… … … … …
Eden, Tel Megiddo, Israel
Present Day
Sam's body was ejected from the roots of the tree, and he hit the ground with a forceful thud.
He screamed.
"The Prophecy… is complete…" said Sam. Rolling over onto his back, he grunted, looked up at the Tree, and said, "Rest in peace, Fisher… You played your part well… You have my thanks."
Limping over to the screens that showed Sarah and the others, Sam pressed his hand to the screen as Sarah herself reached out instinctively.
"Three days… You will see Sarah again."
Then he looked at the words Sam wrote with his blood on the floor.
"'Shoot the monkey'?" said Yahweh. "I see… It looks like I have one last message to deliver, though… before this vessel reaches its limits…"
The White House, Washington, DC/ The Kremlin, Moscow, Russia/ The Great Hall of the People, Beijing, China/ Lucas's Private Island, Near Peru, The South Pacific/ Eden, Tel Megiddo, Israel
Sarah reached out with her hand to some strange aura nearby.
The implications of it terrified her.
"Grim, I think my dad's dying! Is Kobin on the way to Megiddo!"
"I'm keeping in contact with him… He and the Assassins are just a klick away from Eden."
"Tell them to hurry!" Sarah screamed.
Sarah looked around at the Golden Path.
They looked at Sarah with solemn expressions on their faces.
"Kobin," said Grim, "what's it look like down there?"
"Like a fucking Red Mercury bomb went off or something…" said Kobin. "I'm positive he triggered the roots of the Tree… They along with a network of several other locations hold the Earth's crust together… I heard another one of them was triggered in Lisbon, three or so centuries ago… Yahweh must've wanted him to destroy the Tree so Lucas couldn't get his hands on it!"
"Do you see Sam down there!"
"I don't," said Kobin. "It's just fire and burning sand everywhere!"
"That's a shame…" Shaun muttered. "I was hoping to see Eden in one piece."
Rebecca, who was piloting the plane, said, "This place is dangerous, we may have no choice but to turn the helicopter around!"
Sarah covered her mouth.
"Sarah, what's going on?" said Charlie over comms.
Briggs looked at Charlie, then Grim, then the bomb, then President Treskayev and the DedSec members.
"Sam did it!" said Darcy.
"Yeah," said Briggs, looking back at the bomb. "That's what I'm worried about…"
Charlie said, "Sarah, is Sam alive?" Upset, he said as his voice broke, "Damn it, why isn't Sam responding!" He looked at the other Assassins. They just stared at him in silence.
Rebecca said, "I'm sorry, I think he's gone… I'm turning the chopper around!"
"WAIT, DON'T!" yelled Kobin. "I see him down there!"
Walking through burning sand, Sam walked out of the secret entrance to Eden before an explosion behind him threw him face first into the sand.
Just like that, Eden returned to dust.
"SAM!" screamed Kobin.
Looking to Rebecca and Shaun, he said, "Lower the chopper near there, I'll fast rope down."
"What? But you'll die—"
"I DON'T GIVE A FUCK! DO AS I SAY!" screamed Kobin. "I ruined this man's life… took his daughter from him for years! It'll only make sense if I let them see each other again one last time."
"All right," said Shaun. "Becs, do as he says."
Sam rolled onto his back one more time, and looked up at the sun through the burning maelstrom of sand as he could faintly hear the sound of the helicopter.
Sarah looked at Kobin's OPSAT as he fast-roped off the chopper, and gasped, taking her hand off her mouth as she saw him lift up Sam's body.
"Is my dad alive, Kobin?" said Sarah over comms.
"ARRGH, FUCK!" Kobin screamed as he nearly dropped Sam's body. "He's… hot!"
"IS MY DAD ALIVE?"
"He's…" Kobin looked at Sam, and Sam gasped for air, coughing out more smoke and blood.
"Michael…"
"He's alive…"
Grim, Briggs, Charlie, and Sarah's faces lit up on their OPSATs.
"…but he doesn't have a lot of time left to live."
Sarah looked down, and nodded.
"If you want to see him again, come to the Assassin safe house near Megiddo… and fast. We're taking him there."
"I'm on my way," said Sarah as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "Ajay, we need to get to Tel Megiddo, now."
"I understand," said Ajay. "Marie's circling around with the chopper."
Sarah ran with the others to the helipad of Lucas's private island to get in Marie's chopper.
As Sarah got in the passenger seat of the cockpit, Sarah saw that Marie was throwing up.
"Marie, are you okay?"
"I'm fine…" said Marie as she wiped her mouth. "Just altitude sickness, I think."
Sarah nodded, looked down at Marie's stomach briefly, and she understood.
President Caldwell said to Grim, "We need to discuss next steps about what to do regarding the fallout of Lucas's attacks, the leaks, and reinstating your team, Grim."
"That'll have to wait, Patricia," said Grim.
"What?" said President Caldwell in shock. "Why?"
"Yeah, dawg…" said Marcus, "I thought you'd want to seize your heroic moment and all."
"Right now, I have something more important I need to do," said Grim. "A meeting with the rest of Fourth Echelon… in Megiddo."
Marcus looked at Wrench.
"We'll fly you there then," said Sitara.
"Sounds like a hell of a trip," said Wrench.
Briggs said to Darcy, "Darcy, I know this is unexpected, but I need to get to Megiddo. Can one of you fly me there in your condition?"
"Probably not… I need to see a doctor…"
"All right… Well, there'll be one at the safe house in Megiddo. I'll pilot you there."
Charlie said to Elijah, "I'm… I'm needed at Megiddo."
"We know," said Elijah. "Katja's gone AWOL with one of our choppers… so we'll all have to squeeze aboard the other."
"What? Is it because of her DID?"
"I'm not sure," said Elijah.
Sarah looked at Marie on the ride back, and said, "The child… it's Sam's, isn't it?"
Marie looked at Sarah, and nodded. "Yahweh wanted a vessel for his daughter, Yahsherah… I don't think Sam knew. I think he was just grieving, and sought comfort in my arms the night Alfred died. I was grieving too."
"I see," Sarah frowned, and looked out at the ocean waters of the South Pacific and the jungles of Peru beneath them as they flew across the coastline.
"If that's the case… What was Yahweh's purpose for you, dad?"
Chapter 17— "Human Nature"
The Assassins' Safe House, Somewhere Between Tel Megiddo and Nazareth, Israel
The Assassin Brotherhood, the Golden Path, DedSec, and Fourth Echelon's members all arrived at the safe house.
"Inside, quickly, we tried to patch him up as best we could, but he doesn't have long!" said Shaun.
Sarah looked inside as Rebecca and Kobin were watching over Sam.
"DAD!" cried Sarah. As she looked at her father's ashen, ruined body, she covered her mouth.
Sam looked up at Sarah. "Yahsherah…"
"Yahsherah… ?" said Sarah in confusion.
"I sense confusion in your voice, my child…" said Sam.
"You're not speaking like yourself…" said Sarah. "You're no longer Sam… you're Yahweh."
The others looked at Sarah and Sam's body in shock.
"Three days, Sarah… You will see your father again…"
"I don't understand, Yahweh… What was your purpose for my dad? Why did he have to die like this?"
"Three days…"
Sarah cried. "Sam's gone, isn't he. His consciousness, I mean."
"Not entirely…"
"Then let him out, Yahweh! I want to speak to my dad!"
"Sarah, listen!"
Sarah paused.
"This vessel is fading fast… It has minutes, if not seconds left… I have a message to deliver to you. From Sam."
Sarah looked at Yahweh.
"What was the message?"
"Shoot… the monkey…"
"'Shoot the monkey'?" Sarah frowned, then paused, and put her hand to her chin.
"I don't understand…" Sarah cried. "I don't understand the message!"
"Three days… You will see… You all… will…"
"Yahweh, I don't understand! What did my dad mean? Yahweh! YAHWEH!"
But it was too late.
Sam's body was gone.
Sam Fisher, Sarah's father… the original Splinter Cell… was dead.
Sarah started to sob and place her head on her father's corpse. "Dad!"
Grim, Briggs, Charlie, and the others looked at Sarah and Sam with somber expressions.
"He's gone," said Charlie. "I can't believe he's gone."
"After all he did to save the rest of us…" said Briggs.
"It doesn't feel right," said Grim.
"The Isu have used humans for their own purposes before," said Elijah.
"Yeah," said Rebecca, looking at Shaun.
"Right… Desmond," said Shaun.
"My father," said Elijah.
"What about your father?" said Charlie.
"Juno used him in an attempt to resurrect herself," said Elijah. "She used me, too."
"Something similar happened with Basim, another incarnation of Loki, and Layla, an Assassin we worked with," said Rebecca.
"Yeah… I remember," said Shaun. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news..."
"It feels undeserved for him to go out like this…" said Elijah. "…but Yahweh may have just used your father for selfish purposes, Sarah… Whatever they were… It's hard to say."
"While I remember bits and pieces of my time with Yahweh as Asherah, I admittedly don't have the whole picture either…" said Marie. "Most of the time I spent with him, he seemed like the rare Isu with good intentions towards humans. But there are also some memories that contradict the man I thought he was."
Sarah frowned, and said, "Forget it. I don't care what purpose Yahweh had for him. My dad's gone because of his prophecy. He deserves a proper burial in the States."
"That'll be hard to do… Carrying him here was hard enough…" said Kobin.
"Shut up, Kobin!" yelled Sarah.
"Sarah," said Charlie.
Sarah looked at Charlie.
"We're gonna have to bury him here. I'm sorry."
Sarah looked away, then looked back at Charlie and they hugged while Sarah cried.
71 Hours Later…
Sam Fisher was buried behind the Assassins' safe house, in a makeshift graveyard next to the cave where Yahsherah's remains were.
Marie delivered Sam's eulogy like she delivered Alfred's.
"Sam Fisher was not the Second Coming we had hoped for… but he did save the world, and he was much more than just a savior. He was a loving father…" said Marie, while looking at Sarah and briefly down at her belly, which had started to become swollen, "…a loving husband, and a father's son."
"He was a hero. He served his country and the world with every fiber of his being, trying to make it a better place, even if he may have ended up making it worse off at times. His relationships with others may have been strained at times by his unrelenting commitment to his duty. But like all of us do as fellow human beings, he learned from his mistakes, and grew."
"I only knew him briefly, but during our time together I eventually came to see the good in him. Him. Not Yahweh. For he was not driven by the beings in his head, but rather through his love for others, and his willingness to risk his life to serve them and the greater good."
"The world won't know all the things he did to save it. His truth won't be written down in the history books. Instead, they will likely end up hiding in the darkness of time. So let this be a message to spread the truth about who he was, and let him live on through your connections with him, and through action. For it is connection that helps us keep our common brotherhood out of the darkness, and in the light for each other to see."
"The conspiracy he fought so hard to stop isn't over; rather it's merely at a waning point in what seems like an endless cycle. But his efforts were not in vain. And let our efforts not be in vain either."
The others placed gifts on Sam's grave site. Briggs his pistol, Grim his trifocal goggles, Charlie his OPSAT and a can of Skippy's peanut butter, Kobin his dog tags from the Gulf War, Marie the leftover fish and chips from the time they made love in the Isle of Skye, along with a pouch of drachmae from her mother's collection.
Sarah placed a drawing from the fridge from when she was little, along with her own trifocal goggles, weapons, and Splinter Cell gear.
The others looked at Sarah in shock.
"Sarah…" said Charlie.
"I'm done," said Sarah. "There was a point where Sam stopped trying to fight Megiddo. This is mine. This is what my dad would've wanted. He wanted me to avoid becoming a monster. I feel so angry right now… I want revenge against Lucas, some sort of justice… any justice… for my father's death… but I know that it'll never happen now."
Turning to Charlie, she said, "Besides, it's not just that… The fact that I'm grieving this much… I know I'm going to lose other people I care about, or maybe even my own life, if I go down that path… I don't have what it takes. I'm no Splinter Cell."
Charlie said, "All right. Whatever you want, I'll support you."
Briggs said, "I guess this is it, then."
"Fourth Echelon's disbanded for good," said Grim. Sighing, she said, "I need to put a bullet between my eyes."
"Grim…" said Darcy.
"Lucas still has some sort of control over me, I can feel it!" said Grim. "I'm endangering everyone here!"
Elijah said, "None of us will kill you. It wouldn't be right… but I suppose none of us will stop you, either."
"You're doing the right thing, Sarah," said Grim. "Whatever Yahweh's intentions were for your father… I've seen the horrors of the Phoenix Project for myself. The Isu have no appreciation for humanity. It's time for me to do the right thing too, now."
"Grim, no!" said Briggs.
"Jesus Christ…" said Kobin. "No. There had to be more to Yahweh's Prophecy than this. I thought there was more!"
"Then what was it?" said Sarah. "I don't see any evidence of a prophecy!"
She turned and looked at her father's grave, and shut her eyes to avoid crying.
And as the day began to turn to night, and the third day after Sam's death had passed, Sarah opened her eyes wide and looked up.
"You just need to look a little further, Sarah… Adjust your eyes to the dark."
Sarah looked on in shock.
The others looked up as well.
"What the hell is that?" said Kobin in awe.
"Grim, are you seeing what I'm seeing?" said Briggs.
"I… I am…" said Grim. "It's just hard to believe."
"Dad?" said Sarah. "You're… alive?"
"Yes and no," said Sam. "I'm alive in the collective consciousness of humanity… along with Yahweh and the other Isu. He wanted to show humanity the truth… This is it."
And suddenly as a global aurora borealis began to glow in the night skies, Fourth Echelon, the Assassin Brotherhood, DedSec, the Golden Path… the entire world… could see the Isu, standing before them.
"My god…" said Rebecca.
"I've never seen anything like it," said Shaun. "So many Isu from various mythologies across the planet… This is going to take mere days to research when it would normally take decades, and… I don't even need to use a computer! They're all right here."
Elijah smiled at Sam. "Not bad, fellow Prophet."
"Elijah, Darcy? Are we still on for our alliance with DedSec and the Assassin Brotherhood?"
"Yeah… of course, Sam…" said Darcy in astonishment. "Jesus, I can't believe I'm talking to you like this!"
"Good. Briggs?" said Sam.
"Yeah, Sam?" said Briggs.
"You ready to lead Fifth Echelon, Replacement Man?"
"Ready, willing, and able," Briggs said with a smile.
Grim looked on at Sam in disbelief.
"You- you promised you'd put a bullet in me if I was a threat," said Grim. "Just- just give the order."
"You're not the only one who's a good liar, Grim," said Sam with a smile.
"I…" Grim said as she began to shed a couple tears, "You want to be friends again?"
"Yeah… But I only can if you don't kill yourself."
Grim looked at her gun, then at Sam, and without hesitating, emptied the gun's barrel and magazine of its rounds.
"Good. Fifth Echelon needs you. The world needs you. You're strong. You can fight off the voices in your head."
"I'll try. For you," said Grim.
"Charlie, I hear you're trying to hit on my daughter," said Sam.
"I—" Charlie looked around sheepishly, and blushed. "Yes, boss. Sorry boss."
"You're too talented for base IT, Charlie. You and Sarah have my blessing."
Charlie and Sarah grinned.
"Charlie!" Sarah smiled and hugged him again, then kissed him on the lips.
Charlie blushed even more after that.
"Wow," said Charlie as he shook his head. "This is a lot to take in at once."
"Also, I hear you took down Sadiq. You're a natural field agent, Charlie. You just need time, and a little bit of training and experience."
"Well, I do have a ton of buddies in DedSec who manage to hack on the fly while in the field…" said Charlie, rubbing his head. "Guess I'll follow their example."
"Marie," said Sam. "Our child. What's his name?"
"What do you want it to be, my love?"
"Kassandros," said Sam.
"After my mother?" Marie said as she smiled. "That's a lovely name."
"You all had better help Marie take good care of our new son, or I will haunt you from beyond the grave."
The others couldn't help but laugh at this.
Kobin looked at Sam.
"Sam… I'm sorry. For everything. I really am."
Sam frowned, and rubbed his chin. "Alfred said something to me before he died. He said I had to forgive Michael. Turns out you're Michael's Sage."
Kobin looked on at Sam in astonishment as Sam continued, "And now I also know that you worked with Lambert to stage my daughter's death because of your loyalty to Yahweh, not for the money. Not to mention that your client you kept mentioning… he was Yahweh. He was me."
"Just like Grim, for that… you never just deserved my forgiveness. You deserve my thanks."
Kobin looked at Sam, and said, "Shit… this all feels so surreal!" Smiling, Kobin said, "Thanks man."
"And Sarah."
Everyone looked at Sam as he approached Sarah in their heads, in front of them.
"Yeah Dad?" said Sarah with a smile.
"You remember that time we went fishing together while you were studying for exams over your break?"
"Yeah, I… wait a minute…" said Sarah. "Shoot the monkey… Of course!"
Sam was on a boat with Sarah; he was fishing, while Sarah was reading a book for one of her college classes.
"Hey Dad?"
"Yeah, Sarah?"
"I've got a question for you. It's about a book I'm reading for an elective course I'm taking."
Sam looked at Sarah. "What's the book?"
"A Long Way Gone. By Ishmael Beah. It's his memoir about when he was a child soldier in Sierra Leone. I figured since you're a soldier, you'd have potential insight into the ending."
"The ending?" said Sam.
"It ends with a cryptic tale that Ishmael heard when he was younger, rather than concluding with his escape from Sierra Leone and arrival to America. The rest of my class was confused by the significance of it. I figured I'd write about it for the essay assignment required to pass the class, and I thought I'd get ideas from you for it."
"What's the tale about?"
"It's about a hunter who finds a monkey he's about to shoot. Before the hunter pulls the trigger, the monkey says that if he kills him, his mother will die. But if he doesn't kill him, his father will die. The tale is left ambiguous so that the reader considers what they'd do if they were in the hunter's shoes.
"Ishmael concluded his memoir by talking about the solution he came up with when he heard the tale as a boy. He concluded that if he was the hunter, he would shoot the monkey so that it wouldn't have the chance to put other hunters in the same predicament. What do you make of that?"
Sam looked at Sarah, and turned away to think for a moment before he looked back at Sarah again.
"You said the book was the memoir of a child soldier during the conflict in Sierra Leone?"
"Yeah," said Sarah.
"I never took part in that particular war, but I know it was nasty. Like all wars tend to be," said Sam. "My guess is that what Ishmael Beah was trying to say with that little story of his at the end was a metaphor for what he was feeling about how he and his people were treated by the power players in the war."
"Like the monkey, the government doesn't really give you a choice whether you're able to fight or not in wartime. There is no choice. Ishmael was willing to make the choice that would stop the cycle of violence completely."
"Shoot the monkey…" said Sarah. "Dad… that's perfect! I—frankly I'm worried now it won't even be my essay."
"Then write whatever you feel like writing about, honey," said Dad. "I'm sure you'll pass the class regardless…"
Sarah said to Sam, "This was the last thing you wrote to me before you died… at least, in your mortal body…" Looking up, she said, "Wait a minute… Did you mean to tell me… ?"
Sam nodded. "Whatever it takes to stop the cycle of violence, to save the world and its people from tyranny… you'll have to do it. It won't be easy… but you have what it takes. You're a great Splinter Cell, Sarah… I'm proud of you."
Sarah smiled, and cried a few tears.
"I know you're grieving for me…" said Sam as he tried to wipe the tears off of Sarah's cheek.
"Hardly anymore," said Sarah as she laughed a little, and sniffled.
"…but grief and love are the same thing at different points in time. The mother of your soon-to-be half-sibling told me that, and it stuck ever since. It's our ability to understand this, and to realize that our weakness to grief is our greatest strength… our ability to love… Let that guide you while you fight on. You will lose people you care about along the way. Like I said, it won't be easy. It never is."
"But Yahweh and I will guide you too. He and I will guide all of you. In the back of your minds, wherever there's a shadowy corner or two."
"I can't believe my own dad is the Second Coming," said Sarah.
"I'm no savior," said Sam. "Speaking of which, though… Yahweh."
"Sam," said Yahweh. "It's time for the final part of the eighth solution. Selecting a vessel for Yahsherah."
Sarah looked at Yahweh and Sam as they conversed. "Yahsherah was an incredible fighter even for her time, and was wiser than even I. I originally hoped for Yahsherah to inhabit the body of the child of two Sages… but after seeing your and Sarah's courageous exploits… I think one will do."
"You're… making me a Sage?" said Sarah.
"The very first, truly human one," said Yahweh.
"How's that possible?" said Sarah.
"Yahsherah will explain the details of it to you…" said Yahweh.
"You have what it takes, Sarah," said Sam. "You're ready… Don't be afraid."
"Okay," said Sarah, and as she reached for Sam's hand, she felt him touch her, and he held her by the back of her head.
Sarah gasped, and stumbled to her knees for a moment, breathing heavily.
"Sarah?" said Charlie.
"I'm okay, Charlie," said Sarah, getting to her feet. "I'm still me… but it's not just me in here anymore…"
"That's incredible," said Charlie.
"You don't think it's weird, do you?"
"No, of course not!"
Sarah smiled at Charlie, then looked back at Sam.
"Good," said Sam. "It's done."
Sam said to everyone, "All of you, stay vigilant. This revelation that the eighth solution helped uncover was meant to help combat the tyranny of Abstergo, as well as Lucas's followers, the Instruments of the First Will. Not to mention C2. This revelation has reached the entire world. The higher-ups at Abstergo will be scared, and scared tyrants are never a good thing. They'll be angry. The battle may be over, but the war rages on. In the meantime, while you prepare for the next battle… I think I need to rest… Still, I'll be with you when you need me. I admittedly need to get used to being a prophet a little..."
"Get some rest, Dad," said Sarah as Sam and Yahweh's aura disappeared for the time being. "You've earned it."
"So, after that revelation… Sam being reborn…" said Briggs.
"Are you still wanting to be a Splinter Cell, Sarah?" said Charlie.
"Because if not, that's fine… but it would be against your father's wishes," said Grim.
Wiping her eyes, Sarah said, "It's what I wanted. It still is. I just… I had a moment of doubt. But now… I'll never doubt again."
"I need to get back to President Caldwell," said Grim. "Briggs, you coming with?"
"Wouldn't miss it for the world," said Briggs. "President Treskayev sent his regards, by the way."
"Yeah," said Charlie. "So did Premier Long Dan."
"Then… World War Three's averted," said Grim.
"Abstergo will have no choice but to accept the peace we created," said Sarah with a smile. "Lucas's sick version of 'peace' failed."
"The other Assassins and I need to get back to the Altair II and find Katja," said Elijah. "This safehouse is compromised now due to the revelation to the world happening here… Not that it's a bad thing."
"What the boss says, goes," said Shaun, shrugging his shoulders, and looking at Rebecca with a smirk.
Rebecca nudged him playfully.
"DedSec needs to head back to their respective hubs in America, the UK, and Russia," said Darcy.
"Word is we're starting on in Shenzhen too," said Wrench.
"That's gonna be fucking sick," said Marcus.
"Also, we need to check up on Aiden," said Sitara. "Last we heard from him, he was heading for Yara to chase a lead."
"We'll keep in touch homies," said Marcus.
"Peace out," said Wrench.
"I need to get back to Kyrat, and rebuild the nation. Killing Amita left a power vacuum, and it's my birthright to fill it," said Ajay.
"I will join you," said Longinus. "After this amazing revelation from our Lord, Sam Fisher, I feel as if my sins are finally cleansed for good. I have more guns, and sermons to deliver!"
"That really was surreal, wasn't it Reggie," said Yogi.
"Are you kidding me, Yogi! We just witnessed the damn Second Coming! It was unlike anything I'd ever seen. DMT doesn't do it justice," said Reggie.
"But that means…" said Yogi.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Yogi?" said Reggie.
"I think I am, Reggie," said Yogi.
A moment of silence between the two drug traffickers.
"WE GET TO MAKE EVEN BETTER DRUGS! WOO!" they yelled in sync.
"Please excuse them. They're adopted," said Ajay. "This was good fun. Never thought I'd help save the world. Next time any of you are in Kyrat, stop by the Royal Palace. Sambar meat, crab rangoon, and Kyrati lager are on the house."
"Crab rangoon?" said Briggs. "That's not—"
"Just go with it, Briggs," said Charlie. "We don't get free food very often on our current budget."
"Point taken," said Briggs with a smirk.
Sarah said to Marie, "Where are you heading?"
"Back to my home in the Isle of Skye. Why? Do you want to come with?"
"I do," said Charlie. "There's someone I never got the chance to mourn for whose grave is there too."
"I understand," said Sarah. "I'll go with you then."
The Isle of Skye, The United Kingdom
While Marie was inside, resting and eating whatever food she was craving due to her pregnancy, Sarah and Charlie were outside looking at the graves of Alfred, Bruce, Kassandra, and a few others that died from the events in London and Ravensthorpe.
Charlie looked at Bruce's grave. It read: "Here lies Bruce Davies… To him, the entirety of the sea of fish that is humanity, were friends… and food."
"Weird epitaph," said Sarah.
"He always had a way with words," said Charlie with a smile.
"Who was he?" said Sarah. "Was he a friend of yours?"
"No," said Charlie. "Family."
Charlie left a plate of burnt bacon and coleslaw as a gift.
They looked over at Alfred's grave, along with Vic's makeshift grave.
"We lost so many people along the way," said Charlie.
"We'll lose more," said Sarah. "It's just something we have to live with."
"If only the entirety of humanity could live on like Sam did," said Charlie. "Then grief would become irrelevant."
"It's beyond our ability to figure out how to do something like that… For now. Besides, if grief is irrelevant, then what would the point of love be?" said Sarah as she looked at Charlie, and smiled.
He smiled back, and kissed Sarah this time.
"I don't want to lose you," said Charlie.
"You won't," said Sarah, "provided you don't cheat."
"Why on Earth would I cheat?" said Charlie.
Sarah laughed.
"Let's go inside. Before Marie eats all the fish and chips herself," said Charlie.
Guantanamo Bay Prison, Cuba
Inside a prison cell, the television was playing the news. WNM.
"…three days after the global terrorist attack and nuclear bomb threat perpetrated by the Engineers in Washington, Moscow, and Beijing was averted in its entirety, and four days after the terabytes worth of shocking revelations were leaked onto the Net about Abstergo Industries and its CEO, Lucas Richards, the world seemed to experience a much stranger revelation… one that initially seemed divine."
"Amidst the global aurora borealis not much unlike the ones that occurred in 2012 and 2020, the majority of people on Earth have come forward and said they saw a message from a being known as Yahweh. Despite that this is the name of the Judeo-Christian god, this Yahweh and the visions people claimed he was producing say he was a member of a precursor race, one known as the Isu… Similarly, people are beginning to see other Isu based on various deities from religions and mythologies originating across the entirety of the world. If this collective vision is taken as evidence of a real precursor race, then our existing paradigms of religion, science, and history have to be re-written entirely."
"To make this all even more bizarre, this vision was seemingly triggered by one man, a man named Sam Fisher. He was previously believed to be behind the terrorist attacks in both Rome and London. However, new evidence revealed by US President Caldwell's administration, in collaboration with Russian President Treskayev and Chinese Premier Long Dan, says that Sam Fisher and Fourth Echelon were the ones who were trying to stop the Engineers' attack from happening, whereas the CEO of Abstergo, Lucas Richards, either let the Engineers attack his headquarters in Rome, or was complicit in the conspiracy. This lines up with prior allegations of Lucas that were a result of the massive data leaks."
"Was this all some sort of prophecy? Who are the Isu, and how are Abstergo and the Engineers involved in all of these seemingly insane revelations? More on this to come after our commercial break."
A commercial was playing for Skippy's extra crunchy peanut butter.
Sadiq smirked for a moment, then his smirk went away as his cell door opened, and Briggs and Grim entered.
"Fourth Echelon," said Sadiq. "Looks like you saved the day. Congratulations. Where's Charlie?"
"On a date with Sarah," said Briggs.
"Give him my regards, and my apologies for breaking his arm," said Sadiq.
"We have something to show you," said Grim.
"What? What is it?"
"Would you be willing to tattle on your buddies if we gave you your daughter back?" said Briggs.
"My daughter? Jordan?" said Sadiq. "Where is she?"
"In solitary confinement," said Grim. "She's assaulted several other prisoners here. She's even more unhinged than before, now that Lucas's Selection was stopped."
Sadiq nodded to signal he understood.
"Let me see if I can talk some sense into her."
Sadiq was escorted toward solitary confinement.
After they opened the doors to the padded cell, he looked at Serpent.
She was in a straitjacket, muttering to herself.
"You look miserable," said Sadiq.
"You…" said Serpent.
Serpent screamed, and tried to break free of her straitjacket to kill Sadiq.
Sadiq said, "You do realize I'm your father, not Lucas, right?"
"Lucas was ten times the father you'll ever be," said Serpent.
"He tortured you," said Sadiq. "Erased your consciousness and turned you into Jormungandr's Sage… when in reality you were already Hel's Sage."
"How do you know that?" said Serpent.
"Somehow you and Katja Winter became Lucas's adopted children," said Grim. "And somehow you both ended up with severe mental health issues and trauma indicative of the effects of the Phoenix Project."
Serpent looked at the photo of Katja Winter. "That bitch… I always hated her… but I did work with Lucas… In an attempt to bring him out."
"Him?" said Briggs.
"I hated her… but if it pleased Lucas, then I'd do it all again in a heartbeat…"
"Do you hate me?" said Sadiq.
"You know the answer to that," said Serpent. "You'll never be my father! NEVER!"
"Ever since Lucas took you from me, I've spent every day of my life worrying about you. Wondering if you were still alive. Trying not to imagine the horrible things I knew he'd do to you. I was powerless to stop him. I had to work with him, otherwise I knew he'd kill you in a heartbeat."
"You should've let him kill me!" yelled Serpent. "Then my suffering would end!"
"And I'm willing to give up the entirety of the Engineers to Fourth Echelon, as well as help them in any way I can in stopping Abstergo, if it means I'll be able to have you back," said Sadiq.
"You'll never have me back!" Serpent growled. "Your efforts are in vain."
"Briggs, your next target is a man named Jack Carver," said Sadiq.
Serpent's angry look went away, and was replaced by a look of terror.
"Jack… Carver?" said Serpent.
"What do you know about him, Jordan?" said Briggs.
Serpent stuttered and shivered as she spoke. "I may be terrified of Lucas, but I also love Lucas. When it comes to that man… Jack Carver… There's no love there. Only pure terror."
"He was Lucas's first success story in the Phoenix Project regarding cross-species genetic augmentation… He's part animal. He's terrifying!"
"That lines up with what I've heard about him, and it lines up with what you showed me from the file you stole from Monarch's headquarters in London," said Sadiq. "Jack Carver was another one of Lucas's arms smugglers operating in Africa. He was experimented on by a subsidiary of Abstergo's in Micronesia, not far from Lucas's private island."
"We'll track him down," said Briggs. "Whatever it takes."
"Why would you do this?" said Serpent in shock. "I'm a terrorist!"
"Sadiq's helping us take down Abstergo and his Engineers. The more of them we lock up, the better. Jack Carver's our target number one."
"Abstergo I was always enemies with, but the Engineers were my friends," said Sadiq. "Friends are hard to let go of. But it's even harder to let go of family," said Sadiq.
Serpent looked at Sadiq, then Briggs and Grim, then back at Sadiq, and began to cry.
"I've done… horrible things… because of Lucas…" she said.
"As have I, Jordan," said Sadiq.
"That name," said Serpent. "I hate it."
"What do you want me to call you then? Surely you don't want me to call you Serpent?"
"I don't know," said Serpent, looking away at the walls of her padded cell, her gaze distant.
"We'll figure out your name. Together. In prison, unfortunately," said Sadiq.
Serpent nodded sadly.
"Fair enough," she said.
Six Months Later…
Grim, Briggs, Charlie, Sarah, and Kobin were aboard the Paladin II together.
"Hard to believe President Caldwell officially re-instated us before her second term ended," said Briggs. "How's your head treating you, Grim?"
"You're talking about Freyja?" said Grim. "The medications we managed to procure from Abstergo's various defectors have helped make the fight for control a lot easier, all while maintaining my ability to fight. Lucas's followers will have a hard time reading my mind from this point onward. As for controlling it… They don't stand a chance."
"Abstergo's stocks have tanked because of the various revelations," said Briggs. "The truth admittedly doesn't make their brand look pretty. Won't be long until they're out of business."
"About that… actually, Elijah has an idea about how to keep Abstergo, and therefore the global economy afloat," said Charlie.
"You're still keeping in contact with him, Charlie?" said Kobin.
"Nice to see you too, Kobie," said Charlie. "We're good buddies now. He's actually quite the softie when you get to know him."
"What was his idea?" said Kobin.
"His girlfriend, Katja Winter… you know, the chick with the DID-esque condition where she has all these Assassins and Templars talking together inside her head? She might end up stepping up as Abstergo's CEO now."
"Then that means…" said Briggs.
"The Assassin Brotherhood and the Templars would be working together? In the present day?" said Grim.
"Sounds like something out of a damn fairy tale," Kobin said, chuckling to himself.
"I've heard of weirder stories coming true," said Sarah as she looked at Sam standing behind her, and grinned.
Charlie said, "I'm contacting them now."
"The Assassins?"
"No. DedSec's American branch," said Charlie.
"DedSec?" said Briggs.
"Yeah, because their guy Aiden Pearce had a lead on Jack Carver's location in Yara," said Charlie.
Briggs looked at Grim.
"Seriously? Am I the only one who's actually paying attention to the mission this time?" said Charlie.
They all looked at each other, then started laughing.
"I'm going to prep my gear," said Sarah. "Let me know when we reach Yara."
As Sarah left the SMI room, she heard Briggs ask Charlie, "So how's it going with you and Sarah?"
"Phenomenally," said Charlie. "I've never been this fucking happy."
"She's annoying you with all her texts, isn't she?"
"No, she isn't!" said Charlie. "I'm… admittedly still getting used to it…"
"What about Marie?" said Grim with a smirk.
"Oh, that reminds me! She's expecting soon… Darcy's been on standby in the event that she needs to head to the hospital for when she goes into labor… Can't believe Sarah's going to have a little half-sibling…"
Sarah said to Sam as he prepped her gear, "Thank you, Dad. For everything."
"I couldn't have done it without you Sarah," said Sam. "We couldn't have. Now make me proud."
As Sarah put on her Splinter Cell uniform and gear, Charlie said, "We're patched in with our new allies in DedSec."
"What's up, dawg?" said Marcus.
"Hey Marcus!" said Charlie. "You got the intel on Jack Carver?"
"Yeah, gimme a sec… I'm still reeling from that party we had in Kyrat… along with the drugs my two dudes Reggie and Yogi gave us."
"You and me both, that party was wild," said Charlie. "There were even tigers there!"
"It was like something out of The Hangover," said Wrench. "We'll patch you in with Aiden."
"Oh, that's right," said Marcus as he coughed up smoke from a blunt, "Aiden had the intel, not us. He's still in Yara."
"One sec…" said Wrench. "There you go."
As the screen put on static, Grim said, "The antics of our new allies are a little questionable at times."
"Eh, I'm not complaining," said Briggs. "And technically I'm the leader here, so."
Grim smirked.
Aiden Pearce came on screen. "Is this Fifth Echelon?"
"Yeah, Aiden," said Briggs.
"Marcus and the others told me to contact you," said Aiden. "Jack Carver's here in El Este region of Yara… along with a goldmine of intel on Abstergo. The revolutionaries are having a hard time maintaining control of Yara ever since they overthrew the Castillo regime… Now a lot of the insurgencies here are being funded by Abstergo."
"Sounds like a party," said Charlie. "Send us the coordinates to his stronghold."
"Doing so now," said Aiden.
"We'll be there soon," said Sarah.
Sarah headed to the hangar, and Sam wasn't far behind.
She looked back at him, and smiled upon hearing his voice again.
As she prepped her chute and oxygen mask and the cargo bay doors opened, he said, "Whatever it takes to stop the cycle of violence, to save the world and its people from tyranny… you'll have to do it. It won't be easy… but you have what it takes. History won't know your name… or maybe it will someday. But for now, the darkness is your best friend. We work in the dark to serve the light. We protect the lives of humans by taking them, we protect the foundations of society by breaking them… If our actions are reckless, then we're disavowed. If our actions are precise, stealthy, and careful, then… chances are we might do the world some good. We… Especially you, Sarah…"
"…are Fifth Echelon."
As she looked at the drop down to the tropical island below them that was Yara, the lights in the hangar bay turned green.
"Green light to HALO," said Kobin.
"I am a Splinter Cell," said Sarah as she backed up and put on her trifocal goggles.
"Time for a leap of faith," she said as she ran at the edge of the bay doors and leapt off.