Thalia is your apprentice and Dragon Rider. They are far from weak. Allow them to help." I sighed and got on her back and stroked her neck, and said,
"Thanks Venia." She hummed and flapped her wings, flying off the Harbringer and hovering gently in the void of space. After a while, I look over and saw that the Team is packing the last weapons to the Falcon. I said in my mind,
"Venia, head to the Falcon. We are leaving soon." She sent an affirmative and flew to the deck of the Falcon. I leapt off Venia and landed on the deck. She flew around the Falcon and glowed and she entered my ring. I said to the Team,
"Guys, you ready?" Zoe replied,
"Packed and ready to go. Waiting on you." I said,
"Let's move" With that, I walked to the bridge and took the captain's seat. Mitchell took the navigation system and Gideon took the defence system. Ilona took her seat at the radar and Joker took his place beside me. The rest strapped themselves in. I said to Gideon,
"Gideon, activate the ion cannon and aim it at the Harbringer." He nodded and activated the ion cannon. A blue hue of light lit up the bridge as the ion cannon powered up. It rotated slowly and pointed at the Harbringer. I said,
"Open fire." A concentrated blue energy beam exploded from the ion cannon and pierced the Harbringer's hull, right where the engine room is. At the same time, Mitchell activated the C4 charges that is planted at every weak point of the ship. A mixture of orange and blue explosions was seen as the Harbringer, the Flagship of the Chaos army, is put to rest at last. When the explosion died down, all that is left is pieces of metal that is once part of one of the EM1 energy cannons. The rest of the ship has been atomized by the ion cannon. I said,
"Let's move. Mitchell, are there any friendly planets that welcome the Assassins and Primordials?" Mitchell replied after a minute,
"Negative sir. No planets are in the vicinity. The nearest planet that is friendly, Slacurus, is 10 light years away and we only have the necessary power to travel only 6 light years in a single jump." I said,
"Enter slip-space protocols and make the jump through slip-space until we reach Slacurus." Mitchell replied,
"But sir, the ship does not have a warp drive. We are unable to enter slip-space." I sighed and replied,
"Put all power to the hyper drive, we are making the jump to Slacurus." Mitchell nodded and after a minute, he said,
"All other systems other than the med-bay are offline." I said,
"Make the jump now." He nodded and activated the hyper drive. The familiar blue tint appeared as we entered light-speed. After a while, I sighed and stood up. I said,
"Thalia, Zoe, come with me. The rest of you, get some rest." With that, I walked out of the bridge, my wife and daughter following me while the rest went to the deck to relax or to the bedroom to sleep. I entered the meeting room and closed the door. I sat down and motioned to my family to sit as well. After a few minutes of silence, I said,
"Look, I know I have been distant to all of you, especially the both of you. For that, I'm sorry." Zoe stood up and gave me a hug and said,
"No apologies needed Dad. Gideon told me the stress you are under while attempting to complete this mission. Just let me help. Let all of us help you. You can't shoulder the burden alone." I sighed and said,
"Very well. Let's see if you are able to endure what's coming." Zoe gulped and nodded. Thalia gave me a kiss and said,
"Don't scare her." I grinned and said nothing, motioning for them to follow me. We headed out of the meeting room and headed back to the bridge. Once there, I said,
"Gideon, bring Zoe to the Arena. Let's see what she's made of." Gideon grinned and entered a code to the bridge. A bright light engulfed us and once it cleared, we are standing in a virtual arena. Zoe, Gideon, Thalia and I are standing a few feet apart. I called my spear to me and said,
"Well then, let's see what you have, daughter."
Zoe's POV
I drew my kukri and my throwing knives equipped themselves onto my hip. I said,
"Let's go father." With that, I yelled,
"Mystic Art, Mystic missile!" A blue glow emitted from my kukri and I slashed it, sending a energy missile towards my father. Without missing a beat, I went on the offense, attacking from all directions. But, he said,
"Mystic art, dimension slash." A red energy arc races towards me, tearing up the fabric of time and space. He leapt into the air and slashed his spear, releasing eight knives from the holsters of the spear. I leapt back, doing backflips due to my inherited agility of my father. But the knives keep on coming, I deflected six of the knives and dodged the remaining two. I retaliated by throwing my knives at him. But just before they reached him, my dad disappeared. I look around wildly, but I didn't notice a water whip wrapping around my waist until it's too late. I was hurled into the air and dad materialised below me. He said,
"Not bad on your first go. But you are too headstrong. You need to evaluate your opponent before attacking. Also, you lost focus. You lost control of the mystic missile when you went on the offense. You would need additional training on the mystic arts before you are allowed to use them. Am I clear?" I nodded and said,
"Can you put me down?" I immediately regretted it as I saw a mischievous glint in dad's eyes. I rambled,
"Dad, don't you dare." He let go control of the water and I fell straight into the pool of water that my dad has so graciously placed there. Having a mixed of Poseidon and Zeus's powers is usually good, but what I didn't inherit from dad is his ability to remain dry in water. I swam to the surface and spat out water and yelled,
"I will have my revenge Dad. Just you wait!" Dad chuckled and said,
"Gideon, get us out of here." Gideon chuckled and nodded and in a burst of bright light, we are back on the bridge, me being soaking wet. Mitchell look over and raised his eyebrows. I said,
"Not a word Uncle Mitchell." He chuckled and raised his hands in surrender. I walked to my room with as much dignity as I can spare, being my shoes squeaking as I walked. I closed the door behind me as I hear the chuckles and the occasional yelp as mum shocked dad with a surge of lightning. I walked along the hallway to my room to change when a door opens and Evie stepped out. She stopped in surprise when she saw me. She took in my appearance and said,
"Oh my, what happen Zoe?" I sighed and told her everything. Evie took me into her room and gave me a towel for me to dry myself. She said,
"Ignore your father. He has done worse things to both Jacob and myself back when we were training him." I raised my eyebrows and asked,
"Oh? What did he do?" Evie chuckled and said,
"Why not we go to your room and talk after you change hmm?" I look down and saw my damp clothes and nodded. I ran to my room and grabbed a spare set of clothes and went into the bathroom and change. After I walked out of the bathroom, Evie is already sitting on my bed, waiting. I sat down beside her and she began,
"When Percy first arrived….."
*3 hours later*
"…. And he got into so much trouble for that particular prank that he did on Master Altair." I was on the floor, laughing my eyes out and hugging my belly. After a while, I rubbed my eyes to wipe away my tears and said,
"That is something that I didn't expect my dad to do." Evie smiled and pat my back and said,
"Don't be surprised. Your dad did many things that drove the Assassin Brotherhood and the Primordial Council crazy. Only the both of us and Lord Chaos are able to tolerate him." Evie clapped her hands and continued,
"We only have a few more hours before we reach Slacurus. Kit up." I nodded and Evie went out. I sighed and rubbed my face. Being the daughter of the second most powerful man in the universe can be stressful sometimes. I went over to my closet and after making sure that no one was looking, entered a code into my closet. Immediately, my closet lowered into the ground, revealing a secret compartment that contain my Assassin uniform. It was given to me by Evie and Jacob in secret, seeing that dad will kill me if I join the Brotherhood. The cloak itself is black in colour, but with a face mask that conceals my identity. It comes with dual hidden blade gauntlets, but unlike my parents' gauntlets, it matches the colour of the cloak, which is midnight black in colour. Also, the armour is made up of a honeycomb structure, providing protection while without increasing weight, allowing me to retain my mobility and speed. Also, the weapon that I wield is a Scythe, its name is Soulbreaker, Oath Of Illuminated Dreams. I cracked my knuckles and said,
"Let's go to work."
*15 minutes later*
Zoe's POV
I strapped my face mask on and lift my hood to conceal my identity. I gripped Soulbreaker and muttered,
"Dad, don't kill me for this." I strapped my scythe onto my back and it shrink into a small tattoo. I walked out of the room and ran silently to the bridge. Once there, I hid in the shadows and observed the meeting. Dad said,
"Ok, we are in Slacurus air space. We should be safe for now." He turned and opened up the holographic channel and said,
"Slacurus space control, this is the Falcon. Requesting permission to land. Authentication code, Sierra Foxtrot 1167 Zulu." A transmission come back and said,
"Copy that Falcon. You are cleared for landing. Glad to see you here Warpath. Space control out." I sneaked out of the shadows and hid behind the captain's chair. Little did I know, Gideon saw me.
Gideon's POV
I saw Zoe wearing armour like us sneaking behind the captain's chair. Percy is busy talking to the Space control, so I managed to walk casually past the captain's chair and lead on the edge of the chair and said casually,
"You know, if you want to join us, why not say so?" Everyone look at me, but I said nothing, still looking at the wall in front of me. Percy asked,
"Gideon, what do you mean?" I chuckled and kneeled down and pulled Zoe out of her hiding place in the shadows. I continued,
"She was observing us, and I must say, she has your spirit Perce." I gently pulled her hood down and took off her face mask, exposing her to her father. Zoe hissed,
"Uncle Gideon, why?" I chuckled and said,
"You can't hide stuff from us kiddo. We are a family here." Percy look at his daughter in amusement and said,
"Now I know why Master Evie and Master Jacob were so secretive. They were giving you this, inducting you into the Assassin Brotherhood." Zoe asked,
"You're not angry Dad?" He chuckled and replied,
"No, of course not. I discussed this with Master Altair and Master Ezio. Both of them agreed that your training in the Animus can be a great help in destroying the Kingpin. I was going to induct you, but looks like my trainers did the job for me." He look at them and smiled. Both Evie and Jacob smiled back. He look back at his daughter and said,
"Be careful Zoe. You are an Assassin with the training of almost all of the techniques used by different Assassins in different time periods. Take care ok?" Zoe gave her father a kiss on his cheek and said,
"I will dad. Don't worry." With that I let go of Zoe and said,
"Well, looks like all of us are Assassins now. Let's kick it up a notch." With that, all of us ran to the deck and did a leap of faith into the atmosphere of Slacurus. As we reach terminal velocity, a sigh crackled through our commlinks and a voice said,
"Warpath, do you have to be this reckless?" Percy chuckled and replied,
"We'll see you at the landing zone governor" With that, the commlink shut off. After a few minutes, we broke through the clouds and I saw the city for the first time. It is a high tech city floating in the air. Flying vehicles are moving around at normal speeds and a few military jets flew by us and escort us to the landing zone. I activate my wingsuit and glided to the landing zone. Once my feet touches the ground, my wingsuit folded back into my Exo-suit. The governor, a young man by the name of Joseph, walked forward and shook my hand,
"Gideon, it's been a while. How are you?" I replied,
"I have been through worse my friend, but I'll be fine." Joseph sighed and went to greet the rest of the team, Assassin Brotherhood and Primordial Council. I look over and saw Zoe staring into space. I walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder, making her jump. I chuckled and asked,
"What's wrong Zoe? You alright?" Zoe stuttered,
"Oh, uncle Gideon. I'm fine." But my sharp eyes caught a blush forming on her cheeks. I raised an eyebrow and look over and saw the governor's son, a young boy around the same age as Zoe. I gave her an incredulous look and asked,
"You want your dad to kill him?" Zoe blushed and stuttered,
"I can't help it ok." I let a disbelieving sigh and went over to Percy and said,
"Boss, need to talk to you later." He nodded and continued to talk to the governor. I look over and saw that Zoe is talking to the governor's son, both of them having matching blushes on their cheeks. I chuckled softly and walked away to prepare for the next move that we are to undertake.