Author's Note: In celebration of the newest Assassin's Creed game, Mirage, I have finally gotten around to updating this story.
The name of the evil organization here was kindly given by Chozin Yi. Thank you for the idea for the Order of Spiders.
Because of a certain scene in this chapter, I have decided to raise the rating of this fanfic. From here on out, this story's rated from a T to an M.
That's it for now. Enjoy the chapter. Any and all comments are welcome.
92 AG
I sat in the dark interrogation room with my hands shackled to the middle of the table and my head filled with questions. My mind was riddled with assorted thoughts that kept bringing me back to the horrifying image of my father dead on the ground. I kept my face buried in my hands until the door opened. I looked up to see Sheriff Brills looking at me with intense dismay.
"Sheriff, you got it all wrong!" I defended. "I didn't kill my dad!"
"The evidence suggests otherwise." Brills said. "After all, you are the Red Prowler and we do have a witness who saw the Red Prowler enter the governor's room with a knife in his hand."
"What?" I asked. "No. I never entered my dad's room."
"Then there's the bloody knife we found in the same trunk where we found your costume. What's your excuse for that? Did you work part-time at the butcher's?"
"I don't know how that knife ended up in my room, but it's not mine. Look, the last time I saw my dad, I was excused from dinner with him and the chancellor. Ask him and Karak. They'll tell you."
"Oh, we did. And yet, they say you only left to deliver your pet bird back to your room. You should have come right back, but you didn't. Care to explain where you were?"
I opened my mouth, but I couldn't bring myself to tell him the truth. I could have told him the truth, that I was chasing a hooded girl that told me about a conspiracy, but I doubted that he would have believed me. I stayed silent, which I could tell only made Brills more suspicious.
"Oh, this ain't looking good for you." Brills said. "With your father gone, the chancellor has the authority to oversee your case. Tomorrow, your trial will begin and if found guilty, you will be executed."
"Executed?" I gasped. "No! I'm innocent! I swear!"
"Well, if you didn't do it, who did?" Brills asked.
It was a good question. I couldn't help but think about how anyone else could have killed my dad. If anyone had left his room, I would have seen them in the hallway.
Sheriff Brills stood up from his chair. "If I were you, boy, I'd pray to the spirits for a miracle. Take him away."
The guards grabbed me by my arms and dragged me from the interrogation room. I spent the next night in my cell frightened for my life.
I didn't sleep a wink that night. I just laid there on the stone floor of my cold, damp cell. My head was still flooded with despairing emotions. The picture of my father's murdered corpse. The idea that I was framed for the deed. Every minute thinking about them just made me feel more and more horrible.
Suddenly, the sound of metal clinking woke me up. I picked myself up from the ground and looked across the room from my cell. The dungeon door creaked open and I awaited whoever would come through.
Much to my surprise, the door stopped a cracked and my cat-owl's head poked through. I raised myself even more at the sight of Song there. Her hooting meow made me smile for the first time all night. She flew on forward and perched herself on front of the cell just close enough for me to pet her.
"Song! It's you!" I said. "But how did you get here past the guards?"
"She had help."
The door opened a bit more revealing a boy about my age. I instantly recognized him as the chef's son and my friend. "Shuno? Is that you?"
"Everyone at the palace has been talking about you getting arrested." Shuno said as he got closer. "They say you killed your dad, but I know better."
The sound of someone believing in me put a smile on my face. "Thank you. But how did you get here? This place should be filled with guards."
"Your cat-owl followed you here and helped me find you. I managed to evade most of the guards, but as for the couple that I did run into…" Shuno reached both hands behind his back and pulled some things out. On one hand, he had a large frying pan with a dent in it. On the other, he held a ring with the keys I needed.
Understanding what Shuno was about to do, I stepped back and let him unlock the cell. Once the door was open, I walked out taking my first steps to freedom.
"What now?" I asked.
"We need to get you out of the city." Shuno said.
"What about my trial?" I asked. "If I don't show up, I'm going to look more guilty."
"There's not going to be a trial. At least, not a real one." Shuno said. "I overheard them. They're rigging the trial and executing you immediately in front of all Azulon City."
I gasped completely surprised that this was the path for me. "But why?"
"I don't know. But right now, the only way for you to live is by escaping. Follow me."
I ran with Shuno and Song into the dark, empty hallways of the barracks. It was my first time seeing the window and I could see dark clouds covering the night sky. I continued to follow Shuno and Song when something caught my eye. I grabbed my friend and pressed him to the wall. I laid against the wall with him.
"What was…"
"Shhh!" I interrupted Shuno. That's when we heard two voices.
"Did you hear something?"
"Probably the brat banging his head on the wall trying to figure things out."
"Man, how stupid can he be?"
"Hey, the kid's going through a hard time. But seriously, does the sheriff really need to pin the crime on him? He's just so young."
"Somebody has to take the fall so they could close this case. We're just going to… ACK!"
"Huh? Is something… ACK!"
The two men around the corner mad surprised gasps that sounded like they were drowning. Curiously, me and Shuno took a peek and saw a hooded figure standing above two Fire Nation guards. Each guard had stab wounds in their necks. The mysterious figure removed her hood and I recognized her immediately.
"You! You're that girl from the post office last night!"
Jade turned her head to me with an arced eyebrow. "You know, I had a hundred theories on the Red Prowler's identity since I came to this city. You weren't one of them."
"What's going on?" Shuno asked. "Arzon, do you know this girl?"
"Hardly." I turned to Jade. "What's going on?"
"What do you think, genius?" Jade asked. "This is what I was telling you about. The chancellor. The sheriff. They're both in on it. I know you didn't kill your father. They did."
I widened my eyes. The thought of the chancellor, who my dad welcomed as a guest, and the sheriff, who my father trusted with the city's security, killing him together. "But why?"
"They want control over this city. I don't know why, but they do. Your dad was in the way. Perhaps he didn't want to be part of their order, so they eliminated him."
"What are you talking about?"
Jade looked at the far end of the hallway and sighed. "Look, there's no time to explain everything. Patrol will be here any minute. Right now, you have to trust me. It wouldn't be right for me to just leave you here, so I'm helping you escape. Just follow me."
I didn't know this girl. I only knew her name and she was apparently a killer, but nothing more. But still, she was willing to help, so I nodded. It's not like I had any other choice.
"Okay. Get us out of there."
Jade took point on our escape. Whenever a guard passed by, she instructed us to hide ourselves until they passed by. There was one guard that just stood in the middle of the hallway, but Jade stabbed him with the hidden blade in her bracer. It nearly disturbed me how easy it looked.
Along the way, Shuno found the time to talk to me. "Arzon, something's still bothering me."
"Everything about this should bother us." I replied.
"No, about earlier, when we found that first pair of guards. How did you know they were around the corner?"
"Oh, that?" I asked nervously. "I just… saw them."
"They were around the corner, and they didn't cast any shadows." Shuno said. "You had to have seen them through the wall."
Juno stopped herself to turn to me. "You saw through the wall?"
"Well, not exactly." I replied. "It's just that… Ah. All right. I have this second vision or something. It allows me to see things that not a lot of people could see."
"Really?" Jade asked with fascination. "That's interesting."
We continued heading across the halls until we found a back entrance. We walked through the door out into fresh air.
"So what now?" I asked.
"You and I will head to the stables." Jade said. "We need to get you out of the city."
"What about me?" Shuno asked.
"You have to stay here." Jade said. "Sorry, kid, but we need to take the high ground in order to escape, and it's easier to sneak around if it's just the two of us."
"What?" I asked. "No, we can't leave Shuno here. It's too dangerous."
"Arzon, it's okay." Shuno assured me. "She's right. I can't scale buildings like you, so I'll have to stay. Don't worry. If you ever return, I'll help you out. I'll be your inside man."
I really didn't want to leave my friend behind, but his insistence was infuriating. Still, I learned to trust him. "All right." I turned to Jade. "All right, Jade. Let's go."
From rooftop to rooftop, I followed Jade across the city as the clouds began to brighten up. That indicated it was daytime. Still, at one rooftop, I stopped sprinting with something on my mind.
"This still doesn't feel right."
Jade turned to me. "I thought we agreed it was best to leave."
"Not that. I meant everything that's going on. The chancellor and the sheriff working together to kill my dad and frame me. How is that even possible? How do they even find each other?"
"There's no time for that." Jade said. "We need to leave as soon as possible."
The complete lack of answers enraged me. I stomped my foot down on the roof. "No! Not until you tell me what the heck is going on?"
"Are you nuts?" Jade asked. "Do you want to get killed?"
"I'd just like to know what all this is for! My dad died and everyone thinks I did it! I want to know why!"
Jade growled. "Fine!" she sighed. "Chancellor Daizo is part of a secret society called the Zhizhu Ling, or the Order of Spiders. And from what I just learned, they recruited Sheriff Brills too."
"The Order of Spiders?"
"Yes. They want absolute control over the whole world and the lives that live on it. They're using the war to do that."
I thought back at the dinner table, where Chancellor Daizo was talking about strict control over the population. I realized it certainly fit Jade's story. Still, I had another question on my mind.
"What about you? What's your stake in this?"
"If you have to know, I'm also part of a secret society. Except my brotherhood is working to bring freedom to the people. That's already more than you need to know. Now, can we get out of here please?"
I still had a million questions on my mind, but I realized that this was enough for now, so I was ready to continue leaving. That is, until something in the distant streets caught my eye.
"Hold on." I said stepping closer for a better look. But it was still too far.
"What is it?" Jade asked.
"Something's wrong." I said before going in the direction of what I was seeing. I could hear Jade groaning and complaining while she followed me.
As soon as I reached the right vantage point, I had a clear enough view of what was going on. There was a crowd of citizens surrounding a wooden platform covered with sticks and hay. There was a wooden pole at the center of the pile. Right next to the pile, I could see the chancellor, Karak, and Sheriff Brills standing side by side looking out at the crowd.
"It's a pyre." I said. "They're setting up for my execution."
"They won't have to kill you. Let's just go now before we are spotted." Jade said.
"Hold on. Something's not right." I said feeling uneasy. "They must know by now that I have already escaped. Why are they still setting it up?"
Jade understood my curiosity and stood beside me to see it. We watched as Chancellor Daizo stood to the crowd with a sorrowful expression on his face. Obviously fake.
"People of Azulon City," he announced, "Last night, we experienced a great personal loss. Your benevolent Governor Kuo has been… murdered." He stopped letting the crowd gasp and murmur among themselves. He raised his hand to silence the people.
"This truly is a sad set of circumstances. Earlier that night, the governor welcomed me into his home. He showed me great hospitality, so I will see this trial through. We believe we have apprehended the suspect, but first, we must go over the evidence. First, our witness."
The chancellor extended his hand and a woman walked on up to the platform. It was a pale woman with long, black hair and red, upper middle-class clothes.
"What is your name, ma'am?" the chancellor asked.
"Sheko Kin, your excellency." The woman introduced herself. I could tell by the look on her face that she didn't seem rattled at all. In fact, even from afar, I could detect a twinge of eagerness.
"And would you care to give your testimony?" the chancellor asked.
"I would." Sheko Kin replied. "Last night, I was spending the night with my friends. It was getting late, so I headed home. I passed by the palace along the way, and that's when I looked up and saw a hooded figure. Underneath the moonlight, I could tell who's cloak it belonged it. There was no mistaking that hood belonged to the Red Prowler. I saw him jump from one rooftop and gripped onto the window into the governor's chambers. I thought it was strange, so I went to the police."
A smile cracked in Daizo's face before turning to the sheriff. "Sheriff Brills, if you would?"
"Certainly." Brills said. "After Ms. Kin told us of her Red Prowler sighting, we headed to the palace. That's when we heard the governor's screams. We followed the yelling to his chambers and saw his stabbed body on the floor. And standing over him was the Red Prowler, aka… Arzon, his own son. We apprehended him on sight and confiscated his dagger and signature hood."
The crowd gasped and cried out in surprise. I gritted my teeth and wanted to run out and strangle the sheriff for his lies, but I knew it wouldn't do me any good. I just kept listening as Daizo took the stage again.
"And now, we will hear the prisoner's side of the story. Bring him out."
Much to my surprise, the guards dragged a body by his feet. He had a bag over his head, so I couldn't identify him. They tied his wrists to the stake. Brills grabbed the bag on the stranger's head and pulled it off. I widened my eyes and gasped when I recognized who it was.
It was Shuno, my friend who just helped me escape from prison. He had a bruise on the side of his face.
"Anything you'd like to say in your defense, 'Arzon'?" Brills asked confidently.
"No! I'm not Arzon! My name is Shuno!" my friend pleaded.
"And yet, you dined with me, Karak, and your father the other night." Daizo said.
"That wasn't me! I'm not Arzon!"
"If you're not Arzon, then where is he?" Brills asked.
Shuno's eyes shifted, but he stopped. I could tell he looked up to where I was and stared. He then lowered his head. "I… I don't know."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. The chancellor and the sheriff are convincing everything that Shuno is me and they were going to kill him.
"Normally, the decision would fall onto me," Chancellor Daizo said, "But a greater concern falls upon you all. You are without a governor. So before sentence is called out, I shall elect another one in the place of the late Kuo." He turned to the leader of the security. "Sheriff Brills. You have always had the backs of the governor and the safety of Azulon City as your priority. You've given everything to this great city, so as chancellor of the Fire Nation, I hereby promote you to governor."
I was utterly stunned as I finally realized what Brills got from all of this. He betrayed my father so he could take his place. The thought of the entire situation built up a rage within me. I gripped my hands and was about to lose it.
Jade must have figured out I was going to go in blindly, so she wrapped her arms around my shoulders to keep me in place.
"Stop! You can't go in there!"
"They're going to kill my friend!" I yelled.
"It won't do him any good!" Jade cried out. She pulled me away from the trial and stood in my way. "Listen, they already know that Shuno helped you escape! They're killing him in public to draw you out! If you go down there, they'll kill both you and your friend!"
"Then come with me!" I suggested. "You're clearly better skilled than I am!"
"I can't! I'll get killed to! Look, I'm highly underequipped to handle this! Thanks to the chancellor making Brills the new governor, the Knights' hold over this city just got a lot stronger! I'm sorry, but there's no way to save him!"
"But… But he helped save me." I choked up. "My friend, he's sacrificing his life for me."
Jade placed her hand on my shoulder to calm me down. I could see in her green eyes that she understood me. "Then honor his sacrifice. Don't let it be in vain. Live for your friend. Live for your father. Live because they would want you to."
I felt her words reach my heart. I took one last glimpse at the trial below when Brills took the stage.
"Without any evidence to the contrary, I find Arzon guilty and sentence him to death! Firebenders, at the ready!"
I watched in horror as six firebenders surrounded Shuno and the stake he was tied to. They raised their fists ready to blast. With a heavy heart, I turned away and continued going over the roofs the Jade. The last thing I heard were the flames exploding and my friend's final screams. Tears fell from my eyes as I ran and didn't look back.
Jade took me to the stables near the north gate. We managed to make off with a couple of horses and galloped out of the city.
"We'll have to go to the east." Jade said. "There's someone there who can give you all the answers better than I can. He might be the only one who can help you decide what to do next."
I listened to Jade, but I still had other things on my mind. My dad's corpse filled my brain first followed by my friend, Shuno, before his unfair burning. As my horse followed Jade, I turned my head to take one last look at my birth home.
"I will return, Azulon City. I will avenge my father and my friend, and I will see to it that everyone sees justice for what they've done. I promise."
