Prologue: Ancestor - Shin Malphur.

-Sacramento California, USA-

In a house in the safer area of Sacramento, someone was in their house doing their usual thing. It was a 25 year old man, a tall one, at six-foot-four in height with Caucasian skin, was thin with some fat areas, had some minor scoliosis that wasn't very problematic, had a hunch, short black hair and brown eyes with a pair of firmoo glasses. He also had a black goatee with a mustache on his face His current clothes consisted of a gray shirt and blue jeans due to preferring simplicity. There were two scars on his person that he'd gotten in his childhood years, one on his right wrist from when he was four and had broken his wrist plate, and another in his hairline from when his head had accidentally gotten split open in elementary school.

This is Joshua Landers, and he was simply doing what he could to pass the time. Namely playing video games on his XBOX One, in particular the newest DLC of Tripwire Interactive's Maneater: Truth Quest.

As he played one of the time challenges in the game's side quest section, he got a message on his screen from one of his friends: Calvin Praetorian, a friend he met online during college.

"Hey Josh, you busy?" The message read.

"Just doing a time trial on Maneater. Why? What's up?" The tall man asked in reply.

"You remember how I told you that if there was a job offer available at Abstergo I'd tell you about it so you could apply for it?" His friend types out, a business man and clipboard emoji next to the text.

"Yeah. Why? Is it available?" Joshua asked in reply as River, one of his two cats who had a turtleback fur pattern, hopped into his lap and sat on it.

"Yeah. They're looking for a new Animus pilot, and I know how you like the idea of virtual reality video games. So I put you down as a possible candidate." Calvin replied. "You up for it?" He asked. Joshua thought for a moment, weighing the pros and cons of taking the job before he replied.

"When do I start?" He asked. His friend was idle for a minute or two before another message appeared.

"I'd say in the next couple weeks, I'll send you an email with a ticket to New York so you can fly here." It read. "Let me know when you get them." It continued.

"Got it." Joshua replied, ending the conversation. "A new job in New York… I guess I better find a house sitter to watch over the place while I'm away, particularly one who's cat friendly." He mused to himself as he resumed what he was doing. Though he soon got a text.

"I know a few pet friendly apartments, so don't worry about leaving River, you can bring him and Kali with you." It read.

"... Okay, that solves that problem." The man said aloud with a blink before smiling as he looked down at the loveable fur ball on his lap, who looked back up at him with laid back green eyes before meowing at his human. "Get ready, buddy. There's gonna be a change of scenery pretty soon." He told his cat as he gave him some chin scratches, causing him to purr happily.

(Timeskip)

Two weeks later, Joshua had finished his six hour cross country trip from California to New York and was in his new apartment about five or so miles from his new job location. The flight had been pure murder on his legs since his height made it so sitting for prolongued durations would cause some cramps in them… Imagine how good stretching them was when it was over.

"Alright kitties, let's get ourselves settled in." The man said as he started getting unpacked while his cats started exploring their new territory. River immediately hopped onto the couch and lay on a pillow and Kali—a cat with short hair like River but had a gray coloration with faint traces of red mixed in and had amber eyes—got on the spine of the couch and sprawled out on it in the sun.

Meanwhile in the kitchen, Joshua decided to raid the fully stocked fridge and pulled out a twelve ounce coke can and popped it open. Taking a sip of the drink, he reentered his living room right as he got a knock on the door.

Raising an eyebrow, he went and opened it up, revealing just who knocked. It was his friend Calvin. He was a twenty one year old guy who had gotten through college with a history and geology degree, but you wouldn't know it by looking at him.

The guy was around five foot three and a half with olive tan colored skin, a medium build and a slouch and bent to his back due to scoliosis he had surgically corrected. His brown eyes were framed by a pair of rectangular rayban glasses and a mop of dark brown hair. He also had stubble that was left behind by a goatee and mustache that had just been shaved, and had several nasty looking surgical scars going down the back of his neck, his spine, and all over his stomach. And lastly he had a VP shunt going from his head all the way down his left side—making it look like a vein.

Attire wise, he was dressed in a pair of dark gray camo cargo pants, a black Jurassic Park Staff hoodie, a Jurassic Park shirt, a pair of ariat cowboy boots, a necklace with a brass dragon pendant, a black baseball cap, and finally he had a flashlight and pocket knife in his right and left pockets respectively.

In short, his height, build and general appearance made him seem younger than he really was. Which really pissed him off most times.

"Hey, Calvin. Come on in." The taller of the two beckoned as he stepped to the side to allow his friend entry.

"Hey man. Sorry for not calling, but my bosses were hounding me all day." The boy said as the two sat down, Joshua getting him a drink. "Listen Josh, I gotta be straight with you. My bosses, Abstergo. It's actually a front for something, something big." He told him. The tall man frowned slightly at his words.

"A front? What for, exactly?." He asked in confusion.

"A secret society." The history and paleontology buff stated. "Ever heard of the Knights Templar?" He asked.

"Kinda hard not to. They were an order of knights charged with a holy duty, but that's all I know." Joshua replied before some dots connected. "Wait a damn minute… The order never ended, did it?" He asked suspiciously.

The bespectacled boy shook his head. "No, they've been using Abstergo and the Animus to gather up certain people to look into their genetic memory. Specifically they're looking for descendants of the Hidden Ones, Assassins that have been a thorn in their sides since ancient Egypt." He told his friend.

"I'm afraid to ask, but why do they need the Assassin's genetic memory?" Joshua asked, his tone full of caution.

"To look for technological and mystical artifacts left behind by a race called the Precursors. Once they do that, they have every intent of using them to subdue the free will of the world." Calvin explained gravely. The tall man couldn't stop himself from facepalming in exasperation.

"Of course… Of fucking course there's gonna be that one group of people with that stupid ass goal in mind!" He hissed to himself. "Let me guess: The Hidden Ones are after the artifacts to stop the Templars from getting to them first?" He questioned.

"Yes, and I'm one of them." Calvin nodded as he suddenly deployed a hidden wrist blade under his sleeve. "My family is related to Ezio Auditore da Firenze, he's essentially my great great great uncle." He continued, retracting his weapon.

"And you want me to be a part of this war that's been going on since before our twice great grandparents were even itches in our thrice great grand dad's ballsacks?" Joshua asked about as bluntly as Johnny Silverhand, which made Calvin laugh.

"That about sums it up, yeah." He chuckled. "But in all honesty, given that the Templars took an interest in you from day one, I'm pretty sure that you would have been dragged in eventually anyway." He added.

"Wait, say what now?" The taller man asked, doing a double take before shaking his head. "Nevermind, I heard you clearly. I'm guessing that I've gotta look for something related to the Precursors, right?" He stated more than asked.

"Yeah, or rather you'll be looking for it through your ancestor's memories." His friend nodded. "But don't worry, I'll be with you every step, so don't let it bother you." He added.

"Thanks." Joshua nodded as the two continued to hang out with each other and the two felines to take their mind off things.

(The next day)

A day later at Abstergo HQ, Joshua was being prepped so that he could go into his first session in the Animus, with Calvin as his spotter.

"This feels a little odd, and out of place. Is this really necessary?" The tall man asked awkwardly as he glanced around, Abstergo workers doing their jobs in getting him ready. He was currently wearing a black heavy winter jacket, due to the cold air, a black shirt, blue jeans with a belt, and a pair of sneakers.

"Just go with it." His friend told him. "And don't worry, my friends in the Hidden are waiting for us in our hideout. After we find your ancestor's file, I'll save it so we can take it to them and use our own Animus." He added quietly as he kept working.

'This better be worth the risks.' Joshua thought as the prep work eventually finished. When the green light was given, his vision went white as he began seeing things through the eyes of his ancestor.

Genetic memory: Searching…

Match Found.

Synchronization in progress…

-Palamon, Wyoming, 1841-

In a homestead house just outside of the small town of Palamon in Wild West era Wyoming, a horse drawn wagon sat outside the building. "Doc Dexter Hannibal MD" was printed on the side of the wagon, which was pulled by two Clydesdale horses.

Inside the house, in the master bedroom, the sound of a woman wailing in pain and agony could be heard from the other side of the door. It was quite clear what was going on—a woman was giving birth.

"Come on, just a bit more! I can see the head! Come on, push!" The voice of the doctor exclaimed. The woman grunted as she pushed once more, and screamed as her baby entered the world with a loud cry.

The woman let out a gasp as she fell back on the bed, exhausted as the doctor snipped the umbilical cord and started cleaning and trying to pacify the crying babe. It didn't take too long once it was swaddled in a blanket.

"It's a healthy baby boy. Congratulations, Mrs. Malfur." The doctor said as he held the little one. Right at this moment, the child's father came running into the building, his clothes dusty from a wild ride.

"Delila!" He exclaimed as he rushed to his wife. "I came as soon as I heard. Am I too late? Did I miss it?" The man questioned frantically.

"Yeah… You missed it… But you… can name our son…" Delila replied tiredly as she was handed their son. Even now, her energy spent after giving birth, she still had the strength to smile happily at her baby boy.

"Come here, son." The man smiled as he took his little boy into his arms, the babe being oddly silent. "You're doing just fine, boy. You're a Malphur, a fighter, not a quitter." He said to his son. "So fight, show me that spirit I know you have." He added firmly.

"Samson…" Delia said, only for her husband to shoosh her in an effort to get her to conserve her strength. And as this happened, the small boy in Samson's arms started grabbing at the air, then punching, then he nearly kicked his father in the chin before he started crying again.

"Ha ha! That's the spirit! Those are the lungs of a fighter! Welcome to the family, Shin Malfur!" Samson exclaimed proudly as he held his son.

Genetic Memory Synchronized

Session complete

Ejecting subject

-Modern day-

Joshua gasped as he shot up from the Animus, his heart racing from what he just experienced. He looked down at his right hand, rubbing his fingers together just to confirm that he was awake and that he was in his place in time.

"The fuck…?!" He whispered with wide eyes. Calvin then placed a hand on his shoulder, causing him to jump.

"Enjoy your trip through Freaky Friday: Time Travel edition?" The boy joked as he ejected a hard drive with Joshua's data on it and slid it into his pocket.

"Kinda hard to enjoy it when I literally experienced the birth of my possible ancestor. Not something I wanted to go through and remember." The tall man shot back as he got to his feet, taking a moment to stop them from shaking.

"Don't worry, that's the only session you'll have to do for now." His friend said as he looked around while the other personnel began to leave. "Come on, I'll bring you to my team's hideout." He whispered, gesturing to the garage with his head.

"Alright, let's make like a drum and beat it." Joshua whispered back with a nod. The two then went to the garage, making sure to avoid the other personnel before they made their way to their getaway car—which was Calvin's Green scaled Chevy Silverado Texas edition that had a stainless steel Triceratops skull as a hood ornament. "Should I be worried about my cats?" He asked as he got in the shotgun seat and buckled up.

"Don't worry, they'll be fine. Those bucket heads didn't notice a thing." The analyst said as they drove out of the garage and started heading to another part of the city. "So what can you tell me about your ancestor?" He asked.

"It looked like the Wild West era was when he was born. Not sure where this'll head, but it could involve the American Civil War eventually. Too early to tell." Joshua replied, recalling the glimpses of his genetic past. "Oh, and his name is Shin Malphur." He added.

The bespectacled boy let out a whistle as he kept driving. "I read about him. Shin Malphur, the Man with the Golden Gun, as he was called. He was a hell of a gunslinger back then—and an even deadlier assassin. I mean, I heard he actually killed an entire camp of Templars with nothing but a wood cutter's ax." He stated in surprise.

"I guess it's up to me to confirm if that was true or a historical embellishment." The taller bespectacled man mused as he looked out the window. "Did he have any enemies?" He asked.

"Yeah, one that comes to mind was the Outlaw Dredgen Y—Oh shit, it's Abstergo!" The man exclaimed as he noticed that they were being tailed. Joshua looked in the rearview mirror on his side of the car and growled a bit as he saw the cars tailing them.

"Can we lose them?!" He asked quickly.

"I can try! Hold on, this is gonna be a bumpy ride!" Calvin exclaimed as he floored it. He then turned and cut through Central Park and started driving past people and almost running over a few—even narrowly missing a couple having a picnic—before swerving just as they reached the larger stream in the center of the park, avoiding it and causing the car behind them to crash grill first into it. And then the second one crashed straight into the Hudson River when the two swerved to avoid it before booking it out of the city and towards Manhattan, close to Joshua's apartment.

"That… was… fucking intense…!" Joshua breathed as the adrenaline from the chase slowly wore off. Calvin, meanwhile, was laughing his ass off.

"Haha! Beat that, ya corporate scum!" He howled. "How's that for high speed driving?! And they say you can't do GTA and FF stunts in real life. Dom Toretto, eat your heart out!" He laughed, his laughter sounding like the hyenas from the Lion King.

'So this is my life now. Exploring the past to possibly save the future… Heh, fuckin' A.' Joshua thought with a chuckle as they drove to the hideout.

(Later)

As they finally reached the hideout, which was the inside of the Manhattan police department's clock tower, Calvin led his friend into said tower where three people were waiting for them.

"Hello, Calvin. It's good to see you made it back." An African woman with long white hair and blue eyes said before looking at Joshua. "Is this him? Your friend?" She asked. Her attire consisted of a green shirt, gray hoodie, blue jeans and a pair of running sneakers. The shirt in particular was unbuttoned a bit and pushed her chest up, showing an ample amount of cleavage.

She also had a very attractive figure with a pair of DD-cup breasts and a peach shaped ass. Her appearance made Joshua blush a bit before he shook it off.

"Yeah, Ororo, this is Joshua." The boy nodded. "Is Mael here?" He asked.

"Over here, Cal!" A man's voice called from behind a shelf before he came into view. He was a man with long black hair and blue eyes. He was rather tall, actually about eight inches taller than Joshua and was also rather built as well. His attire was mainly a short sleeved blue dress shirt, khakis, a pair of dress shoes and a yellow neck tie.

"That's Mael, he's our resident Historian." The boy stated before looking around. "Okay we're still missing someone… Where's my ice queen?" He questioned in confusion.

"I'm over here, love! Just give me a sec to get these calibrations finished!" A woman's voice called from the cover of what Joshua was sure was the Animus he would be using. After a bit, the owner of the voice was revealed, and she was quite a beauty. She had caucasian blonde hair in a ponytail, green eyes, a perfect hourglass figure, CC-cup breasts and a heart shaped ass. Her attire consisted of a gray shirt, blue jeans and some flip flops.

As soon as the girl finished what she was doing, she went over to the boy and hugged him before kissing him on the cheek. "I saw that chase on the news, that was some bloody mad driving." She said with a grin.

"Thanks, Sarah." The boy smiled as he kissed her back before handing her the hard drive. "Here you go, one genetic memory hard drive, as ordered." He added.

"Ah, good. Thank you." The woman nodded before looking at Joshua. "Huh. I knew you said he'd be tall, but not this much. Not nearly as much as Mael, but still." She noted, looking him up and down. "I'm Sarah Frost, I'm this outfit's Animus technician." She added.

"So you're Cal's girlfriend, the one he keeps fawning over." Joshua said in realization, which caused the boy to growl warningly at his friend. "Oh come off it. You know it's the truth." He deadpanned, unphased by the growling.

"Why you-!" Calvin started to say before Sarah stopped him.

"Boys, settle down. We have work to do. Now, I'm going to get this data uploaded so we can look through the memories of the second tallest man here." She told them while holding up the hard drive. "And while I do that, you two are going to behave like mature adults." She added, causing them to look indignant.

"Oi, what do you take us for? Barbarians?" Joshua questioned, his voice conveying his indignation.

"Yeah, we're completely mature!" Calvin exclaimed in agreement.

"Just try to avoid ripping out each other's throats." The blondie said in exasperation.

"Got it, got it." The two said with a sigh. Still exasperated, Sarah went to the Animus 2.0 to get Joshua's data ready. When her back was turned, Calvin glared at his friend.

"Eat shit and die!" He hissed, pointing a finger at him.

"Yes, fuck you." Joshua shot back dismissively, flipping him off. After a few seconds, they started chuckling in amusement at their own antics. Meanwhile at her desk, Ororo watched the two and smiled, liking how well the two got along. And as she continued to watch them, she couldn't help but notice that Josh's clothes seemed a little tight on him, and it made what muscle the young man had become pronounced rather well.

'Hm… He actually looks nice.' She thought with a minor blush before shaking her head and resumed what she was doing.

"And done." Sarah said as she got back up. "All the data has been uploaded and it's ready to go." She continued as she got up. "Guess all that leaves now is for us to get some rest so we can get to work with fresh minds." She added with a stretch and a yawn.

"I could go for some shut eye myself." Mael said with a yawn.

"Same." Calvin said in agreement. Joshua, however, looked like he was still focused on something.

"Am I gonna have to live here, or am I still able to go back to my apartment without Abstergo tailing me?" He asked.

"You're safe to go back to your apartment, Joshua. We handled everything separately so that Abstergo couldn't follow us with any kind of money trail or bugs without raising the alarm of every cop and FBI agent in town." Sarah told him.

"Yes, don't worry, we've been very careful about it." Ororo added.

"Okay, good. My first priority right now is to give my cats the love they're due for right now." The second tallest man in the group nodded.

"Come on. I'll drive you back." Calvin beckoned, getting a nod in return before the two friends left. Sarah decided to go with them as well so she could go home with her boyfriend.

(Later)

After getting home to his apartment, Joshua quickly crashed on his bed in exhaustion. Dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt he laid there on his stomach while his cats curled up next to his head and purred softly, slowly lulling him to sleep.

'What a fucking day…' Was his last thought before sleep claimed him.

Prologue Complete.

Next Time: Mission 1 - Yours, Not Mine.

Dragon Emperor0: And there. The prologue of Assassin's Creed: Outlaw done. I hope you guys enjoy reading it as I'm sure we're going to enjoy writing it. Cuz we plan on taking inspiration from several of the "really good" games of the franchise. Like AC 2, 3, 4, Rogue, Origins and Odyssey. And as you can see, it's a story set in the Wild West, during the Civil War.

ThermalsniperN7: Yep, which means we'll be seeing ol' Honest Abe in the future, and get some ships off to the side. And let's not forget the references like the ones made here in the prologue.

Dragon Emperor0: Yeah. Also, if you guys have any suggestions of what kind of things we should include in the story. Like characters, weapons, settings, features, quest lines, etc. please let us know in the reviews. Anyway guys, see you next time.