Chapter 14: Home Sweet Home

-Joshua and Ororo's cabin-

Joshua hummed as he pulled up two maps of Wyoming on his computer, one being from 1861 and the other being of present day. After he woke up that morning, he had a thought: Could he find Pallimon's present day location?

If he could do that in advance, it could help make where the gang heads next much easier if they had to go to Pallimon at all. The affair should be rather simple, hopefully.

As he tried to piece together Pallimon's location, Luna walked up to him with her tongue hanging from her mouth, prompting Joshua to smile at her and give her some head pats.

"Morning, girl." He said before he looked back at his screen.

Humming, he cut Pallimon's location from its 1861 map and moved it to its approximate location in modern day. It was surprisingly out of the way, and far from major cities or towns.

Perfect.

"Bingo." The man nodded right as Ororo walked up behind him. "This will be a good secondary hideout in case Abstergo comes knocking." He mused as he put the map away as River hopped onto his lap and Kali pushed one of their ramekins with her nose–a sign that they wanted some milk.

"Let me guess: You pieced something together?" The female Sage questioned as her lover got up from his seat, allowing her to look at the two Wyoming maps. "Ooh, you found Pallimon's present day location. That's convenient." She nodded.

"Yeah, but I'll feel better if we send it through our grapevine so that some scouts can be sent to investigate it." Joshua said as he poured some milk for his kitties. "The last thing we need is to go to the spot I highlighted just to find nothing." He added as he set the ramekin down.

"Or for us to leave a trail for Abstergo to follow behind us." She nodded.

"Yeah." Joshua nodded as they enjoyed a leisurely breakfast–at least until a call from Calvin came through on the man's phone. "Hello?" He questioned.

"Josh! You and Ororo gotta get to the Sanctuary pronto–Abstergo is chasing Mael and me!" The young man told his friend.

"Son of a bitch! On our way!" The bespectacled man cursed before ending the call and looking at his lover. "We need to get to the Sanctuary! Abstergo's on Calvin and Mael's asses!" He told her

"You go help them, I'll meet Sarah at the Sanctuary to defend it if need be." Ororo told him as she got up, though she struggled a bit due to her belly.

"Right." The Sage of Quetzalcoatl nodded before he whistled. "Come on, Luna, Trevor! We have work to do!" He exclaimed as he ran for the door, his giant she-wolf and Bald Eagle companions hot on his heels.

(Later)

The Assassin skidded to a halt on a nearby hilltop as he waited for his friends coming around the bend–keeping track of them on his phone–right as Mael and Calvin came zooming away on dirt bikes while Abstergo did the same in Warthog style ATVs.

'Okay, just gotta time this– NOW!' Joshua thought before he quickly jumped from the hilltop he was on, managing to land on one of the ATVs. As he landed in the trunk where an Abstergo soldier was working the gun, the soldiers all looked at him. "Hey, gang." He said casually, waving before he shanked the gunner in the face and then took control of the gun, shooting the driver and passenger, before hopping in the driver seat and started ramming the ATVs around him.

This caused all of the ATV's pursuing Calvin and Mael to crash, and whenever a gunner was about to take potshots at either the two or Joshua's ATV, Trevor swooped in and distracted them long enough for his person to deal with them. By the end of it, the entire force was either dead or on death's doorstep.

Stopping their vehicles, the trio got out or off of them and approached the wrecked Templar goons, and managed to find one that was still alive and struggling to get away, his legs broken. Walking up to him, Joshua kicked him over on his back and kneeled down to him.

"Okay, pal. I want you to tell me why you and your buddies were chasing my friends. Do that, and maybe I'll convince someone to patch you up." He said stoically. The only response he got was the goon abruptly convulsing before he died, causing Joshua to pry his mouth open and curse. "Cyanide pill. Why the fuck am I not surprised…?" He grunted. Then the walkie talkie the grunt had crackled to life.

"Did you really think it would be that easy, Mr. Landers?" A voice questioned from the other end of the two way radio sequence.

"Honestly, no. It would've been boring, otherwise." Joshua replied as he picked up his end of the line. "And to whom do I have the displeasure of speaking to?" He questioned.

"Otso Berg, I've been hunting your kind for a long time." The man responded.

"Oh yeah, I remember you." Calvin nodded. "You had Uncle William at gunpoint going on and on about how weak we were, when we've been steadily gaining ground while you've been steadily losing ground as of late." He added.

"And how long until the Assassins slip up, Mr. Praetorian?" Otso questioned. "All it could take is a few well connected traitors from your side to turn the tide. There have been plenty of such Assassins before." He continued.

"And there haven't been Templar turncoats?" Joshua interjected, remembering Boris and Morgana. "Every faction has traitors, and you know it. In both our factions, there's going to be people who look at the history of this war of ours and feel weary of it. This will drive them to look for ways to bring it to an end, one way or another." He continued.

There was a fair bit of static before Berg continued. "A fair point, Mr. Landers. But I think you're forgetting that we have the same tools you do. And we have the conviction to use them in ways you will not." He stated.

"I think our respective ideas of conviction are vastly different from one another." The Sage deadpanned.

"Another fair point. But at the end of it, I will make you suffer and beg me for death." The Templar devotee declared.

"Correction, you will try." Joshua retorted as he killed the line himself as if performing a mic drop.

"Damn, you're not taking any shit from him." Calvin whistled.

"No I am not, nor will I ever." Joshua nodded as Luna joined the group. "You missed the fun, girl." He chuckled as he gave her some headpats along with some water since she looked parched.

"... You have a wolf for a pet now?" Mael deadpanned after a beat passed.

"Her name is Luna, and she was just waiting outside of mine and Ororo's cabin after the last Animus session." The second tallest man in the crew explained in reply.

"Right." The two nodded.

(Later)

-American Brotherhood Sanctuary, Present Day-

"Well, that was certainly not how I wanted to start my morning!" Calvin sighed as he sat down, Mael presenting them with donuts and coffees of their favorite kinds.

"No shit. That was more high octane than I'm used to." Joshua sighed as he bit into a double chocolate donut. "And I just realized those were my first kills outside of the animus…" He shivered as he held his stomach, feeling like he was going to be sick.

"You'll get used to it." His best friend told him. "Trust me, I speak from experience." He added, sipping his coffee.

"I just hope I don't have to put up with that again anytime soon." The Sage of Quetzalcoatl breathed. "How'd Abstergo even catch you and Mael's scents, anyway?" He wondered.

"Agents spotted us on our coffee run." Calvin sighed.

"We weren't careful when using our facial disruptors." Mael amended.

"So that's what happened." Ororo hummed.

"And now Otso Berg knows my voice. Guess it was only a matter of time." Joshua remarked.

"He reminds me of Vidic." Ororo said. "Which isn't a compliment." She added.

"I bet." Her lover nodded as he downed his coffee. "Anyway, let's see what happens next in the life of Shin, shall we?" He prompted as he walked over to the animus. "Also, I have dibs on all the double chocolate donuts." He added.

"Aw…" Sarah whined since she was just reaching for one.

Animus Active

Searching for Relevant Memory Data…

Data found.

Simulating Based on Gathered Data…

Synchronization in Progress…

-American Brotherhood, DC, December 1859-

Shin hummed as he filled out his report on the Spur Blades for Nicholas, remembering that he needed a performance report on them once he'd gotten back from dealing with the Julian brothers. Once he was done, he headed to the forge the man in question was working at, finding him taking a break at the moment.

"Howdy, Nicholas." The gunslinger said, placing the report on his work desk. "Here's the report you asked for–the Spur Blade worked like a charm." He grinned.

"Good to hear that the design you used was helpful." The former toymaker nodded as he looked over the report. "Still, I may do what I can to improve on the design. It might save someone's life." He added.

"True, but best not to change perfection." The boy nodded. "I look forward to seeing what else you come up with." He added.

"Same to you." The toymaker turned blacksmith nodded as the gunslinger left to see his Mentor.

As Shin made his way through the halls of the White House to the Sanctuary, he passed by the Senate Hall and Congress Hall, and he saw another one of the many confrontations in both rooms–only now the scent of tea, eggnog, ale, hot chocolate and coffee could be smelled from the hall amidst the sounds of yelling, banging of tables, stamping and shouting.

This was all juxtaposed with the festiveness of the decor around the squabbling men–much to the exasperation of the young Deputy.

"Merry Christmas…" Shin sighed as he walked away–only to have to duck as a porcelain ale steign belonging to one William H. Tucker, Senator of Wisconsin, the state with the largest German population–came flying at his head, prompting him to dodge as it hit the wall and spilled its foamy contents all over the floor.

"Well, you certainly have good reflexes." A voice said, prompting the boy to look up and see congressman Lincoln standing before him, his new top hat upon his head–which made him look all the taller.

"Wow. Even festive spirit wasn't enough to keep these clashes from happening. It's pretty disappointing if I'm honest." Joshua sighed.

"No kidding." Calvin nodded.

"Even parliament sessions weren't this bad…" Mael groaned.

"Oh, congressman Lincoln." The boy said, standing back up. "I see your hat's been broken in." He noted, tapping his own tri-corner cowboy hat to indicate his point.

"Yes, quite well too." The future president nodded before sighing as they looked at the rooms in question. "Such a shame, and it's nearly Christmas, too." He sighed. "I'd honestly hoped that the death of Senator Bronderson during that duel this last September would have snapped the men of their bloodlust by now…" He added.

Shin grimaced as he recalled having to comfort the dying California Senator after a revolver shot to the chest killed him–It was something he'd tried to forget.

"Unfortunately that seems like wishful thinking, sir." The deputy sighed, right as two congressmen started fighting in the adjacent hall.

The two men in question were Michael Walsh of New York and David Clapton of Alabama–and it looked like the two were coming to blows.

"Oh no…" Abraham groaned, facepalming. "Shin, could you please…?" He asked.

"Way ahead of you, Sir." The assassin nodded. "I'd prefer this not turn out like the election in the third century–the one where Tiberius Grachus was beaten to death with clubs and chairs." He added as he rushed into the room.

Immediately, he fired his revolver at the ceiling, causing the commotion to instantly stop as the politicians turned to look at him in surprise. Gunfire was honestly the best solution to things like this…

"Fighting when it's this close to Christmas. I thought all of you would at least be civil at this time of year." Shin sighed in disappointment. He honestly feared what would happen to the country if politicians stayed like this in the future.

"Thank you, Shin." Lincoln told him as he entered the room as everything calmed.

"You're welcome, sir." The boy nodded as he turned to leave. "Now I should be going, Mentor Bowery's probably wondering where I've been." He added.

"Right, right. Well, have a pleasant day and a merry christmas." The man told him.

"Yes sir." Shin called back.

"And congratulations on your engagement to Miss Basilisk! I wish you many happy years together!" The Future Emancipator called after the boy as he turned the corner.

'Seriously?! How did that spread so fast?!' Shin thought with a blush as he made his way to the Sanctuary.

(Later)

"And that's about the long and short of it, sir." Shin concluded as he and Jaren finished their report to Bowery, who was finalizing the written versions to send to the president and vice president.

"It is good that you were able to take them out. Now the mining towns all over the country can breathe easier." Bowery nodded. "Additionally, I'll send word to our people country wide to keep their eyes and ears open for any more of those map fragments you mentioned." He added.

"Don't you already know where they are? You were the one to break it." Shin noted.

"And I did, I honestly hoped it would have been completely destroyed by now–But it seems I was wrong." The man sighed. "Which makes it all the more important that you find them before Tweed can." He added.

"Got it." Shin nodded, also coming to the realization that the map pieces could be moved at any time, so he had to act when the chance presented itself.

"For now, though, just continue your work as usual–Jaren will tell you when your next target is to be dealt with." Bowery told him.

"Yes sir." Shin nodded.

"I'll keep looking, don't worry." Jaren smiled.

"Now with that done, you should probably make your way back to your Beauro." The Mentor told the two as he stroked the heads of one of his beloved pigeons. "Afterall…" He continued as his gaze fell squarely on the young gunslinger. "I believe someone has an eager fiance to return to." He chuckled.

"I hate how fast gossip travels…" Shin sighed as he basically resigned to getting teased regularly on this topic.

"You're about to marry one of the most sought after women in DC, who's also older than you by a few years. It's something that people will tease you about for a while." Jaren chuckled as they left the room.

"So, Mael, remind me again, when did men and women typically get hitched during this period?" Calvin questioned.

"Typically in their early to mid twenties in the north and a year or two younger in the south for men and typically the same for women. Though engagements were often made far in advance as well in a lot of cases." The British man stated. "So Shin getting engaged at 18 and then marrying at 20 like he did was not uncommon." He added.

"And Cereza was what? Two, three years older?" Sarah asked.

"Two. She's twenty currently." Mael told her. "So by the standards of the time, this is fairly normal." He nodded.

"That's definitely interesting." Joshua mused as the scene changed again.

(Timeskip)

Fast forward a couple of weeks and Shin was back at Pallimon getting things ready for Christmas. There were decorations all around the town and people were visibly excited for the festivities.

The town itself was still rather bare as the buildings were now finished with construction, but they had no one to staff them. Meanwhile, the Malphur house was undergoing renovations to make it a more permanent home for Shin and his wife to be–and it was coming along well so far.

"I'm pleased with how well this is going." Cereza nodded as she looked at the renovation progress.

"Yeah. This is turning out real nicely." Shin nodded in agreement. It was at that moment Morgana rode up on Pepper, a worried look on her face. "Whoa, Morgana, what's wrong?" he asked in concern as she dismounted.

"Some of our hunters reported being driven out of the woods by a strange big cat with six legs. I think they were talking about a Wampus Cat." The Templar woman replied. "Two of the last hunting party were killed by it already." She added. "It was seen to the northeast." She added.

"Oh Jesus…" The gunslinger groaned. "I'll handle it. Stay here where it's safe." He told her as he went to the corral and went to his horses Aztec and Nashville. "Alright, boys. Who wants to help me wrangle a Wampus Cat?" He questioned.

Aztec let out an enthusiastic and determined Neigh, but Nashville seemed skittish at the notion of hunting a cryptid. It was kinda fair, in all honesty.

"Alright Aztec, let's go hunting." Shin grinned as he saddled the horse of his father up and took off since he was already locked and loaded.

Beginning Beast Hunt: Wampus Cat

Completion needed for full synchronization and progression

Proceed? [Yes/No]

[Yes]

Proceeding…

-Wilderness around Pallimon-

Shin slowly rode Aztec through the hunting territory the hunters were reported to be driven from, glancing around for any sign of the cryptid giving his people flak. This was something he couldn't afford to be lax with.

"Okay, now I need to find signs of my–Prey." He mused, right as someone dropped onto Aztec's back behind him–almost spooking the horse.

"Hey Shin." Raven said as she landed in the saddle behind him.

"Raven, can you please not do that? I have a Wampus Cat to deal with." The gunslinger told her with a sigh.

"The one that drove off your hunting parties?" The native girl asked, getting a nod in return. "Well, I know where its den is. I'll navigate for you." She told him.

"OK. I was going to use my eagle vision to find signs, but this works." The boy shrugged as he kept riding.

As Raven steered Aztec through the woods basically, Shin used his Eagle Vision to keep an eye out in case the cryptid decided to stalk them. So far, nothing was happening.

It stayed that way until the two reached the den, Shin stopping Aztec about two yards away from it before dismounting with Raven following suit. The gunslinger used his Eagle Vision to see if the six legged cat was home or not.

Judging by the fact it walked out and sniffed the air before roaring in their direction, it was home.

"Ready, Raven?" Shin asked, drawing his pistols.

"Yeah… Wait." The girl nodded as she looked up at a ledge just above the den, where a figure was standing. "Look." She told him as the figure drew out what looked like a broken Spartan spear.

"Wait a minute, is that…?!" Mael gasped as he looked at the spear.

"You gotta be kidding me!" Calvin exclaimed.

The figure leapt off the ledge and fell to the ground, spear in hand, before they crashed to the ground, causing the ground to shake and the cat to be sent flying.

Now with a clear look, everyone could see it was a woman with tan olive skin and brown hair done in a ponytail hanging from her left shoulder. She was somewhere in her twenties, but the modern crew knew that was far from the truth.

She was wearing a red scarf of what looked to be Greek cloth with a gold Spartan A around her neck connected by a gold plate, a sleeveless black shirt, black pants with some belts and brown leather boots. She also had some bracers on her arms.

"Kassandra?!" Sarah gasped.

"What's she doing here?" Joshua questioned.

Kassandra sighed as she popped her neck, twirling her spear as she turned to the Wampus Cat. "You're one slippery malaka, beast, I'll give ya that." She mused, weapon held ready to fight.

"Oi!" Shin called, as he jogged up next to her along with Raven. "We came out here to kill this bastard. Let us help you by doing what we came here to do." He told her. "Shin Malphur, by the way." He added.

"Call me Raven." The tribal girl added.

"Kassandra Alethia." The woman nodded, glancing at Shin a bit. 'Hm… Malphur… Could he be Samson's son?' She wondered before shelving that for later as the Wampus cat snarled at the three. "It's been a long time, Shin. I haven't seen you since you were an infant." She noted.

"What do you–? Look out!" The gunslinger exclaimed as the Wampus recovered, only for the woman before them to block it with a shield and bash it away.

"We can talk later, we need to deal with this thing first." Kassandra told them as she stood ready.

"Right!" The two teens nodded as they glared at the six legged big cat.

Shin drew his guns and started shooting at the beast, causing it to jump back while Raven fired her arrows, and Kassandra kept blocking the beast and slashing it with her spear.

Oddly enough, the cryptid seemed particularly focused on Shin, as if it knew him. It wasn't until Shin took a slash to his side that he realized something.

"Wait, this is the same Wampus Cat we defended those Jackalopes from!" He exclaimed in realization.

"Are you serious?! I thought that thing drowned in the flood!" Raven exclaimed as she struck the cat with her tomahawk as it lunged at her.

"That was wishful thinking, apparently!" Shin grunted as he felt the scratch on his side throb a bit.

"Let's kill this malaka so we can get that wound looked at!" Kassandra exclaimed as she gave a very aggressive left hook to the beast's head, dazing it.

"Shin, now might be a good time to get those bombs out." Raven told the boy.

Shin nodded as he got out one of the metal grenades that Ban had fashioned for them and lit the fuse, hurling it at the cat and conking it in the head.

The cryptid feline looked at the object in confusion before…

BOOM!

It exploded, the shrapnel from the blast shredding the cat's brain and killing it instantly.

"... Well that's one way to finish off a Beast Hunt with a bang." Joshua quipped.

The two sighed as they were finally allowed to rest, collapsing on the ground as Kassandra approached them, hands on her hips.

"I believe we have a few things to discuss, Shin." She told the gunslinger.

"What could we have to discuss?" Shin questioned.

"What kind of grandmother would I be if I didn't try to bond with my grandson?" The woman asked rhetorically.

"... WHAT?!" Shin shouted in disbelief.

Memory: Best Hunt: Wampus Cat, complete

Searching for remaining relevant memories…

None found

Ejecting user…

-Brotherhood's Sanctuary, present day-

Joshua sat up with a chuckle as he came out of the animus.

"Okay, that was pretty funny to hear Shin react that way." He commented with a grin. "Even though I already knew he was related to Kassandra." He added as he let his brain recover by getting some food in his stomach.

"Yeah, his reaction was golden." Calvin snickered before he frowned a bit. "But if I'm being honest, I think he's gonna be pretty stingy about her not being in his life until now." He added.

"After what Shin's gone through, I think Kassandra might actually get a tongue lashing." Ororo nodded in agreement.

"Yeah." Joshua nodded. "But for now, I'm just wondering how these creatures came about." He mused.

"Maybe they're escaped Isu genetic experiments?" Sarah suggested.

"Only one way to find out, and that's for Kassandra to say something about it. In Shin's memories, or in person in front of us." The second tallest in the crew stated.

"That's right. We'll need to wait until either of those, most likely the former, happens." Mael nodded in agreement.

"Yeah…" Joshua nodded as he stretched while letting out a loud yawn. "Well, I think it's time we headed home." He said as he helped his bride-to-be up. "Come on, Ororo." He told her.

"Thanks for the help." The female Sage nodded as she slowly got to her feet. Joshua was quick to pick up the double chocolate donuts he called dibs on, though, which made Sarah pout since she still wanted one.

(Timeskip)

It was a couple months later and Ororo was now heavily pregnant, so much so that she couldn't really even move at this point–deciding to stay either on the couch or in bed, her body basically deciding not to move despite her desire to do so.

Luckily, Joshua was doing his part to make sure she and their baby would be healthy and Luna took up the role of guard wolf. They were expecting Ororo to give birth any day now.

"You should probably get going, the others are more than likely waiting for you." His wife-to-be told him as she laid on the couch, her bloated belly looking like it would likely pop if someone so much as touched it.

"At least I know you have Luna watching over you." Joshua sighed as he gave his lover a quick kiss. "Otherwise I'd call off today's session." He added.

"I know." The woman giggled as she held her belly, feeling a kick from inside her womb. "I think our little girl's excited." She gasped.

That was another thing. After getting a sonogram done, they found out they were having a daughter.

"I'm sure Luna would lick her face when she sees her." The man smiled as he left for the Sanctuary.

(Later)

"You ready to get started?" Calvin questioned as he stood in for Ororo while Sarah was leaving to keep an eye on her for them–the group not really needing her for today's session.

"Yeah. I'm just glad that Sarah's willing to watch Ororo for me." Joshua nodded as he got into the chair.

"Us too. Days like these need to be taken seriously." Mael nodded in understanding as he got the Animus ready.

"Let's see what happens with Shin next." The gunslinger's descendant mused as he dived into his anscestor's memories once more.

Animus Active

Searching for Relevant Memory data…

Data Discovered.

Synchronizing…

-Pallimon, Wyoming, March 1860-

Shin was making modifications to his revolving rifle and pistol bullets in his private workshop–the Apple of Eden sitting next to him as he occasionally touched it to briefly glimpse the future.

"So that's how it works…" He mused as he finally finished, getting bullets similar to modern cartridges, which the Last Word and his father's guns used–explaining how Yor knew so much about them. He glimpsed the future and saw what his father based them on.

The boy was doing this to finally save himself from the one problem his rifle had–chainfire. Where all the bullets ignited, tearing whoever used it apart. Something that he almost fell victim to.

'Now to see how these perform…' He mused as he got the modified ammo ready to be used at any time.

"I hope you don't intend to use those on me." A voice said behind him, causing him to jump and turn around, nearly ramming into the bosom of his grandmother, Kassandra.

"Can you not do that?!" Shin snapped as he calmed his heart while giving her an irritated glare.

After the debacle with the Wampus Cat and finding out Shin had a grandmother that he hadn't seen once, the deputy was actually suitably salty toward her. His parents hadn't spoken of her once, nor had Kassandra shown up to say hi, and all of a sudden, she shows up in his life by chance after their deaths? What the hell?!

Though as she explained things, that being her immortality granted by her Staff of Hermes, it taught her to keep her distance from people–even her own family, and his father understood this–hence why he never mentioned her.

Shin was still irritated, but nowhere near as much as he was initially.

"Sorry, but I saw you modifying that ammo with knowledge from that Piece of Eden. Do you have plans for them?" The last woman of Sparta asked.

"Yeah, killing people." He responded as he grabbed his hat and hopped off his stool, slinging his rifle over his back.

"Where are you going?" She questioned.

"I'm riding out to the next location of another Apple." Shin told her as he went to his horses and mounted Nashville. "My scouts managed to find one earlier this week." He added as he whistled for Fenrir and Liberty.

The wolf dog was quick to come to him while Liberty preened herself for a second–before flying to him while doing another barrel roll–revealing that she was starting to get her white head feathers and her other 2 ½ year feathers.

"Do you need any help, or do you have it handled?" Kassandra asked, causing Shin to take a moment to think it over.

"... If you think you can help out, go ahead and tag along." He shrugged. Salty or not, he wanted to be sure getting that Apple would be simple.

"Then let me get a horse." The woman nodded as she went to get a horse, leaving Shin alone and letting Joshua in the animus to wander… and find another glyph left by Desmond.

This glyph looked like a simple apple tree, which was ironic given that Shin was going after an Apple presently.

Going into the Glyph, they heard Desmond speak again.

"Juno, Minerva, they both had an agenda. They wanted us to make impossible choices and forced us to do things we didn't want. Now this. Seems our worst problems are their fault." The man said as the puzzle appeared–it was an apple puzzle.

Sighing a bit at how simple this one was, Joshua put the puzzle together and got the code, which Mael put in.

The clip that played out this time was of the Aztec/Mayan Isu, now in their cloned bodies, stepping out of the temple to the people outside, showing a crowd of Aztec people bowing and worshiping them–before another figure, an Isu in black glider winged armor swooped down and tried to strike them down with a sword–Only to be stopped when Quetzocoatl used an Apple on him–and made him start to transform!

It was hard to tell what he was being turned into–as the process was quite graphic and gruesome–but near the end, it was revealed to be Camazotz!

"Wait, so Camazotz came to be because he was an Isu that tried to kill Quetzalcoatl and failed?" Calvin noted.

"Probably as a punishment." Joshua suggested as the sequence ended.

Sequence 14

Memory: Apples to Apples

Synchronizing…

-Wyoming, March 1860-

Shin stretched as he and Kassandra rode by a few smaller towns on their way to a prospecting camp where the Apple was apparently found near a nearby river.

Unfortunately, some Templars (that weren't Boris' or Morgana's people) caught wind of it and were harassing them until they gave it up. That was where Shin and Kassandra came in.

Upon reaching the area in question, Shin took notice that it was a restricted area crawling with Templar Marshals, Deputies, Mercenaries, and Ferryman–bruiser types–which were the enemies he was used to fighting.

"Think the leader is somewhere in that area?" Kassandra whispered to her grandson.

"Hopefully he and the apple, if they have it already." Shin replied quietly as he looked at the large Templar force.

The Templar in question leading them was actually one of the few survivors of the Templars' failed expedition to the City of Gold–Darius Pride. He was a man in his late seventies whose left side of his face was severely scarred and his eye was glassy after having been shot in the face by an Assassin.

As said man walked into view, he glanced around for anything of note. Finding nothing, he walked back to the main building of the area.

"Let's take some time to survey the place. Knowledge is power, I've learned that much over the millenia." The Spartan woman told her grandson, who nodded in agreement.

"Agreed." He said. "Let's split up, and see what kind of weak points we can find in the perimeter. We'll group up again in ten minutes." He added.

"Sounds good to me." The woman nodded before the two parted ways to do some scouting.

Sending Liberty over the camp, he had her survey the area and tag the enemies for him–allowing him to work through various cover spots, bushes and the like–to get in, and then stalked the soldiers as they passed along apparently preset routes.

Too easy.

After the ten minutes were done, he met back up with Kassandra.

"What did you find?" She asked.

"A lot, and apparently the soldiers have preset routes. Amateurs." Shin replied with a shake of his head. "You?" He questioned.

"Gun stations, but I made quick work of them." She told him, showing her spear and hidden blade.

"Nice. That'll make things easier." The gunslinger nodded in satisfaction. "So, wait until nightfall to do this, or go in immediately?" He asked.

"I think that should be left up to your discretion." The Spartan woman told him.

Shin thought for a moment as he weighed his options. While they could wait and make sure they're at full strength, the gun stations could be filled in and they wouldn't have the element of surprise. If they went in now, then they could strike and catch the Templars off guard in spite of him and Kassandra not being at full strength.

Well, he was still ready to go, and Kassandra definitely was, so there was only one real answer.

"We go now, take them by surprise." The gunslinger told his grandmother. "You go to the gun station and bombard them with mortars while I strike them from cover to get to Darius–and take it from there." He added.

"You got it." The Spartan woman nodded with a smirk before heading to her station. She was gonna enjoy raining fire down on them like this.

Shin, meanwhile, headed inside the camp via cover and waited until the sun passed over the west–and made his best impression of an eagle cry, causing Liberty to repeat it to Kassandra, prompting her to begin her mortar barrage.

The Templar deputies and Marshals panicked when they found themselves under fire from their own gun station with some trying to figure out what was going on. Shin took advantage of the chaos to get to Darius, taking out anyone in his way.

Drawing his katana, he took apart the deputies by slashing them down and slicing them quickly before sliding into a bush behind a Ferryman carrying a pulaski axe. He quickly stabbed the poor sap in the side of the neck with his tanto, killing him instantly before hiding the body in the bush and moving on.

Sheathing his blade, he ran and double takedown assassinated two Marshals that were in his path, then watched as another group of them were blown to bits by a mortar shot–allowing him to kill four Ferrymen with his Hidden Guns as he got up high in a tree–right above a scrambling Darius Pride.

Taking out his rifle, he aimed at Darius' head and took a shot, but the bullet dropped to neck level and struck him in the neck as he jumped down, right as the Animus started shifting…

Animus Corridor

Shin looked down at Darius as the old man's life slowly left him.

"I heard you were a survivor from a failed expedition to the City of Gold." He told him.

"That map… would've… let me see… if it was real or… not…" The man rasped.

"It's real, alright." The gunslinger said as he picked up the apple next to the man, and felt it pulse in his hand. "I've seen it in a vision." He added.

"Well… I hope you… find it, then…" Darius wheezed before he died.

Animus Corridor End

Shin walked out of Darius' tent and raised the Apple up, causing everything to glow gold as all the remaining Templars started blasting their brains out one by one as he walked past them, explosions of light marking each one.

When he walked out of the camp, Kassandra was quick to join him.

"Not much of a challenge?" She guessed.

"Nope." Shin replied with a shake of his head. "All the better for us, since we got what we need." He added.

"Right." His grandmother nodded. "We should return, then. There's nothing more for us here." She mused.

"Yeah." The Gunslinger nodded as they mounted their horses, and began the ride back to Pallimon.

Memory: Apples to Apples

Synched.

Sequence 14 complete.

Ejecting User…

-Sanctuary, Present Day-

As Joshua was pulled out of the animus, he was soon suddenly jostled awake by Calvin who began shaking his shoulders with a sort of energetic urgency.

"Gah! What's wrong?! Why am I being shaken?!" He gasped as he snapped awake fully.

"Sarah just called me." Calvin told him. "It's Ororo, man, Mael's taking her to the hospital–the baby's coming!" He told his best friend.

"GET THE FUCK OUTTA MY WAY!" Joshua yelled in alarm as he took off in a full sprint out of the Sanctuary, Calvin hot on his heels–after having been bowled over–and followed him to his truck.

"Wait up!" The bespectacled young man called after the man. The two were quick to get in the truck.

"Drive!" Joshua exclaimed, going into full on panicking father mode.

"Driving!" Calvin nodded as he floored it.

Dragon Emperor0: Well, I'd say that was certainly a very eventful two sessions, I'd say. And an equally eventful set of modern day sequences. Like seriously, first the gang is attacked by Abstergo, Joshua meets his personal Daniel Cross in the form of Otso Berg, and now Ororo is about to give birth to his and her daughter. This is pretty nuts.

ThermalsniperN7: He even barreled through Calvin in a panic… Rude, but justified. Very justified. And now we got our first Beast Hunt (Dark Hunt was a working title) against a Wampus Cat… Where Kassandra entered the fold. Didn't see that coming.

Dragon Emperor0: Kassandra's here because she'll be important for the upcoming Old Lion DLC, which will be very important to Samson's story in particular. Also, expect the next few chapters to be more of these Apple missions, Main Memories, Ghost Town missions and Beast Hunts before we do the next Outlaw Hunt on the list: The Ashe Gang.

ThermalsniperN7: If you think these guys like to start fires… You're probably right. You'll find out what they're about when that comes around.

Dragon Emperor0: Yeah, and the next Beasts on the list will be either the Jersey Devil or the Snallyghaster. And the first Ghost Town mission will be introducing a pair of new minor characters for the build up of Pallimon as a settlement: The Lumberjacks John and Paul Bonyan. Anyway, see you next time.