Assassin's Creed: Revolution

by LukaPumka

Takes place in the cold streets of Croatia, eventually moving across the entirety of Europe, a futuristic setting with a group of assassins at the main focus point. They experience love, loss, depression, death and everything in between! Read through their progression to finally stop the Templar revolution from happening all around Europe!

20. Next Target

The mutant started charging, followed by a monstrous roar coming from its mouth.

The beast tumbled past Andre and Luka, the two men taking advantage of its size to evade the forceful, lumbering attack. Missing its target, it took slow, heavy stomps as it halted, steadied itself and began turning around. Andre fired two quick shots into its head. It didn't even wince. He repeated this before doing the same to its kneecaps and chest, but the bullets didn't even seem to penetrate its skin. His eyes darted across the mutant's colossal form, searching for any sign of a weak spot, but the beast was already charging at two men again, its inhumane wail ringing in their ears. The charge was brutal and destructive, but when the beast rushed at them, their instincts kicked in as they both threw themselves to either side of the mutant, dodging the attack.

Andre and Luka stood up ready to fight, but they hesitated. Each of them glanced at the other occasionally with signs of hope in their expressions. They couldn't even share a sentence before the mutant ripped a large piece of concrete from the ground and hurled it straight at Luka.

"LUKA!" Andre was able to yell out before the boulder landed, but neither he nor Luka could do anything about it, so Luka put up a cross-arm block and took the boulder's force head-on.

He was flung back several metres and hit his back hard against a metal shelf holding warehouse boxes, not having the time to stand up properly before dropping to the floor. Due to the impact, several crates and pallets fell on top of Luka's body, burying him in a lying position. Andre looked back at the mutant with slight desperation in his eyes as he began moving backwards to avoid confrontation with the beast. It began to move towards him, completely disinterested in Luka's condition. Andre noticed this as the mutant charged towards him again. His head snapped back towards the creature as he barely avoided it in time.

"Luka?!" He yelled out in Luka's direction. He didn't get a response as he returned his gaze to the mutant. "Goddamn it."

As soon as Andre turned his head towards the creature it prepared another boulder to throw. Andre immediately ducked and rolled to the right as the boulder was smashed to pieces after hitting the ground, but a small part of the boulder managed to scrape Andre's leg, causing him to grunt in pain for a second before standing up. Disinterested in Andre's friend, the mutant slowly started closing in, stomping towards Andre. Andre took a few steps back, quickly looking for something to create distance between him and the mutant. Seeing a stack of crates, he quickly backs away behind it, but his cover is immediately destroyed as the mutant swings its gruelling arm, smashing the crates in one strike. Andre drew his gun before the behemoth could regain its posture, taking deadly aim, ready to plant a bullet in each of its eyeballs. His breathing was shallow, finger grazing the trigger, he took a moment to collect himself, firing the first shot. The loud bang echoed throughout the space, the beast lunging at Andre making the bullet hit its nose instead. Andre's body was thrown into the next set of crates, which collapsed under the force of the landing.

A painful yell escaped his mouth as he remained lying on top of the destroyed crates, barely able to move. Suddenly, a pallet broke against the back of the mutant's head. Luka stood a few metres behind it.

"I got more, Bane!"

He threw a massive box at the creature who was now facing him entirely, followed by another pallet and another box right after, all within a few moments. The creature slowly approached him without caring about the objects Luka threw at it, causing him to back up.

"DRE!" Luka shouted at Andre. "Give me a sign of life or something!"

Andre managed to stand upright, though his feet were shaky. He shouted back "I'M UP!"

The mutant was within range to swing at Luka with its massive arms, prompting him to be on guard. A tremendous swing was hurled in his direction, one that he managed to dodge with a wide sway. The creature followed up with several similar swings, each dodged by Luka swiftly, causing him to get into a steady rhythm. After missing a few times, it sped up its combinations, even throwing a few leg sweeps into the mix, but Luka's eyes glimmered with focus as he managed to avoid each swing in its entirety. It sped up again, attempting to catch Luka during the recovery time from the previous combination of swings, but the blows that he couldn't avoid completely he deflected with all of his strength, which was just enough to successfully parry them. He kept a steady pace for a while, knowing that he wouldn't be able to be hit in his current state.

"Use that big brain of yours and help me figure out how the fuck we can stop this thing!" Luka yelled in Andre's direction.

Andre frantically looked around his surroundings to find something that could help them. He yelled towards Luka "Keep it busy!"

Luka dodged another large and intimidating swing, patiently waiting for the next one. As soon as the mutant swung again, Luka used the arm as leverage to leap over it and land safely behind it, giving him some breathing room.

"Keep it busy, alright," Luka whispered to himself in a mocking tone before unsheathing both of his German maces and dashing towards the mutant.

It just barely managed to turn around in time as Luka jumped and swung at its ear with full force, hoping to disorient it, even slightly.

It did not stagger at all as it grabbed Luka and flung him as high as fifteen metres in the air. He landed on his back and performed a backwards roll to stand up again. Despite the damage he should have taken, he stood up almost immediately.

"Thank fuck for the amulet," He murmured to himself once more before dashing back in.

He slid under an arm swing and attempted to pummel the creature's knees, hoping to down it this time. The powerful swings he produced seemed like mosquito bites to the beast as the mutant recovered instantly and slammed Luka into the ground with both of its arms. He could only get a small yell out before being pounded into the ground and tossed into the same metal shelf he was thrown into at the start of the fight.

His body crumbled, but his mind remained sharp and strong as he focused all of his energy to recover as fast as possible. The amulet assisted greatly as Luka stood up within seconds. He cracked his neck and each of his knuckles before sighing and persistently dashing towards the beast one more time.

Meanwhile, Andre struggled to find anything worthwhile. He kept an eye out for sharp objects, liftable beams or anything large that they could at least slow the creature down with. He began losing hope as he rummaged through several stacks of boxes and shelves before looking behind a shelf he just wrecked. A beam of light from a window shone on top of a perfectly functional forklift which looked brand new. Andre's slightly open mouth turned into a smirk as he walked towards it.

Luka was once again thrown several metres back as he refused to back off. He exhausted nearly every idea from his brain, so he stood still for a while looking to fully recover.

"Dre!" Luka shouted to the left where Andre was. "Nothing works against this thing! Under-The-Ear, Kneecap Crush, Liver Blow, Solar Plexus Blow, Shoulder Bash...nothing is making it budge!"

"Well, if nothing works..." Andre shouted back at him as he slowly drove into the proximity of the fight in a forklift. Luka turned towards him. "Then we use the environment! KEEP IT STILL FOR ME!"

Luka smirked as he dashed to the side of the beast, guiding it towards him. Andre suddenly sped the forklift up, lifted the forks slightly and drove into the mutant as fast and hard as he could. The forks penetrated the creature's legs and protruded through them as the creature roared in pain and kneeled.

"Now or never, Luka!" Andre shouted at Luka, but he already unsheathed his billhook and stabbed the mutant several times in and around its head until it showed no signs of life.

Andre shut off the engine of the forklift and stepped out of it. He grunted as Luka sheathed his billhook and took a deep breath in.

"Are we sure it's dead?"

Andre took another look at the mutant's corpse with his hands on his hips. He looked back at Luka and nodded "It's dead."

Luka sighed out of relief. "We need to get out, are you alright?"

"I can walk, yeah, come," Andre began to walk outside, closely followed by Luka.

...

"Can you walk, Rafael?"

Rafael's eyes shot open, his body feeling heavier than stone as he tried sitting up. He looked around the interior of the space he woke up in, noticing that he was in some sort of large vehicle. A little girl, no older than ten, was fast asleep across from where he sat. His eyes widened as he looked at the girl's face and remembered portions of his capture. He gripped his forehead as he sat up and looked at the driver.

"Aleks?"

"It is me, comrade," Aleks slowed down and stopped at a red light, giving them time to chat for a minute. "Do you remember anything?"

Rafael shook his head, still feeling exhausted. "The little girl and I were captured in a warehouse...she's Matilde's kid."

"Good, you are somewhat awake, then," Aleks blazed through the streets as soon as he found an opportunity to. "Listen, we are on our way back to the sanctuary, but Luka and Andre are back at the warehouse fighting some mutant."

Rafael slowly crept up behind Aleks and leaned against the back of the front passenger seat.

"I remember, yes," He sighed after he spoke as he took a brief pause in between sentences. "I don't think I'm in fighting condition, Aleks."

"I did not expect you to be," Aleks' tone was calm and understanding. "I am driving you and the little one to the sanctuary before I make my way back."

"Right, that makes sense, how long until we're there?"

Aleks checked the screen attached to the truck's interior in front of him.

"Five minutes, sit back and gather your strength, you will need to get out as soon as possible."

"Right," Rafael stepped back and took a seat across from the little girl once more.

He closed his eyes and deeply inhaled, exhaustion and embarrassment running through his mind. The little girl turned to her side, still in a deep slumber. Rafael gazed at her as a switch clicked in his brain. He did not want any of this to happen. The amount of experience he has is tremendous, and yet he felt like it amounted to nothing. His mind flashed to an image of a fellow countryman, an assassin who was turned against the Creed via bribery. However, there was one thing left to do.

"The fragment, Aleks," He suddenly spoke.

Aleks turned his head to the side and looked at Rafael briefly. "The fragment you possess? What of it?"

"I haven't had it for a long time, but I've known of its location for even longer," Rafael suddenly stood up and calmly walked behind Aleks, seemingly less fatigued and more focused. "Help me get the little girl to her mother, and I'll tell you everything."

Aleks' eyes twitched as he drove past a tiny forest leading to the isolated sanctuary. He looked to the side to see Rafael's face staring right back at him.

"Of course, comrade."

Silence took over the small space before Rafael spoke intensely.

"That will be the final thing I do as an assassin."

The two men could not share the moment for long before their eyes widened in disbelief as they looked at the sanctuary. Aleks slowed down considerably, preparing to stop the truck. His face turned from surprise to anger in a moment. Both men remained silent until Aleks stopped the truck entirely, his movements fidgety. His shoulders and eyes twitched, almost like steam coming off of his shoulders. The air filled with intensity immediately. His expression remained furious as he took several deep breaths.

Tons of smoke crowded the air above the sanctuary, the tapestry on the walls burning to ashes fast. A few of the pillars were chipped or damaged. Nearly every window was broken and the main entrance was wide open, the doors nearly coming off of their hinges.

"What...who..." Rafael spoke with noticeable shock in his voice "The sanctuary..."

"Rafael, stay inside of the truck, guard the little girl," Aleks' voice was firm and direct. He unbuckled his seatbelt and grabbed the gadgets and pistols he left on the front passenger seat.

"What the hell are you planning?!"

Aleks reached behind him for his robes and the large bag he always carries around. "Just stay with the girl, try to get a hold of Andre or Luka, if I am not back within half an hour, presume I will not be coming back, do you understand?"

Rafael twitched his head as his eyes widened with focus and hope in them. "Yeah, I understand."

Aleks nodded before opening the doors and leaping out of the truck. He immediately emptied his bag and equipped the firearms that were stored within it. His assault rifle, shotgun and grenade launcher fit beautifully on his massive back beneath his robes. He hurried through the gates of the sanctuary but slowed down considerably once inside. A few bushes and trees remained alive in the front garden, making for a good cover. Aleks carefully snuck around the first bush and peeked at the front door. Nobody went in or out, so he waited a few extra seconds, just in case. After making sure nobody could see him, he scurried behind a tree that barely covered his huge physique. Another peek informed him of two unknown men exiting the sanctuary through the front doors, both pointing guns at Paul who was in front of them. They ordered Paul to turn towards them the second he touched the bottom of the stairs with his feet. During his descent, he looked just beyond the front gate and noticed a part of a massive truck conveniently parked beyond a few large trees. This prompted him to look around even further, but he needed to be quick. Aleks readied his assault rifle's sniper mode and crouched behind the tree, barely noticeable from the stairs. He flashed his laser sight perfectly at Paul's eye, giving him the signal that he was there, causing Paul to relax and casually stroll down to the bottom of the stairs, not even looking in Aleks' general direction. He slowly turned around and faced the two men holding their pistols at him, only for them to be immediately taken out by Aleks. Their bodies dropped down the stairs as Paul looked towards the tree Aleks was hiding behind. His face had pure desperation written on it, much to the contrast of his relaxed expression a moment ago.

"Aleks!" He carefully raised his voice, hoping not to alert anyone else "We don't have much time, get up here!"

Aleks carefully put his rifle away and rushed up to Paul who guided him up the stairs, both men hiding behind each side of the front door.

They began using sign language to communicate, each man holding a pistol in one hand.

"How many?" Aleks signed.

"None here, sneak to the kitchen," Paul signed back.

Aleks nodded and carefully walked through the door, avoiding any broken glass or damaged material on the floor that could cause any noise, Paul followed in the same way. Several bodies of the assassins residing at the sanctuary were scattered across the main hall's floor with trails of blood leading to the gym, the back garden and the kitchen. Aleks carefully walked up to a fallen assassin and crouched. The corpse's position indicated a struggle with bullet holes located on each of his legs and several of them on his chest. Aleks winced and shook his head before he closed the eyes of the assassin and whispered.

"Spoczywaj w pokoju." (Rest in peace.)

Paul grabbed his shoulder and patted it lightly before he began moving towards the kitchen hallway. Aleks nodded and stood as Paul slowly guided them forward. The hallway was noticeably smaller and thinner than the main hall, but it was stained with just as much blood. The duo passed by three bodies dispersed down the hallway, each killed differently. Paul paused to analyse the first one and pointed at the second one, to which Aleks nodded and began moving towards it. The victim Paul was looking at was a housemaid, dressed in traditional working clothes. He immediately noticed a family locket around her neck with pictures of her with her husband and a newborn. Behind the necklace holding the beautiful family portraits were large bruises around her neck, as well as dried tears running down her face and onto her neck. Paul wiped the tears away and closed her eyes before carefully putting the locket back in its original position. He noticed a wedding ring in the shape of a heart on her hand before he stood up. Aleks crouched and attempted to identify the body, immediately noticing the way that individual died. Their face was crushed and beaten down to tissue and bone, their clothes completely stained in blood. A droplet of blood dripped onto the person's hand which had a wedding ring in the shape of a heart on its ring finger.

Paul stood beside Aleks and grunted as he spoke lightly.

"Mr Sherwood, our accountant and repairman."

Aleks' eyes widened a small bit as he heard the name. "He was not supposed to be here, was he?"

"No, but he and his wife dropped by for some documents this morning, they ended up staying for tea."

"Do not tell me..." Aleks' sounded devastated as he looked to the left.

"Yup, that's his wife," Paul deeply sighed as he began moving down the hallway. Aleks turned his gaze towards him. "We'll give them proper burials."

Aleks stood up as Paul stopped moving.

"Paul?" Aleks' voice had a confusing tone.

Paul looked to the right and noticed the third body in the hallway was a woman with a single gunshot wound on her forehead. It was perfectly positioned next to a door leading to a spare bedroom. Paul opened the door slightly and peeked through enough to see the floor beside the large bed. He immediately slammed the door shut and looked at Aleks with an expression combining fury and depression at the same time. The loud sound of the door being closed echoed throughout the hallway, only followed by silence until Paul loudly sighed and began marching down the hallway once more, loudly announcing each step he took while his shoulders shook with anger. Aleks' eyes widened completely as his expression dropped. He carefully opened the door to the spare bedroom. The room was in good condition, apart from the floor being stained with a pool of blood with a large cloth floating in it, only a tiny, lifeless hand sticking out of it. Aleks stood still for a few seconds with a dead expression on his face before carefully closing the door. His face turned pale as a tear slowly fell down his face. He let it drop across his cheek before looking down the hallway, his eyes locking with each of the bodies. Aleks crouched and closed the eyes of the woman beside the door before he sighed, wiped the tear off of his face and stood back up, determined to follow Paul to the kitchen.

...

The two men stepped out of the warehouse, patiently assessing their condition before moving forward. Andre moved sort of slower than usual, which Luka caught almost immediately. His leg seemed shaky, even if it was barely noticeable.

Luka turned towards Andre and looked down for only a moment.

"You busted your leg, Dre."

Andre let out an intense breath from his nose as he stopped walking forward.

"I can walk."

"I know you can," Luka immediately replied.

"Then shut up,"

"I'm just saying, you need that checked when we return."

"Hmph," a grunt escaped Andre's mouth, seemingly ending the exchange.

Luka let out a slight sigh as he grasped his phone and began looking through his contacts while facing away from the warehouse.

Andre turned around, carefully closed what was left of the massive door and sealed it shut using a nearby steel beam. He winced ever so slightly and dusted himself off as he finished and turned towards Luka.

"Who are you calling?"

Luka turned towards him for a moment as he put his phone to his ear. "Aleks," he replied immediately as he gazed around the warehouse grounds, patiently waiting for an answer.

*Aleksander Gorski, please leave a message after the audio.*

"Well, that didn't work," Luka hung up after a lighthearted remark. He quickly dialled another number.

"He didn't pick up?"

"I know, right?"

"Who's it now?"

"Harris," Luka replied.

After several long moments, Luka began to pace away from the warehouse, the loud beeps of the phone ringing matching his heavy footsteps every few seconds. He stopped moving after a while and looked around profusely, even inspecting his hand whilst he waited for Harris to pick up or the voicemail to reply.

*This is Matthews, you know what to do.*

Luka lowered the phone away from his ear but kept holding it.

"Strange."

"Harris too?" Andre's arms were crossed as he bluntly asked.

"Harris too," Luka seemed confused more than anything, his tone lowered and his head naturally shook from side to side as his expression kept changing lightly.

Andre looked down for a moment before lifting his head.

"Try White."

"Which one?"

"Whichever one's more likely to answer."

Luka thought about it for a moment before dialling a number.

*It's Kane White. Leave a message after the beep.*

At this point, Luka's expression tensed up as he was noticeably concerned "Something has to be off, you know that Aleks always answers, let alone Harris and Kane."

Andre grunted in response, confirming Luka's sentence. He remained silent for a few moments "Try calling someone who isn't there."

Luka looked to the side before returning his gaze towards Andre "Like Scott?"

Andre firmly nodded as Luka scrolled through his contacts again.

Scott blazed through the streets, not caring about the speed limit or traffic rules. He overtook multiple cars before noticing a red light a little down the road. A desperate sigh escaped his mouth, signifying he had to stop at that moment.

"Just as it was getting good, man..."

The earpiece inside of his helmet suddenly rang. He picked up nearly immediately without bothering to look at who was calling.

"Hello?" A cheerful greeting escaped his mouth.

"Hey, Scott, you alright?" Luka took a casual approach as he heard some loud noises on the other end. "Are you stuck in traffic?"

"Nah, just stopped at a red light, oop-" He suddenly took off as the light turned yellow, reaching the speed he drove at earlier within moments. "Why, what's up?"

"Dre and I are stuck at an abandoned warehouse," Luka looked at Andre who patiently stood still. "Long story short, Aleks took the truck we used to get here to drive back to the sanctuary. He said he'd come back for us, but he isn't answering his phone, along with Harris or Kane."

"Well, that's odd," Scott remarked with a puzzled tone. "I'm just driving to the sanctuary now, I'd come pick you two up, but..."

"You're on your bike, aren't you?"

"Yeah, unfortunately," Scott took a few sharp turns and made it to a long, empty road driving alongside a forest. "Tell you what, I can phone a mate of mine to come to pick you guys up, he can drop you off at the sanctuary."

"Do we know this friend of yours?"

"He's a bartender at the Arms, an old schoolmate of mine, he was there when Matilde barged into his pub," Scott paused for a moment as he made sure not to miss the exit he needed to take to get to the sanctuary. He drove through a lengthy cornfield, the path he took barely fit enough for a car. "His name's Thomas."

"If you could send him over, that'd be grand," Luka sounded relieved but still a little tense.

"Abandoned warehouse, you said? The one where tons of construction crew go to nowadays?"

"That's the one."

"Alright, I'll forward his number to you after I phone him in a second, I'll text you details, yeah?" Scott was nearly halfway through the cornfield when he noticed a strange puff of smoke way off in the distance. His eyebrows raised, his expression looking a bit puzzled, but he thought nothing of it.

"Sweet, thanks, lad."

"Anytime, brother," Scott hung up as he revved the engine of his bike and sped up.

"Well?" Andre waited for an answer as Luka put his phone away.

"Scott will call a friend to come to pick us up, he is on his way to the sanctuary already, but he's on his bike."

Andre released a small grunt. "We should know what's happening soon enough, then. Come, let's wait near the gate."

Luka nodded as the men approached the gate.

They walked past the bushes that they tossed the body into earlier. Andre slowed down, stopping a few metres outside the gate.

"You wanna kill some time?"

This got Luka's attention. He stretched before answering with curiosity. "How so, Dre?"

"Richardson."

"What about him?"

Luka paused.

"...or her?"

"Him," Andre paused as well. "What's the deal with him?"

"What do you mean?" Luka sincerely questioned, awaiting a response.

"Did she ever talk to you about what happened between them?" Andre cut Luka off before gazing through him.

Luka stood still in silence for a few moments. Andre patiently waited for his reply, which eventually arrived.

"I'm just as informed as you are, Dre."

Luka crossed his arms and shrugged his shoulder lightly while tilting his head to the side. "I know he got to work in the Creed before she did. Unjustly, as well."

"Mm," Andre grunted in response. "You think he's fine now?"

"Seems like it, yeah," Luka nodded a few times.

Andre stood silent for a while.

"Dre?"

"I've judged plenty of characters in my life. Richardson...there's something off about him."

Andre began pacing around in a small area. Luka's eyes followed him.

"You know I trust your judgement," Luka's tone turned more serious. "Do you know exactly what's bothering you?"

Andre sighed loudly "No, and that's the problem," He paused and turned towards Luka. "Keep an eye on him, would you?"

Luka nodded slowly. "Sure. Anything specific I should look out for?"

Andre shook his head before turning around again.

"Just my gut telling me he might not be too loyal..."

"Let's hope you're wrong, for everyone's sake." Luka nodded once more as he sighed loudly as well. He checked his wristwatch. "Thomas should be here any minute now."

As Luka finished uttering those words, an SUV began pulling up to the warehouse entrance from the same direction the Assassins came from.

Andre nodded with a light grunt. "Good, didn't make us wait."

...

Heavy footsteps echoed throughout the long, dragged-out hallways of the sanctuary. The heaviness of the steps indicated the presence of a large man, for sure, but the smaller Assassin stomped the ground harder with each fast step he took.

Aleks kept up with Paul's sped-up trot, but they remained silent for a while. Both men were smart enough not to engage in a conversation whilst under the influence of the heavy emotions they felt.

Distant noises became louder and louder alongside the sounds of their footsteps. They approached the area connected by the hallway, a known route they took every day to make it to the kitchen.

"Keep on guard," Paul suddenly spoke.

Aleks acknowledged his sentence with a nod and a quick reply. "Yeah."

Paul gripped the handgun positioned on his right hip whilst keeping his left hand free. Aleks smoothly pulled out his compact shotgun and carried it alongside his body.

The somewhat distant kitchen doors suddenly burst open, followed by a scream from the man who was thrown through the door. His back hit the opposite side of the hallway wall as his body slid to the floor. Both men stopped moving for a moment as they processed the situation in front of them. Paul only stood for a second or two before cautiously stepping forward. He loosely placed his pistol in a position to grip it with both hands as he took a deep breath. Aleks also put up his shotgun. The noises became more apparent as they stepped within a few metres of the doors, almost as if metal and wood banged together loudly. A massive crash erupted throughout the kitchen and the hallway as another body was tossed through the entrance, but this time a figure stepped out holding yet another man by his neck high in the air. The sleek robes complimented the height and strength of the figure, making it that much more intimidating as it stepped into the unlit hallway. As it turned its head towards the Assassins, a slightly shorter individual also emerged from the kitchen, stepping over some of the unconscious bodies on the floor. The bigger man chuckled as he knocked out the man he was choking with a strong elbow before tossing him forward.

The two British Assassins took their hoods off and revealed themselves.

Hugh spoke as Kane crouched and attempted to identify the men they had just taken out.

"What the hell took you guys so long?"

"Are you two alright?" Kane directed a question at them as he looked at them for a second before turning his head downwards.

"Mostly, comrades," Aleks audibly exhaled. "It is a great relief to see you both safe and well."

"Well, whoever organised this attack made sure not to bring in too many reinforcements," Hugh smiled brightly as he put his hands on his hips. "They're either underestimating us or remaining cautious."

"To put it bluntly," Kane chimed in as his voice echoed throughout the hallway. "These men are not that good."

"Can't say the same," Paul honestly remarked as he relaxed his stance and put his gun away. "Two lads tried to apprehend me, but luckily Aleks was nearby."

Aleks nodded as he continued Paul's statement. "Whoever they are, at least they have a clear goal in mind."

Hugh nodded once more, his expression tensing up. "For sure, these men certainly have their convictions straight, they jumped us nearly immediately."

Kane seemed to have finished inspecting a body as he stood up. "These men got nothing on them."

Hugh turned around. "Nothing?

"Nothing," Kane shrugged his shoulders.

Paul's face suddenly jolted backwards as he remembered. "Oh, right..." He paused for a moment before speaking, gathering the Assassins' attention. "Hugh, Kane, Mr Sherwood..."

Hugh's neutral expression suddenly dropped, matching Kane's shocked look as they both realised something was off.

"Don't tell me, Paul..." Kane spoke. "He didn't leave in time before the damn attack?"

Paul simply nodded twice before replying after moments of silence.

"No, their bodies are near the start of the hallway."

Kane exhaled through his nose before looking up towards the ceiling.

"Their, huh?" Hugh's voice was more gruff than usual. "His wife too?"

Paul nodded twice again as he began walking into the kitchen, attempting to end the conversation there. Hugh's eyes followed him, but he didn't say anything until Paul was out of earshot. He spoke softly this time.

"Was there a baby, Aleks?"

Aleks shuffled in place for a moment before answering with shakiness in his voice.

"Yes, alongside another woman."

Hugh nodded once as he turned towards the nearest wall and punched it as hard as he could. The noise echoed throughout the hall and the impact shook the ceiling lights heavily for a few moments, one of them even dropping to the floor, breaking into a million pieces.

Kane scoffed as he turned towards Hugh. "You idiot, did you break your damn fist?"

Hugh carefully removed his hand from the wall but kept it raised on the same level, revealing several streams of blood pouring out of it. His fist stood still for a few seconds before he moved his shoulder ever so slightly forward, prompting Kane to immediately dash towards him and grab his wrist, holding it down with all the strength that he had.

"Relax. Your damn. Hand." Kane gripped Hugh's fist until it fully relaxed. "It's bad enough you broke it, but you want to cause permanent damage to it now?"

"Relax, it's not my jabbing hand."

"It is your right, however," Kane looked at Aleks and gestured with his head for him to approach. Aleks reached into one of his many coat pockets and pulled out a roll of bandages. Kane carefully wrapped his big brother's fist up as neatly as he could, preventing any further bleeding from occurring. "We both know your ass ain't a southpaw."

"I hate when you're right," Hugh deeply sighed as he lowered his fist, reached into his pocket and pulled out a handy thick glove that fit perfectly on his right hand. "Luka is ambidextrous, but I was not blessed with that luck."

"Well, you know that both juniors are more talented than us, in many different ways," Kane let out a chuckle.

"True, but what I didn't know is your goddamn grip is intense," Hugh grasped his right wrist with his left hand and rubbed it gently, causing Kane to enter a small laughing fit. "You been using a grip strengthener or what?"

"Amongst other things," Kane patted Hugh's shoulder as he began walking towards Paul who was inspecting the kitchen.

Paul looked all around the room like he was looking for something specific. His head turned in all directions, his shoulders still slightly shaking each time he moved across the room. Kane was the first to walk in and notice this. Paul turned towards him for a moment before going back to looking around the room.

"Hugh broke his fist?" Paul spoke curiously, but somewhat sarcastically.

Kane paused for a split second but replied right away, not showing surprise in his voice or mannerisms.

"His right."

Paul audibly winced. "That's a rough one."

Kane slightly smiled as he tried to determine what Paul was doing. "He'll be fine in a couple of weeks, but what the hell are you doing?"

Paul looked at him for a second again before inspecting the room once more. "Thinking, I guess."

"About?" Kane crossed his arms.

"How to infiltrate Harris' office," Paul replied immediately.

"You mean, besides storming the entrance?" Hugh chuckled as he chimed in with Aleks following closely behind him.

Paul turned towards him and relaxed his stance. He spoke eloquently with a bit of a snarky tone.

"Well, I'd prefer if we didn't have to."

Hugh threw his hands up. "I must be a shit Assassin, then."

"Not what I said-"

"Of course, it ain't, but you still meant it, Paul," Hugh sincerely smiled as he teased Paul before waving his unwrapped hand towards him. "Now, use that big brain of yours and figure out a way in for us."

Paul exhaled briefly before speaking up. "Harris has no secret entrances in his office, so we're a bit out of luck there."

The Assassins began marching deeper into the kitchen, moving towards the hallways leading to the rest of the sanctuary.

Paul, still analysing the room, took a position in front of the others as the conversation continued. Aleks and Hugh walked side by side as they spoke whilst Kane lagged behind a small bit.

Aleks jumped into the conversation. "However, he did have one in Paris, no?"

"And look what happened to the place," Hugh replied in a serious tone. "He has plenty of valuables but chose to store none in the obvious place this time."

Kane's eyes briefly widened as sudden realisation kicked in. He deeply exhaled and stared up at the ceiling.

"Son of a bitch!" A sudden yell escaped his mouth and grabbed everyone's attention.

Paul turned around as he fully stopped while Hugh and Aleks simply turned to the side and looked behind at Kane. The room filled with silence as they patiently waited for a response.

Kane's head dropped from looking up at the ceiling, his expression menacing, showing his anger and worry all at once.

"Where the hell is Ashley?"

He suddenly heard static in his ear, followed by a faint voice he could barely decipher.

...

A frightened mother hid her expression behind her small, powerless hands as she cowered in the corner of the dark, cold and empty interrogation room. She felt a tiny bit safe behind the locked and barricaded door, the interrogation table and chairs suiting solid enough to keep the room isolated from the hallway. All she could hear were muffled sounds of struggle pouring from the hallway, fearing for the worst.

Despite the predicament Ashley found herself in, she towered over two hulking brutes that she just laid on the floor. Armed with nothing but her tiny yet deadly hidden blade crossbow and her determination to make it out alive, she flooded the small portion of the hallway with unconscious bodies, each one falling quicker than the last. Her eyes were bright and terrifying at the same time, displaying a desperate struggle to keep going, yet a clear indication of motivation and hope. Ashley quickly exhaled and shook her head slightly, almost as if she was coming to her senses. She began to turn around and make her way back towards the interrogation room, but a man suddenly appeared a few metres behind her, seemingly armed. The cold and intensely quick way she turned around and fired a bolt into each of the man's knees could not be replicated. He collapsed immediately without being able to react as she calmly walked up to his whimpering body. She looked down at his face for a moment and patiently waited for him to look up at her. Once that moment came, the man's head shook violently with fear as the terrifying image of a lean but greatly powerful Assassin towering over him was the last memory he would have before prison or death. She felt proud of herself for once, not being able to contain her emotions for a moment. A few tears rolled down her face before she audibly laughed, filling the quiet hallway with her satisfying chuckles before she snapped out of it and truly made her way to the interrogation room. She calmly knocked four times on the door, the first three times being done in quick succession, then the last one with a brief delay. This caused Matilde's eyes to burst open from her fearful face as she immediately rose to her feet, pushing the table and chairs out of the way with all her might. She quickly unlocked the door, still shaking from the encounter. As soon as the door swung open towards her, she was met with a bright and positive smile from Ashley, who could not have been happier at that moment.

"You okay, love?" Her voice was soft and gentle and Matilde could only nod in reply. Ashley continued "Good, come with me now, nobody should bother us from this point on."

Ashley gently grabbed Matilde's hand and began guiding her out of the basement area. It took them no more than two minutes to find an elevator, but Ashley stopped in front of it. She grasped her earpiece and tried to communicate through it.

"Can anyone hear me?"

Silence with occasional static sounded off in her ear.

"This is Ashley, can anyone hear me?"

A familiar voice came through on the other end.

"I can't understand shit out of this broken-ass earpiece but I'm hoping I'm speaking to Ashley right now."

Her eyes lit up as she genuinely smiled.

"Kane!"

"Ashley?" Kane sounded confused but relieved. "Thank God, where the hell are you?"

"I'm just down in the basement with Matilde, we're making our way up with the elevator."

Kane gripped his chest followed by a sigh of relief. "Good, we can wait for you on the second floor. We'll make our way there now," Kane gestured to the rest of the Assassins in the room with him who immediately started making their way towards the nearest elevator. Paul took charge and sprinted out of the kitchen, but he cautiously checked each area before he entered it. Hugh, Aleks and Kane followed closely behind.

"Are you two alright?"

"Yeah, but..." Ashley paused for a moment as she turned towards the hallway that she and Matilde had just come from. "Can't say the same about the goons that jumped us."

"Injuries?" Kane immediately questioned.

"We're fine, Kane," Ashley softly reassured him.

Kane sighed once more, readjusting his breathing from the sudden movement. "Take the elevator, we're nearly there."

"Okay, speak soon!"

Kane let out a *hmph* sound from his mouth as confirmation.

Aleks chuckled mid-sprint and turned towards Kane for a moment.

"That was very much an Andre reply!" He remarked with a smile.

Kane couldn't help but laugh along as he passed by him and patted his back.

Hugh unexpectedly raised his voice. "Wait, Dre!" Aleks seemed confused at first, but Hugh quickly continued, "Call Dre and Luka! They're still out of the loop!"

Aleks quickly replied with a determined expression. "Rafael is still in the truck we used to get here, I told him to try and contact them!"

"That works, good work, Aleks!" Hugh nodded without his usual positive expression.

Aleks simply waved towards him and nodded in response.

Paul managed to finally traverse every hallway and room in between the kitchen and the elevator without alerting anyone or seeing anything suspicious.

"Careful now, this is a bit of an open area, spread out," he quickly instructed. He looked at Kane and Hugh and spoke again. "Kane, Hugh, by the elevator. Aleks and I will keep guard."

The White brothers nodded in unison as they approached the elevator casually. Hugh looked all around them, including the massive staircase leading up to floors above. His eyes darted across the stair railing as he noticed something shining under the cover of darkness. It only took a split second for Hugh's instincts to kick in as he shoved Kane out of the way behind a pillar before ducking himself.

"SNIPER!"

A gunshot went off, barely grazing Hugh's right cheek. He was able to roll his head out of the way just in time before he dove towards Kane in an instant. Paul and Aleks returned fire, but the shooter fled immediately. A single line of blood streamed down Hugh's cheek which he wiped off right away. "Everyone okay?!"

"We're good!" Paul quickly replied, still keeping an eye on the top of the staircase.

"The shooter is gone, comrades, and the elevator is here!"

Amongst the commotion, the Assassins didn't hear the elevator doors opening, they simply saw Ashley standing firmly in front of Matilde, who still cowered behind Ashley's robes.

"The shooter?" Ashley questioned in a firm tone as she looked over at Hugh and Kane. They gave a comedic wave to her before she raised her voice. "May I ask why your right fist is bandaged?"

Hugh looked at his fist and then back at Ashley.

"Oh, this?"

He paused for a long time as he chuckled.

"I punched a wall."

Ashley sighed out of disappointment.

"Jesus Christ, Hugh, this isn't America. We don't have drywalls!"

"I noticed and felt it," Hugh replied with a smile on his face. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, but Matilde is too shaken to remain here," Ashley looked at Matilde who was now holding onto her clothes like a child. "Someone needs to escort her out."

Kane suddenly spoke up as he looked at Hugh. "I have a candidate."

Hugh's expression dropped, along with his posture.

"Motherfucker."

He began walking towards Matilde.

"But this time I ain't against that idea."

"Hugh," Aleks shouted Hugh's name as he looked at him. "Take her to the truck, Rafael is there, along with her daughter. She will be safe there."

Hugh nodded as Matilde began tearing up once more. "Understood. Come on, Lady."

He calmly grabbed Matilde who was barely standing on her feet, scooped her up and began carrying her out of the sanctuary. As Hugh walked past Ashley, she noticed his cheek was still bleeding.

"Your cheek's bleeding, Hugh, take care of that!" Ashley yelled at Hugh as he walked out. He gave her a thumbs-up and continued moving. She turned towards the Assassins after watching Hugh safely carry Matilde outside. "Now, the shooter?"

Paul began moving towards Ashley, who was near the location where Hugh got shot. He spoke.

"Not a sniper, if I were a betting man, it was a Deagle."

"How could you tell, Paul?" Ashley questioned.

Paul crouched as he walked past Ashley and began looking for the bullet.

"The shot made too much of a widespread boom noise to be a sniper, and the bullet left a pretty nasty mark on Hugh's face, despite only grazing him," Paul located a wide and hefty AE bullet, but he had a puzzled expression on his face as he showed it to the rest of the group. "It's an AE, so it was most likely a Deagle, definitely a handgun."

Aleks walked up to Paul and inspected the bullet himself as he gave a bit more context. "If it had been a sniper, Hugh's wound would be a lot cleaner depending on how far away the bullet was to his cheek."

Aleks gave the bullet back to Paul, who carefully looked at some of the engravings on the bullet. He began reading the text.

"Mikhailov Industries, Saint Petersburg," he let out a large sigh as the air around the room tensed up. "Well, I guess now we know who to blame for this."

"Mikhailov produces ammunition?" Ashley curiously asked.

Kane chimed in from behind her as he crossed his arms. "He always has, alongside weaponry, gunpowder, all of that crap."

Paul suddenly began shaking with anger. He threw the bullet to the side of the room violently before he started to yell.

"You lads do realise that if Mikhailov is here, I am personally blowing his brains out?!"

"Paul..." Kane immediately spoke, trying to calm him down.

"He killed Sherwood and his wife, and every Assassin who's ever operated here besides us!"

"Paul, we have no clue if he is even here..." Kane attempted to de-escalate the situation as he approached Paul with his hands slightly raised. "This isn't Roth we're talking about, Mikhailov is reasonable when it comes to people's lives most of the time."

"How could you even say that shit?!" Paul yelled out as he pointed his finger at Kane, getting dangerously close to him. "You know what he's done, what the fuck else is he going to do? He already destroyed the Parisian sanctuary!"

"You know that was Giovanni, Paul," Kane spoke with a relaxed tone, taking a completely passive approach. "Don't let your bias cloud your judgement while the mission is still active, lad, you're smarter than that."

Aleks suddenly raised his voice. "Kane is right, comrade. Let us try to focus on the mission at hand. We know how you feel, those were our brothers and sisters as well."

Paul took a few deep breaths as he was still facing off with Kane, who hadn't moved an inch. Kane grabbed his shoulder tightly as he nodded towards him. Paul grabbed Kane's wrist while he was holding onto him for a few moments before the men separated. Paul turned towards Ashley for a moment, who signed 'Much love' to him. He smiled and nodded at her.

"Now," Kane began speaking before he nodded his head towards the staircase. "Harris' office is up the stairs. We briefly discussed how to approach..." He began pacing around the room.

"Any ideas?"

A thick British accent suddenly filled the large corridor, with heavy footsteps following it. A familiar face with a familiar voice appeared before the Assassins.

"How about we just talk right here, White?"

Aleks, Paul and Ashley all suddenly pointed their available weapons at the top of the staircase which Kane turned his back towards. Kane looked confused as he slowly turned around.

Harrison stood at the top of the staircase with his hands slightly raised. His expression was dull and he seemed disinterested.

Right beside him pointing a gun at his ribs was a very large and intimidating man. He made eye contact with Ashley and Paul as he revealed his voice for the first time.

"Sorry about the fight a few days back, Jack and Manuel send their regards," his voice, down to the accent, deepness and thickness, was incredibly similar to his comrade who appeared right alongside him.

Kane genuinely smirked as he relaxed his stance and fully turned towards his rival. He crossed his arms and spoke firmly and audibly.

"Look who's come around to fuck with us once more..."

He looked at each man as he spoke their names confidently.

"Steve Riley and Bruce..."

Bruce suddenly deepened his voice before he spoke.

"Riley."

"Brothers?" Kane immediately replied with curiosity, still maintaining a bright smile on his face.

"Cousins, Kane, cousins," Steve's energetic aura clashed with Kane's as the two men stared each other down.

They were incredibly similar for various reasons, the main one being that each of them had too much energy to spare at times.

"Why don't you come down and have a talk like lads should, Riley?" Kane put forward a tempting suggestion. His expression remained the same until he noticed a figure lurking in the shadows amongst some of the beams supporting the walls close to the ceiling. He smirked once more after he finished quickly observing the figure. As of that moment, it seemed like he was the only one to notice it.

"I do have some shit to get off my chest, Kane," it seemed like Riley was genuine in his response. He quickly glanced towards a high-up window near the ceiling before continuing. "Truth is, we don't have a reason to hurt anyone in here anymore, let alone argue."

Paul scoffed at this remark, but Kane gazed through him for a moment, quietly telling him to back off. Paul yielded to the stare and remained silent as Kane kept talking.

"What about all the men and women killed here today? Are you admitting to killing them?"

"Far from it, mate. In fact..." Riley paused for a moment, looked at Bruce and nodded downwards. Bruce nodded and took a few steps back towards the darkness, but he kept the trigger pointed at Harrison the entire time. After a moment or two, Bruce stepped forward once more and tossed a body down the staircase until it landed at Kane's feet. A Desert Eagle fell out of the body's jacket. Kane quickly inspected the body before speaking.

"This is the shooter, then?"

"It's only one body we are presenting to you, but we are trying to get you to trust us, Kane!" Riley spoke intensely and passionately. The figure lurking around the ceiling got slightly closer to the scenario. "This was all Roth's idea...Mikhailov simply provided us with the weapons as he usually does. We've been forced to carry this mission out, but we are choosing to use it to our advantage!"

Kane patiently kept an eye on the whole situation from below and let Riley continue after a few seconds of silence. He noticed the figure approaching even closer than before.

"Go on, Riley, don't let me stop you!" Kane shouted towards him in a positive tone.

"The truth is...we are DONE WITH THE TEMPLARS!" Riley's powerful voice echoed throughout the space after a slight sign of hesitation from him. Despite the enormous message he just put out, Riley immediately shouted at Bruce this time.

"BRUCE, TO YOUR LEFT!"

Bruce's eyes widened as he removed the gun from Harrison's ribs, huddled his massive arms together and attempted to intercept the attacker dropping from above with his whole body. The figure dropped at great speed, hoping to catch Bruce off guard in the places where he couldn't defend himself in time. Bruce was still in a relatively awkward position, but he showed no signs of hesitation as the exchange was about to occur.

However, this time it was Harrison who broke his silence and yelled out.

"SCOTT, STOP!"

This powerful yell was enough to cause the falling Assassin to shift his attack at the last minute, causing him to simply land on the ground beside Bruce incredibly hard. He tumbled several times before sliding right into the sturdy stair railing, nearly breaking it.

A groan escaped Scott's mouth as he took his hood off. Seemingly he was fine, seeing as how he stood up almost right away.

"Harris, what the fuck, man?"

"If you were paying attention at all, these lads want and need to be heard," Harrison's voice was rough and intimidating, but thoughtful at the same time. He nodded towards the Riley cousins, giving them a chance to speak. Steve and Bruce stood side by side as Bruce relaxed his tensed-up body from the breathtaking exchange that almost occurred. Steve spoke clearly.

"We're no longer with the Templars, alright? We're simply here to tell you about their plans, in exchange for some peace."

The room filled with complete silence, prompting Steve to continue.

"The Templars are planning something huge. Just like Rome with the Pantheon, the Parisian sanctuary and now this in London...plus the Templars swarming Belgium, Poland, Spain and Portugal, damn near every important Assassin is begin targetted right now."

The uncomfortable silence was brief but very strong, suffocating the whole room despite its size.

A massive eruption suddenly broke the tension completely. The large doors leading out of the room across the staircase suddenly burst open as two rugged Assassins stepped through them.

"Sorry to barge in, lads, but let me guess..."

Everyone's attention was directed at the two men who just burst through the door. A strongly familiar voice filled the empty room.

Luka stepped deeper into the room, leaving Andre near the doorway. He was confident and garnered the attention he needed immediately.

His naturally positive expression could not be seen in that moment. He firmly stood his ground, deeply exhaled and crossed his arms, revealing his torn and bloody robes from the encounter with the mutant. The amulet around his neck shone brightly throughout his entrance.

"Croatia's next?"

...