Assassin in the void
By psychored1911
Disclaimer: I do not own Assassin's Creed or Familiar of Zero
Welcome back to one of the very few AC fics that actually bother to take place in the Modern Day Era. Now thanks for being patient with me, and on with the show. You're gonna like this fic, I guarantee it.
Chapter 12: Witch hunt
Morning, Tristain Academy of Magic, Louise's room
"Ugh, what happened?" Louise muttered as she groggily woke from her gas-induced slumber. "What the hell happened last night?" she stumbled towards a nearby chair, wondering what happened last light "Alright, last thing I remember, Henrietta was about to leave, then some weird thing broke my window…" she looked at the ground, completely scattered with glass, a strange metal object (perhaps the one that broke her window) and an unconscious Princess Henrietta, snoring away at the floor.
…
…
…
Wait a second…
"Princess Henrietta!" Louise scrambled out of her seat and to Henrietta's side "Your highness! Please wake up! Dawn has already broke!" she hastily shook her, trying to wake her.
"…Let me sleep in, Mazarin…" Henrietta muttered in her sleep, before jolting upwards "Wait, did you say it was past dawn?!" she hurriedly got to her feet, hastily fixing her dress and her hair "Oh dear founder, I have to return to the castle before noon, before they realize I am gone! Please excuse me, Louise Francoise!" Henrietta said as she opened up the partially broken window and quickly levitated herself out.
About half an hour later
Louise, now in her school uniform, yawned as she made her way to the Academy's central building, the discomfort of sleeping on the floor still lingering in her back. She had no classes today, but she, along with Guiche, Kirche and Tabitha still had to take remedial classes from Colbert for all the days they had missed. After walking for a few minutes, she noticed a pair of guards were crowding around the storage tower.
"Ah, that old Headmaster's gonna have our heads for this." One guard muttered.
The other guard shook his head "It's weird though. Nothing appears to be stolen. And the only damage seems to be the lock."
"Yeah, but did you see the damage on that lock? It looked like it was hit with some sort of high-powered explosive."
"Either that, or they used one of the Valliere girl's spells." The second guard joked.
The first guard shushed his comrade "Shut up. Where's your respect for the nobility?"
Watching as the two guards converse (and their particular jab about her), Louise growled, but kept quiet the whole time; it would be unbecoming of her as a noble if she were to unleash her rage right then. As much as she would have hated to admit it, but she has already gotten used to it by this point. It was pointless anyway. It will just pop up again later when she isn't noticing. Besides, as of late, they haven't been as infuriating as Saito's antics.
But enough of that; she still needed to go to Professor Colbert's classroom.
A bit later, Colbert's classroom
Once Louise caught up to her other classmates, they found themselves waiting for the bald professor to arrive; it was quite unusual for the bald.
"Sorry! So sorry!" Suddenly, said bald professor came rushing into the classroom, pushing a cart with a heavy-looking contraption on it. "Ah, forgive me for being so late. I was going to arrive earlier, but the deliveryman who was bringing me some parts earlier this morning was curious about my invention." He motioned to his contraption on the cart before continuing "However, as I explained it to him, I didn't realize how late I was running, and here we are now." He sheepishly laughed as he scratched the back of his bald head, until he realized that the students could really care less.
A drop of sweat rolling down her forehead, Louise decided to give her professor some form of pity "Um, professor, what exactly is that anyway?"
"Oh, this?" Colbert went over to the contraption "This is a machine I created out of my own design. It uses the energy of fire magic and oil to move the inner mechanisms and makes it move." To make his point, He cast a low level fire spell, placed it near one of the cylinders, and after a few seconds, a fake little snake popped out from a different cylinder. "See?"
…
…
"I see you aren't interested…" Colbert sweatdropped before sighing "Alright then, moving on." He said as he continued the extra credit lesson.
Tristain Castle
Henrietta somehow managed to sneak back into her room before anyone has realized that she went missing. And for the most part, nobody in the castle has noticed her even leave.
Well, almost everyone.
"Henrietta," Henrietta turned around; her mother, Queen Marianne was standing right behind her "We need to talk about the events that had occurred the other day."
"Such as?" Henrietta feigned innocence.
Queen Marianne frowned "You know well of what happened yesterday; how Prince Wales of Albion waltzed in and practically shattered our relationship with Germania."
"Mother, I can-"
"Not only that," Marianne affirmed her right to speak "I heard that the white-hooded psychopath had broke in the castle and threatened to raze Germania if he ever shows up in Tristain again."
Henrietta frowned. It seems that Emperor Albrecht II has lied to her mother regarding the 'incident' that occurred earlier. "Mother, I believe there is a misunderstanding. Prince Wales had challenged Albrecht II for my hand in marriage; Sai- the white-hooded psychopath simply volunteered to fight as Wales' proxy. Prince Wales won my hand fair and square."
"…I see…" Queen Marianne answered hesitantly "Regardless, this problem regarding that sociopath is starting to spiral out of control. It is an embarrassment to our great country that we let such an insane murderer on the loose in our streets."
Henrietta frowned "I don't understand your malice to him. There is evidence to support that if anything, he only goes after the corrupt nobility; he abstains from touching any others."
"Regardless, this cannot go any further." Queen Marianne told her daughter "Our Griffin Knights have volunteered for exterminating this 'pest' of ours."
Henrietta gasped "You don't mean-"
"He is nothing more than a plague that is exterminating our nobility. Regardless if he only attacks our corrupt nobility, this cannot continue." Marianne frowned as she turned away from our
"But mother-"
"I don't know why you seem to have some attachment to the murderer, but this is final. By the end of the week, that madman will be off our streets; our nobility will have nothing to fear any longer." Marianne said as she briskly walked away from her daughter.
Unbeknownst to them, an Assassin spy was listening on them from behind a window.
'This 'white-hooded psychopath' was one of our own, isn't he? I better alert HQ.' The spy thought as he called forth a carrier pigeon onto his arm, before writing a quick note, attaching it to the pigeon's leg, and sending it on its way, hoping the warning wouldn't come too late.
Meanwhile, Tristainia, downtown District
After the affair with Wales the previous night, Saito (with permission from the higher-ups) went back to Tristainia to get a headstart on the wanted posters that were scattered all over the city. After all, it's not like he can take down a couple posters and then the city will immediately forget his crimes; it's gonna take a lot more than that to make the town forget his face.
So far, he took down at least a dozen or so posters, and…
"Hey, wasn't that the guy who slayed Count Mott?"
"No, I'm pretty sure that guy killed Lord Turenne."
He's not even close to being faceless.
'Seriously, if you forget the easy stuff, it will always come back to bite you in the ass.' Saito thought to himself as he sat upon one of the rooftops. In hindsight, he did notice signs that his notoriety was increasing, but he didn't act upon it until now.
He looked down at the masses of people, just going on with their day to day lives, without a care in the world. However, he knows that somewhere down there, there's a pair of Assassin handlers down there, hiding in plain sight.
*WHOOSH!*
A diluted yet still powerful gust of wind flew far over Saito's head, shattering the rooftops far behind him.
Saito leapt to his feet, alarmed "The hell?!" He drew Derflinger and took a defensive stance before turning towards the immediate threat.
Before him, an entire squadron of fifteen or so Griffin Knights, rider and mount covered in heavy armor, flew overhead, their wands trained at him. And leading them all is none other than the Viscount Wardes himself.
"You! White Devil!" Wardes boomed, his wand-sword trained at the Assassin "By the Order of Queen Marianne de Tristain, you are under arrest for crimes against Tristain! Surrender or die!"
Saito, though unseen under his hood, rolled his eyes "Oh come on! I let you and your warriors live, and this is how you repay me?"
"Let us live?!" Wardes roared "Your definition of 'live' meant for us to be bound and gagged, trapped in a prison surrounded by a blazing inferno, where we would have still died slowly and painfully either by suffocation or by burning alive! Is that what you call mercy?!"
"And here you are, alive and kicking, you ungrateful fuckwad!" Saito shot back "Besides, it's not like you had much time left to live anyway!"
"I'm only 26 years old!"
"Yeah, keep calling yourself that; it's called a mid-life crisis where I come from. Quit denying your real age; it's just pathetic by this point!" Saito stabbed Derflinger into the ground and folded his arms, honestly believing Wardes is going through some sort of 'phase'.
Wardes' anger was starting to boil out of control "As much as I would love to end your life right here and now, I must bring you in front of the Royal Council for your crimes. Now come quietly or face the consequences!"
Saito glanced towards the streets; some of the crowd were standing in the busy streets, watching in anticipation. Some fled with the preceding wind spell, his handlers were hiding behind a corner, out in the Griffin Knights' blind spot, pistols ready. However, they knew despite their anti-magic equipment, fighting against an entire squadron of Griffin Knights without the proper armament would be suicidal. However, if the Brimiric Legend was true, then they knew Gandalfr (Saito) would be more than able to handle them.
But, to everyone's surprise, Saito just sighed before putting Derflinger away. "You know what, I'm not in the mood for any sort of fight. Just leave me alone before I change my mind."
"…What?" Wardes blinked in confusion.
"You heard me. I'm not in the mood to fight against a bunch of washed up old men who clearly spent too much time wallowing in their pride to realize how easily unmatched they are."
"You… You dare mock the pride of the Griffin Knights?!"
"You mean the pride of has-been idiots who are too enraptured in their glory days to see the world around them, then yes, I am mocking your pride!"
His rage now overcoming his common sense, Wardes rallied his men "That tears it! Die!" He spurred his griffin forward, coming towards Saito at an incredible speed.
Saito, rolling his eyes once again, just stepped to the side, Wardes harmlessly passing him by. The second Wardes passed him by, Saito activated his hidden gun, spun around, and fired.
*BANG!*
The bullet hit the wing of Wardes' griffin, forcing him and it to slam towards the ground.
"You son of a bitch!"
Unfortunately for Saito, that single gunshot was all that was needed to spur the rest of the Griffin Knights, who were flying overhead from Wardes' earlier position, into action.
As for Wardes, he stumbled back onto his feet, leaning on his now incapacitated griffin for support, and barked "What are you waiting for! After him!"
*tweet!*
Saito's handlers signaled him to run as the Griffin Knights closed in on him. Saito did not hesitate as he leapt onto another rooftop as the Griffin Knights began pursuing him throughout the urban Tristainian canopy.
Tristain Castle
"Cardinal Mazarin!" Julio called out as he barged into the throne room. Like Saito, he was given permission to do his business for the Brimiric Church. In his case, he has to make his yearly review of the Church's status in Tristain. In short, he makes sure his fellow clergymen aren't up to any corruption. However, he usually comes in a few weeks early than he reports to catch his fellow clergymen off guard and red-handed. His summoner, Pope Vittorio Serevare, highly praises his idea, saying this technique helps cut down on any corruption.
Today is no different; Cardinal Mazarin, who was merely making small-talk with Queen Marianne at this point, jumped in surprise. "F-Father Cesare!" Mazarin stuttered "What a surprise! I did not expect you to arrive so soon. I was informed you were coming in three weeks."
"A wise man once asked "Why do tomorrow what you can do today?"" Julio quoted "So come on, tell me of the church's status in Tristain."
"A-Ah yes! Come with me!" Cardinal Mazarin urged as Julio and Domani, who was quietly standing behind Julio like a subordinate (a handler would bring too much suspicion, considering Julio usually just brings Domani around), followed the Cardinal out of the throne room and into one of the main halls. Cardinal Mazarin has heard of Father Cesare's reputation of hunting down corrupt members of the clergy with extreme prejudice. He has to be very careful of what he says and does.
As the two followed the Cardinal, who was making the usual excuse of 'Everything's fine', Julio glanced at one of the windows and paused "Psst… Dom, look outside." he whispered quietly enough so Cardinal Mazarin can't hear him.
Domani looked out the window "It looks like a squadron of Griffin Knights are chasing someone from the rooftops." He squinted his eyes "Wait a second, isn't that-"
"What are you looking at?" Cardinal Mazarin asked them glanced out the window. Instead of being surprised, he seemed pretty pleased. "Ah, you must be looking Tristain's famous Griffin Knights. They are composed of the country's finest riders-"
"Yeah, I can tell they are Griffin Knights. What I'm wondering is what they are doing." Julio said, pointing at the scene far away from them. From that angle, or any angle, it looks like they were pursuing something across the rooftops.
"Ah yes," Cardinal Mazarin smiled "Queen Marianne has decreed a citywide manhunt on this psychopath that has been terrorizing our nobility as of late, with our Great Griffin Knights leading the charge against him."
Julio stopped in his tracks and stared at him, before sighing, somehow knowing who the 'psychopath' is "So, you gave the Griffin Knights your blessing for this mission?"
"Why yes, of course!" Cardinal Mazarin declared proudly.
"And the Queen ordered the Griffin Knights to do this, no?"
"She did." Cardinal Mazarin affirmed.
"And you know what this 'psychopath' looks like, right?"
Cardinal Mazarin flinched "Well, no... But witness accounts say that this psychopath is known for wearing a white-hooded jacket, perhaps to evoke imagery of an angel."
Julio just facepalmed "You do realize that a white hooded jacket is a commonplace article of clothing. The color white reflects light, so as the heat doesn't get trapped within the clothing. Scholars and pilgrims wear them all the time. Hell, my companion behind me is wearing a white hooded jacket." He jabbed his thumb at Domani, who pulled up his white hood in response.
Cardinal Mazarin gave Julio a confused look "Father Cesare, I don't believe I follow."
Julio facepalmed again "Mazarin, you didn't give your blessing for a criminal manhunt. You gave your blessing for a witch-hunt."
Mazarin gave Julio an incredulous look "What?"
"A witch-hunt is practically a hunt for a ghost. You don't actually know what you're hunting, and it's been fueled only by paranoia and rumors. Because of its potential damage, they are outlawed by the church, with its instigators punished with excommunication." Julio explained, letting the last word ring in for a second.
Mazarin paled "F-Father Cesare! I assure you, the captain of the Griffin Knights, Viscount Wardes, has seen this criminal personally. Believe me, with him leading the charge, this murderer shll be removed from the streets of Tristain."
Julio's frown grew "Tell me, do you favor this Viscount Wardes?"
"Well, yes-"
"And has this Viscount Wardes disgraced himself at any point?"
Cardinal Mazarin hesitated "Umm… yes-"
A vein popped in Julio's forehead "All I see is that you allowed for an illegal witch hunt so that your golden boy can reclaim his honor!"
Cardinal Mazarin stepped back in panic "Father Cesare, I assure you, this is no witch hunt! The Griffin Knights are hunting down the serial killer as we speak."
Julio smirked "If you really believe that, you won't stop me from trying to prove it." He opened one of the windows and whistled as a small dove flew onto the porch before Domani took out a piece of paper and a pen and handed it to him "Here's what I'll do: I'll send a message to the Griffin Knights to lead their supposed fleeing target here, and if their target is nothing more than some frightened civilian, well just pray it doesn't come to that."
He took the piece of paper, quickly wrote down a small note and tied it to the dove's foot before letting it fly towards its target.
Tristainia, downtown district
"Come on! You claim to be Tristain's best?" Saito taunted as he lead the Griffin Knights into a less-populated (at least what he hoped was less-populated, considering his handlers were pointing him in that direction last time he saw them) area of town. Right now, he had no intention of killing anyone at the moment, no matter how tempting it was. For one, if he killed them now, all that would do is prompt even more aggressive pursuers, or even an Abstergo Attack Squad to come after him. That, and he left most of his guns (save for his USP) back at the HQ. He should really reconsider only bringing 2-3 guns on him at most; having all of those firearms were really detrimental to his running speed, not to mention his back.
He leapt off the rooftop and dived into a haystack in a cart, returning to ground level and
Above him, Wardes, now upon a new Griffin, led his Griffin Knights above him, his anger growing with each passing second "Find him! That bastard can run, but he can't hide!" he barked as the Griffin Knights dispersed, relentlessly searching for their target
As they scattered, Saito pulled himself out of the haystack and slumped behind the cart, exhausted. He may be the Gandalfr, but he was still human. Taking a large gasp of breath, Saito noticed a small dove descend and land right in front of him. He also noticed a note was tied to its leg "What the hell?" he took the note and began reading it. It read:
Borrow a Tristainian Assassin Uniform and lead the Griffin Knights back to the Castle. Trust me on this!
"Yep, this is Julio's handwriting," Saito crumpled up the note and put it in his pocket, glancing at the Castle in the distance. "So, I'm gonna need to borrow a uniform, huh? Though I doubt I can find my handlers and change with all these bastards around." he picked himself up and pulled out the Apple of Eden from within his hoodie "Well, if there's something an Assassin's good at, it's improvising." Replacing the Apple, he drew his USP, unscrewed the suppressor, and fired it skyward.
*BANG!*
Thirty minutes later, Tristain Castle Throne Room
"…"
"…"
"…"
Julio glared at Cardinal Mazarin and Queen Marianne, both of whom were uncomfortably trying to avoid eye contact with him. Of course, anyone would be if they realized that if they were in the wrong for their actions they would be banished from the Church indefinitely, completely disgraced. They prayed that Wardes was chasing after the right man.
*CRASH!*
Suddenly, A figure barged through the Throne Room doors, being shortly followed the famous Griffin Knights themselves.
"Stop you fiend!" Wardes roared as the figure scrambled behind Julio and Domani.
"No, you stop." Julio said simply.
With that command, Wardes' griffin stopped in its tracks, nearly throwing Wardes off.
"What?!" Wardes yelled, trying fruitlessly to spur his Griffin into action. "Move, damn it!" he kept kicking at his Griffin, yet it refused to moved.
Julio glanced towards Marianne and Mazarin again, knowing that Wardes' near hysterical behavior at the moment was certainly not helping their case at the moment "Knight, realize where you are!"
At that moment Wardes realized his current location; he turned back towards his fellow Knights- they stopped at the door while Wardes kept going forward. They were looking at him, trying to hide their equally embarrassed looks.
"I assume you are the Leader of the Griffin Knights, correct?"
He looked down from his mount; Julio, no, Father Cesare was staring back at him, his pink and blue eyes piercing right into him.
"U-Um yes, that would be me. I am the captain of the Griffin Knights, Jean-Jacques Wardes. At your service."
Wardes, recognizing Julio as a higher-up from the Church, dismounted his griffin and bowed to the young priest before him.
Julio, ignoring Wardes' attempts to save face, pulled out what looked like a smartphone, a Profiler, from his pocket, glanced at it, before returning his attention to Wardes "Viscount Jean Jacques Wardes of the Wardes family. You were brought up from a disgraced noble lineage, but through your own perseverance, you managed to become at the top of your class, rise through the ranks of the Griffin Knights, and redeem your family's disgraces. All of that before you turned thirty years old."
"Why, that's correct." Wardes said proudly.
Julio glanced at his Profiler again "Your most recent endeavor was stopping a prison riot that occurred in an illegal political prison," his attention shifted towards Marianne and Mazarin again before returning to Wardes "Where you lost and was captured by this "white-hooded boy"."
"Y…Yes, that is also correct." Wardes admitted reluctantly.
"I see." Julio still glanced at his Profiler "Then you went crying over to Mazarin here and he authorized a witch hunt for you to 'redeem' yourself, and as such, you thought chasing some innocent messenger and using him as a scapegoat could restore your honor?"
"I chased no such scapegoat!" Wardes hastily declared in an attempt to save face.
Julio raised a brow "Oh? So if the one behind my friend showed himself to you, would he be this phantom you were chasing?" He signaled Domani to move, revealing an obviously terrified boy in a delivery uniform standing behind him "Because it looks like you tried to kill an innocent soul to save your own reputation."
Wardes paled in shock. That was definitely not the white-hooded criminal who had disgraced him "Y-Your holiness! I swear to you that was not the one I was chasing! I was chasing-"
"I've seen just about enough of this." Julio spat in disgust. "Obviously, you thought that this young lad was just minding his own business when you thought he would make a perfect scapegoat and began attacking him. Frightened and confused, he fled for his life and when you tried to lure him here, you tried to have him killed immediately so as to avoid explaining it to us now."
"What?!" Wardes yelled, not understanding what he was saying "What are you-"
"Mazarin." Ignoring Wardes futile justifications, Julio just glanced at the Cardinal "Please explain to me why you think that his attempted murder of an innocent civilian is justified."
"W-Well um…" Mazarin stumbled upon his own words, trying to justify attempted murder "They are only peasants-"
*SMACK!*
Julio took out his baton and extended it before slamming it into Mazarin's knee, shattering it with ease.
"AAAAH!" Mazarin cried out in pain and fell to his knees as Julio towered over him, his two mismatched eyes glaring at him all the way.
"Is that really your only justification? They are only peasants?" Julio said in contempt "Let me tell you a story about another country that had that kind of mentality. The Nobility of said country believed that they had every right to do whatever they pleased, and as such they cared nothing about their own people, the people they were supposed to lead, the people they were supposed to care for. For years, the people had suffered the cruelty of men too fed to starve, too rested to care. While the people suffered, wailing for help all the while, the nobility gorged themselves in exquisite banquets, enjoying their lavish lifestyles, ignoring their struggles to survive. They made them fight in a series of military campaigns on behalf of kings who cared more about their legacy than their people. They levied heavy taxes on the poor to shoulder their own greed. Do you want to know what happened next? The commoners had enough of their merda (shit) and revolted! And it wasn't one of those riots that you can easily quell with your stupid knights. It was a revolt that overcame the entire nation! The people began seeking the blood of all those who had oppressed them! Nobles, commoners, clergy, nobody was spared in this bloody revolution. Tens of thousands of lives were lost! It was utter chaos that lasted for decades! And do you know why this happened? Because the ones who were granted the right to rule lost their respect for the people."
Julio grabbed Mazarin by the collar and lifted him up before throwing him back to the ground "This arrogant behavior will not be tolerated. Expect to hear from the Church in the coming weeks." He turned to Queen Marianne "You, I want you to take down those stupid wanted posters of this "white-hooded criminal". As far as I see it, this is obviously nothing more than a diversion to save face of nobles who were killed by their own servants." Finally, he faced Wardes, who was slowly backing away from Julio "And you, take off that armor. You don't deserve the right to be a knight. In fact, you don't deserve the right to even be a noble." He twirled the baton in his hands before pointing it at him "By the power invested in me, you, Viscount Jean-Jacques Wardes, for your blatant disregard of the common people, attempted murder and for your corruption, are hereby excommunicated from the Brimiric Church." A collective gasp was heard as Wardes paled in shock "May God have mercy on your soul."
Wardes, the shock of being excommunicated too much to bear, buckled to his knees, his dignity of a noble now gone "No, please… your Holiness, please reconsider… I have so much to live for, my family's legacy… my own hopes and dreams… I was to be engaged…"
Julio rolled his eyes. Even to this very moment did the disgraced noble before him only care about himself than realize the severity of his own actions "Then you should have thought about that before you fell in the wrong. Now get out of my sight." He said virulently before turning and walking towards Domani and the messenger boy.
Distraught, Wardes looked at the messenger boy, the one he 'mistook' for the one who had disgraced to him. It might have been the hysteria in him talking, but he swore that the messenger boy was smirking at him.
And then it hit him: the messenger boy was the white-hooded criminal. It was nothing more than a quick disguise. And his Holiness was falling for it.
"You, you did this…" Wardes, in his delirium, drew his rapier-wand and pointed it at the messenger boy. Unfortunately, to everyone in the room, including the Griffin Knights at the doorway, he seemed to be pointing it at Julio "You planned this, didn't you! You ruined my life!" in his hysteria, he charged at them, attempting to run them down.
*BANG!*
However, before he harmed any of them, Domani pulled out one of his pistols and unceremoniously shot him in the neck, killing him instantly, his body inelegantly skidding across the stone floor upon impact.
"…"
"…"
"…"
Marianne, Mazarin, and the Griffin Knights just stared in horror at Wardes' corpse, and then at the one who killed him.
"What? He was going to kill his Holiness." Domani said with a scoff "What kind of a servant would I be if I let him get killed?"
Julio just stared at the corpse, shaking his head in disappointment "And the bastardo didn't even try to redeem himself. He just attacked the one he thought had wronged him." He looked at Mazarin "You, dispose of that pitiful corpse and sell his armor, then donate that money to the commoners. They deserve the money far more than you do right now."
And with that, Julio and Domani vehemently left the throne room, silently muttering last rites, with the messenger giving a quick glance at the queen and the cardinal, before reluctantly following suit.
Mere minutes before
Saito climbed into a window and stumbled into one of the Castle's large hallways, the Griffin Knights still hot on his heels.
"He's in the castle! Get him before he gets to the Queen!" he heard Wardes bark as he took the Apple of Eden out of his pocket.
"It's now or never." He said to himself "Julio better have something to save my hide…"
*Crash!*
The Griffin Knights crashed through one of the larger windows, directly behind Saito.
"There he is! Get him!"
"Ah shit." Saito muttered as he made a break for the throne room, the Griffin Knights unleashing a myriad of diluted spells behind him.
"You won't get away!" He heard Wardes roar as he sprinted towards the throne room doors. Seconds before he made contact with the doors, he grasped the Apple and basked in its light.
*CRASH!*
Five hours later, Julio, who was now in his casual attire, and Domani walked into a nearby alley, with the messenger boy still following them.
Julio and Domani stopped in their tracks and turned around "Saito, it's been five hours. You can return that uniform now." Julio told him.
The messenger boy smiled "No need." He started to glow radiantly for a split second before reverting back into the white Kevlar-wearing Assassin.
Julio and Domani blinked in surprise "How did you do that? You're not a mage." Domani glanced at Julio "He isn't a mage, right?"
Julio shook his head "No, he was born in the same world as I am. The closest thing we have to magic is-"
"The Pieces of Eden," Saito finished, holding the Apple of Eden in his left hand.
Julio's eyes widened "You were holding onto that the whole time?!"
"No, only for a couple weeks." Saito answered.
"And you didn't tell anyone about it?!"
"Actually I think Master Ellicott of Albion knows about it. She just entrusted me with it until I can get it somewhere safe."
"And you didn't hand it over to HQ because…"
"What was I supposed to say: "Hey Master Louette, I'm holding an Artifact that our enemies would do anything to get their hands at and I want to leave it in an area densely populated with our brethren."? I highly doubt they'd go through with it."
"Yeah, well those things can degrade your head as easily as the Animi did to 95% of the Russian Brotherhood."
"And there's another reason I didn't bring it there."
"You guys mind filling me in?" Domani, who was utterly clueless to the contents of their conversation, asked.
Julio shook his head "He was holding onto an Artifact that could potentially give him a mental breakdown should he hold onto it for a prolonged periods of time. And now he doesn't know what to do with it."
Saito threw his hands up in exasperation "Look, Julio! Don't worry about it! Unless the Templars want to take on an army personified, then it's safe in my hands. I'll inform the higher-ups about it-"
Suddenly, Saito's vision started to blur, with the world around him seemingly starting to spin and glow various shades of light.
"…Ah… kuso…" was all he managed to say before his whole world went black.
Late Night, outskirts of Sachsen-Gotha, Albion
*knock… knock… knock…*
"Huh?" Matilda of Sachsen-Gotha, otherwise known as Fouquet, was sitting near the fireplace with her sister when someone began knocking on the door. "Who could that be?"
Matilda's sister, Tiffania, looked at her quizzically "I don't know, all the children are sleeping upstairs, so that can't be it."
*knock… knock… knock…*
"Hold on, I'm coming." Matilda said as she got up from her seat and walked over to the door.
Opening the door, Matilda was met with an unusual sight; before her, a young girl with white hair and blue eyes, garbed in an exotic black armor, stood at the doorstep.
"Excuse me, does a Matilda of Sachsen-Gotha live here?" the girl asked.
Matilda tensed, growing wary of the girl before her "I am her. Who are you?"
The white haired girl looked embarrassed "Oh, where are my manners? My name is Luce Aurora de Treville." She offered her hand, which Matilda hesitantly shook "May I come in?"
Matilda glanced at Luce, staring at the weapons she was wearing "Leave your weapons at the doorstep."
"Of course." Luce complied, removing two mismatched swords, a pair of pepperbox pistols, another pair even stranger looking pistols(which resembled larger versions of the pistol the Familiar kid had), and a short wand from her person and placed them at the door. "May I come in now?"
"You may." Matilda welcomed her in and let her sit at the table "So, what is your business with me?"
Luce glanced at her, almost analyzing her before saying "Well, I'm working for a… certain organization and I was told to offer you and your sister a job."
Matilda raised an eyebrow, inconspicuously reaching for the wand hidden under her sleeve. Whoever this girl is, she definitely seems to know something about her past. "What are you talking about?"
Luce seemingly feigned innocence "I don't know what you are talking about. I was just told to offer you two jobs and not to accept no for an answer."
Matilda shook her head "Look, we're not interested in any job you're offering us. Now please, kindly leave."
Luce glanced up at the ceiling, then at Tiffania, and then at the rest of the cottage, before taking a breath "Do you want those children to have a better life?"
"Huh?"
"I can hear the snoring of children upstairs." Luce told her "It's good that you and your sister are taking care of them, orphans I assume, but what happens when they grow up? If you let them go into the city after living their entire lives here, they will have little to contribute to society and might end up as beggars. If you let them stay here, well you seem to be sustaining yourselves just fine for now, but kids will grow, they will consume more, and eventually you will need more and more just to keep them barely alive. You might even have to resort to crime to provide for them."
Matilda glared at Luce, who just stared stoically back at her. However suspicious this girl is, she cannot deny the truths she speaks. She couldn't keep sustaining them forever, no matter how hard she works. She might even have to return to her identity as Fouquet "Go on…"
Luce gave her a slightly more comforting smile "Here's my offer: you and your family come with me to Gallia, where you and your sister will work with my organization. I am prepared to offer you and your sister 2,000 ecu each month, plus housing and an education provided for all of the children, at no expense to you. I promise you that if you two take this job, their futures will be much brighter than you can ever imagine." She offered her hand "So, what do you say?"
…
…
…
"If it's for the children, and for my sister, then I guess it's for the best." Matilda shook Luce's hand. "Deal."
"I'm happy you feel that way. My people will pick you up in the morning." Luce stood up and left two badges, each emblazoned with a distinct red cross. "These are for you and your sister. Glad to have you two on our team."
As Luce made her way to the door, Matilda stopped her "Wait, you never told us the name of your Organization."
Luce turned to her, giving her a small smile "We call ourselves the Templar Order."
A/N: And done! Yeah, sorry about the slow update, I'm in my senior year of high school and I'm having a hard time adjusting. Trust me, this fic isn't dead yet. I'll still update it. I'll just not know when I will update it. Meh, I'll figure it out. The pieces are all there so… So, how did you like the ending? I guess you didn't expect any of that, now did you? Anyway, please review!