Chapter 13: Outlaw Hunt 1 - The Julian Brothers
-Joshua and Ororo's Cabin, Present Day-
Joshua sighed as he sat down on the sofa of the cabin's living area after another session of being in the Animus, and crashed next to Ororo, who was reading a book while the fireplace roared in front of them.
Outside, the window was fogged as snowflakes fell outside, showing that it was apparently winter.
'So, Shin got lucky and scored two hot ladies in his time. It's hard to tell who I'm related to…' He thought as he mulled over his recent experience in Shin's memories.
That particular memory reliving was rather embarrassing for him as he actually ended up gaining a boner while in the Animus–not the least bit comfortable either.
As he continued to mull things over in his head, the man let his hand drift idly up his girlfriend's front until it rested on her growing belly.
The Sage of Quetzalpetlatl smiled softly as she placed her hand on his, closing her book so she could lean into his shoulder.
"This is nice." She sighed in bliss, the homely atmosphere making the mood better.
"Yeah." Joshua nodded as he heard a pot finish boiling. "Coco's ready." He said as he poured them two mugs of hot chocolate to go with the peanut butter and jelly cracker sandwiches and made from scratch chocolate chip cookies he made for them.
"I will never fail to appreciate how good your cooking is" Ororo sighed as the smell of the Coco hit her nose. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were a househusband." She added in a joking tone.
"Oh shut up." Joshua huffed with a smirk, causing his lover to giggle in amusement.
(Later)
-Modern Assassin's HQ-
Joshua sighed as he and Ororo entered the American Brotherhood's old sanctuary, which was looking more and more like its old self every day.
"Is everything okay, guys?" Calvin questioned as Mael was flipping through the books that were left by Mentor Bowery at the time.
"Yeah. Just wondering how Shin's gonna handle this hunt." Joshua mused as he approached the Animus.
"Well I'm more interested in these documents." Mael noted as he showed the book he was reading. "Look at this, it says that Bowery stepped down as the Mentor of the American Brotherhood, and then Cereza Basilisk succeeded him in 1861." He continued. "... But then she suddenly stopped in 1865." He added.
"Does it say why?" Sarah questioned.
"No, the book's writing is too faded." The historian sighed.
"That's odd." Joshua commented with a frown. "I guess we'll figure out what happened when we get that far." He added, wondering what could've happened for the tall British woman to step down after not even five years later.
"Well then, let's get to work, everyone!" Calvin said as Joshua strapped in.
Animus Active.
Sequence 13 Available
Outlaw Hunts Available. Required for full Synchronization.
Searching for Relevant data…
Data found.
Synchronization in progress…
-Malphur Household, Pallimon, Wyoming, November 1859-
Shin sighed as he rolled over in his parent's bed, the sun shining through the window as his arm draped over the naked forms of his two female bed companions: Cereza Basilisk and Morgana Munro.
The gunslinger slowly opened his eyes with a groan as he came to, and looked at the two women in bed with him. He could only wonder one thing…
'Is this a one time thing, or is this permanent?' He thought. Sure, any man would kill to have these women for lovers, but he couldn't help but wonder what would happen from here on out.
"Mmm, Shin, come back to bed." Cereza said as she hugged the boy from behind and tried to get her lover to come back into their love scene.
"Stay with us." Morgana added as she tried to help pull him back to bed.
"As much as I'd love to, we have a lot of work to do." He told his two (?) lovers as he broke free from their grips and went to go wash himself off.
"Aw…" The two women whined with pouts before they went to join him.
(Later)
As the three went outside, fully dressed, and were about to find Jaren and the others when the neighing of a horse, or horses–got their attention.
"Whoa buddy, whoa!" Francesco yelped as he was trying to calm down a horse.
"Easy girl, easy! Whahoho!" Ban yelled as he tried to calm another horse.
The horses in question were a dapple mare and a Kiger Mustang, two horses that were very familiar to Shin.
"Pepper? Spirit?" He gasped as he ran up to the two horses, who saw him and started trotting toward him as well. "Hey you two, I missed you!" He sighed happily as he hugged the equine creatures' necks.
"You know these two?" Ban asked as he watched Shin interact with the two horses.
"Yeah. These two in particular were my parents' horses." The gunslinger nodded in reply as the two equines rested their heads on him and took in his scent, happy to see him again. "Pepper was my dad's while Spirit was my mom's though I would ride him sometimes." He added.
As he said this, his horse Aztec slowly made his way towards them and nuzzled his heardmates.
"These two being here after all this time must make the place feel like home again." Morgana commented with a smile as she rubbed Pepper's neck.
"Yeah…" Shin nodded as he watched as he watched the woman with the horse and smiled. "Ya know, Pepper does really like riding." He continued. "And she seems to like you." He added as Pepper nuzzled Morgana.
"Well, I haven't had the time to get a new horse lately…" The Templar woman mused before smiling. "I think I'll take her." She decided, hugging the mare's neck.
"Take good care of her." He told her.
"I will." The brunette nodded as she kissed Shin's cheek. "Goodbye, Shin." The woman told him as she got on Pepper and rode off.
"I think she'll be a good second." Cereza nodded, causing Shin to look at her as they headed to the newly built Bureau.
"Second what?" The boy questioned.
"Second girlfriend." The tall woman clarified with a smile.
"Uh, isn't that a bit too fast?" Shin asked with a raised eyebrow. "I mean, yeah, I can tell she's a great person, but still." He added.
"You certainly weren't complaining last night." Cereza purred, causing her apparently shared boyfriend to blush. "But in all seriousness, I genuinely don't mind. Morgana and I have been at each other's throats for years, and now we want to practice what we preach." She continued, assuring Shin she didn't mind what had transpired last night.
"I get it, but…" The gunslinger said before looking at his picture of his parents. "I always thought that, well, a relationship should be between one man and woman. Like my parents did." He said.
"That's how most people look at it, you're right." Cereza nodded with a shrug. "But life often surprises people with stuff like this, and it's rewarding more often than you'd think." She added.
"I guess." He shrugged.
"Although, perhaps this would be better." The woman offered, taking his hand in hers. "If something were to happen to me, I give you my permission to court Morgana. If you ever wish to move on." She told her lover.
"A-Are you…" Shin tried to ask, only for his amazonian lover to put a finger on his lips.
"I am sure. I don't want you to grieve heavily over my passing." She told him gently, looking him in the eyes. "I want you to be happy, and live." She added.
"O-Okay." The boy nodded as he followed her. "... Well, while we're on the subject." He continued as they came to the front of the Beauro. "Once this is over and we get all these Outlaws and find the Feather… I was wondering if you'd…" He continued before the woman turned to him.
"Like to get married?" Cereza finished with a knowing grin, hands on her hips, causing the boy to lock up.
"H-How…?!" He uttered in shock, not expecting himself to be that obvious.
"Shin, sweetie, you're practically an open book with this kind of stuff." The tall Assassin snickered in amusement. "But really, I would love to get married to you." She told him, stopping to kiss him on the lips.
The gunslinger sighed as he kissed her back and embraced her, happily enjoying what his lover was giving him, and pulled away.
"I have my mom and dad's old rings so we can use them." He told her.
"That sounds ideal." The tall woman nodded with a smile as they reached the Bureau. "Now, let's get to work, shall we?" She beckoned.
"Let's go." Shin nodded as they went inside.
Speaking of the Bureau, it actually looked like the Carpenter Hall the first Continental Congress stayed in.
As they entered the hall in question, they passed a wooden perch branch, where Liberty was preening herself.
"Liberty, come!" He called to his pet, holding out his arm, allowing her to leap onto it.
Then they went to the office to see what needed doing, finding some of the other Initiates at work along with Jaren.
"Hey, Jaren!" The boy called to his second father as he approached the desk he was at. "What's up?" He questioned.
"Hey Shin. Still recovering from last night?" He questioned knowingly.
"Oh shut up." Shin told his mentor dryly, getting a chuckle in return. "Anyway, any word on my first Outlaw targets?" He asked.
"Yes. Two of them are known at this time." Jaren replied as he showed him two wanted posters. "Meet Romulus and Remus Julius." He told his apprentice.
"Brothers? Huh, they must be serious about looking out for each other." The gunslinger remarked as he looked at the two posters.
"That they are, and these guys are gonna be the trickiest to catch. That's for sure." His mentor nodded.
"How so?" Cereza asked.
"These little fuckers like to make their way to Alaska in the winter after they have their fill attacking various mining sites around the country." The Marshal told them.
"They've been hitting mine and Morgana's mining operations, too." Boris said as he walked in, getting their attention. "These two have been seriously affecting our efforts to fight Tweed. Taking them out will let us breathe easier." He continued.
"Wait, does this mean that Tweed knows what you're planning?" Shin questioned.
"No. There's no way, he's been so focused on things regarding the Feather, the five Hidden Apples, and the Dagger of Eden that he has no idea what's coming." Boris told him.
"But if he doesn't know about the plot against him… Then why are the Julian Brothers attacking you and other Templars as well as the Assassins?" Cereza questioned.
"It's probably an unintended side effect of having convicted criminals on your payroll." Jaren replied. "They aren't following orders, they're doing this for themselves." He added.
"Yeah, that does sound accurate." The Templar man muttered in agreement.
"Do we know where they are presently?" Shin asked, getting back on track.
"No, but I have my friends all over the states keeping an eye out for them." Jaren replied. "So in the meantime, you and Cereza should head back to DC. You do have to get your guns replaced–nor to mention deliver that letter to Mentor Bowery." He added.
"That is true." The gunslinger nodded before looking at Boris. "Is the letter ready?" He questioned.
"Yep. It just needs to be delivered." The man nodded as he held up an envelope.
"Alright then." The boy nodded as he turned to his lover. "Come on." He told her as they left, the boy tapping his side to call Fenrir to him.
"Right beside you." The woman smiled as she followed.
(Later)
-Washington DC, December 1859-
Winter was now in full swing across the northern hemisphere, and it was snowing in the northern regions of North America.
Snow covered all of DC as Cereza and Shin rode into town after their two week train ride, and all over the place Christmas decorations were being put about and Christmas foods were being sold, turkeys, geese, and even Pekin ducks from a shop run by a Chinese family not far from the Sanctuary.
The gunslinger assassin couldn't help but set a longing gaze at the stand, as in addition to the Italian desserts his uncles would bring every year and the Italian Roast lamb leg his father fixed with his uncles each year, his mother would always make a Peking Duck for Christmas dinner as well.
It was something he missed rather deeply, especially since they weren't there anymore.
Cereza saw the look of longing on Shin's face as they rode through the streets, and knew what he was thinking. She didn't blame him for it.
'When we start a family, we'll make sure they know what their grandparents were like.' She vowed in her head.
"So I was just thinking." The woman mused as they approached the White House. "How about we try making a Christmas dinner for the Pallimon Bureau?" She suggested. "Know any good ideas?" She asked, causing Shin to look at her, visibly perked up.
"I have a good number of 'em, and I think the gang at Pallimon will enjoy 'em." He nodded, his mind abuzz with many ideas.
"I can't wait." The woman smiled as she kissed the boy as they dismounted their horses and headed into the Sanctuary, where fellow assassins were decorating the place.
As they went inside, they could see the start of festive spirit all around the Sanctuary.
"Yeah, I think this is turning out great." Shin nodded as he and Cereza headed up to Bowery's office–where the older man was tending to his pigeons.
Pigeons that Fenrir and Liberty were watching very closely.
'I really hope they don't try to eat them.' He thought with a sweat drop.
"Ah, Shin, Cereza. Welcome back." Bowery nodded upon noticing them enter. "Just in time for Christmas, too." He added with a smile.
"It is nice to see the Brotherhood getting festive." Shin nodded as he looked around the office, seeing a healthy amount of holiday decor.
"Yes, it is a good change of pace compared to the chaos and violence of the recent congress and senate sessions." The mentor nodded. "Six duals in just a week–that was in July." He added.
"What's the words on the ground?" Shin questioned.
"There's some talk about secession, amongst the southern senators." Bowery replied.
"That's not good." Cereza noted with a frown.
"No it's not." The Brotherhood Mentor nodded in agreement.
"What's causing this to crop up?" Shin questioned.
"Tarrifs on the south to try and make them abolish slavery violated states, for one." Bowery replied.
"That's a bad idea. It violates states rights." Shin noted.
"Not to mention it sounds like a move that shouldn't have been passed–given that the south would be up in arms." Cereza nodded.
"That's because southern representation has been limited." The Mentor explained. "So they can barely do anything at this point." He added.
"So now things are getting out of hand–more than usual." Shin muttered.
"Who's egging this on?" Cereza questioned.
"I'm unsure, but the signs are pointing to Tweed." The Brotherhood's current leader replied, to no one's surprise.
"This does not surprise me." Shin muttered before shaking his head. "Anyway, I have a letter from someone you saved in the past for you." He told the man before handing him Boris' letter.
Bowery accepted the letter and opened it. As he read the contents, his eyes widened in surprise before he burst out laughing.
"Oh, this is one of the best pieces of information I've gotten as of late. To think Boris and Morgana would take over the Templars from within." He said, his laughter dying down to chuckles.
"You don't sound surprised." Shin noted, his expression being one of slight intrigue in his Mentor's reaction.
"Ha ha ha! No, I'm not. Boris always struck me as a man who only followed the Templars because he thought the order was the superior opinion, not because he ever believed in their cause." He told him.
"He did mention he and Morgana were growing tired of the war between the Templars and Assassins." Shin pointed out. "Maybe the constant fighting opened his eyes to what it really looks like." He mused.
"Boris sounds oddly like Otso Berg, based on Bowery's description." Sarah noted.
"Let me guess: This Otso guy is a Templar fanatic?" Joshua guessed.
"Joined the order after Vidic found him. Held him at gunpoint, and gave his daughter medicine to cure her condition–and then became a devout Templar." Mael nodded.
"Dude thinks we're weak, wants to make us beg for death. Feh, fucking dumbass." Calvin spat.
"Heh. Let's see where that gets him when I tell him that Templars defected to the Assassins." Joshua chuckled. "Double if Boris is somehow Otso's ancestor." He added, getting a collection of chuckles in return.
Back in the memory, Bowery then turned to the two from his reading the letter, and noticed something on Cereza's finger.
"Cereza, what's that on your finger?" He questioned.
"Oh, this?" The woman chuckled as she held up her hand to show off the golden ring topped with a diamond. "This was actually Delilah's ring. You know, Samson's wife?" She told him.
"Using their rings, huh?" Bowery chuckled, looking at Shin knowingly. "Nice to see you keeping their memory alive." He nodded in approval.
"Well, I was wanting to make a tradition, I guess." Shin nodded. "It used to be my grandmother's." He explained.
"I see a good reason to start that back up again." The tall woman remarked with a giggle.
"I second that." Shin chuckled. "Anyway, let's get going. I still need to get my guns replaced." He added as he started walking toward the door.
"Ah, right this way. There's actually someone I want you to meet." Bowery nodded.
(Later)
Shin and Cereza found themselves in a smith's forge, where someone was at work.
"Nicholas! I have some people I'd like you to meet!" Bowery called as one of his pigeons fluttered to his hand, Fenrir and Liberty still eyeing it as the eagle perched herself on a beam and the Wolf-dog laid at the forge's door.
The young man in question looked to be a lad of German descent, twenty-four years of age with red hair, blue eyes, freckles, rosy cheeks, a nose like a cherry, but unlike the jolly Christmas man whose description he seemed to mirror, he was actually well muscled, with the body of a trained blacksmith–but the dexterity and meticulousness of a toy maker.
Attire wise, the man wore a white shirt, a pair of red plaid lumberjack overalls, strong brown boots, a thick red coat with white fur trim, and a wood cutters hat. He also wore a pair of small round glasses.
"Oh, Mentor Bowery! Need something?" The man asked.
"I don't, but these two may." Bowery explained, gesturing to the two with him. "Nicholas Kringle, meet Shin Malphur and his fiance Cereza Basilisk." He told the man. "You two, meet Nicholas Kringle. Though he prefers Chris." He told them.
"Nice to meet you guys." Chris nodded as he shook both their hands.
"Same here, Chris." Shin nodded. "What made you join the Brotherhood exactly? You look more at home making toys, not weapons." He asked while hoping he wasn't being nosy.
"Hmhmhmhm Hohohohohoho!" The young man chuckled before bursting into a belly laugh. "Ja, that's about right." He chuckled. "I was a toy maker's apprentice, until the Templars came to take the shop my mentor–a wonderful man, old, wise and kind beyond imagination–owned the Templars said that the deed to the place was fraudulent, so they tried to take it, and beat the man for resisting." He told them, cursing bitterly.
"Tch. Bastards." Shin spat in disdain.
"Anyway…" Chris coughed. "What do you need?" He asked, getting down to business.
"Well, I could use a pair of new pistols, a new rifle…" Shin listed before he took his blades off and set them on the table. "And I'm hoping you can install two Hidden Guns in my blades. One in each hand." He added.
"Hmmm, I think I can do that. Anything else?" The toy maker blacksmith questioned.
"A swivel function like Connor Kenway had would be useful." Shin replied.
"Alright, and what pistols and rifle would you like?" The man asked.
"Hmmm…" The boy hummed as he scanned the man's shop for options. "Those." He said, pointing at the wall. "The Colt Navy revolvers and that Colt Revolving Rifle." He added.
"Simple guns for simple purposes. Alright." The toy maker turned weaponsmith nodded. "I trust you can pay for those?" He questioned.
The gunslinger didn't respond verbally, he just set some dollars on the table. "Money." He began. "Is no object." He added in a serious tone.
"A pleasure doing business with you then." The red haired man nodded. "I'll get to work on those hidden guns for your blades." He added, grabbing the bracers. "It should take me about four hours. Come by anytime after that." He told him.
"Right. Thank you." Shin nodded as he and Cereza left.
(Later)
Shin adjusted his newly upgraded blades as he and Jaren stood at the DC train station that was going to take them to the Canadian border.
"So…" Jaren said as they waited for their train, his surrogate son not pausing in his fiddling. "You and Cereza decide on a date, yet?" He questioned, causing Shin to nearly stab himself in the face as he facepalmed, inadvertently deploying one of his blades.
"Don't do that." The young gunslinger deadpanned. "And no, not yet, though I am thinking about a nice Christmas date in Pallimon after this hunt is over." He added.
"And the honeymoon?" The Marshal questioned.
"That… that'll come later." The boy replied as he finally got things adjusted. "There. " He sighed.
Before this conversation between surrogate father and son could continue any further, Chris and Cereza came towards them.
"Glad we were able to catch you in time." The redhead panted as he tried to catch his breath. "I was able to make something new for you. It should come in handy whilst on sleds and horseback." He told the two as he and Cereza held up two seemingly normal hidden blades.
The blade in question was different, however. It was thinner and more compact so that it could easily fit on the side of a boot, with an eagle figure on the deployment pin, and an American Brotherhood symbol on the side. It also had brass and bronze plating as well.
"What are these?" Shin asked as he took the blades Cereza was holding while Jaren took the ones Chris held.
"These are specialized hidden blades that can be strapped to your boots. You can literally kill people just by kicking them." The boy's fiance explained.
"It works by pressing your boots close enough together to activate the trigger, then hold your calf a certain way." Chris told him. "It can be used to dive onto a target or used whilst doing kicks or slide/swipe attacks on horseback or sledding." He continued.
"Sledding, gotcha." Shin nodded as he and Jaren strapped on their Spur Blades.
"How much do we owe you?" Jaren questioned.
"This is a test run, so you'll only owe me a report on their performance." Chris replied, waving off monetary things for now.
"We'll do that. Thanks, Chris." Shin nodded. Chris nodded back as he left the two be, but Cereza stayed behind. "Is something wrong, Cereza?" He asked.
"Nothing to worry about, darling." The woman told him. "I just wanted to tell you goodbye before you left." She added as she kissed him firmly. "And give you that for good luck." She told him, pulling back.
"Well thanks, then." Shin chuckled as the train arrived. "I'll see you soon." He told her.
"You better." The woman told him as they got on the train, leaving for Canada.
(Timeskip)
It was about half a week later and the two men stepped off the train and reached the section that stretched between the states and Canada–an expanse that was covered in snow all over.
"Huh. So this is what Canada looks like in the winter." Shin mused as he looked around.
"It typically looks like this year round." Jaren mused as he pulled his coat tighter towards his body. Shin looked at him for a moment. "I've been to Toronto a few times." He continued.
"Oh." The deputy shrugged. "Anyway, let's get in touch with the Canadian Brotherhood so we can get a guide to the Alaska border." He added.
"That shouldn't be too hard…" The Marshal mused as he peered over the horizon. "Cuz I think that's them right now." He added.
Shin looked in the direction Jaren was and spotted some people in Assassin garb waiting for them. Apparently Bowery sent a heads up, it would seem.
The object that was heading towards them was a sled what was being pulled by a pack of Siberian Huskies and led by a large St. Bernard with a barrel dangling from his collar.
Draped on the sled's cargo area was a Canadian flag that had the Assassins A on its background in front of the Canada Maple leaf.
Riding on the sled were two people dressed in red, white and black colored Assassin robes, with golden Canadian maple pins on their coats.
"Good thing I brought Fenrir…" Shin muttered to himself, figuring that his canine companion would be in his element here if he was hooked up to a sled.
The sled soon came to a stop in front of them allowing the two Assassins to hop off.
The first was a man who looked to be a man in his fifties with a salt and pepper bushy beard, gray hair, brown eyes and was wearing what looked to be red Assassins robes with black secondary colors and white trim. His weapon seemed to be a tomahawk, an air rifle and a grenade launcher.
The woman was dressed in an inverted outfit that was white with red and black. Her weapons seemed to be a knife, a pistol and an air rifle. She seemed to be the same age as the man with graying hair, blue eyes and skin tanned like an Indian.
Both also seemed to have rings on their fingers.
"Are you two the ones Bowery's letter mentioned?" The man questioned.
"That's right. My name is Jaren Ward, US Marshal, and this is my deputy Shin Malphur." Jaren told them, gesturing to Shin, who bowed his hat to them.
"Hey there." The young gunslinger nodded.
"Welcome to Canada, you two." The woman nodded. "I am Sophia, and this is my husband Liam." She told them as she got off the sled.
"Charmed." Jaren nodded. "I trust you know why we're traveling through Canada?" He asked.
"Yes. The Julian Brothers were reported to have passed through Canada in recent weeks, heading toward Alaska." Liam nodded in reply. "More on that later, though. We need to move." He added as he got back on the sled, Fenrir hopping on
"Let's go, then." Shin nodded as they mused off.
(Later)
"So, what can you tell us about the kind of operation the brothers got going on?" Shin called over the wind and barking of the dogs as they rode along.
"They have a hoarding operation. They steal as much as they can carry and take it to Alaska when the winter months come." Sophia replied. "They've hit some Canadian mining sites as they went, too." She added.
"Additionally we've heard that they've been looking for something they called the Map." Liam added. "Though we have no idea what that is." The man mused.
"I think I may." Jaren called.
"Then feel free to share when they've been dealt with. It could give us some insight into their goals." The Canadian man told him.
"Will do." He replied as the group soon stopped by a shack in the middle of the tundra, where another sled was waiting for them.
"You can take this sled from here." Liam told them as he unhooked the St. Bernard from the head of the pack. "We'll take the one that's here." He added as they went to the other sled and dog team, while Shin hooked Fenrir into the harness. "Come on Seaman." He told the dog.
"Ready to lead your own pack, boy?" The deputy smiled as he hooked Fenrir up, the wolf dog barking in excitement in response. "Then let's go." He added as they moved on.
(Timeskip)
The two were now heading in the direction of Alaska's main border with Shin on the passenger part and Jaren doing the driving, the cold wind blasting against their winter layers.
"So what is it, anyway?" Shin called over the wind.
"What's what?" Jaren questioned.
"The map! What is it, anyway? Why do the Julian Brothers want it?" He elaborated.
"Well, I think it may be a fragment of the map leading to the Lost City of El Dorado." The Marshal replied. "It was a site the Brotherhood thought could be an old Isu City." He added.
"And a pair of idiots have it. Better get it ourselves before they burn it or something…" Shin muttered.
"This is bigger than that, Shin." Jaren told him. "That map, aren't you the least bit curious why it's in fragments?" He questioned.
"Yeah…?" Shin nodded.
"That map was what was used by Mentor Bowery and nine others to go down into the Amazon in order to find the City of Gold and the Precursor site within: The Emerald Citadel, where the Feather is held." The man told him. "Ten people went in. Only two came out, the Mentor, and the Sage he had with him." He continued.
"Yor." Shin nodded. "What happened?" He questioned.
"No one knows for certain, but the one thing we do know is that something attacked them. Killed eight of the group, and crippled one." His mentor told him. "So, once they came out, Yor started to devolve into the man we know now, and Bowery took the map and shattered it into six pieces." He continued. "Five of which I'm fairly certain are in the possession of our five escaped Outlaws." He added.
"Where's the last one?" Shin asked.
"If I had to guess? Yor probably has it." Jaren replied as they kept riding. "Why the sudden interest?" He questioned.
"The visions from my mentioned six apples of Eden, a giant black bat, a City of Gold, the Feather, a figure who was using the Last Word and one who was using Thorn." Shin explained. "And in my vision, the man with the Last Word… he's killed by the man with Thorn." He continued.
"You think it might've been me?" Jaren questioned with a raised eyebrow. ""Shin, I'm not gonna go down that easily. I'll make him work for it." He told his deputy.
"That's just it, Da-." The boy said before stopping himself mid sentence. "Jaren, I–I don't want you to die." He admitted, turning to look at him. "I lost everything I ever cared about… I don't want to lose you too." He said as Jaren slowed down the sled.
"If I do end up fighting Yor… I'll make sure I come out alive." The man promised.
"This feels like the setup of a self fulfilling prophecy…" Ororo noted with a frown.
"Ororo, love, you're not helping." Joshua told his pregnant wife-to-be.
Shin sighed as he hugged his surrogate father tightly while they stopped for a moment.
"Dad…" He whispered softly as he hugged the man, who embraced him back.
(Timeskip)
After a couple of days of traveling, Jaren and Shin found themselves at the border to Alaska.
As they did that, they soon took notice of a disturbance in the white out of the snow, something was coming towards them.
Shin activated his eagle vision and zeroed in on the figure as it approached, Fenrir growling with the other dogs, getting wind of something they didn't like.
The disturbance got closer, and it turned out to be another Assassin, one from the Russian Brotherhood. It was a man, and his clothes were largely white mixed with black accents. He had some heavy winter layers to keep himself warm in the cold temperatures, and a rifle on his back.
"Привет товарищи [Hello Comrades]." The man waved to them as he approached them, Fenrir snarling as he edged closer.
"Shh, Fenrir. It's alright." Shin told his wolf-dog. "I'm pretty sure he's a friend, not foe." He added as the man stopped before them.
He was rather imposing. 6'10" with a stocky build that reminded Shin of the statues of Connor Kenway or Atilla the Hun in the Sanctuary in DC. His steel silver eyes were dark with age and a dark bar cut beard adorned his stout face, where a single scar grazed his chin.
"I presume you're with the Russian Brotherhood?" Jaren questioned, spotting the familiar Eagle Skull imprint sewn into the left breast of his jacket.
"Да [Yes] I am." The man nodded. "And you are the Assassins from the American Brotherhood?" He questioned, his Russian accent thick as concrete.
"Yeah. I'm Marshal Jaren Ward." The man nodded. "And this is my deputy and my–adopted–son, Shin Malphur." He continued, gesturing to his deputy and son.
"Hm. Not the first time I've heard of that." The Russian Assassin mused. "Ivan Nikolai." He added with a nod.
"Well then, Ivan, guess we'll let you lead the way, then." Jaren said as they loaded up on the duo's sled.
"Right. I will direct you to the Bureau in Alaska." Ivan nodded as he sat in the passenger seat and the group was off, heading to their beach head for the hunt.
(Later)
As the three Assassins arrived at the Bureau, Shin got out of his outer layers and sat in front of the fire, Fenrir doing the same as he curled up at his master's feet.
"Hey, what did you end up doing with Liberty when we left?" Jaren asked as he got warm.
"I left her in Cereza's care. This is not weather meant for birds like her." Shin replied.
"That is true." The Marshal nodded in agreement, knowing that Bald Eagles like Liberty weren't suited for the weather of the northernmost regions of the continent.
"We will need to discuss our plan for dealing with the Julian Brothers." Ivan stated as he too settled in. "But we will not find them in this weather. Best wait until morning." He added.
"Yeah. That blizzard looks bad." The gunslinger noted, looking out the window at the raging blizzard.
"Then we should try to hunker down for now, then." Shin nodded as he wrapped himself in a blanket and leaned on Jaren for warmth, Fenrir curling up close to them as the fireplace roared.
Likewise, Ivan got as comfortable as one could in such a blizzard. It was going to be a long night.
Memory Synched: Hunt In the Snow.
Accessing next Memory…
Synchronization in progress…
The next day, the blizzard had passed and the weather was calm again. There was a heap of snow, but that was only an inconvenience.
"Is everything set up?" Jaren called as Shin was strapping Fenrir into the lead harness while Ivan loaded up the weapons.
"Dogs are strapped in. We're good to go." Shin nodded in reply as he finished strapping Fenrir in.
"Then let's get a move on." The Marshal nodded as the three men loaded themselves up and ran off.
(Later)
As the three rode through the Canadian wilderness, Ivan decided to speak up.
"So, do you two have a plan for the Julian brothers?" He questioned.
"Not at present, no." The Marshal mused.
"We probably won't have a solid one until we find out more about what those two are like." Shin chimed in. "How different they are, how they think, the works." He added.
"Da. Knowing how they think will help with the planning." The Russian Assassin nodded in agreement.
"Alright then, Deputy Malphur. What do you propose we do?" Jaren prompted his ward expectantly.
"We find and study them. If we do that, we can figure out how to possibly get them to fight each other." The deputy explained. "It's simple, but it should give us an edge." He added.
"And should they manage to separate us?" Jaren questioned.
"Then we get them separated–divide and conquer." The gunslinger remarked.
"нет. [No] They'd more than likely tear us apart by sending their wolves after us." Ivan interjected.
"Wait, they have wolves?" Shin asked, eyes widening.
"Da. That makes them even more dangerous." The Russian Assassin nodded.
"Just like the original Romulus and Remus were raised by a wolf, these guys raise wolves themselves." Jaren mused. "We'll need some way to deal with them first." He added as he called for Fenrir and the Huskies to go faster.
"If we can kill them, that should provoke them into fighting us directly." Ivan supplied.
"I detest that kind of thing… But then again, our hands will be forced if they're set loose on us." Shin sighed.
"What about your berserk darts?" Jaren questioned. "We could use them to cause the wolves to turn on them." He offered.
"That'll do the job." Shin nodded as he made a mental note to have his berserk darts ready.
"Smart idea. Turn the pack against itself, and it will wipe itself out." Ivan nodded, liking the sound of this.
"Then we have a plan." The Marshal nodded as they continued their trek across the snowy wilderness.
"Let's get it done." The boy grinned as they rode on.
(Later)
It was noon now and the trio hand parked the sled away from a mountain pass, before they unhooked Fenrir and held something out to him.
The object in question was a scrap of fabric that had blood on it, Remus' blood.
"Lead the way, boy." He told his wolf dog pal as said pal sniffed the blood sample before sniffing around and got a lock on Remus' scent, which was heading northeast.
However, as they began to make their way through the snow, someone was watching them from above.
The figure in question was a tall and lithe youth of 24 with black curly shoulder length hair, green eyes, and the same chiseled features that one would see in most people of Roman descent had.
Attire wise, the youth was wearing full winter gear, topped with a cloak of wolf, bear and mountain lion pelts.
This was Romulus Julian, the elder of the twins.
"Looks like the wolves will eat well soon…" He whispered, his voice masked by the wind.
(Later)
The three then reached the halfway point between the start of the pass, where an eagle shaped cliff stretched over them like a hook over a crane.
"Wow, that is one hell of a view." Calvin commented with a whistle.
"I'll say. Snowy landscapes have never looked this good." Joshua added in agreement as Shin synchronized the area.
As he did this, he looked for a place to leap, and saw a snow pile right below him. Taking a breath, he performed a leap of faith and landed in the pile of white ice crystals… his hat sitting on top of the snow he was buried in.
"Don't mind me; I'm just gonna save this particular clip for my viewing pleasure…" Sarah giggled as she saved that particular clip. There was something amusing about it that she just liked.
Jaren and Ivan looked down, seeing Shin emerge from the snow pile before putting his hat back on. Shaking their heads with chuckles, they proceeded to leap down and join him.
However, as they were nearing the end of the pass–there was a sudden sound–a sound like thunder.
A flash of fire and explosive force could be seen overhead on the ledge, and seconds later, tons upon tons of snow came pouring down towards them.
"Ah fuck, AVALANCHE!" Jaren yelled as he and Ivan started running, Shin and Fenrir close behind.
As they tried to outrun the mass of snow, it became apparent that they couldn't do so unless they got above it for safety. The problem was, there were no available points for them to do so.
"AAAAAH!" The three men yelled as the snow caught up with them–covering the Animus screen in white.
(Later)
About ten minutes later, Shin burst out of the snow with a gasp.
"I liiiiiive!" He exclaimed tiredly as Fenrir popped out next to him with a bark, making the scene look like a Saturday morning cartoon.
As he forced himself out of the snow, the gunslinger and his dog shook themselves of the snow–and the boy quickly retrieved his hat from a rooted tree branch that fell with them.
"Come on, Fen." Shin told his pup. "We have some assholes to track down." He added as they trudged across the snow.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, Jaren and Ivan popped out of the snow in a different section of the pass, groaning as they got out of their whiteout burial.
"I'm getting too old for this shit." The Marshal groaned, picking up his Hand Cannon which was laying next to him in the snow.
"Da. This is one of the bad parts of this area, and I hate it." Ivan groaned in agreement as he pulled himself from the snow.
"Let's just go find Shin…" Jaren sighed as the two trudged on.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, the gunslinger was now at the top of the ledge, and was scanning the area for his target while following Fenrir who was still tracking Remus.
As he followed, he spotted two men in heavy winter clothes ahead and suspected they were men working for the brothers. Acting quickly, he hid in a snowy bush before they could turn around, Fenrir quickly joining him.
Activating his Eagle vision, he marked the men so he could follow the two men. The Animus highlighted a ring around them to show how far Shin had to be to listen without getting detected.
"Did you hear that loud bang from the pass?" The first asked his partner as they started walking.
"Yeah. It sounded like thunder. I pity anyone who got caught up in that." The second nodded with a chuckle. "Some dumb idiot must've fallen into one of the boss' traps." He added.
"Or Romulus probably set off one of his charges on purpose. Probably to keep anyone from finding his and boss Remus' smuggling operation." The first man mused.
"That sounds about right. We're all fucked if the smuggling operation is ousted." The second nodded as they came to a warehouse. "Come on. Let's head inside and grab somethin' warm to eat." He added as he opened the door.
As soon as they went inside, Shin leapt off the ledge into another snowbank, Fenrir joining him moments later… and his hat was still on top of the snow. Once he was sure there was no one around, he leapt out and headed for a hole in the perimeter, his wolf dog pal following him silently.
Looking inside, he saw that the men who were supposed to guard the place were slacking off and chatting. Activating his eagle vision, he scanned the ranks and found the keyholder for the place and marked him. Then he backed away from the window just in time for someone to look his way and see nothing but air.
Diving into another hiding spot (specifically a snow covered pile of tree limbs), he waited for the keyholder to near his spot before whistling at him.
"Huh?" The keyholder uttered in confusion as he walked toward the pile, thinking one of his subordinates was messing around… And was greeted by Shin stabbing his hidden blade into his neck before yanking his body into the pile to keep him out of sight, looting the key in one swift move.
"Yep. Nobody's gonna find that body." The gunslinger said as he made his way through the camp, before he saw a shed that was a few clicks from where he was.
A shed that was made of wood and barn materials, and had a small door cut out of the main door–which a large Grey Wolf came out of.
'Okay, gotta do something about that wolf before it sniffs me out.' Shin thought before he grabbed his blowpipe and loaded a berserk dart. Aiming at the wolf, sent the dart flying, and it struck true.
Immediately, the wolf started snarling and barking furiously, getting the attention of many of the men before it started attacking. This resulted in a panicked response since the men knew they were fucked if they killed the wolves of one of their bosses, but they didn't want to die.
However, this beast seemed to be stronger than the average wolf, as it tore through the men like they were wet tissue paper–and faster than the men could shoot.
"Wow… Where'd those two find these wolves….?" Shin wondered quietly. Then he heard two thuds behind him, prompting him to turn and see Jaren and Ivan standing there. "Welcome to the party, boys." He nodded in greeting.
"What is going on?" Ivan questioned as he watched the carnage unfold.
"I used one of my berserk darts on one of the wolves, and now it's rampaging." The gunslinger replied.
"I can see that." Jaren remarked as he watched some of the Julian Brothers' thugs try to fight back only to get mauled.
As the Wolf calmed from its prolonged bloodlust, it slowly wobbled on its paws before it collapsed in a heap, exhausted.
"Well that takes care of a good chunk of the ranks." The Marshal noted as he looked around, seeing the mauled corpses coloring the snow red with their blood.
"Now let's deal with the brothers." Ivan said before he walked into the camp, idly shooting any stragglers in the head as he went.
Shin went to track down Remus first, but Fenrir stopped in front of the larger wolf, laying down next to it and letting it rest on him as it slowly began to become peaceful. Jaren saw this and wondered what was up before shrugging it off and looked around for Romulus.
The three men continued this search for over an hour before deciding to try and get the sled back so they could give chase in case the brothers ran–and then hid and waited for them to get back to the camp.
In the time that followed, the wolf Fenrir was snuggling with had woken up and looked at him. Instead of attacking him like Shin had feared upon noticing it was awake, it started wagging its tail and licking him happily, much to his surprise. It was then that the deputy noticed something.
'Wait, that wolf is a female? Is that Fenrir's mother?!' He thought as he fully realized what he was looking at: he had helped Fenrir reunite with his mother again.
Now he was glad he didn't kill the large wolf.
Slowly, the boy went over to his pet and his mother, getting a growl from the female wolf, at least until Fenrir nudged her in an attempt to calm her–allowing Shin to pull a piece of meat from his bag as a peace offering to the mother wolf.
Still wary, but not as much since the human before her had her pup's scent all over him, the large wolf accepted the offering and started eating, making sure to share with her newly returned son.
"What's the deal here?" Jaren asked as he walked up to the scene, but maintained a respectful distance.
"This wolf is Fenrir's mother, apparently." Shin replied.
"What a happy turn of events, then." Ivan remarked as he walked up to observe the occurrence.
"This must be the mother of their wolf packs." Jaren mused. "If we can get her to listen to us, we can use them to take the brothers out and then take their wolves for ourselves." He added.
"How do we do that, though?" Shin wondered.
"If there's any good venison here, we can use that for bribery." Ivan offered, causing Shin and Jaren to glance at each other.
"... That'll do the job, I think." The gunslinger commented. "Let's get to work, then." He told them as he and his companions began to get ready for their prey.
Memory: Feeding the Wolves
Synchronization complete.
Accessing next Memory…
Synchronization in progress…
Hours passed and the three Assassins were perched atop the shed where the other wolves were, Fenrir and his mother tending to the Wolf-Dog's little siblings.
The three men were looking out for Remus and Romulus, since neither were present in the warehouse. Right as Shin was about to doze off, he spotted two sleds in the distance.
"Hey, I see two sleds coming our way!" He told his fellow Assassins, getting their attention.
"Alright men, get ready." Jaren told the two as he and Ivan got into position while Shin brought out his Revolving Rifle.
As the two sleds came into the warehouse, it was confirmed to be the Julian brothers, and they were obviously not expecting the carnage that greeted them upon their arrival.
"What the–?! What happened here?!" Romulus exclaimed in shock as he looked around.
"It looks like they were… mauled, brother." The youngest of the two replied as he examined the bodies.
Remus was much thinner and shorter than his elder brother, with vibrant red hair instead of black and green eyes instead of blue. He recalled the image almost like that of the epic hero Aeneas, if he were younger.
He was dressed nearly identical to his brother but notably had no weapons, clearly he wasn't the fighting type.
"What could have done this?" The elder of the twins questioned.
"Not our wolves, surely! Genetrix would never harm our men, and her current litters are only pups!" Remus stated as he stood up, thoroughly and almost neurotically cleaning his hands of the blood.
"Maybe not directly." Ivan told them, making his presence known along with Jaren, who aimed the Last Word at them.
"You?! I buried you in snow!" Romulus exclaimed in disbelief.
"Not very well it would seem." Jaren said. "Now Shin!" He called to his deputy, who took aim at Remus' sled and fired, separating the wolves and causing them to bolt for the shed–before shooting a barrel of gunpowder on it, causing the contraption to explode and cause Remus to fly through the air and fall flat on his face.
Tapping his boots together, Shin deployed his Spur Blades before dropping down from the roof of the shed and right on top of Remus–taking him out instantly.
Animus Corridor
Remus let out a groan as his life started fading.
"Damn… I thought me and Romulus would have enough time to find the other map fragments." He lamented.
"Map fragments to…?" Shin trailed off, wanting to hear the answer from his target's lips.
"To the city of gold! Hundreds of years we've been looking for it, and now we have it–until you came along." The Outlaw coughed.
"Well, I might have to steal the other fragments just to get there." The Gunslinger mused as he searched Remus' person and found the map fragment he had. "Not a drop of blood on it, surprisingly. Wow." he remarked to himself.
"Well… Have fun… I guess." Remus groaned before he died.
Resuming Memory…
"REMUS!" Romulus yelled in despair. "No! Brother! No!" He cried, his voice strained with rage and grief.
"Don't fret. You'll be joining him soon." Ivan told him, drawing a Russian saber and pointing it at him.
"Only if you can get me, you murdering bastards!" The man yelled as he hopped onto his sled and rode away.
"Fuck! Get him!" Jaren cursed as he mounted the sled, Ivan and Shin quickly joining him.
Then a sled chase ensued, Romulus occasionally shooting back at them with Shin doing the same.
"Jaren! Get alongside him, we can slash away his wolves with our Spur Blades by cutting their harnesses!" The gunslinger called over the wind.
"On it!" The Marshal nodded as he got the sled alongside Romulus'. When the man saw them beside him, he freaked out in response, which allowed Jaren to cut the harnesses of the wolves off from the sled and let them go free. The lone Julian sibling felt his heart sink at that.
Taking out his ax to try and waylay the three before they could attack him, Shin unsheathed his katana in response–and struck the man down in one swift strike, causing him to fall to his knees and drop his weapon.
Wiping his blade with his arm, the Animus started changing around him.
Animus Corridor
"So much for living for Remus…" Romulus sighed as he lay on the ground, dying.
"You should've thought about what you were doing before pissing off the wrong people." Shin told him.
"Like who? The government?" The older twin questioned as he laid back. "Sic semper tyrannis. You may think your Brotherhood is preserving freedom, but as long as the government is around, there will always be oppression. Whether the victor be Assassin or Templar." He choked.
"Hmph. You'd know, wouldn't you?" Shin scoffed. "At least the Assassins give people some leeway in their lives. The Templars would prefer to avoid giving people any." He continued.
"Hahaha! True there!" The man laughed as he started to fade. "True there…" He uttered as his life left him.
Resuming Memory…
"Here's the first key." Shin said as he pulled it from Romulus' neck.
"Okay, now we have several more to go." Jaren nodded.
"And here's the first map fragment." The boy nodded as he handed Jaren the fragment.
The map in question seemed to be like some sort of Precursor tablet of some sort, made of gold and having the same markings of the Apple of Eden. This one seemed to be a corner piece of the tablet.
The modern crew deduced that it was likely a hologram map, most likely.
"Hm, looks like it was made by the Precursors, most likely. This confirms that the City of Gold is one of their sites." He mused.
"We have a long hunt ahead of us, then." Shin noted, putting the thing away for safekeeping.
(Timeskip)
As the group left for the Alaska/Canada border, Shin had helped Ivan gather up the rest of the Julian Brothers' wolves. The man was allowed to keep the fully grown ones while he and Jaren took the pups and Genetrix.
"Hopefully these wolves will serve the Russian Brotherhood well." The gunslinger smiled at the Russian Assassin.
"I do, too." Jaren nodded before looking at Fenrir, who was being nuzzled by Genetrix. "Man, she really must've missed him a lot." He remarked with a smile.
"Any mother would." Shin nodded with his own smile as he walked up to the duo, who looked at him before the young gunslinger rubbed both of their heads, causing them to let out happy pants.
"Ivan." Jaren said as they neared a spot where the two were to load onto a steam ship to travel back to Canada. "You seemed rather reluctant to follow our plans. Why is that?" He asked.
"... Because I'm of the opinion that America will try to take Alaska from Russia." Ivan replied after a moment. "I know I should worry more about Canada doing that, but they've exhibited no interest in the territory." He added.
"Well we can't really speak for America on that." Jaren commented with a frown.
"I know, but I can't help but worry." Ivan sighed.
"Yeah… But I don't think our country is in any place to be able to wage war on a small scale–let alone to invade another country's colony." Shin pointed out as he tried to keep a few two week old pups from Genetrix's latest litter from wandering off.
"I've heard… Perhaps I'm worrying over nothing." The Russian Assassin mused.
"A lot of worries often go unfounded." Jaren shrugged.
"... Except it kinda wasn't." Mael noted, knowing that Alaska would be purchased from Russia by the United States after the Civil War.
"I'm aware." Joshua chimed.
"I'm sure." Ivan commented before he went onto the steam boat, allowing the crew to retract the ramp and cast off.
"Come on. Let's get back home." Jaren beckoned as the wolves were gathered up for transport.
Memory: Brother, Where Art Thou?
Synchronized.
Searching for more Relevant data…
Warning! Warning! Cross Memory Contamination detected.
After memory Synchronization is achieved, user ejection is suggested.
Recommended time between next session: 2 weeks to avoid unintended Bleeding Effect over exposure.
Would you like to synchronize memory?
[Yes/No]
[Yes]
Affirmative. Synchronization in progress…
-Residence of Boss Tweed, December 1859-
Tweed sighed as he enjoyed some tea, one of the few pleasant things that he could actually enjoy at this time. As he relaxed, Yor walked into the room.
"Well? What news do you bring, Sage?" The man questioned.
"The Julian Brothers have been taken out." The man replied, his dirty and worn clothes depositing dust and debris with every step as he sat down. "Now the Assassins leave Alaska with their piece of the map, their wolves, and their plunder in tow." He continued. "To make matters worse for you in particular, DuMal is also slain, and the Assassins have also regained footholds in Pallimon and Davenport." He added.
"Damn it! All that effort to secure the funding we need, destroyed!" The Senator cursed. "We need to increase our efforts, or the Assassins will get ahead of us!" He added.
"That seems to be your prerogative, 'sir'." Yor said as he sat back on the Corinthian couch. "Though I should point out that the brothers had been hitting your own mines for their own benefit." He added.
"Yes, I was aware of that." Tweed side, trying to calm himself with a sip of tea. "I had planned on having them get captured by my own Marshals and brought to me so that I could weed them out and take what was mine by force." He continued. "But… It seems the Assassins beat me to it." He added.
"You don't seem that worried." The Sage noted. "Frustrated, clearly. But no worry." He mused.
"That's because I am deciding to play the long game." Tweed told him. "Let the Assassins have their small victories. Their 'assured progress', I can wait. And when the moment is right, I will strike–and achieve victory in one killing stroke." He continued, setting his glass down firmly on his Chinese bamboo and Elmwood table.
"Then I hope it's worth it in the end." The rogue Assassin commented.
"It will be." Tweed nodded, standing as he walked towards the window of the room. "After all, there's more than one way to achieve victory–even from seeming defeat." He added.
"Rodrigo Borgia?" Yor questioned.
"He was one of the Order's strongest leaders. So, I shall follow his example." The Senator nodded as the Animus glitched out.
Synchronization complete.
Ejecting user…
-American Brotherhood Sanctuary, present day-
Joshua let out a bemused sigh as he came out of the Animus, accepting a bottle of water from his lover.
"Of fucking course Tweed would take after Rodrigo Borgia…" He sighed after taking a few gulps.
"Well, at least in terms of having plans within plans." Mael nodded. "Historically he's taken more inspiration from Governor Torres, since he always preferred the abolition of slavery to win slaves to bring them to the Templar cause." He added, reading a profile on the guy he found in Bowery's old office.
"Use the gratitude they feel to win them over?" Calvin noted with a raised eyebrow. "Wow." He sighed.
"Those pieces of the map were definitely Isu, though. The appearance of that one piece says it all." Sarah commented.
"On a side note, I didn't expect Fenrir to reunite with his mother. That was nice." Ororo commented with a smile, finding it sweet that the Wolf-Dog found his mother again.
"Yeah, that was wholesome." Joshua nodded with his own smile.
"The Julian Brothers were definitely a unique take on the Templars. Kinda like Thomas Hickey from Connor's time. They were just in it for coin and personal enrichment." Calvin noted.
"It's almost like how the kings of England, Spain and France employed privateers back in the early 1700s." Mael noted.
"Very true. I can see a similarity there." Calvin nodded.
"Guess things just never change." Joshua shrugged as he took some Tylenol and drank more water. "Come on, Ororo. Let's go home." He told his wife-to-be as he got up, taking her hand in his.
As they walked out of the sanctuary and back to their cabin, they found an unexpected reception waiting there for them. It wasn't Abstergo agents, however.
It was a large wolf, one around the size of Genetrix, if the couple had to compare. They could tell it was a female, too, and she had black fur along with vibrant blue eyes. She had a couple of scars on the left side of her body, likely from past fights.
The large she-wolf looked at them and approached Joshua before sniffing him, the man not moving a muscle to avoid provoking her. After a moment, she looked him in the eyes… before she knocked him to the ground and started licking his face happily, causing him to laugh.
"Okay, I get it! I'm your person!" He exclaimed as the black wolf got off of him, her tongue hanging from her mouth as she looked at her chosen person with a smile.
"Not what I expected, but she definitely likes you." Ororo giggled before the wolf turned her gaze onto the female Sage before sniffing her, and licked her hand after a moment. "Aw, and she likes me, too." She cooed as she gave the wolf some head pats.
"Looks like we found a new member of the family." Joshua chuckled as he looked at his new wolfy companion. "Hm… What to name you…" He mused as he tried to think of a good name.
"How about Luna?" His bride to be suggested. This got a happy bark in return.
"Luna sounds good to her." Joshua nodded, liking the sound of that. "Come on. Let's get inside." He added, opening the door and letting the new member of the family in, Joshua and Ororo following close behind and closing the door behind them.
Needless to say, River and Kali hissed a good bit at Luna upon seeing her. It was going to take them time to adjust to living with a large she-wolf.
Trevor was pretty chill with her, though.
"Easy, guys. This is Luna. She won't hurt you." He told them.
Luna approached the two cats and nudged them, getting paws in response. The kitties were still not happy.
"They're going to need time adjusting to her being here." The African Sage told her husband-to-be as Trevor approached Luna and hopped on her back. "Trevor, on the other hand…" She trailed off, not needing to say more.
"I know. In hindsight, I should've expected this." Joshua sighed as he went to the bedroom, Luna following suit… With Trevor sitting on her back.
Well, despite the unusual addition, things were still okay.
Dragon Emperor0: Hey everyone. Sorry about this chapter taking so long. It was just a mess of problems popping up here and there. But we finally got it done.
ThermalsniperN7: Yep. We got to see the first Outlaw Hunt, and Fenrir's surprise reunion with his mother. That was sweet. Shin even took the mother wolf and her latest litter… I wanna snuggle up with a baby wolf now…
Dragon Emperor0: These wolves will be an important part of this story's sequel: Assassins Creed: Division. Additionally, the next few chapters will involve Shin doing more side missions called 'Salvation' missions. Where he'll find Templar controlled towns and complete various tasks. Kinda like the Liberation missions in AC3. As well as Ghost Town missions where we'll meet specific characters who will do specific tasks around Pallimon and have individual storylines. Like the Homestead missions in AC3.
ThermalsniperN7: And much like AC: Odyssey, there's going to eventually be monster hunts, which will pit Shin against various cryptids around North America from local folklore. These hunts fall under the title of "Dark Hunt" and we may or may not have some take place in modern day. Hard to tell at the moment.
Dragon Emperor0: Lastly, for those of you wondering if we'll be seeing the Cormac gang anymore in this story, it's unlikely–at least not for a while at the moment. There isn't anything for them to really do at current.
ThermalsniperN7: Yeah. With how things are, there's not really any room for 'em at this time. It could be subject to change, but we can't say for certain presently. Anyway, see you next time.