Chapter 5: Trial by Fire

Review Replies

Yeeter of ligma: Pls new chapter soon

ThermalsniperN7: *In my best All Might impression* A new chapter is here!

Dragon Emperor0: *Eyebrow twitch* You can't be serious with that impression…

ThermalsniperN7: I can have my moments of goofiness.

Yeeter of ligma: More more more - Kylo Ren. Awesome chapter when he smacked bayonetta I thought he was so screwed but it ended up being very funny.

ThermalsniperN7: Yeah, that was funny.

Dragon Emperor0: And to be fair to Shin, Bayonetta was basically asking for it with that outfit she was wearing. But that being said, quick disclaimer, don't do that IRL to a girl unless she's your girlfriend. It never ends well. Ever.

ThermalsniperN7: Damn right.

-New York State, present day, Joshua's apartment-

Joshua and Ororo made out with each other heavily in the living room, moaning as their respective hands roamed each other's bodies and went under their clothes. Their hormones were at an all time high presently, and they were going to enjoy every second of it.

"You feel really good, so soft, pillowy and squishy." Joshua purred in the African woman's ear as he squeezed both of her ass cheeks like stress balls, before groaning audibly as she took a squeeze of his crotch.

"And you feel really nice. So hard, firm and sturdy." She purred back before she pulled his shirt off of his torso, licking her lips as she drank in her boyfriend's muscles.

The two had seen each other naked before this, but now that they could freely partake in the perverbile "eye candy" with their other senses–smell, touch and taste in particular– it was rather different.

And without worry of societal norms or inhibitions, the two coworkers-turned-lovers were free to let their primal instincts and carnal desires take full control. Third base date formalities be damned.

Joshua was next to make a move, and he took Ororo's shirt off, leaving only her blue lace bra keeping her breasts imprisoned. He didn't hesitate to remove that either, allowing her fleshy, dark chocolate colored mounds to bounce free.

He then proceeded to start sucking on her right breast while he squeezed the left one, causing her to moan as she held his head to her chest.

"Oh yes!" The woman moaned before gasping as he took her nipple in between his teeth and pulled on it, before resuming his aggressive sucking. "Yes! Keep going!" She gasped before feeling his free hand slip into her pants and rub her pussy, causing her to buck her hips instinctively against his hand.

After a while, Joshua decided to pick her up and carry her to his bedroom before placing her on the bed. Ororo was practically shivering in anticipation as her lover climbed on top of her and kissed her passionately.

"Let's get these pants off." He said as he started pulling her lower garments off, as she did his, allowing both their sexual organs to be brought into full view. "Now, are you ready?" The man questioned.

"I am." Ororo nodded, prompting Joshua to slowly press himself into her folds, causing both of them to moan from the pleasure that followed. "Holy shit, you feel huge!" She groaned.

"So tight!" The man groaned as he started thrusting his hips into the woman's cavern, slapping his thighs against hers at a steady and crazy rhythm.

Ororo was in heaven. The way Joshua moved felt better than anything she'd ever felt in her life, and she loved every single moment of it. She felt him hit her G-spot, causing her to gasp and arch her back as her breasts bounced like mad.

"Oh fuck! This feels amazing!" The man groaned as he kept pounding his woman like mad with his hands gripped her legs, and started fully fucking her brains out.

"Yes, yes, YES! Keep going, baby! Don't stop!" The woman moaned as she wrapped her legs around her man's waist to keep him there. She mentally gave herself a pat on the back for secretly taking birth control during Joshua's session today.

Joshua, meanwhile, was so into giving his woman a world of bliss and pleasure that no dildo or sex toy could give her–that he didn't notice her wrapping her legs around him as he felt his body start tensing up. A sign that he was about to blow.

"Ororo, I'm about to cum!" He groaned as he sped up his thrusts.

"In me! I'm on birth control!" The woman moaned, refusing to let him go. Joshua couldn't even say a word since he blew his load straight into her snatch while she climaxed all over his member, covering it in her juices. The man collapsed on top of his lover, his head finding a home in the valley of her breasts as he listened to her heartbeat while both parties tried to catch their breaths.

"Wow. That was…" Joshua panted as he rolled over, laying next to his lover as their sweat covered bodies were partially covered by the sheets.

"Wonderful? Amazing? Indescribable?" The woman suggested as they breathed heavily, turning over on her side and throwing her leg over his waist and holding him in her bosom.

"All of the above." Joshua breathed as his arm subconsciously wrapped around her waist. "Wanna do this again sometime?" He asked, looking at her.

"Absolutely, and maybe next time…" She nodded before purring in his ear. "I'll let you fuck my big, fat ass into next week." She purred into his ear, licking and sucking on his earlobe. She smirked when she felt his hand squeeze said area of her body.

"I think I'll take that offer. And maybe I'll fuck it in the shower if I'm feeling particularly creative." He whispered huskily into her ear.

"Sounds wonderful." The ebony skinned woman grinned as she kissed him passionately, laying her head on his chest.

"Glad it does." Joshua said as they separated and yawned. "Good night, my beloved." He added as he slowly fell asleep.

"Good night, darling." Ororo replied as she too went to sleep.

(The next day)

-Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington DC-

Joshua looked up at the now iconic Neoclassical some of the White House as he and the rest of the team arrived there from New York.

"You sure you have a way we can try and find the Brotherhood Sanctuary without breaking… A good few laws?" He asked Mael as they stood ready to go to the building.

"Yeah, I mean, our wrist blades probably won't get through the security check." Calvin added, gesturing to the contraption on their arms.

"Yes. I've had plenty of time to think this out." Mael nodded. "Now come on, we don't want to fall behind." He added as they gathered in a group of tour guests, the man handed the two new Assassins special emp discs that would short out the metal detectors for a brief period.

One quick security search later, they were all let in, allowing the group to go along with the tour group and look for the area from Shin's memories. They were led through most of the ground floor rooms, and when they reached the last one, they found the area they were looking for.

"Okay… Now!" The tall man whispered as they kept with the group while Joshua and Calvin slipped out to the device on the wall.

Turning on their comms, they then looked at the two blade slots. "Alright, let's go." Joshua said, deploying his blade.

"Right. On three." Calvin nodded as the two friends got into position. "One… two… three!" He said, prompting both to stick their hidden blades into the slots on the wall, which caused the old mechanism to activate after being out of use for roughly three centuries.

"Okay, we're going in." Joshua said as they darted inside and closed the entrance behind them as the security cameras were looking away from them. Once they were inside, the two let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Okay, let's head to the archives and see what we can find on the Last Feather of Quetzalcoatl." Sarah said over comms as the duo started progressing deeper into the old HQ.

"Alright, let's go." Calvin nodded as he and Joshua started down the hall, which was rather dark–forcing them to use their Eagle Vision. "Damn, it's dark down here. Guess I shouldn't be surprised after all this time." He mused as they walked.

"Yeah, and don't forget dusty. Makes me wish I brought a mask with me." Joshua sighed, shaking his head slightly.

"OK germa–ah-ah-ah-ah-ahhh-CHOOO!" The bespectacled lad said before sneezing, which caused something to flip around and make the electrical lights flicker on.

"... Well I'll be damned!" Joshua blinked in surprise. "Well over three hundred years of disuse and the power here still works!" He continued, sounding truly amazed. Who wouldn't?

"Yeah, lucky us–AH CHOO! Urg…" His friend groaned, blowing his nose. "Let's make this quick, for the sake of my nose." He added.

"Right. Let's head to the archives and see what we can find." Joshua nodded as they started looking for said area of the old HQ.

It looked exactly like it did in Shin's memories, but its age definitely showed, with many of its mosaics and marble scaffolding being worn or peeled off, wood splitting and the books looking very aged and worn. Additionally many of the metal parts were rusted, tiles were missing–and on a particular note–one of the chandeliers looked like it was about to fall from the ceiling and crash onto the ground at any point.

"Yeesh, this place sure doesn't look all that good." Calvin noted, dragging his finger along a column that had niter and mildew on it as water dripped from the ceiling, making the two notice the cracks in said ceiling.

"Yeah. The weathering might have damaged the documents stored here. Let's look for what we came for and get out." Joshua nodded, not wanting to be here when something inevitably fell apart on them and potentially hurt one of them.

"Yeah." His friend nodded as they started looking.

(Later)

After a good half hour of searching, the two were able to find several different things of interest in the Sanctuary, but unfortunately nothing relating to what they were looking for.

Although, they did notice that the Sanctuary had statues of noticeable members of the Brotherhood throughout history, which were around a gate where a suit of armor used to be.

"What armor do you think used to be there?" Joshua asked.

"Some armor that Ezio Auditore had that he found during his time as a Master Assassin. An armor that originally belonged to Altair, one of the most famous Assassins." Calvin replied. "If I'm right, Connor Kenway got it during the later part of his career after the American Revolution." He added.

"We should think about figuring out where it was hidden at a later date if the Brotherhood doesn't already have it, but we'll probably get to that later." Joshua mused as they looked elsewhere.

"Right…" The bespectacled lad nodded as he searched around Bowery's old desk. "Hey, I think I found something!" He called.

"What is it?" The taller bespectacled man called back as he looked over a document that, very oddly, pertained to the Jersey Devil.

He had no idea what to make of it.

"I found these all over the place in here, actual reports of cryptids that the Brotherhood saw and documented, captured, or even killed." His friend stated. "And holy shit, they even have several reports of Wendigo and the Headless Horseman!" He added in surprise.

"Wait, legit?!" Joshua asked in surprise before he took a closer look at the document he was holding and widened his eyes as he saw what was written. "I've got a document on the Jersey Devil over here! It says that Shin had a run in with the bastard!" He added.

"Well that's certainly something." Ororo noted.

"And apparently, he also encountered something called the Nanook when he and Connor Kenway's granddaughter Ravi:nhiòte, or just Raven, were on a mission together in Alaska." Calvin noted as he read about the account. "... Sweet Jesus, look at the size of this thing!" He yiped.

Joshua came over with his Jersey Devil document still in hand and looked at the Nanook document over Calvin's shoulder… and his eyes nearly bugged out of his skull when he saw the drawing on it.

"Fuck me sideways! Shin saw that piece of work?!" He shouted in shock. "I dunno if I should be looking forward to these particular memories." He added with a small gulp.

The Nanook looked like the demon love child of a Polar, Kodiak, Grizzly and Short-Faced bear. With the body and musculature of a Grizzly, arms, claws and teeth of the Short-Faced bear, the legs and broad body of a Kodiak, and the fur, head and general appearance of a polar bear.

However, what really put this Ursa apart, was the sheer size of the damn thing. From nose to paw, it was as tall as Mael on all fours, but when it was at full height on its back legs, the same comparison only came up to its waist.

"I don't blame you for feeling intimidated." Calvin admitted. "What about the Jersey Devil? Is there a sketch of it on that document you're holding? He then asked.

"One sec." Joshua replied as he looked the document over. "Ah, found it." He said upon finding the image and showing it to Calvin. "Nasty fuck, ain't he?" He noted.

The cryptid looked like it was a mix of a goat head with the eyes of said animal, a long neck not unlike a dragon's, a scaly body, two human-like arms, two hooved hind legs and a tail. It even had a pair of wings on its back.

"Yeesh. Talk about a face only a mother could love." Calvin nodded before looking at another cryptid. "Shut the front door." He said as he saw an entry on another creature that Shin and Raven saw: the Cherokee Death Cat.

It looked like a lion, but with a smaller mane and a very muscular body. Joshua looked at the image and blinked.

"... Okay, even cat lovers like me couldn't hope to see that and live to tell about it." He remarked before looking at another report and blinked. "Wait, what? The Mothman was reported centuries earlier than we thought?!" He noted in shock.

"What's up?" Sarah asked.

"I'm looking at an 1842 report of the Mothman. It says that he ambushed a caravan and killed everyone, leaving a single survivor before he vanished." The bespectacled man explained as he looked over the report in question. "Apparently this was written before Shin joined the Brotherhood." He added.

"That's strange. I thought Mothman made his debut back in the sixties." Mael commented in confusion. "Secure as many of those cryptid documents as you can. We'll look over them back in New York." He told them.

"Alright, and we'll try and get a few more useful things as well." Joshua nodded as the two started gathering everything of value they could find.

"Hey, I think I just found a map of the Brotherhood's Secret tunnel ways." Calvin said as he pulled a scroll from under a loose floorboard he'd stepped on.

"Think any of those old tunnels will give us a decent way out of here?" The taller of the two asked as he picked up another document and looked at it before he grinned. "And lo and behold, I just found something related to the Feather!" He added proudly.

"Seriously? What do you have?" The bespectacled lad questioned.

"It's lacking a specific description of where it's hidden, but it seemed to be hidden in some old Aztec ruins guarded by… Camazotz? The hell?" Joshua replied before blinking at the mention of the guardians of choice at the ruins. He shook his head and continued. "Anyway, it doesn't say which location in which the ruins Shin took it from are, or where he hid it afterwards." He added.

"That was probably done to keep the Templars from finding it." Calvin amended. "Which makes it just as hard for us to work with–hold on." He continued before using his Eagle Vision. "Holy shit, there's invisible ink on these documents."

"You mean like with the Codex pages?" Joshua asked, recalling the times Calvin told him about encountering such pages when he retraced the steps of Ezio, Connor and Edward during his time with Abstergo.

"Yeah. Use your's and have a look." Calvin nodded. Joshua did so and saw where Shin had taken the feather from. It was from some Aztec/Mayan ruins near the border of Central America and Mexico where the two empires overlapped.

"Well that's oddly apropos." Joshua noted. "Too bad this is only part of the map, though. It doesn't tell us if the Feather is still there or if it was moved." He added.

"It still provides us with a good starting point. Take that document along with the cryptid ones and get out of there." Mael told them.

"Right." Calvin nodded before he looked at his friend. "Come on. Let's make like a drum and beat it." He beckoned.

"I think I saw a tunnel that should lead us out of here, come on." Joshua nodded as he led his friend to a trap door.

(Later)

With a deep breath and strained heave, both young men pushed a large boulder out of the way from their exit point, and found themselves in the middle of the country where their HQ was. They looked around at the nature surrounding them and blinked.

"I guess that was an evacuation tunnel." Joshua remarked.

"Looks like it." Calvin nodded. "Now we can go to and from the Sanctuary and look more if we have to. Maybe even fix it up as an extra HQ." He added.

"Definitely sounds like it's worth a try." Joshua nodded. "Come on. Let's make our way back to the others." He continued. The two then started making their way to the rendezvous point, and enjoyed the sounds of nature along the way.

"Having the base out here really was a good choice. It's out of the way from the city so Abstergo can't easily find it, the woods allows us to have decent internet and power access while also protecting us from being tracked." Joshua noted.

"And the atmosphere acts as a natural relaxer." His friend nodded.

"Definitely has its benefits, and they're ones that can seriously be enjoyed." The taller of the two friends nodded as he looked around with a smile before he spotted a Bald Eagle descending towards them and landing in their path, getting them to stop. It looked at them curiously, its gaze swapping between them in a manner not unlike an inspection.

The two men glanced at each other in confusion, wondering what was going through the bird of prey's head. It then let out a squawk and walked (waddled?) over to Joshua, looking up at him expectantly. Feeling a little awkward, the man kneeled down and offered his right arm to the bird, and was understandably surprised when it hopped up his arm and perched itself on his right shoulder.

"... I got adopted by a bird of prey. What is this day?" The tall and bespectacled man wondered with a bewildered expression.

"Just keep it away from me. I'm allergic to feathers, you know." Calvin said as he inched away from his friend's newfound avian companion. "Achoo! Urg… first dust now this." He groaned as they kept walking, rubbing his nose.

"Come on, let's go." The tall man said as they kept walking.

(Later)

The two soon arrived at their HQ where the others were waiting, and it seemed like they hadn't been followed either. Mael noticed them and was about to greet them, but paused when he saw the Bald Eagle perched on Joshua's right shoulder.

"... Um, what's with the bird of prey?" He questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Apparently it–ACHOO–adopted Josh." Calvin replied, blowing his nose as he sat down at his station.

"That's rather peculiar. Bald Eagles don't usually do that." Sarah remarked as she watched the bird of prey make a short flight from Joshua's shoulder to Ororo's station, much to the ebony skinned woman's surprise.

"And I don't know how I'm gonna get it to my apartment either." Joshua added as he got ready for his animus session for the day. "Or how the fella will react to my cats." He added.

"Pretty sure it'll figure that out, mate." Sarah told him. "So, ready to get started on another session?" She asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be." The gunslinger's descendant nodded as he braced himself.

Animus Active

Alert! Bleeding Effect has taken effect on the subject's mind.

Recommended two days recovery to avoid neurological degradation.

(Dismiss?)

[Yes]

Searching for relevant memory cluster data based on previous saved sessions…

Memory Cluster found.

Memory: Trial by Fire

Synchronizing…

-Washington DC, 1858-

It was late morning in the initiates quarters and in the boy's buildings, everyone was getting dressed. Today was going to be the day a good chunk of them were going to become novice Assassins.

But while they were doing this, Shin was strumming on his old guitar, which he grabbed from his old house before coming.

The tune he was trying to do was a parody of an old country song he came up with. "To the town of Aqua Frida rode a stranger one fine day. Hardly spoke to folks around him, didn't have too much to say. No one dared to ask his business, no one dared to make a slip. The stranger there among them had a Big Iron on his hip. Big iron on his hip." He tuned in a level voice as he strummed along.

A few of the other initiates, namely Ban and Clover, turned to Shin with looks of interest as they listened to him sing his tune. Some of the others did, too.

"That your own tune?" Ban questioned.

"No, it's an old one from my neck of the woods." The gunslinger replied. As he set down his instrument, he noticed that one of the guys was putting medicine on what looked like a raised burn scar. "Say, who's that?" He asked.

The boy in question was African in appearance, with rather broad shoulders and stalked build, and a blocky cranial structure. Though his most notable feature was the damaged eye he had, more specifically his right, which he had an eye patch over.

"Oh that's Mansa, don't worry about him, he's cool." Ban replied. "Just don't say anything to him about that scar or his eye, it's kinda touchy for him."

"Why?" Shin asked.

"It's because he used to be a victim of the Haitian slave trade, mate." Clover chimed in with a spat. "Why people don't treat each other as equals anymore and get rid of stuff like that–that's what I'll never understand."

"It's because most people are idiots that can barely think as a group." Shin grunted as he put his guitar away, sharing the disdain for the slave trade in general.

Getting up, the boy then walked over to Mansa and sat on the trunk in front of the boy's bunk, before digging into his pocket and pulling out what looked to be a wheel wrapped in paper–before unwrapping it and revealing it to be a wheel of Mexican Taza chocolate, a kind of chocolate that was much grittier and rustic than its modern day counterpart. Though the kind is still made today.

"Hey." The gunslinger assassin said, getting the other boy's attention before breaking off a piece of the chocolate. "Wanna bite? It Guajillo flavored." He offered, holding out the cocoa bean treat to his fellow initiate.

"Hm. Thank you." Mansa nodded as he accepted the chocolate. "You're the one I've heard of, the stray Jaren brought in." He noted after a moment or two, though his words were clearly not malicious.

"Yeah, but last I checked, we're all strays." Shin jeered back, eating a piece of the chocolate.

"I suppose so." Mansa chuckled before he took a breath. "So… This test… What are your thoughts on it?" He asked.

"Honestly? Nothing, since I have no idea what it entails." Shin shrugged. "All I know is that I plan on taking my job as an Assassin seriously. What're you going to do?" He asked.

"I hope to help liberate my people from the south's tyranny, and by extension, the Templars." Mansa stated. "Though having equal rights will be a harder ask, as I'm sure you're aware."

"Yeah, my mom and I rarely do anything in other towns. Buying things, getting us new land, asking for a loan, all of it had to be done by my dad." The boy nodded. "Race and sex discrimination is just as bad for those of mixed blood, if not worse, trust me."

"Ah, I see what you mean. You speak from experience." Mansa noted, spotting the features of Shin's heritage.

"If I had a gold bar for every time someone assumed I didn't understand English because my mom is Chinese, the government would have to mortgage Fort Knox." The gunslinger nodded.

"I bet." The Haitian man chuckled before Jaren entered the room.

"Alright, boys! Initiation time, so let's get a move on!" He exclaimed, prompting the boys to all stand and walk out the door as the older gunslinger led them to their destination.

"Good luck, Mansa." The boy said.

"You as well." The fellow boy replied.

(Later)

As the group of future Assassins made their way to the senate hall, they soon crossed paths with a historical figure that the Modern day crew recognized instantly.

"Good morning, congressman Lincoln. Come to join the senate session today?" Bayonetta questioned as the group neared the door at the same time as the man.

"Of course. I'd be a fool to not see what the new blood is capable of." Honest Abe replied with a nod.

"Then let's proceed." Jaren nodded as everyone entered the senate hall.

Upon entering, however, the wielder of the Last Word had to duck out of the way as a chair came flying out of nowhere from the front of the hall, while Bayonetta narrowly dodged a bowie knife that came flying from her two o'clock–burying its point into the wall next to the Congress room's liquor cabinet.

"Who the hell?!" Clover shouted in surprise, which everyone else shared.

"Don't worry, that's actually normal." Jaren told them. The scene before them was absolute chaos, representatives and senators of all stripes were arguing, shouting, waving or throwing papers–and in a few cases–brawling in the cramped, stuffy and rather warm room in which they were meant to do their good governance.

"Uh, how the hell is this normal?" Ban whispered to Shin, who shrugged.

Lincoln sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose, the man towering over the children with his height of six feet and four inches.

"My apologies, the conversations of these sessions have become increasingly volatile ever since the movement of abolition was placed before the congress." The man explained, his pointed features wrinkled in dismay.

"Of course they'd be." Shin couldn't help but sigh before he took out one of his revolvers. "Permission to force them to shut up?" He asked Jaren, pointing his gun at the ceiling.

"By all means." Jaren and Lincoln nodded, allowing the boy to fire off six shots from his model 3 before reloading and holstering it just as fast–causing the hall to go silent as everyone nearly jumped.

"Now that the idiot gallery has been silenced, may we proceed?" The young gunslinger questioned in slight irritation. He didn't have any actual love for politics since he viewed it as a cause for a majority of the world's problems, which made it into what it is now.

The spooked politicians looked like they wanted to say something, but held their tongues as they retook their seats.

Jaren pulled the knife from the wall and handed it to a brown haired congressman who approached him.

"Your knife, Congressman Dawson." He said. The man he was talking to was James Dawson of Louisiana.

"Thank you." Said man nodded as he accepted his returned bowie and returned to his seat. With that done, Shin rejoined the initiates.

Bayonetta and Jaren then began leading the kids down the walkway to its center, where the president and his cabinet were sitting at the highest spot. With Mentor Bowery sitting next to the vice president John C. Breckenridge.

"Welcome, young ones. Today, you've gathered here to undergo the Rite of Passage into the Brotherhood." The Mentor began. "You will do so under the eyes of the Congress."

"Thank you, Mentor." The initiates said in unison. It was then that president Buchanan, a slightly burly man with white hair and a rounded almost bell shaped face, stood up.

"On this day, initiates, I welcome you into our continued fight against our enemies–the Templars." He told them as Jaren stepped forward as did Bayonetta, Bowery standing between them after descending from his previous perch.

In the middle of the floor was a coal forge which was ignited and hot, with a set of tongs inside it. As well as a pedestal with a goblet on it.

"First: Mansa Musa Hakeem-ababer." The mentor stated, prompting the Haitian boy to step forward. "Nothing is true, everything is permitted." The man said. "These are the words that our forefathers held true to their mission. Chief among them being these three tenets: One - Stay your blade from the flesh of an innocent. Two - Let the people mask you such that you become one with the crowd. And finally, Three - Never compromise the Brotherhood, either directly or indirectly." He added.

"But realize that we do not take these tenets or the Creed so literal as our ancestors, as the great Altair observed, even these things are up for personal interpretation." Bayonetta amended. "Only you can make your own path as an Assassin." She added.

"Also know that if you break any of the tenets, you do so at your own peril." Jaren finished.

"I understand." Mansa nodded.

"Then by the power invested in me, by these United States, and by our forefathers who come before us: I pronounce you a novice of the Brotherhood." Bowery said. "Jaren, present him with his brand so that he may take his trial." He prompted.

"Of course." The gunslinger nodded as he removed the prongs from the coals and held them out. "Present your dominant hand's ring finger." He instructed. The newly minted novice did so, and Jaren branded it at the base of the finger, causing him to hiss in slight pain before his finger was released.

"Now, drink the trial potion, so that you may fully enter our ranks, free of mind." Bowery instructed. Mansa did so, and drank the contents of the goblet… before he swayed and fell to the ground, unconscious.

"What the–?!" Shin and Ban gasped before Clover and Francesco elbowed them in the ribs.

Minutes passed and Mansa seemed like he was in a waking dream, before he suddenly shot up in a cold sweat, his breathing heavy.

"That was…" He trailed off as he shakily got to his feet.

"We understand. You may go and rest." Jaren nodded. The Haiatian initiate nodded as he took his leave, doing his best to catch his breath.

This process continued several times with the other initiates, the girls in particular having even harder reactions to whatever was in the goblet… and continued until it was finally Shin's turn.

"Shin Malphur." Bowery called. "Step forward." He ordered. Shin did so, hands at his side. Tipping his hat to the other two flanking the Mentor, he then took a knee before him.

"Like my fellow initiates, I too swear to follow the Creed and its tenets to the best of my ability." He said, before looking up at Bowery and getting up, taking off his hat and hood. "And I promise to put my best foot forward, so help me god." He added, making a brief sign of the cross, which the men around him nodded at approvingly.

"Then present your dominant hand's ring finger so that you may be branded." Jaren prompted, and Shin did so. He let out a small hiss as the base of his ring finger was branded, before it was released.

"Don't worry, it'll only hurt for a time." Bayonetta told him, before handing him the goblet.

"Okay… Bottoms up." The young man sighed as he took the goblet and took a drink of it… before the effects hit him and he started stumbling and falling unconscious on his back.

Dream Sequence

Entering mindscape separate from memory choridoor.

Proceed with extreme caution.

Possibility of operator being locked in black box space.

-Unknown Dreamscape-

Shin groaned as he woke up… and saw that he was in his hometown again, and it was burning. Looking around frantically, he spotted his parents about to die.

He scrambled to his feet and started sprinting towards them, but as he kept running, his destination didn't seem any closer than when he started.

As he continued his desperate dash, the ground started falling apart and falling away, forcing him to maneuver around the broken land in a bid to reach his parents before they died.

However as they fell away on nooses, a giant shadowy apparition of a bat swooped down and swept them away like ashes in the wind–ending with Shin landing back first with a thud on the desert floor.

"No… Not again…" He groaned in dismay as he slowly got to his feet, and was greeted with something else entirely.

In front of him stood a figure composed of white light and another of darkness and before he could react, the former whipped out his hand cannon (which was made of gold) and shot at the dark figure several times–but the figure was unmoved

The dark figure then raised his own gun, a dark and sickly looking gun. A green orb on the barrel–which was jagged–like Thorns. Then it shot the light figure, blasting a dark hole in its chest. The light figure fell on its back, dead, while the dark figure simply walked away.

And in the sky during this whole scene, the same bat from before swooped down again and swept away the figure, causing its gun to fall away as the ground crumbled and Shin was transported to another scene.

It was of some ancient ruins. If he was looking at them correctly, they were likely Aztec in nature. But what really shocked him, was that it was gilded at every crevice with gold, platinum, and silver–with the very streets being paved in precious stones.

He then saw a figure garbed in white and gold walking into a pyramid before getting ambushed by more of the bats, forcing him to fight his way through them. When the figure reached the inside of the pyramid, Shin saw them find what looked to be a glowing feather, simply hovering there.

Above the feather was a giant white winged and feathered serpent, which presented him with the object. The figure accepted the feather with gratitude.

But this moment was interrupted by the dark figure appearing again, but instead this time–the bright figure held up his gun and it was suddenly set ablaze, and he blasted the dark figure–reducing him to ashes. And then the same bat from before swooped over the city, dimming its brilliance before it slammed down in front of him.

The figure didn't seem intimidated and readied its blazing gun, obviously planning to kill the bat-like creature in front of it. But then holstered it as he then brought out two wrist blades as the two charged at each other.

Then everything seemed to black out as the dream came to an end.

Dream Sequence End.

Operator Neurological Condition: Normal

Returning to original memory corridor…

-Washington DC, Hall of Congress, 1858-

Shin woke up with a gasp, shooting up and holding a hand to his chest as he recovered from the mindfuck he just experienced. Noticing a hand in his peripheral vision, he saw Jaren holding it out to him. The young gunslinger accepted it and was helped to his feet.

"Good job, Shin. Looks like you got through the trial in one piece." The man noted.

"And saw some shit I can barely make sense of." Shin added as he tried to calm his nerves.

"Don't worry, they will make themselves known if you give them time." His mentor stated as he let the boy rejoin the other initiates.

"Now, initiates, we welcome you into our order. From this day forth you shall be Assassins of the Brotherhood. We wish you well in your work for our mutual peace for all people." Bowery told them all.

"Thank you, Mentor." The initiates responded in unison.

"Now, go rest. Your work begins tomorrow." Lincoln told them, prompting Jaren and Bayonetta to lead them out of the congress hall and back to their quarters.

Then the sequence came to an end.

Memory sequence complete.

Memory: Trial by Fire Synced.

Saving progress…

Searching for relevant memory clusters…

None found. Eject user? [Yes/No]

[Yes]

Ejecting user…

-New York City, present day-

Joshua sat up with a groan as he held his head, feeling some strain on his nerves from the sessions. Ororo quickly gave him some water, the only Eagle in the room hopping onto the man's lap and looking at him in concern.

"Ugh. Let's take a few days off. I don't feel like risking any damage to my mind because of the bleeding effect." He groaned.

"Yes. I think all of us could use a break after what's happened today." Mael nodded.

"And your Eagle friend seems rather attached to you. He refuses to leave." Sarah remarked.

"He?" Joshua questioned as he gave his bird of prey some head scratches.

"I looked him over and found out he was male while you were busy." Ororo told her lover.

"Oh." The man nodded.

"So the American Brotherhood used the same kind of Trial serum as the French Brotherhood did during their time… an odd coincidence, but that does at least give us an idea of their customs." Mael noted.

"I'm more concerned about what they put in that cup." Calvin chimed in. "I mean I've seen the footage from the memories of Arnor De'Lasair and they had to be tripping balls on Acid or something to see stuff like that." He added.

"I'm inclined to agree, after watching Shin's little trip." Joshua nodded as his Eagle companion perched himself on his shoulders again, allowing him to stand up. "Anyway, let's all head home. We all need some rest after today." He added.

"Agreed." Mael nodded as he pinned up the last of the papers on his wall. "I've marked the tunnel to the Sanctuary on our map. So we can go back to it and work on it as our second base next week." He added.

"Working on that is going to be a nightmare." Calvin groaned as he recalled the three centuries worth of filth and damage that had accumulated.

It was at this point that the group's computer got a call. It was from Shaun, Rebecca and a man that the others recognized, but Joshua didn't.

"Well well, if it isn't William Miles, finally decided to show up and talk to us groundlings, eh?" Calvin spat venomously.

"Who's William Miles?" The second tallest of the group wondered.

"He's the mentor of the modern Assassins." Sarah replied quickly as Ororo moved to answer the call.

"Hey guys." Rebecca greeted, her tone seemingly solemn.

"Hello, Rebecca." Ororo responded in a soft tone.

"What's the matter, something happen?" Mael asked.

"It's Kayla, mate, she put herself in the Grey. Like Miles did." Shaun explained.

"What?! When did this happen?" Calvin questioned incredulously.

"Last week. Rebecca's taking it hard." The other historian replied.

"Fortunately though, one man has offered to take up her place and continue her work." William explained, causing Calvin to spit on the ground.

"Oh yeah? Like who?" The lad scoffed.

"A man named Basim, a Precursor conscientious objector." The man explained.

"Really?" Mael asked in minor surprise.

"Yeah, I don't like it either. But, the guy's at least gotten us some results." Rebecca nodded. Then she noticed Joshua. "Uh, who's the guy with the Bald Eagle on his shoulder?" She asked with a raised eyebrow since she hadn't seen the gunslinger's descendant yet.

"Joshua Landers, one of Shin Malphur's descendants." The man in question replied. "As for the Bald Eagle… He adopted me." He added with a chuckle, the bird of prey squawking proudly.

"So you're the one looking for the Last Feather of Quetzalcoatl?" William questioned. "Any progress?" He asked.

"Some. We paid a visit to the Sanctuary under the White House, and managed to find something related to it." Joshua nodded. "It was found in some Aztec ruins along the border of Central America and Mexico, but we don't know where since we don't have a complete map. And we even got our hands on some cryptid reports." He added, the last part being more of an afterthought.

"Wait, cryptid reports?" Rebecca questioned.

"Yeah. Apparently the urban legends and folktales we're all familiar with don't appear to be as fake as they seem." The man nodded. "The ones we did acquire cover the Cherokee Death Cat, Tonga Suk, Wendigo, and the Headless Horseman just to name a few. " He added. "Though there was one on the Mothman, too." He continued.

"Wait, the Mothman? I thought he debuted back in the sixties." Shaun noted with a blink.

"Well the 1842 report on his apparently says otherwise. We're not sure if any other reports on him were at the Sanctuary, though." Joshua shrugged. "But yeah. In short: There's gonna be a lot of cryptids out there that are actually real. Keep your eyes open." He surmised.

"Could they be Isu experiments? Like the creatures Kassandra talked about?" Rebecca wondered.

"I'm sorry, Isu experiments?" Joshua inquired with a confused look.

"Precursor experiments that survived the collapse of their creator's civilization, basically." Mael supplied, getting a thankful nod in return.

"In that case, they could be, but I'm not sure. We'd have to find Kassandra and have her tag along on a cryptid hunt so she can confirm that." Joshua stated. "Assuming we find the time for one, that is." He added idly.

"Or if she's still alive…" Calvin noted idly as the call ended.

(Later)

-Joshua's apartment-

Joshua let out a breath as he sat on his couch while his feathered buddy sat next to him, having a staring contest with the cats who were surprised by the new animal arrival and wary of him. Getting the landlord to allow an Eagle into the building hadn't been easy, but he managed to reach an agreement that Joshua would fix any damages the bird of prey caused in his apartment. He also opted to name the bird Trevor.

Ororo had gone back to her apartment, but not before whispering into her lover's ear that she would swing by the day after tomorrow for their next romp before leaving with her hips swaying enticingly.

As Joshua looked at his three animal companions, he saw River jump onto the couch and cautiously approach Trevor and sniffed him, the large bird not moving. After a moment, the turtleback rubbed his nose along the male predator's beak, leaving his scent on it so he would know it was him.

"Play nice, you two." Joshua warned as he watched Kali start pawing at Trevor's tail feathers. "No, Kali, Trevor's a friend, not a toy." He told her. Trevor looked back at her and tilted his head at her, wondering why she pawed at his tail feathers. The man sighed as he went to his kitchen and opened up his fridge, He then started looking through his stock to see if he had anything to feed Trevor with before he found some fish.

Taking the package out of the fridge and opening it, he set some fish on a paper plate before putting it on the floor and whistling for his feathery buddy, the noise getting him to waddle into the room and see the fish before helping himself. Then Joshua realized something else.

'Where the fuck is Trevor gonna piss and take a shit?' He thought in realization, hoping that there wouldn't be a mess on the floor for him to step on in the morning and clean up after. That would seriously kill his morning mood.

At best, he could try leaving the bathroom door open in hopes of Trevor figuring out what toilets were used for like he's seen Bobcats do in a video he watched before.

It was wishful, but he could hope. Though as he did this, the Eagle then hopped over to the patio door, pushed it open, hopped on the rail–and then let a bomb fall on the patio below, which belonged to Joshua's obnoxious downstairs neighbor.

"Oh come on!" Said neighbor exclaimed.

'... Okay, now that was funny!' Joshua thought as he suppressed a laugh while Trevor came back inside, even going so far as to close the door behind him.

Talk about a distinguished bird.

Next Memory: I just don't think you can handle this one.

Dragon Emperor0: … Ya know, I've been thinking. Do you think that the stuff in that goblet could be a cocktail made with cannabis oil and Ayahuasca?

ThermalsnipernN7: With the shit it made Shin and the rest of the initiates see? It could be. Seriously, those visions ain't normal.

Dragon Emperor0: Yeah, no thank you. I think I'll stick to cigars, please. Also, yes, we'll have cryptids like how Odyssey had mythical creatures in it. Which will make for some awesome boss battles. Hmm, should we take inspiration from Dark Souls for that?

ThermalsniperN7: I've never played those games, but if you're referring to difficulty, then I guess that would work. It would make the cryptids into very worthwhile kills.

Dragon Emperor0: Yeah. Anyway guys, see you next time.