Chapter 11: Hang Me!
-American Assassin Headquarters, Present Day-
"So are you ready to see what happens next with Shin?" Sarah questioned as she and Calvin were getting the Animus ready for Joshua.
"Kinda hard not to." The Animus diver in question replied with a shrug.
"I do wonder what's up with that list, however." Ororo commented, leaning on her lover a bit.
"Let's see what's up, then." Mael said as Joshua got into the Animus, allowing the crew to power it back up.
Animus Active.
Sequence 11
Current Memory: Du Casse, Du Mal
Synchronizing…
-American Assassin Headquarters, 1659-
Shin laughed as he ran through the White House lawn at top speed, looking behind him for something, a smile on his face.
"Come on Liberty! You can do it!" He called back as a now fledged Bald eagle chick flapped her wings behind him, trying to stay off the ground.
Said chick was learning how to fly, and much like walking for human babies, it was a tough learning process. She was hovering above the ground for a bit, but then fell back down each time, causing her to let out frustrated chirps.
Fenrir, meanwhile, was right on her tail feathers, nipping at her every time she was about to touch the ground, forcing the living symbol of freedom to push herself further.
Surprisingly, this helped her make good progress, but there was only so much she could make before tiring out. When Liberty landed on the ground panting not a moment later, Fenrir and Shin knew that flying practice was done for the day.
"Come on, Liberty, up ya go." The gunslinger Assassin said, holding his arm out for her to climb on before feeding her a decent sized rat. "You did good, girl." He smiled, letting her drink some water from a canteen.
"I see that the bird is learning how to fly." A familiar voice commented, prompting Shin to turn and see Cereza walking up to him with a smirk.
"Her name is Liberty, Cereza." The boy corrected as he scratched Liberty's chin, causing her to peep happily. "And yes, she's doing a great job." He nodded, nuzzling her beak with his nose, "Isn't that right, girl?" He cooed, causing her to chirp and Fenrir to whine, wanting attention too.
"It is nice to see you caring for your companions." The British Assassin chuckled as she watched the young deputy give his canine pal the attention he wanted.
"Well, they are some of the best critters I've ever met." Shin shrugged, holding Liberty up as she perched on his arm.
"I can see that." The woman nodded. "Come on, Mentor Bowery wants to see us in his office." She told him.
"What about?" Shin questioned.
"He didn't say, or at least Jaren didn't elaborate." She replied, walking in front of him. "Which probably means he wasn't exactly the happiest about it." She added.
"I feel like this is gonna lead to a headache…" The young man groaned as the two started heading back to HQ.
(Later)
"Mentor? You wanted to see me?" Shin questioned as he walked into the man's office, Liberty flying off his shoulder and landing on the man's desk, looking intently at the messenger pigeons that were nesting all over the room.
"Yes. There has been a development." The man began. "It appears that Tweed is having some outlaws released for reasons I don't know. I need you to intervene and deal with it." He told him.
"Specifically these outlaws are ten of the most notorious low lives that I put away personally." Jaren chimed in, leaning against the wall behind the two. "Which means that they'll likely be gunning for us as much as we are them." He added.
"Oh lovely." Shin groaned in exasperation. "Where am I going?" He asked, knowing he had a lot to do.
"First you'll need to take down the hub where these outlaws are getting their orders from the Templars." Bowery explained. "Our sources say that the one leading this group for the Templars is a man named Andre Du Mal, a close confidant of Tweed's from Canada." He added.
"So if we kill him, the outlaws will be headless chickens. Okay." Shin nodded.
"I'll tag along and help. This is bound to be a tricky place to get into." Cereza offered.
"That's good, Bayonetta, because that's exactly what I was going to tell you." Bowery nodded. "Jaren, you best tag along too, you know how Du Mal is. He gets one whiff of trouble, he's likely to leave a fire in his wake to escape." He added.
"Understood." The Marshal nodded in reply. "Come on, you two." He told them as Shin click called Liberty to come to him as they left.
(Later)
"So where are we going, exactly?" Shin questioned as they started leaving on horseback after leaving the stables.
"The Davenport Homestead." Jaren replied as the trio rode.
"You mean Connor Kenway's old base?" The gunslinger Assassin questioned.
"The very same. The Templars moved in after we stopped using it." Cereza chimed in with a nod.
"That only being possible because Tweed twisted the arm of Senator Sumner to have our claim to the land dismissed." Jaren hissed.
"You can't be serious…" Shin uttered in disbelief.
"I wish I wasn't." The marshal sighed in agitation.
"... Was that even legal back then?" Joshua wondered in a dry tone.
"If the senators were taking bribes or forced to exert influence on their state courts, then it really didn't matter at that point." Mael told him.
As the three rode along, Shin decided that it was probably a good idea to ask for information on their target.
"So, what can you tell me about our Templar chap?" He questioned, Cereza chuckling at his usage of British lingo.
"He's a Frenchman named Andre Du Mal, and as it happens, a cousin of another infamous Templar, Julien Du Casse. The Templars recruited him since he has intimate knowledge of us, from our weaponry all the way to our customs. Literally everything." Jaren explained, causing Shin to frown a bit.
"From the sound of things, it sounds like he used to be one of us before he defected." He noted.
"No, he was just a big fan of our work. However, when he fought with the Assassins after getting conscripted from the Canadian army during the wars with the Cherokee. He soon fell victim to the Brotherhood's less than… disciplined members." Cereza explained.
"You know Shay Cormac's old crew? Yeah, they were that kind of undisciplined." Jaren added. "Little surprise that Du Mal joined the Templars after that." He added.
"I've actually been meaning to ask about Shay. What happened to make him defect to the Templars, anyway?" The young gunslinger wondered with a contemplative frown on his face.
"Achilles Davenport happened." Cereza explained. "As far as I'm aware, Shay discovered that the Pieces of Eden that they were looking for caused earthquakes when they were touched." She continued.
"Ya know that big earthquake that hit Lisbon? Yeah, that's what caused it." Jaren added.
"And Shay was the unlucky collector sent to that site." Shin deduced with a frown. "When he saw the destruction he wrought unintentionally, he joined the Templars of his time to stop the Assassins following Achilles from disturbing anymore of those sites." He continued.
"Yeah. And Achilles tried to kill Shay when he protested at first, being left for dead after falling off a cliff." Jaren stated.
"And he was saved by a Templar." The British Assassin nodded.
"And the rest is history." Shin finished with a sigh. 'So this is what Obadiah meant when he said the Assassins went down the wrong path before…' He thought, recalling the Cormac gang member's last words.
"Yeah, it was a bad situation. Something we're still working on." Jaren nodded. "Back to Du Mal, he has a habit of collecting the Hidden Blades of the Assassins he's killed." He explained.
"How many confirmed kills does he have?" The gunslinger questioned.
"Fifteen." Cereza replied.
"I'll make sure he doesn't get away, then." Shin vowed with a small growl.
"Good, because you'll have to do it alone." Jaren told him.
"Wait, what?" The boy questioned.
"Du Mal knows us and our faces, if we were to try and get into the Davenport Manor, he'd recognize us and send in his guards to route us." The Basilisk Assassin explained.
"But if you go in simply as a deputy wanting to inquire about our missing outlaws, then you can slip in basically undetected." Jaren elaborated.
"... Alright." Shin agreed reluctantly. "But in the off chance chaos breaks out after I kill him, I'll need both of you on standby to back me up when that happens." He told them.
"That we can handle." Cereza replied, Jaren nodding in agreement.
'Good." Shin smiled as they continued on.
Memory: Du Casse, Du Mal Synchronized.
Next Memory: Hang Me!
Synchronizing…
-Davenport Homestead, 1859-
Shin looked at the homestead silently as he studied the place. Jaren and Cereza were already hanging back, hiding in the woods in case things got chaotic. He hoped it didn't come to that, however, since he wanted to do this quietly.
Hopping down, he was quick to tie up Aztec before making his way through the Homestead town.
Though calling it a Homestead was a stretch as it was more like a medium sized town now, bustling with activity and crawling with more than a few gangs of lawmen.
The lawmen in question all had Templar pendants on their hats, so he knew they'd be hostile to them if he caused a scene. Which took Freerunning off the table.
Probably because their boss made it that way.
As Shin mused about this, Liberty squirmed her way out from the breast of his shirt before popping her head out and making him release her–allowing her to suddenly start flapping her wings and fly!
"Wha– Liberty, you beautiful bird." Shin gasped in surprise, which turned to light amusement as he watched her fly.
Meanwhile, the fledgling bird was looking down at the homestead, seeing what there was that could get in her human's way. Shin, meanwhile, activated his eagle vision to see if he could spot anything that could help him only to be shocked when he started seeing things through what he presumed were Liberty's eyes.
"What the–incredible!" He gasped, hiding behind a building.
As this was going on, Liberty did a midair corkscrew and her fledgling feathers scattered, revealing the beautiful dark brown and almost bronze colored plumage under her last remaining down, marking that she was now close to a year old.
With a thrilled chattering peep, the symbol of pure freedom swooped over the buildings of the town below, marking hostiles while Shin followed, weaving his way through the crowds like a needle and thread.
Pulling his eagle beak pointed gambler's hat down over his face, he passed a few of the thugs posted around town. Luckily, they paid him no mind.
Walking up to the main homestead, the young Assassin was halted by a pair of guards.
"State your business." One of them ordered, prompting Shin to show his badge to them.
"I'm here to make an inquiry about some outlaws." Shin replied. "Apparently, someone was dumb enough to let them run loose." He added.
"Watch your mouth, boy." The first guard growled.
"Too bad, I outrank you." The boy jeered at the man, showing him his two revolvers, Assassin Tomahawk, and Sakai Katana and Tanto. Demonstrating that he was armed to the teeth and could kill them before they could react.
"Whatever. Just head inside." The second guard grunted as he opened the door, granting Shin entry.
As he entered the building, he held out his arm and snapped his fingers, causing Liberty to fly past the guards and land on his shoulder, peeping happily as she flapped her newly strengthened wings.
"Nice to see you all happy, girl." The boy smiled as he made his way to Andre's office on the second floor. Once he found it, he rapped on the door a couple of times to let him know he was there.
"Enter!" A man's voice with a French accent called, prompting Shin to enter and come face to face with his target.
The man was of a similar middle age to Bowery or Tweed but unlike them his hair was a fair red color striped with gray, which he kept behind a ten gallon frontier hat that contrasted the colonel outfit he was currently wearing. His green eyes were also pale, showing his age.
"Andre Du Mal?" The deputy marshal questioned as he walked towards the man, Liberty flying onto his desk and grasping the pistol that laid upon it with her talons.
"Correct." The man nodded in reply. "And you are?" He inquired.
"Deputy Marshal Shin Malphur. I'm here to make an inquiry about the outlaws that recently escaped.." The boy replied.
"Inquiry? What could possibly link me to the escape of a few outlaws?" The man questioned, standing as he walked around his desk towards the boy.
"My sources tell me that they were released after a certain Templar grandmaster pulled some strings." The gunslinger replied as the two men now stood opposite each other. "And seeing as how you're his closest contact…" He then deployed one of his hidden blades. "It wasn't hard to connect the dots." He added as he went to strike the man.
Andre quickly moved out of the way and tried to go for his pistol, only for Liberty to flap away with it in her talons. Before the man could try and go after her, he felt one of Shin's hidden blades pierce his throat.
"And that's checkmate." Shin smirked as the Animus corridor opened up, Du Mal flopping to the ground, gasping and grasping.
Animus Corridor
"So, how's it feel to have your fifteen Assassin kill streak get ended before you could even pull the trigger?" Shin questioned as he knelt down next to the dying Templar.
"You little son of a whore!" Du Mal cursed in his native tongue. "As bold as a musketball, and still only half as sharp!" He spat, trying to stop his bleeding.
"Where'd you get that line? Adrienne Du Casse?" The boy jeered as he kicked the man to his back. "Get some new material, prick." He spat. "Now, tell me–just what does Tweed want with these outlaws, anyway?" He questioned.
"Oh I pity you assassine, always the last to know." The Frenchman coughed. "The outlaws are just a means to an end. La citadelle d'Emeraude in the City of Gold and the Last Feather of Quetzalcoatl is the true prize." He chuckled. "But you will never find it. If we, the Templars with our superior numbers and resources could not. What chance have you?" He added.
"More than you think. You won't be around to see where things go, though." Shin retorted before the man died.
Corridor Closed
Shin then went to the window and then took out a push flare that Jaren gave him, which alerted the two that Du Mal was dead.
"Alright everyone! Move in!" The man called as a posse that had gathered in the woods stormed the town, corralling the citizens as Jaren and Cereza started cutting and shooting down the Templar thugs.
Jaren twirled Last Word and then fanned a six shot line, taking out six guys at once, while Cereza leapt into a barrel roll and threw six knives at some other guys, nailing them.
Shin, meanwhile, sniped one guy with his rifle that was getting ready to shoot Jaren, and then dropped from the balcony of the manor, Katana in hand, before driving one guy down the middle when he attempted to grab Cereza.
"We really have to stop meeting like this, Cereza." He told her.
"What? And miss all the fun?" She smirked back, kissing him on the cheek.
"L-Let's just deal with these morons!" The boy stuttered as he blocked an attack from another grunt that tried to sneak up on him.
"Lovebirds…" Jaren muttered with a chuckle as he kept on fighting.
This fight continued for several minutes until Shin went into a counter kill spree with his katana and Tomahawk, slicing and hacking grunt after grunt until he split the last one's head in two, causing him to topple to the ground.
"Du Mal is dead. Now we can try to get this place back under our control." Shin told Jaren as he tossed him a folded Assassin flag.
"Damn right we can." The marshal nodded with a smirk as he removed the Templar flag from the flagpole and put the Assassin flag in its place.
(Later)
Shin brought his two companions into Du Mal's office as he took a key that the man's body had around his neck.
"Come on." He said, leading them down a hidden stairway that was past the living room where a portrait of Achilles, his wife and son hung.
As they went down to what looked like an Assassin sanctuary, they saw several mannequins of Assassin outfits. Each from a generation of different Assassins throughout history–From Altair to Edward Kenway–Ending with Connor Kenway's original robes–which seemed to have been modified with Precursor metal pads.
And they were all behind locked doors.
"Well, this is unexpected." Cereza remarked. "I didn't know Achilles had this built under the homestead." She added.
"These outfits… Are these from past Assassins of note?" Shin wondered as he looked at each of the doors.
"Yeah. And it looks like it's supposed to be all of their different individual outfits." Jaren nodded. "Altair, Ezio, Shao Jun, Edward, Connor…" He listed before stopping. "And Shay." He added bitterly as he found a skeleton hung in the last chamber, in an upgraded version of Templar Assassin armor.
"Guess this key will unlock one of them." Shin shrugged as he tried each slot, finally managing to unlock the one next to Edward's chamber. "But where are the other five?" He questioned.
"Maybe these five Outlaws have them?" Cereza chimed in, looking at a wall with a map splayed across it and five pictures of wanted outlaws on it.
"Hang me, that's the same names from the list I gave to Boss Tweed!" Shin exclaimed, slapping his forehead.
"Wait, what?" The marshal asked in confusion.
"I was asked to give Tweed this list by Senator Lincoln. I had no clue the names were for outlaws at the time." Shin explained.
"It's true, I was with him." The woman nodded.
"Guess that means you're going to have to hunt them down, then." Jaren stated.
"Yeah…" The boy sighed, realizing he wouldn't be getting any help.
"I'm sure you'll get them." Cereza smiled, the three of them leaving the sanctuary for the time being.
Memory: Hang Me! Synchronized.
No further memories in current sequence.
Commencing free roam…
Shin soon entered the dorms of the male barracks where the other guys were, stepping on a chest to get their attention.
"Well, guys, pack your stuff. Cuz we're moving out." He called his friends.
"Oh really? Where to, if we actually are?" Ban challenged half-heartedly.
"We're starting our own bureaus in Palimon and Davenport. And I'm gonna be leading it." The gunslinger stated as he stepped forward. "After all, we'll need to have a base while we're hunting down five of the most notorious outlaws in the wild west." He added.
"Outlaw huntin'? Sign me up." The Irish Assassin of the group spoke up with a grin.
"If you're leading the charge, my friend." Mansa said. "Then I see no reason to argue."
"Good to hear." Shin grinned as Joshua had him leave after that, soon to see Cereza waiting for him outside. "Hey, Cereza. Is something wrong?" He asked.
"No, just that we haven't gone on that date you promised me yet." The dominatrix stated, a flirtatious smile on her face.
"Oh! Um… R-Right." The young man stuttered lightly with a blink. "I guess now's as good a time as any." He added, a blush growing on his face.
"Lead the way then, big boy." The Amazon woman prompted, and Shin led her right to the saloon he mentioned before, the woman leaning into the boy, showing that he'd had a growth spurt…
No relevant data.
Desynchronization in progress…
Animus powering down.
-American Assassin Headquarters, Present Day-
"Urg, you guys heard that right?" Joshua groaned as he sat up. "Citadel of Emerald, City of Gold. Does that ring any bells at all?" He asked.
"We heard, and Mael's looking into anything related this very moment." Sarah nodded in reply, and true to form, the tallest in the group was hard at work combing through anything related to what was heard.
"I didn't know there was a sanctuary under the Davenport homestead." Ororo remarked. "We should send word to command so a team in the area can look into it." She suggested.
"I saw it in Connor's memories." Calvin chimed in. "Also, I think it goes without saying, but the "City of Gold" has got to be El Dorado. I mean, what else could it be?" He added.
"Yes, but as far as we know, it isn't real!" Mael pointed out whilst working. "Otherwise we'd have found it by now…" He added, typing away.
"True, but where we'll find it is up in the air at the moment… Assuming it even exists, that is." Joshua mused as he held Ororo close, knowing they wouldn't get anywhere close to finding the fabled City of Gold without a map.
"It's gotta be, guys! I mean come on! A Golden city housing a piece of Eden? That has 'Precursor site' written all over it." Calvin pointed out.
"That is true…" Sarah hummed. "But what about this Citadel of Emerald?" She asked.
"Here's what I found." Mael chimes in, showing his monitor. "Stories speak of a Mayan city rumored to be built around a large emerald structure, supposedly a portal to the rulers of this city. The use of emeralds was common in this place, generally speaking." He explained. "Its location was never found, however, which led to many explorers trying in vain to find it." He continued.
"Hang on, why does that architecture look familiar?" Calvin questioned looking at the large emerald structure in the middle of the city.
"... That's the Vault of Glass architecture!" Joshua noted in surprise.
"So, what does this mean for us?" Sarah questioned.
"We keep looking through Shin's memories. If we find any locations of Value, we'll go there." Joshua stated as he got up. "For now though, I'm beat." He yawned, stretching.
"I could go for a nap, myself." The white haired Sage yawned in agreement as everyone went their separate ways.
It certainly had been a productive day, at the very least.
Dragon Emperor0: And there we go, the first of the two bases of operations for Shin's new beauros, the endgame locations, and the minor antagonists leading up to Dredgen Yor has been all set up. Now all that's left is the smaller plot events to fill out the "Main Mission" roster.
ThermalsniperN7: Right, and we took some creative liberties with the City of Gold. Hope you guys like it, along with the other stuff we came up with.
Dragon Emperor0: Speaking of, you guys know the National Treasure movies starring Nicholas Cage? Well it's the second one of those films for when the modern day crew go to find the Precursor site found in said city.
ThermalsniperN7: That's going to be the treasure hunt of a lifetime. A City of legend with Isu tech… The Templars are gonna want it like kids and their candy. Anyway, see you next time.