The Creed Ch.1: Fantasy or Reality?
“AZAROTH CORPORATION PRESENT!... NEW FROM BLOOD-CROSS STUDIOS: ASSASINS DOGMA: ECLIPSE! CONTINUE YOUR ADVENTURE AS YOU HELP THE ASSASSINS FIGHT TO RETAKE THE WORLD’S ORDER AND FREE IT FROM THE EVIL CLUTCHES OF THE REGIME…” said an ad being played over the computer.
“Well done Initiate, you have single-handedly freed this nation from the clutches of the evil regime… but there is still much more to do, come on, let’s head back to base, the Grand Council must be expecting us, they might even appoint you as a Master Assassin, maybe even make you a member of the council now that Oroshi is dead, come on, race ya!” said the man in a Black and white Cloak as the screen fades to black and the credits start to roll out.
“Wish I could,” said a young man as he removed his VR headset and headphones.
The young drake yawned as he set the headset and headphones down next to the controller on his gaming rig
“What time is it?” he asked as he tried to take a step only to trip and fall to the ground. “What the?” he said as she looked down and saw all the empty food wrappers and bottles next to his gaming chair.
“Of course,” he said as he got up and looked around his room
“Wow, my room is a mess,” he said as he looked at the pile of stuff littering his room, he had mountains of clothes surrounding and on top of what he believed was his bed, clean or dirty that was the question, not to mention all of the now rotten food scraps and garbage bags piled up in the corner of the same.
The young drake made his way to the desk where he had his laptop and other important valuables like his phone wallet and some papers.
He grabbed his phone as he closed the laptop and his eyes widened in shock
“FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14!!! I bought this game on Wednesday, and I only stopped when I went to the bathroom or to eat something… my mom was right, I have an addiction,” he said to himself as he began to walk towards the piles of clothes
“Well, first things first, I have to clean up,” he said as he began to smell the clothes and separate them into “Clean, wearable, and dirty” and then placed them in their respective places.
After that was done he went over to the mountains of garbage and one by one took them out onto the neighborhood’s dumpsters… after about 7 trips he was finally done, the only things left to do were wash the dirty dishes.
A FEW MINUTES LATER
“Finally, all done… HA! And mom said I couldn’t take care of myself… well I just spent about 70-something hours playing a videogame, so… I have to set boundaries,” the young man told himself as his belly growled.
“Man, I’m hungry… nothing on the fridge… gotta go shopping tomorrow, oh well… It’s midnight on a Friday, the convenience store must be open, I’ll just head down there and get me something to eat,” he said as he grabbed a hoodie a pair of pants, and his sneakers and headed towards the door…
“Wait a minute, where are my keys?” he asked as he looked around his room frantically but couldn’t find them “Come on, I just cleaned, why are they invisible now… GASP! I didn’t put them on one of the garbage bags by mistake, did I?!!” he started to panic when all of a sudden his eyes started to itch.
“Man, my eyes must be dry if they’re itching this bad,” he said to himself
Once his eyes stopped rubbing his itching eyes, he blinked a few times and noticed something peculiar.
“Wow! I have to go see an optometrist, my eyesight got darker,” he said as he looked around and saw the outline of his keys under the sofa.
“What the?” he said as he blinked and his eyesight went back to normal “What is going on?” He bent over to check under the sofa, and to his surprise, the keys were there.
“That was… weird… anyway, I better get something to eat, I’m starving,” he said as he walked out the door and headed to the convenience store.
A FEW MINUTES LATER
“Man, it’s been almost 5 years since I moved here to attend high school and college… I kind of miss my family, I wonder if they miss me?... they haven’t contacted me in a while… neither have my “friends” from high school or college… well, I can’t really blame them, most of your high school friendships end with high school, and college… well, busy times,” he thought as he walked towards the convenience store
“Well, at least I’ve been able to make a living thanks to my Freelancer systems engineering, but still, it feels really lonely… and kind of empty… I mean, I talk to videogame characters as a means of socialization… at this rate I'll never get a girlfriend,” he thought as he neared the convenience store.
“It’s somewhere around here, I know it,” said a female voice that he knew too well
“Well, find it, we’re running late,” said another girl he knew as she answered the phone
The first girl had light aquamarine skin, her hair, shoulder-length pale, light grayish cyan with white highlights, and brownish eyes, she stood at around 5’4” and had a beautiful figure with DD-cup breasts.
The other girl had greyish skin, Moderate cobalt blue with very light fuchsia striped hair, and blueish eyes, she stood at about the same height as the other girl and also had a very beautiful body.
The young man decided to walk over to them just as the second girl answered her phone
“Hello… yes… yes sir, we are aware of it… no sir, we had some minor issues… she dropped one of her earrings sir… yes the one with the insignia… she was planning on getting it fixed tomorrow sir… no… she believes she was located the area where it fell off… yes we’ll~” the second girl said as the young drake spoke
“Hey, Bon Bon, Lyra, how’s it going?” he asked making both girls jump
“Spike! Don’t do that!” Lyra said as she held her chest from the fright
“Sorry, old habits die hard,” said Spike
“We can see that,” Bon Bon said as she calmed down
“So, what are you 2 gals doing here? OH! Are you on a Date night?” asked Spike
Both girls turned red and screamed, “NO, WE’RE NOT!”
“Oh come on girls, everyone knows you 2 like each other, and honestly I see no shame in coming out of the closet,” Spike said
“That has nothing to…” Bon Bon started to say
“Doesn’t matter, right now I need to find my earring,” Lyra said as she started to look around the bushes again.
Just then a car passed by with extremely high beams, causing Spike to squint his eyes causing his eyesight to act up again, and all of a sudden he could see various outlines of things hidden all over the small park, there was loose change all over the place, some magazines hidden inside a hollow tree, what appeared to be a “9mm” gun in the sewer and then, the outline of what seemed to be an earring right underneath a bush behind Bon Bon
“It’s right there, beneath that bush,” said Spike pointing at it
Lyra quickly crawled towards the bush and found the earring
“OH THANK YOU SPIKE!” Lyra said as she jumped up and hugged him
“No biggy,” said Spike
“How did you know?” asked Bon Bon
“I… saw it,” said Spike
“Spike we’ve been here for 15 minutes and didn’t see it, and you are much taller than us,” said Bon Bon
“Well… my eyes have been acting up a little, the same thing happened in my apartment when I was looking for my keys,” said Spike
“Really?” said Lyra suspiciously
“Yeah, I mean, this type of eyesight is helpful, but, it might be a problem in the long run so, I’ll go see an optometrist,” said Spike
“Oh, I hope it’s not too serious,” Bon Bon said sounding genuinely concerned
“Well, I did just spend the last 70-something hours playing the new Assassins Dogma, so I am quite concerned, but so far, it seems it is just my eyes being tired,” said Spike
“Well, we hope it’s nothing bad,” said Bon Bon
“So, where are you heading?” asked Lyra
“Oh, to the convenience store, I was so invested in the game I forgot to go and buy provisions for this week, so… I’m going to buy some food, what about you girls?” asked Spike
“Oh… we are…uhm… g-going to a party, wanna come?” said Bon Bon
“Yeah, come with us!” said Lyra
“Love too, but, I haven’t taken a bath and I am not dressed for the occasion, so I’ll take a rain check on that offer,” said Spike
“You sure?” asked Bon Bon
“Positive… well, see you in class on Monday,” said Spike as he walked away
Bon Bon and Lyra just looked at each other, then Bon Bon heard her phone
“Yes Sir?” said Bon Bon
“Interesting conversation you had there, girls,” came a male voice
“Oh, sorry sir, I thought I had hunged up,” Bon Bon said
“I’m glad you didn’t, you just found us our latest test subject,” said the man
“Uh, come again sir?” said Bon Bon
“Your friend, Spike, was it, he is one of them,” said the man
“B-but, we can’t do that h-he is our friend, i-it must just have been a fluke,” Lyra said
“Fluke or not, your friend is now priority number 1,” said the man
“B-but…” Bon Bon said
“Oh stop acting so innocently, do you really think I didn’t figure out what you meant by “party”?... being selfless doesn’t suit any of you, now, return back to the base,” said the man
“W-wait, a-aren’t we gonna go and take Spike?” asked Bon Bon
“Well, since the both of you told him you’re headed to a party, it will seem weird if you appear in front of him now, wouldn’t it? Let me take care of this,” said the man as he hung up
“What have I done,” Bon Bon said as she looked at Lyra.
ONE HOUR LATER
“THANK YOU COME AGAIN!” the store clerk said as Spike left the convenience store
“Man… I went overboard with the hot dogs again… I really need to set better boundaries… but, in my defense, they’re chilly dogs,” said Spike as he continued to walk down the street.
At first, Spike was oblivious to his surroundings until he reached the intersection that led to his neighborhood
“Odd, to be a Friday, the streets are really empty… and quiet,” he thought
All of a sudden Spike heard the sound of a vehicle speeding toward him, he turned and saw a S.W.A.T.-looking armored vehicle speeding towards him.
He didn’t even have time to blink before he jumped out of the way and avoided getting run over by the truck.
“WHAT THE FUCK!” he screamed as he saw the truck break hard, almost toppling over on itself “What is wrong with the police… wait, this isn’t the police!” thought Spike as the doors banged open and various heavily armed men and women wearing armors jumped off
“THERE HE IS, GET HIM!” one of them yelled as he pointed at Spike
“And that’s my queue to GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!” Spike said as he ran the mysterious people opened fire toward him
“DON’T LET HIM GET AWAY!”
“But don’t kill him either, he is too valuable,” said a man wearing a tuxedo as he got off the truck “Besides, this street is almost a maze, there aren’t many places to hide,” he said with a sadistic smirk on his face.
WITH SPIKE
“Shit, what is going on, who are these people? what do they want from me?” Spike wondered as he continued to run until he came to a small intersection in the street “If I turn left and head for the main road I might be able to call for help,” he thought as he started to turn left, only for a barrage of bullets caused him to fall backward.
“FUCK!” Spike said as he got up and saw 4 of them pointing their guns at him, while 3 others sprinted towards him.
Spike then began running on the other street with the 3 soldiers closing in.
“I got you now, kid,” said one of them as he was about to tackle Spike, only for him to jump onto a wall, running on it, grabbing onto a drain, kicking the soldier in the face making him fall backward, head first into a tree knocking him out, and making it over the wall landing on his feet.
“How the fuck did I do that?” Spike said as he stood there in disbelief
“How the fuck did he do that?” asked another soldier
“Don’t care, come on hurry!” said the other as she used a nearby shed to jump over the same wall followed by the other one.
“Nowhere to go now kid,” she said as the 2 of them landed behind him
“Give up now and I promise you we won’t hurt you so bad,” said the other soldier as he lunged at Spike who had frozen in fear.
Then, Spike closed his eyes and felt his body move on its own and then connect with something.
When he opened his eyes he realized he had punched the soldier in the face
“OH, YOU BASTARD!” the soldier said as he took out a dagger “No more mister nice guy,” he said as he and the women lunged at Spike.
As if by instinct Spike ducked and avoided getting stabbed, not before disarming the male soldier and elbowing the female soldier in the forehead, making discombobulating her as she fell to the floor and couldn’t stand up again
“I am so sorry about this,” Spike said
“Y-yeah, you will be,” said the male soldier as he decided to lung at Spike again, forgetting Spike had taken his dagger.
The soldier tried to kick Spike, but he blocked the kick and made a light slash on the soldier’s leg.
The soldier yelled in pain as he pulled his leg back and threw a punch at Spike, only for Spike to impale the knife across the soldier’s hand, making him kneel down from the pain.
Just as his knee connected with the ground Spike roundhouse kicked him on the head knocking him out.
Spike just stood there, in shock, never in his life had he been so agile, and even more surprising, he had no martial arts knowledge whatsoever.
“What is going on with me?” Spike thought as he looked at his hands
Then he felt a powerful electric discharge in his back making him fall to the ground consciousness escaping him
“I’m so sorry about this Spike,” he heard a woman’s voice say
“So sorry,” said another as he lost consciousness.
SOMETIME LATER
“Oh.. argh… w-where am I?” Spike asked as he regained consciousness only to find he was strapped to what appeared to be a torture chair.
“Wh-what the?” Spike said as he started to rattle around the chair trying to free himself
“I’d stop wasting my time Mr. Drake, that is reinforced steel, there is no person strong enough to break it,” said a male voice as he walked into the room
“W-who are you? What do you want from me? WHERE AM I?” asked Spike getting angry
“Questions, questions, always so full of questions, well allow me to answer you, My name is Robert Witherspoon, but people call me Infinite, as for where you are, well, unfortunately, I can’t answer that question since it’s pointless for you to know,” Infinite said as he came to a stop before Spike
“What do you want from me,” Spike said as they locked eyes
“To experiment on you, know the truth, I mean, you are the first person to ever “reawake” their abilities the way you did, especially after what you demonstrated before we decided to invite you into our world,” said Infinite
“Demonstrated… earlier?” asked Spike
“Yes, allow me to jog your memory, do you remember these 2 beautiful ladies,” Inifinite said as Bon Bon and Lyra walked in wearing a similar uniform as Infinite, however, their faces were full of guilt and shame.
“Lyra? Bon Bon? What are you doing here?” asked Spike
Bon Bon was about to answer when Infinite interrupted
“They are part of our organization,” Infinite said as Spike’s 2 friends looked at the floor in shame “Remember when you saw them in that park and Lyra hear was looking for her earring… well, you found it using an ability we call “Eagle vision” or “Eagle eye” although in your case it’s more like a “Pheonix vision” since you never learned how to use it…and then those moves during the chase, I mean wow, I say you are a complete success,” said Infinite
“Success… of what?” asked Spike
“Assassins Dogma, what haven’t you added the dots yet? You’ve been playing Assassins Dogma since it first came out, then you switched to the VR versions, and now, you can use the same abilities as the assassins and even move and fight like them… so either you are a genius… or you are something else,” said Infinite
“Assassins Dogma? The Videogame?! How can that be ITS FUCKING MAKE BELIEF!” Spike said
“And yet here we are,” said Infinite
“And you 2, How could you do this to me?! I THOUGHT WE WERE FRIENDS!” Spike said as Infinite slap him across the face
“Now, now, Sebastian, that is no way to talk to women, is it,” said Infinite as he walked towards a small screen
“Spike, you have to believe us, we didn’t want this to happen to you,” said Bon Bon
“We didn’t have a choice,” said Lyra
“S-save it,” Spike snarled in anger
“Oh come down Sebastian, they are telling the truth,” Inifinite snickered
“How… how do you know my name?” asked Spike
“Oh while you were out, we took the liberty of searching you up… Sebastian Alexander Drake, known as “Seb” or “Spike”, born in Magmapolis, the Dragonlands on November 17, 1999, 6’4”, 115kg, left-handed, moved to Canterlot to attend Highschool at Canterlot High, graduated with honors in 2016, skipped 5th and 6th grade, very impressive or the education at The Dragonlands is simply above Canterlot’s, attended Canterlot Polytechnical University, majoring in Systems engineering, top of his class again, yadda, yadda, yadda, relationship with family is involuntarily stranged, no girlfriend, no friends, apart of these 2 and some other idiot called Maxwell Smith, but that might change after today, spends most of his time playing videogames and doing freelancer coding and systems engineering… in other words, a loner,” Infinite said as he lowered the tablet.
“Impressive, not the word I’d use,” said Infinite
“So… you’re all part of…” Spike started
“The Assassins, oh no, the assassins clan died years ago,” Inifinite interrupted
“So, that means you are…” Spike began
“Templars, yes… well, most of us,” Infinite said
Spike turned to look at Lyra and Bon Bon who shook their heads “no”
“Wait, I-in the video game the name of the corporation was…” Spike began
“Fake name, of course, we weren’t going to be stupid enough to give away or organization so explicitly, that would be foolish now would it,” said Infinite
“Azaroth,” Spike said
“Just a front as well, we have many different corporations and organizations that help us in our quest, not that I will release any of them to you… yet,” said Infinite
“So~what now?” asked Spike
“Depends on you, Sebastian,” said Infinite as he got close to his face “Join us, and help us breed a new generation of Templars or… seize to exist, what do you say?” said Infinite
Spike looked at him and said
“I rather die, than join you,”
“Then so be it,” said Infinite as he pulled out a knife, he was about to stab Spike through the heart when his phone rang
“Sigh… Give me a moment, please… WHAT DO YOU WANT?!” Infinite said as he answered his phone “Oh, my apologies master… no I truly believed it was Ludack calling… yes, he has not been helpful the last couple of days… just finished a failed interrogation… no, he had the gifts and the abilities… more than likely, yes… he said no… I was going to kill him… but master…” Infinite said as he left the room.
Spike then turned to face Bon Bon and Lyra who were still looking at the floor
“Spike… w-we’re sorry…” said Lyra
“It’s fine,” said Spike trying to act brave and ballzy
“This wouldn’t have happened if I had hung up the phone,” said Bon Bon
“I don’t hold it against you,” he said
“Spike, this isn’t personal, we tried to convince them to let you go, but they wouldn’t listen to us, mere “Interns”,” Lyra said
“I know it’s not, so, what’s the story, who did you end up in this mess… especially you, weren’t you like a member of S.M.I.L.E or something?” asked Spike
Lyra and Bon Bon looked at each other and then Bon Bon said
“This is a conversation for another time,”
“Hate to break it to ya, but I think my time is up,” said Spike
“No, it’s not,” Bon Bon said as she nodded to Lyra, who walked over to the table next to Spike and comically tripped and knocked it down
“WHAT IS GOING ON IN THERE?!” Infinite yelled as he turned to face the inside of the room and saw Lyra on the floor
“Sorry, I’ll clean it up,” said Lyra
“For the love of God Lyra, how can you be so stupid,” Infinite said as he turned to face away from the room while continuing his phone call
As soon as he did, Lyra slipped something into Spike’s hand
“Use this,” said Lyra
“Aren’t you afraid about the cameras?” asked Spike
“Infinite is too full of himself, he asked for all the cameras to be removed from inside the rooms, to avoid “External Threats”,” said Lyra as she got up
“HEY! YOU 2, COME HERE!” Infinite said as Bon Bon and Lyra walked out of the room
“Yes sir,” they said
“Go up to the main post,” said Infinite
“Are we done here, sir?” asked Lyra
“For now, yes, my attention has been mandated elsewhere, now get moving, and may the father of understanding guide you, especially you,” Infinite said as he looked at Lyra, they vowed and walked away
“Well, Spike, it seems you get to live for a few more minutes, that is until my executioner gets here, so long then,” Infinite said as he walked away
“This has to be a bad dream… but I can’t question reality now, I have to get out of here,” Spike said as he opened his hand and saw that Lyra gave him a small nullifier “Great, with this I’ll be able to free myself,” Spike said as the door opened
“Hello kid, remember me?” said a male voice Spike remembered “I have to hand it to you kid, you sure learned well, too bad you didn’t join us, but, not my problem, well, time to die,” said the soldier from that night
“Wait, your hand, I stabbed it!” Spike said
“Oh yeah, health potions, a beauty aren’t they… anyway, any last words?” asked the soldier as he raised his gun at Spike’s head
As soon as he did Spike pressed the nullifier causing the gun to jam and the chair locks to unlock
“What the fuck?!” said the soldier as Spike got up and punched him in the throat, causing the soldier to fall to the ground whizzing in pain and gasping for air.
“I have to get out of here!” Spike said as he ran out of the room.
Spike ran and ran as fast as he could until he came to the realization that he was running in circles.
“Ok stop, where am I?” Spike said as he came to an interception and looked around until something caught his eye, to his left was a map of the whole place
“Ok, let's see… I am here… so there is an exit in this area, near the “Command Centre”, well no way I’m making it out through there… wow, this is the prime definition of a jail… “Farm”, what Farm? Do they have like, animals in here to feed themselves? Oh well… uh… oh, there seems to be a network of tunnels, the entrance in 5 floors down, maybe I can get out through there… or get lost and die of starvation,” Spike thought to himself
And just as he finished that thought, bright red lights and loud sirens started to go off
“WARNING! WARNING! PRISONER HAS ESCAPED, CAPTURE AT ALL COSTS!” said the woman’s voice over the speaker
“OVER THERE!” screamed a male voice as Spike turned and saw 5 guards running towards him
“FUCK!” he said as he started running
“DON’T LET HIM GET AWAY!”
Spike ran with all his speed, but at each corner, he kept running into more and more guards or dead ends
“IS THIS PLACE SOME SORT OF MAZE!” Spike thought as he reached a door that showed what appeared to be a staircase behind it
“Great I can use this to confuse them!” Spike said as he rushed through the door making it seem as if he was going up the stairs only to jump down to the level below.
Seconds later Spike heard the footsteps of the guards stomping through the door and heading up away from him
“COMMAND WE’VE LOST SIGHT OF THE CAPTIVE, LAST SEEN ON STAIRCASE IN THE H-WING HEADING UPWARDS!” said a female guard as another door opened and closed a few levels above him.
“Hehe, suckers,” Spike said as he quietly made his way to the next door and tiptoed out of the staircase, whoever, never in his wildest dreams, would he ever imagined what he was going to see next.
Spike silently closed the door behind him to not give away his position, but once he turned he stopped and his jaw almost hit the floor.
He was standing in an empty corridor with an entrance to another corridor to the left and another door right in front of him, but a couple of feet away, but to his right, there was a massive window, where Spike was able to realize just how bad of a situation he was in.
Outside the window, Spike could only see forest and sky as far as his eyes could see.
“W-where am I?” Spike wondered as he looked at the landscape, only to make another more “terrifying” discovery.
“THIS PLACE WAS BUILT INSIDE A MOUNTAIN?! SERIOUSLY!!!” he screamed
“OVER THERE!” came a voice behind him
“STOP IN THE NAME OF THE LAW!!!” came another guard
“THIS IS NOT LONCOLT STEVE!... AND TECHNICALLY WE AREN’T THE LAW!” came another
“And that is my queue to leave,” said Spike as the corridor showed 4 guards racing towards him.
Spike was about to run towards the door he came in through when the door flung open revealing even more guards
“SHIT!” Spike said as he run in the other direction, towards the only other door left
“IS THERE ANYONE IN THE WESTERN STAIRCASE?!” someone asked
“We’re 4 floors up, ETA 20 seconds,” came a female voice
“That’s 20 seconds too long,” said another voice
Spike barged in through the door and jumped down the stairs to the next level
“ATTENTION ALL PERSONNEL, YOU ARE CLEAR TO USE LETHAL FORCE!” said the woman over the speaker
“OH, COME ON!” said Spike as he rammed through the next door he could find leading him into what appeared to be a training facility.
He then remembered the map and knew that the entrance to the cave network was just beneath this section
He looked around frantically and noticed another massive door that resembled a Garage gate on the other side
“THAT’S IT!” he said as he started to run towards it
“ATTENTION! THE BASE HAS BEEN COMPROMISED! COMMENCING SECURITY LOCKDOWN!”
“THERE HE IS! FIRE!” came a voice behind him, as Spike briefly turned and noticed at least 10 guards aiming their rifles at him.
“OH SHIT!” he said as bullets started to fly, but as if on instinct Spike began to jump around and behind different objects demonstrating parkour skill that any pro would be jealous of.
“FIRE IN THE HALL!” a voice that Spike knew too well said as an RPG landed and exploded mere inches away from him, causing him to trip and almost fall off the ledge he was running on, mimicking a monkey as his tail wrapped around a pipe and swang him back onto the ledge
“Cheeky bastard!” Infinite said as he fired more and more RPGs at Spike but every one of them missed being either too high, too low, or just too late.
Spike then jumped off the ledge landing a few feet away from the gate as it continued to close, noticing this Spike made a mad dash towards it.
“OH NO, YOU DON’T,” Infinite said as he shot 2 RPGs at the hinges that held the gate and made it close slowly, hitting the bull’s eye on both and causing the gate to fall and shut; only for Spike to slide out from under it right before it hit the ground
“FUCK!” Infinite screamed as he aimed his grenade launcher at the closed gate
Spike came to rest against a wall, he turned to look to his left and saw the entrance to the “Mining Zone” and he sighed in relief
“I made it,” he said as he catches his breath
Just then, a loud BOOM is heard and the gate before him is dented in such a way, it made it seem as if it was hit by a missile.
“OVER THERE!” Spike heard a voice say and then he noticed various guards coming out from a service door at the other end of the hallway
“OH COME ON!” he said as he got up and dashed for the other door just as the guards opened fire and the gate was blown open by Infinite using his magic
“GET HIM!” he said as he landed at the entrance of the gate, don’t let him reach the caves, it’s a maze down there!” he said as many guards joined the chase.
Spike crashed into the door causing it to fall and tripping him as he fell down a small flight of steps into a room full of digging machinery and equipment
“No time to stop and ask questions!” Spike said as he ran in between the excavators as the guards opened fire.
“Almost there!” Spike said as bullets graced his arm and his leg causing him to lose balance and tumble down into a cave
“WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR GO! BEFORE HE GOES ANY DEEPER!” barked Infinite as various guards headed into the cave.
Spike came to a stop at what appeared to be the bottom of the cave’s path, he quickly got up and noticed that there was only nowhere else to go except forward, and so he began to run-limp deeper into the cave.
“Where do you think you’re going!” Infinite said as he appeared behind Spike a threw a ball of magic toward him, only for it to hit the wall and send Spike flying through the wall into another cave network.
Spike got up with a limp, his whole body was in pain and he was bleeding too, he looked around and noticed that there was no exit in this small network he had fallen into, only a hole with some sunlight cascading into it.
Spike limped towards the hole and saw that there was a lake at the bottom of it.
“Dammit, I-I’ve got nowhere else to go…” Spike thought as he heard the footsteps of the guards getting closer and closer “Fuck it if I’m gonna die anyway, better do this once!” Spike said as he ran towards the hole and swan-dived into it, hitting the deep body of water, his consciousness and probably life itself, escaping him as he sunk deeper and deeper into the darkness.
“DAMN IT, HE JUMPED! Captain, I want a search team ready to head down there ASAP!” said Infinite
“I don’t know sir, the kid was really banged up, plus falling from this height into still water is like smashing into concrete, there is no way he survived… and even if he did, he’ll die of starvation or blood loss soon,” the Captain said
“Until we don’t see a body proving of his passing, then in my book, he is ALIVE… you have your orders captain,” Infinite said as he walked towards the entrance of the Cave system, then he noticed Bon Bon and Lyra standing nearby ‘It seems you have one less friend in the world, how sad, AHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Infinite said as he walked away leaving the girls in tears.
SOMETIME LATER
Spike awoke in a panic, looking around hysterically and making body checks to see if he had any injuries.
“Odd… I had bullet wounds before jumping and the fall should’ve broken a few bones, but, now, it’s as if it never happened… I am lucky… anyway… where am I?” Spike said as he got up and realized that apart from the little light that was creeping in through the hole, everything else was pitch black.
“Still can’t wrap my head around all this, yesterday… I think it was yesterday… I was a normal 22-year-old, and now, I’m in the middle of a cave, God knows where, and apparently, I was used in some sort of experiment to become something like a-a super soldier…” Spike thought as he looked at the lake before him.
“A-and then… that ability he said that I possess, what did he call it?... “Eagle eye or Pheonix eye?” I don’t know… I mean, I don’t even know how to use it… all I remember was my eyes itching and then boom, my eyesight changed…. WAIT A MINUTE!” Spile said as he got up “When you scratch your eyes, you squint them, that means your pupil gets smaller… maybe if I can make my pupil get smaller I can activate that ability!” he said as he squinted his eyes and tried to make his pupil smaller.
Spike focused on any small detail he could see, but nothing was happening, then, he had the impulse to blink.
Once his eyes reopened, everything had changed, he could see the outline of his surroundings as if they were made out of light.
“Wow… this is so cool… ok… wall… wall… wall… ARGH! DAMN IT!” Spike said as he looked around and a bright light shone into his eyes temporarily blinding him.
When he finally reopened his eyes, Spike realized his eyesight had gone back to normal, he then turned and look at the small bee, of light that was coming from the deepest part of the cave.
“Well… I lose nothing investigating,” said Spike as he continued to follow a small stream of water that led him towards the light.
After walking for a few minutes Spike finally arrived to a second lagoon and what he saw across it made his jaw drop in surprise
There, across from the lagoon was a massive ancient door that had to massive status on either side of it.
“What the hell is that?” Spike asked as he jumped into the lagoon and swam as fast as he could to the other side.
Once he arrived at the other side Spike was able to notice even better details of the mysterious construction.
The statue to the left was that of a male, and the one to the right was female, even though the status didn’t have faces, Spike could easily make out the sexes of the status.
“This is so cool…” Spike said as he looked at the door that’s when he noticed an inscription at the entrance of the door “Pronounce the Creed,” he read
“What Creed?... something corny like In darkest day, in darkest night, no evil shall escape my sight?” Spike said jokingly
Just after saying this his body, involuntarily, jumped back, as 2 massive spears stabbed the ground just mere inches before him.
“JUST JOKING! JUST JOKING!!!” Spike screamed in terror as the 2 statuses returned to their original position
Spike then walked back up to the other and used his Phoenix eye on it, but nothing.
“Nothing!... well, it makes sense, this creed sounds like something you learn over time… or at least that is how the video game explained it… THE VIDEO GAME! There was a creed or Maxim in the video game… what did it say… Nothing is true, everything is permitted,” Spike said as the ground shook and the door began to open
“Welcome, initiate!” came a voice from within the room
Spike looked around and then entered the massive room.
“Hello!... i-is anybody there?” asked Spike
But no answer
Spike continued to walk down the hallway until something caught his eye.
The hallway was full of statues on either side, and they had names and dates on them, but there was one in particular that stood out.
Spike walked up to the statue and read the name
“Alexander Drake 1890 - 1921… he is my great grandfather!” Spike said
“Indeed he is,” said a voice
“WHO IS THERE!” Spike said as he jumped in fear and got into a fighting stance
“My apologies, I had no intention of scaring you, Sebastian,” said the voice
“Who are you?” asked Spike
“I am the Guardian of this Catacombs,” said the guardian
“Gave you been living here this whole time?” asked Spike
“Living is the wrong term used to describe my residence in these Catacombs since I am not a living being but… what you may consider a Supercomputer,” said the guardian
“A supercomputer?” asked Spike
“Indeed… I must apologize for not answering your first question when entering these catacombs, but, it occurred to me that no one has been in these catacombs in almost 100 years, 75 to be exact, so, I took the liberty of looking through your memories to get up to to date with the current world… and I must say, it has gone to shit,” said the guardian
“You did what?!” asked Spike
“Do not worry, I left the ones that included R-rated content out of the way, so I did not invade your privacy,” said the guardian
“Oh well,” said Spike
“So tell me, Spike, what do you think?” asked the guardian
“About what?” asked Spike
“Your past few hours,” said the guardian
“To be honest, I still can’t wrap my head around it, it feels like a dream or a very realistic nightmare,” said Spike
“Well, you aren’t dreaming, and yes, as I said he is your ancestor, that makes you a Prime Assassin,” said the guardian
“That’s another thing, what is all this mess with the Assassins and Templars, I mean, I met the Templars or at least one of them, but no Assassins,” said Spike
“Well, that is to be expected, the Templars won the war back in 1968, causing many Assassins to die or abandon the syndicate, today, only about 400 Assassins are estimated to be active, while the Templar power is reaching the million mark,” said the guardian
“So, they just… gave up?” asked Spike
“No, after the war, many assassins decided to abandon the syndicate, this included initiates who were about to become Assassins, and since the Templars had gained control of many organizations, including the Research lab you were held in, many parents and grandparents decided it was best to hide any history with the Assassins out of fear that the Templars would swoop in and kill or kidnap their kids,” said the guardian
“So, you mean my family is…” Spike said
“No, you ancestor, Alexander was the last full-fledged assassin in your family and the only one that actually possessed the abilities since birth… until you came along,” said the guardian
“But… I just learned of my abilities a few hours or days ago, if I was born with them, I should’ve known since I was little,” said Spike
“Well, yes, if you would’ve been born into the care of the Brotherhood, however, your grandfather Maxwell Drake and your grandmother Maria Gomez did not finish their initiation into the syndicate, apparently they had to leave due to injuries sustained on a training mission, thus fore, ending your families affiliation to the Assassins, your father, and mother, and even your older sister have no Natural assassin abilities, like you,” said the guardian
“Really?” asked Spike
“Yes, despite the fact that your whole family has ancestral Assassin blood, so far only you have been proven to be “Prime Assassin”,” said the guardian
“So, that means there are different types of Assassins?” asked Spike
“Yes, you have the Prime Assassins like you, people with ancestral blood only, that are born with the abilities already active and having more magical power and strength than others, then you have the “Special Assassins, Assassins who are born with either great magic power, or great abilities, such as strength, stealth, creation… things like that… most of them come from the union of a full-fledged assassin and a commoner, as they used to call them… then you have the “simple Assassins” people who are trained to become assassins, in other words, people recruited by the brotherhood to join, either because they demonstrated a capability on the field deemed for an assassin or because they discovered the brotherhood by mistake… or because of family ties, you know, bureaucracy,” said the guardian
“Wow, that was insightful,” said Spike
“Yes, indeed it was, now for a question from me to you… are you willing to join the Assassins and free the world from the Templars' grasp?” asked the guardian
“I… I don’t know, I don’t know if I am the right person for this,” said Spike
“You survived this long in a situation that would’ve killed anyone else, that makes you perfect… plus, it’s about time someone from Alex’s family continues the assassin heritage,” said the guardian
“... I-i’m in,” said Spike after thinking about it for a few seconds
“Excellent, now, head up those stairs and prepare yourself or initiation,” said the guardian as a staircase appeared out of nowhere.
“I find it hard to believe that this was built before 1990,” said Spike
“Well, technomancy has been around since the beginning of time, but no one really cared about it until recently,” said the guardian “I sense confusion in you, Spike, having cold feet?” asked the guardian
“No, it’s just, I was thinking about the maxim, it still makes no sense to me,” said Spike
“Then allow me to explain, or rather, let Former Grand Master Slade Drakken explain…” said the guardian
"Our Creed does not command us to be free. It commands us to be wise." said the voice of Slade Drakken
“Again, I feel like if that explanation is half-hearted,” said Spike
“Then, maybe your ancestor can shade some more light into the matter…” said the guardian
"To say that nothing is true, is to realize that the foundations of society are fragile, and that we must be the shepherds of our own civilization. To say that everything is permitted, is to understand that we are the architects of our actions, and that we must live with their consequences, whether glorious or tragic" came the voice of Alexander Drake
“That made more sense,” said Spike
“Glad to hear,” said the guardian as Spike made it to the top of the stairs and was met by a massive door
Spike came to a stop in front of it, and seconds later it opened, allowing Spike to stare into a long hallway with a bright light at the end of it.
Spike made his way to the other side of the hallway, as consciously as he could to see if there were any sudden traps or tests that he had to pass.
But nothing happened until he reached the light.
“Alright then Spike, place your dominant hand on the altar and prepare for initiation,” said the guardian
“You’re not gonna chop my finger off, are you?... Are you?!” asked Spike
“Spike, it’s 2022, what you saw on those video games happened in the 12th century,” said the guardian.
“Oh… sorry,” said Spike as he placed his hand on the altar.
His hand was then engulfed by light and he felt a light pinch as if a needle had pricked him
“Blood sample acquired, proceed with initiation,” came a different voice
"Where other men blindly follow the truth, remember..." came Slade’s voice
"Nothing is true," answered Spike
"Where other men are limited by morality or law, remember..." Slade said
“Everything is permitted," answered Spike
"We work in the dark to serve the light. WE are Assassins," said Slade as Spike felt a burning sensation on his middle finger.
“Welcome to the Brotherhood, Sebastian Drake,” said Slade’s voice
“Well done, Spike, now, put these on,” said the guardian as a black cloak with red sashes appeared before Spike.
“Cool,” said Spike as he took them
“These garments belonged to your Ancestor… and so did these,” said the Guardian as a pair of gauntlets came into view.
Spike wasted no time in adding them to his outfit.
“Cool~WOW!” said Spike as the hidden blades on each gauntlet extended surprising Spike
“Careful now, we wouldn’t want you to lose any fingers,” said the guardian
“I thought Assassins only had done blade?” said Spike
“Usually, they do, however, it was necessary to have a spare gauntlet in case something happened to the first one… but now, we are in a different century, and times change, so now, I have updated and modified your gauntlets and robes, to make your job easier, let’s start with your cloak, thanks to the video game, which was created with help of an Assassin deserter, people will be able to identify you as an assassin, even if they believe it was cosplay, a funny term that is, cosplay… any way, I have modified your cloak as for it to seems as a hoodie when you are out in public, which would be much better since it seems that now youths and young adults try to wear hoodies to hide their presence, or for fashion…” said the guardian
“Yeah, but for a completely different reason,” Spike said as he remembered his classmates that used to wear hoodies during class so that the teacher didn’t ask them questions… needless to say, it backfired miserably.
“Well, doesn’t matter… now, your gauntlets, not only possess the hidden blades, but I have also added a few extra weapons that might help you even more, like Poison blades, a poison dart gun, a tranquilizer dart gun, silenced “9mm” guns, one on each gauntlet, a shock blade and a magic blade, which you can apply any sort of magic onto and use it as is,” said the guardian as Spike saw each of his weapons “Just name the weapon you want on your head and it will appear… also, I was unable to correctly recreate ammunition for your silenced guns or dart guns, but I am leaving you the instructions on how to reload them and create ammunition,”
“Fair enough,” said Spike
“Now, Spike, I believe you are aware of the 3 tenets our syndicate must follow, Stay your blade from the flesh of an innocent, Hide in plain sight, and Never compromise the Brotherhood… is there anything you’d like to ask about them?” asked the guardian
“I don’t have questions about them, but, about our actions,” said Spike
“Our… actions?” asked the guardian
“Yeah, The Assassins seek to promote peace, but commit murder. The Assassins seek to open the minds of men but require obedience to rules. The Assassins seek to reveal the danger of blind faith, yet practice it ourselves… when you think about it, we don’t sound so different as the Templars… it’s almost ironic,” said Spike
“Though seemingly hypocritical, the ironies do not undermine the Assassins' cause. Rather, they demonstrated the way in which we embraced contradiction, "that one may be two things – opposite in every way – simultaneously… although, yes, it is ironical,” said the guardian “Plus, nowadays you have a bit more freedom when on the field,”
“Oh, ok then,” said Spike
Just then they heard a loud BOOM!
“We have breached,” said a guard
“Excellent, Sir, I must report that the breach of the door we discovered was successful… yes, it seems as if they were catacombs… no sir, no sign of him… yes sir, we will… and may the father of understanding guide you too,” said the guard Spike remembered from the night he was kidnapped and the torture room.
“Good luck, Spike…” said the guardian as he shut down in order to preserve the information of the Brotherhood.
“LOOK AROUND, HE HAS TO BE IN HERE SOMEWHERE, REMEMBER, LETHAL FORCE IS GREEN LIT!” said the guard
Spike looked down towards the hallway with the statues.
“2…3…5…7, 7 in total, and it seems razor over there is the leader… I have to take them out, quietly, I don’t have the skills or ammo to take on them simultaneously,” said Spike as he noticed that the soldiers separated and started to look around throughout the catacombs.
Just then, Spike suffered a mild headache, and slowly realized that now all the information of the catacombs was in his head, even a map of the place
“I got you now,” he said as he crept away into the catacombs
A FEW MINUTES LATER
“Anything to report?” said the leader
“Nothing… nothing… nothing… nothing… nothing… nothing, this place seems deserted,” said the last guard
“Well, he couldn’t have gone anywhere else,” said the leader “Ok, let's regroup, let’s think of something,” said the leader, who received various ok’s and headed to the center of the catacombs.
“Oh… why did I climb all the way up here, now it'll take me ages to get down,” said the last guard to respond.
When he turned around to start his descent he was met with the sight of Spike standing right before him.
“Holy Shi-!” was all the guard could say before Spike stabbed him in the gut wi the hidden blade.
BACK AT THE MEETING POINT
“Where is Philip?” asked the leader
“Didn’t he climb to the top of that area of the place, it’s gonna take him some time to get here,” said another guard, as a loud THUD was heard behind him
“OH MY GOD!” screamed one of the female guards
“SHIT! PHILIP!” screamed the leader
“DID HE JUMP?!” asked another guard
“No, look, he was stabbed, right here… we are not alone… be on high alert, find the bastard!” said the leader
With that, 2 of the remaining guards rushed to where their comrade had been in an effort to corner Spike and kill him, however, all they really did was rush to their graves.
As soon as they reached the corridor that led to where their comrade had been, Spike jumped down from the ceiling and assassinated one of them.
“WHAT THE!” was all the other guard could say before Spike lunged up and cut his throat, and then put him out of his misery by stabbing him in the chest.
“GEORGE! LUCAS!... COME IN ANY OF YOU?!... HELLO?!” came the voice of the leader “DAMN IT, WE LOST 2 MORE, KILL THIS BASTARD!”
“Three down, four to go,” said Spike as he crept back into the shadows.
The 4 remaining guards were on high alert, even the smallest noise put them on edge
“Karin, I’m on the second floor of the West wing of this place, I heard some weird noises, requesting back up,” said the guard
“Copy that, Silvia, I’ll be there in a few seconds,” said Karin
“Thanks, cause something here isn’t right,” said Silvia as she crept through the entrance to a new corridor, only for Spike to grab her rifle, and use the bud of the rifle to knock her unconscious.
“Killing isn’t always the answer,” Spike said to himself as he grabbed the unconscious guard and let her rest against the wall
“Silvia!... SILVIA! I’M HERE, WHERE ARE YOU?!” Karin said as she noticed Silvia resting against the wall “SILVIA!” she said as she ran towards her
“KARIN! WHAT HAPPENED IS SILVIA OK?” asked the leader
“Y-yeah, she’s only unconscious,” said Karin
“Ok… she was recently attacked which means that the little prick is nearby, be on the lookout Karin, it seems he is not as useless as Infinite said he was,” said the Leader
“Understood, I’ll keep an eye open,” said Karin as she felt something connect with the back of her head, making her lose her conscience.
“Now for the last 2,” said Spike as he walked away
A FEW MINUTES LATER
“Boss, I am unable to contact Karin,” said the other guard
“Damn it, he got to her too,” said the leader
“Should I call for backup?” asked the guard
“Wyatt, shut up, I am not going to look bad in front of Infinite again, I am this close to being accepted into the Inner circle, I am not gonna blow it,” said the leader
“Seriously, you’re gonna let your ego get the best of you, again, Bruce?” said Wyatt
“This is none of your business,” said Bruce
“Uh, it is, I mean, we already lost 5 of or personnel down here, either them being dead or unconscious and you don’t want to call for help?” said Wyatt
“Positive, now go out there and hunt this fool down!” said Bruce
“It feels as if we’re the hunted,” said Wyatt to himself as he walked towards the “Hall of Heroes” but he never made it to his destination.
As soon as he had crossed the doorway into the hall, Spike placed him in a choke hold, knocking him out seconds later, without much of a struggle, a struggle, that Bruce, heard
“WYATT?!” Bruce said as he ran through the doorway, only to find him unconscious “OK, THAT IS IT!” he said as he grabbed Wyatt’s rifle and walked out into the hall
“COME ON DOWN HERE AND FIGHT LIKE A MAN, YOU OVERGROWN LIZARD!” Bruce screamed as he pointed the rifles everywhere.
But once her turned around to face behind him he was met by a blade to the gut
“Here I am,” Spike said as he placed Bruce on the ground
“So… this is how it ends,” said Bruce
“What do want with me?” asked Spike
“Nothing… Kid, we’re mercenaries, gang members, you pay us and point a finger… and we don’t care who we’re going after… as I said before… it wasn’t personal,” said Bruce
“What about the corporation, you said you were about to enter the Inner Circle, that means you must’ve learned something,” said Spike
“Nah… all I cared about… was the welcoming bonus…” said Bruce as he died.
“Well, that was fun, wasn’t it Spike,” said the guardian
“I thought you shut off,” said Spike
“I kind of did, I was looking all this time, and I must say, I am impressed, you looked as if you had decades of experience on the field,” said the Guardian
“Good to hear,” said Spike in a quiet voice
“Are you ok?” asked the guardian
“All this killing, and for what… I got no answers,” said Spike
“Well, if it makes you feel any better, they were gonna kill you if you didn’t kill them first,” said the guardian
“That does make me feel kind of better,” said Spike
“So what are you gonna do now?” asked the guardian
“Get some real answers,” said Spike as he looked at the entrance of the Catacombs.
