Chapter 4: Art of the Trade
Review Replies
Yeeter of ligma: Great chapter when he fell out of the tree I laughed so hard. Keep up the good work.
ThermalsniperN7: Good to hear that segment got some laughs.
Dragon Emperor0: Now get ready, because Shin's gonna be busy this chapter.
-New York, Present Day-
In the apartment of the next gen assassin in training, Joshua Landers, the man was currently fast asleep–when he had a rather odd dream.
Or rather, it wasn't a dream, but a memory of some sort. Bleeding into his subconscious via Genetic Bleeding Effect.
It showed a man heading through a forest, and he had a few scuffles with local wildlife. By the look of the place, it seemed to be in South Dakota. There were no audible words that could be heard, not that any needed to be shared in a setting like this. The man eventually reached a stream, where a woman that looked stronger than she appeared waited.
The man slowly approached the woman and joined her in the waters of the stream, before she smiled at him and started to disrobe him and herself–the two of them sharing a kiss.
The memory cut off soon after that, causing Joshua to wake up with a start.
'What was that?' He wondered to himself. 'And who was that woman?' He added mentally.
She looked rather well built for a woman, especially at the time period. Like she'd had extensive military training. Additionally, he also noticed that both of them had hidden blades, but the woman had on what looked to be a Greek dress.
That was a detail to take interest in, since as far as Joshua knew, the Greeks hadn't really bothered setting up a colony in North America, and Greek immigrants were also a bit of a minority at the time. So he had no idea why a Greek woman was present.
He didn't know if that memory was something for him to bring up with the gang or not.
Glancing at his digital clock, he saw that it was six thirty in the morning. Deciding that he could afford another hour and a half of sleep, he set his alarm and closed his eyes again.
(Later)
When the time was around eight thirty or so, Joshua decided to have breakfast and started looking up records for any Greek immigrants that lived in South Dakota during 1812-1830.
Taking a sip of his glass of tea, he kept scrolling, until he reached a result that looked promising. It was a marriage record for one Joseph Malphur and Kassandra Alethia, though it looked like it was shit, based on the way it was recorded.
"Kassandra, huh? I wonder if Calvin knows anything about an Assassin by that name." He wondered. As he said this, he got a text on his phone–opening it, he saw Ororo posing in the mirror with her arm pressing against her chest and barely covering her nipples, and her free hand barely covering her pussy.
The expression she had on her face seemed like she was telling him to "Come get me".
'... Maybe I should go get her after work today.' He mused internally as he looked at his ebony lover's body. It was then that he remembered his moment with his Eagle Vision the day before. 'Oh yeah. I gotta bring that up with them, too.' He added. After a bit, he finished his breakfast, fed his cats and then headed for the hideout for his next animus session and to share his new developments.
(Later)
Upon reaching the hideout, Joshua quickly walked in and found himself greeted by Ororo who kissed him Hello as soon as he entered the room–rather aggressively too. The man was a little surprised by the aggressive affection, but didn't bother trying to complain as he kissed her back.
"Well that's one way to say hi." He chuckled as they separated.
"I figured you'd appreciate it." The woman smiled. "Well." She continued as she backed up, allowing him to see the rest of her and the black tube top, pants, boots and jacket she was wearing. "Are you ready to get started?" She asked, crossing her arms behind her back and causing her chest–which was quite pronounced due to her top–to bounce out.
"In a bit. There's a couple of things that I need to bring up." Joshua replied, sparing a quick glance at his girlfriend's figure.
"Like what?" Calvin asked as he sipped his coffee.
"Yesterday when I got home, my Eagle Vision activated." The second tallest man in the room replied, causing his friend to accidentally choke on the hot liquid while the others looked at him in surprise.
"Are you serious?" Sarah asked with wide eyes.
"Yep. One moment I'm looking for my apartment key, the next, my vision goes black and said key is colored gold." Joshua nodded.
"Okay, we didn't expect that to happen until much later. Mind if we do a small test to confirm it?" Mael questioned.
"I think we can wait until after we finish up for the day to do that." Ororo said. "What was the other thing?" She asked.
"Last night, I saw something that I know for a fact wasn't a memory of mine." Joshua began. "It showed a man moving through the woods of what looked like South Dakota and meeting a Greek woman by a stream." He explained, getting some frowns of confusion from the rest of the group.
"Do you know who they were?" Calvin questioned as he finished clearing up his windpipe.
"I looked up some records and the closest thing I found was a rather shitty looking marriage record of Joseph Malfur and Kassandra Alethia." The tall bespectacled man replied, causing everyone to nearly fall over in shock, much to Joshua's confusion. "Uh, am I missing something?" He asked as he scratched his head.
"Uh, Kassandra was the previous keeper of the Staff of Hermès." Ororo told him. "And a Spartan from ancient Greece during the Peloponnesian War."
"And Joseph Malphur was Samson Malphur's father, and a Grandmaster assassin." Mael added. "Aka, one of your ancestors." He added.
"I figured as much, by the last name. And I guess they had a thing going on, since I saw them kissing in the memory I saw." Joshua shrugged before noticing the Spartan part. "And you said she was Spartan? Shouldn't she have died by now, or did the Staff make her immortal?" He questioned with a furrowed brow. After all the shit he's heard about Precursor tech, it wouldn't surprise him in the least if immortality was something it could bestow upon a person.
"It did, but more on that, later. We have work to do." Sarah stated, causing everyone to remember the reason they were here at the moment.
"Right, right." The gunslinger descendant nodded as he sat in the animus.
Animus Active
Sequence number: 4
Searching for relevant memory cluster…
Memory Cluster found
Memory: Art of the Trade
Synchronizing…
-Washington DC, 1858-
Shin sighed as he walked along to the Initiate quarters with Bayonetta leading him.
"You know, you didn't have to lead me there, I would have figured it out." The boy told her, not wanting to be a burden to anyone, or for anyone to pity him.
"You would have, but how long would that take?" The taller woman asked in return. "Besides, there's nothing wrong with helping out a potential member for the Brotherhood." She added.
"I–" Shin tried to say before he was cut off.
"Ah ah ah! Don't even try to say otherwise." Bayonetta told him before her face softened. "The Grandmaster told me about what happened to your parents and your home, and I just wanted to get you to your room as quickly as possible so you wouldn't be bothered while you grieved." She said softly.
"That's just it." The boy sighed as he stroked his mother's necklace ruefully. "I don't want anyone to pity me. I'm the last of my family, the last Malphur, I'm a fighter–so I don't want or need anyone's pity." He added.
"And that means you should shut everyone out?" The British woman countered. "Shin, you might be a fighter, but even fighters need to know when to stop being stubborn and let people in." She told him. "It's just a natural part of being human." She continued.
The teenager looked at her as they approached a rather long and wide barracks building, which had a door knocker in the shape of a skull with the Brotherhood's insignia on it.
"... I guess." He sighed as they stood in front of the door. "This it?" He asked.
"Yes. This is the place. Someone inside will show you where you'll stay." The tall woman nodded before she walked off. "I'll see you tomorrow for training, presuming your mind is all cleared up by then." She added before she turned around a corner, leaving him alone.
Sighing, Shin decided to open the door and did so by sticking his fingers in the skull and causing it to rearrange itself upside down. Seconds later, the door unlocked and opened, revealing a room full of male initiates of varying ages on bunk beds getting ready for bed.
A few looked at the door upon hearing it open while others just went about getting ready for bed while Shin walked to… wherever his bunk was supposed to be.
"Well well well, look what we have here." One of the Initiates, a boy who looked to be of most likely English descent and spoke with what sounded like an Arkansas accent, drawled as the teenage gunslinger stepped into the room. "Looks like we got some fresh meat tonight, lads." He added.
"I'm not in the mood for bullshit. Whatever you're thinking, drop it." Shin grunted since he wasn't in the mood to entertain a few rowdy idiots. Whenever he heard the term 'fresh meat,' Shin immediately thought something embarrassing was gonna happen to someone, and he wouldn't have it.
The boy who had just spoken, who looked to be about nineteen, hopped down to the floor and walked up to the Assassin from Pallamon.
He was particularly beefy, but still looked pretty muscular for his age. He was around six five–possibly more, but it was hard to tell due to him having a slouching posture–and had spikey silverish hair, his eyes being a brandy color. Though what really stood out about the guy, was the scar that went from his right jaw, down his neck and ending at his chest, a sign of a pretty nasty injury.
Lastly he had a red fox tattoo on the right side of his abdomen, and currently he was only dressed in a pair of sleep pants, which were a burgundy color.
"You tryin' to start somethin', kid?" He questioned.
"Can't a guy have time to himself to grieve for his dead parents in peace?" The gunslinger retorted tensely. "I could care less about what you're thinkin.' I just want to be left alone right now." He added. His tone made it clear that despite his attitude currently, he was still grief-stricken.
The boy who he was talking to looked at him as a tense silence fell over the room, the other male initiates trying to avoid the awkwardness by going back to what they were doing–playing cards, reading, or just lying down.
"... You too, huh?" The silver haired lad questioned, catching Shin off guard.
"Huh?" Was all the gunslinging Assassin-to-be could get out.
"You're not the only one here who's lost someone. Some of us just try to hide it and cope." The older Initiate stated knowingly. He then jabbed a thumb over at one of the others who was praying the rosary. "Example? Francesco over there lost his little brother in a fight with the Templars when his family fled here from Sicily." He continued as the two went over to two bunks and sat down.
Shin looked at the praying Italian boy–who's black hair was medium length and styled–and gave him a nod of condolences.
"And Lumier here had lost his family to an outbreak of–get this–the Bubonic plague in his hometown." The red eyed teen continued as he gestured to a blonde teen who was fast asleep, with a barrette covering his face. "And let's not forget poor Clover O'Reilly of course." He added, getting the attention of the reddish brown haired boy who had a pin on his Assassin robes–which he was taking off–that was in the shape of a silver four leaf clover on a green background inside a horseshoe.
"I think I'm gonna regret asking…. But what happened to him?" Shin asked.
"The potato famine, that's what." Clover chimed in, folding up his clothes. "Caused plenty of us to lose our homes, our land, and eventually our lives out of starvation." He continued. "England bled us dry, wouldn't lift a hand for us. So we all came here, and we're all the better for it." He added.
"What about you, kid? What's your story?" The scarred teen asked.
"Templars raised my entire hometown to the ground and killed everyone. A Templar judge that was there had my parents killed right in front of me." Shin replied with a sigh. "I was the only one that managed to live through it all. Not sure if anyone else made it out, and if they did, I never saw 'em." He added.
"Bastards." The teen snapped as he spat on the ground in distaste. "Well, don't worry about it anymore, because from now on–we'll be your family. Just like we are for each other." He added. "Right boys?" He prompted.
"Damn right." Clover nodded firmly.
"Mais oui." Lumier nodded with a smirk.
"Diavolo si." Francesco nodded.
"I'm Ban, by the way, nice to meet ya." The silver haired teen said, smiling a sly and sharp fanged smile as he held out his hand.
"Shin Malphur." Shin replied as he shook Ban's hand with a smirk on his face.
"Well Shin, welcome to the Brotherhood." Ban said as he laid on the bed. "Hope you'll enjoy your stay." He added as he closed his eyes, while the gunslinger got changed into some sleepwear. Once he was changed, he got in his bunk and decided to get some shuteye.
(The next day)
The following morning, the boys and young men were all awakened–rather abruptly–by the sound of a large bell. This caused several of them–including Shin–to fall out of bed. Standing at the door, looking utterly shameless, was Jaren who had a giant grin on his face as she looked at them.
"Rise and shine, boys! Time for your initiations!" He exclaimed dramatically even as a few of the boys all gave him irritated glares.
A chorus of groans could be heard as they all got up and started getting dressed. As they did, Ban put a bracelet on his wrist while had a flower and goblet charm on it.
"That something from your parents?" Shin asked as he got dressed. The scarred teen did the same and scoffed.
"No, my parents wouldn't even let me have food." The boy retorted. "This is from my girlfriend, Elaine." He added.
"Oh." Shin blinked before his face turned flat as he looked over his gear. "Parents were beyond the worst, I'm guessing?" He asked, his question just as flat as the look on his face.
"Buddy, you have no idea." Ban responded as everyone got dressed, got their gear, and headed outside.
(Later)
After getting themselves ready, the male initiates all gathered in the courtyard with the female initiates, where Bayonetta stood with a good few senior female Assassins–Who were dressed like prostitutes.
A few of the girls looked awkward and wondered why they were dressed that way while some of the boys blushed at them, though a few– Shin and Ban, mainly– didn't look particularly phased, the former since he was still grieving a bit.
"Alright everyone, before you can get initiated, you'll need to learn how to blend in crowds, stealing, and decreasing one's notoriety." The dominatrix listed as she sashayed around. "And to help you with that, here I have my girls, say hi girls." She added.
"Hello~!" The group of prostitutes collectively sang. This made the boys blush, save perhaps a few.
"So, how is this gonna work, exactly?" Shin asked as one of the girls hugged his face into her chest.
"You'll all practice crowd blending, pickpocketing and so on. These skills can potentially be enough to help you hide from the Templars and steal whatever you might need." Bayonetta explained as her girls basically coddled a few of the initiates.
"And these girls of yours are gonna help us out with that?" Ban questioned as one of said girls hugged his arm to her chest.
"Yes they are." The woman nodded. "Now, first I want you to try blending in with them while you follow me from one end of town to the next." She continued. "Your goal is to not get spotted by the people I have as lookouts placed throughout the city. If you get separated from them, just fall in with another group." She added.
"That sounds easy." One of the female initiates commented.
"That's what they want you to think." Shin told her.
"Now come on, my darlings, it's time we got to work." The extravagant woman said as she had them and her girls followed her.
Time for their crowd blending training to begin.
Training Sequence: Crowd Blending
Objective: Follow Bayonetta to the other side of town without being spotted.
Synchronize memory? [Yes/No]
[Yes]
The Initiates did so and then dispersed into groups of the girls, pulling their hoods on with the exception of Shin and the boys who had hats. They just pulled their hats down with their hoods.
"Okay boys, let's go." The gunslinger said quietly before they went into the crowds, making sure to avoid trying too hard to blend in. Such actions would get them spotted in a heartbeat. They also made sure to keep each other in their sights as they moved.
As they did their best to weave through the crowd discreetly, they spotted some of the other initiates get spotted and caught before being pulled away. Shin was nearly spotted a couple of times, and so was the rest of his group, but they caught themselves and amended their mistakes. The young gunslinger actually lost track of Bayonetta a few times and had to use his Eagle Vision to try and find her, which wasn't easy, but he managed it. None of them exchanged words, only having their thoughts to keep them company.
After a few more paces, they finally arrived back at the Whitehouse, where Bayonetta stood with the rest of her girls waiting for them.
"Good, very good." She told them. "Next, you'll be practicing your pickpocketing skills this time." She continued.
"Alright, my area of expertise!" Ban exclaimed with a grin.
"Oh, but is it really?" The amazon-like woman questioned challengingly.
"Yes it is, and I'm more than happy to prove it." The silver haired lad retorted.
"Then by all means, demonstrate for us." The umbra clad Assassin instructed as the girls gathered in separate congregation circles for him to blend and steal in.
Ban smirked at the challenge and went into the congregation circles, and once he was in, he proceeded to make small talk to keep them distracted so they wouldn't notice that he was stealing from them. He even wrapped an arm around the waist of a couple of the prostitutes to add variety to his approach. His complete list of approaches consisted of him simply walking by, making small talk and even flirting while the other initiates tried to study his technique. When he was done, he walked back up to Bayonetta with a proud look on his face.
"Impressed yet?" He questioned with a grin.
"Indeed I am. You were not only discreet, but you also added variety to your approach. Well done." The taller woman nodded in approval. "Now, return what you stole so the others can practice their pickpocketing themselves." She added, getting a nod in return as he returned his stolen goods to the girls he stole them from.
When he was done, the amazon woman addressed the other initiates. "Okay, all of you show me how good you are." She told them.
The Initiates all took their turns one to two at a time to demonstrate what they were capable of doing, showing varying degrees of success in the exercise.
Shin was the last to go, and his technique wasn't flashy, or showed much variety, but it was the most direct.
He pickpocketed people by either walking past people and pulling their money away quick enough for them not to notice. Bumping into them and grabbing money bags as they pulled apart, or knocking things out of people's hands and grabbing the money while they were fumbling around.
"Certainly not the most discreet, but it suits you." Bayonetta noted.
"To each their own, as they say." Shin shrugged.
"Alright, now that you've passed this test, I want you to put all the skills I've shown you by blending through the crowds, pickpocketing and Freerunning are Pennsylvania Avenue while also taking out the Assassination dummies we've placed at random points." The woman told them as Jaren walked up.
"All while not getting caught." The man added, getting their attention. "Additionally, if you feel lost at any point, feel free to go to your area's highest point to synchronize your Raven or Eagle vision." He continued.
"But do so at your own risk of getting caught." Bayonetta amended. "At the end, those who have the highest scores will undergo their induction trial into the Brotherhood by Grandmaster Bowery and the President and Vice president. Those with the lowest scores will try again next time." She explained.
"Got it." The initiates replied in unison before they were all led to Pennsylvania Avenue where they all proceeded to disperse. Shin in particular was quick to take out a couple of dummies in one go early on before he continued.
He did so by singling out one near a haystack and took it out by dragging it into the hay to dispatch it.
"Oh, sorry pal. No one's gonna fuckin' find that body." He said before he did some freerunning to a higher vantage point and took the second out by dropping down on top of it and then yeeted himself into the haystack next to him to avoid getting seen by one of the supervisors who was walking by.
When the teen was sure he was clear, he hopped out of the haystack and continued taking out dummies left and right, even accidentally stealing some from the other initiates. When he was feeling confident in himself, he climbed to a high point and managed to do it without getting caught.
Once there, he activated his Eagle Vision to synchronize–which caused everything around him to spin as he was familiarized with his surroundings.
From his high vantage point, he could see the other initiates running about as well as a couple of supervisors, two of which were getting close to him.
Acting quick, he steeled himself and performed a leap of faith and landed in a haystack five seconds later before both supervisors passed by, neither of them spotting him.
Hopping out, he then took out one last dummy before he slipped into a crowd. When he noticed that it was heading toward Jaren and Bayonetta, he smirked as a devious idea came to mind.
When he was close enough, both his superior's backs were turned to him. This gave him the opportunity to go through with his plan. Slipping out of the crowd, he smacked Bayonetta's ass, causing her to let out a yelp and jump in surprise as Shin jumped into a haystack right next to him before she whirled around, hoping to catch the culprit only to find no one nearby.
"Who the devil…?!" She whispered to herself in bewilderment.
"What happened?" Jaren asked as he turned around with her.
"Someone smacked me on the bum, and I don't know who." The woman explained as she kept looking for the culprit.
"Think it was some passerby who got cocky?" The man wondered.
"If it was, I'll have to punish them rather… Severely." The woman replied with a dangerous dominatrix tone that caused Shin to shiver a bit inside the haystack as he waited for them to leave.
After they left, he hopped out of his hiding spot and waited for the rest of the initiates to finish their work, which didn't take long–only about another twenty five minutes or so. When everyone got back together, they noticed that their amazonian instructor looked slightly flustered, which confused them a bit.
Well, except Shin, who hid a smirk from everyone by pulling his hat down over his face.
"Alright, test's over. Let's see who got the highest score." Jaren said.
"We'll be calling you by alphabetical order and your total point score out of eighty." The woman explained. "Ban." She said, getting the boy's attention. "Eighty points." She stated.
"Sweet." The scarred initiate smirked. The rest of the whole thing went on with some of the initiates getting under thirty, resulting in them being forced to try again at a later date. Then it came to Shin.
"Shin." Bayonetta called, getting said teen's attention. "You also have a score of eighty points." She revealed, causing him to smirk while the others had looks of shock on their faces.
"Nice." Ban whispered as he patted his friend on the back.
"For all of you who passed, you'll all reconvene at the Sanctuary for your induction trial tomorrow morning, and then in the President's office for your final initiation." Bayonetta told them.
"For now, though, head back to your quarters. It'll be dinner time soon." Jaren told them. "And the good news? It's chicken pot pie night." He added. That caused everyone to hum in delight, the mere thought of said pie bringing smiles to their faces.
They all went back to their respective quarters, and when the boys reached their's, they proceeded to talk about what they each did in the test. When Shin started talking…
"Hold on, you mean you actually tapped that bit's arse?" O'Reilly questioned as they stepped inside their quarters.
"Yep, and she had no idea I was even there." Shin nodded proudly before he shivered. "Although, she did promise severe punishment to the culprit, namely me." He added. The rest of the group winced for their brother-in-arms.
"Your secret's safe with us, mon ami." Lumier told him, everyone else nodding in agreement.
"Aye." O'Reilly nodded.
"That being said." Francesco chimed in. "Nicely done." He added.
"Yeah." Ban nodded.
"Heh. Thanks, guys." The gunslinger nodded with a smile as they continued chatting as the sequence came to a close.
Sequence 3 complete
Memory Cluster: Art of the Trade - Synched
Searching for any other relevant memory data…
No data available
Eject from Animus? [Yes/No]
[Yes]
-New York, present day-
Joshua let out a groan as he sat up from the animus, accepting the bottle of water from Ororo as he did. He was certainly getting used to what he was feeling, that much was obvious.
"Well, that's one way to spend an initiation." Calvin remarked, chuckling at the sight of Shin smacking Bayonetta on the ass.
"And I guess I know where my sense of taking initiative comes from now." Joshua chuckled in agreement as he stood up.
"I also took the liberty of scanning for any encrypted Animus files this time." Sarah noted as she typed at her computer. "And look what came up." She added, turning the screen around to show a pair of encrypted files marked with 'DM' in the code.
"What are we looking at here?" Mael questioned as he and the others looked at the files.
"I'm not quite sure what's inside…" Sarah trailed off as she looked them over. "But I can figure it out, if given enough time." She added.
"And I've managed to get us a chance to visit the capitol." Mael added. "That way we can see if we'll be able to access the DC Brotherhood Sanctuary." He added.
"Okay, that helps." Joshua nodded. "Now I can put my Eagle Vision through its first field test." He added with a small smirk.
"Speaking of." Calvin nodded as he tossed his friend a hidden blade. "Better take this, the mechanism in the Sanctuary needs two blades to be opened." He added.
"I was actually gonna ask about getting one of these." The second tallest in the group nodded as he pulled up his jacket sleeve and strapped it to his forearm and gave it a test. He was pleased when it came out with a quiet shank noise.
"That should answer your question, then." Sarah chuckled with a grin.
"Then if that's all, I think we've all earned the rest of the day off." Ororo told them. "Good work, team." She nodded. The gang then proceeded to depart for their respective homes, and when it was just Ororo and Joshua left alone together, the woman smashed her lips onto his once more.
"I got that picture you sent me this morning. Are you trying to get me to do something?" The man questioned as they pulled apart for air.
"Possibly." The woman nodded as she pulled the man along by his collar. "Wanna find out?" She asked as they came to Joshua's apartment.
"Sure." He nodded.
"Come on, then." Ororo told him as she dragged him inside, putting a do not disturb sign on the door and locking it behind them.
Next time: Trial by Fire
Dragon Emperor0: You see, this is what I miss from the Desmond days. The modern day guys act on what they find in the Animus instead of just relying on it. Joshua found out that the Sanctuary was in the Whitehouse, and now Mael has set up a time for them to check it out. Simple cause and effect with basic follow through.
ThermalsniperN7: Yeah, that's an element a lot of people probably missed having in later games… And then there's Ororo sending a nude pic of herself to Joshua. Not much to be said since we all have a pretty good idea of where that's heading.
Dragon Emperor0: And to give you guys an idea of how Shin and the others initiations will be like, we decided to make it a mix of the ceremonies in AC 2, Brotherhood and Unity. That being the ring finger brand and the trial elixir. To make things a bit more unique.
ThermalsniperN7: Yeah. I'm pretty sure that nobody wants to give up their ring fingers by this point in time, anyway. Branding is so much simpler. Anyway, see you guys next time.