Wtf? I missed it! Could someone PM and fill me in please? Dx
And no, I am not going to be going that deep with this. There'll be twists, but the problem with cross overs is that you can bite off more then you can chew. Justifying two elements of two different stories is hard enough as it is without trying to mix it all together where you don't need to.
I just started work on the new chapter, by the way.
Chapter 4.
Living under artificial light wasn't usually so bad. When you had constant control over when it was bright, and when it was dark, when it was still and cold and when the heat pressed down, you didn't really develope a body clock, so much as a switch. But Lidia had not yet adjusted, used to the harsh outdoors, with her troops, where man was still at the mercy of nature. Here, hiding in this metal box that shielded everyone from forces such as wind and sun, she was still stuck in that uncomfortable in-between region.
The lights flipped on one by one, bringing her doll house world into view, and she was sitting up in her bed from pure force of habit rather then concious decision. In nothing but a set of white underwear, which she always wore over the more feminine panties, given a choice, her light, pale skin, so typical for one with her hair colour, made her blend in with her box like, pristine white bed. She bowed her head and concentrated, mentally sweeping the cobwebs from her mind, ignoring the man in medical green that came in to lay a tray on her table. She was unashamed in her nudity, and she liked to be alone during her morning rituals anyway, her indecency discouraging any conversation from her 'nurse' as she called him.
There was comfort in the familiarity of a morning. Bowing over her sink to brush her teeth, rinsing and washing her face, counting down the seconds as her food cooled, knowing exactly when it would be the right temperature. But even so, she was born and bred into chaos, and none of that existed here. Out of the simple need for a change, she ignored her food a small while longer and sheared her head in front of the mirror.
"Ah, the classic buzzcut" The speakers toned as she stepped into the Animus area, the black shadows of scientists showing up against the cloudy glass. For once, she didn't exchange words with them. She was tired, and her body felt wrong, like the lack of any worldly force to guide her instincts was making her feel dull or sick. She had always hated space travel, but at least there was some sense of movement there. Here, everything was just... still.
"Let's get this over with..." She eventually mumbled and slid onto the Animus without complaint. The day had barely begun, and already, she wished it were over. She wanted to be in the rec room, wailing on the sand bags, playing wall tennis, anything to just feel that burning in her muscles, and the familiar pounding of blood in her head.
There was a dull, painless sensation, hard to describe, and within the span of a heart beat that felt more to her like several minutes of nothing, she was standing in an endless expanse of blue. It was clouded with what appeared to be mist, but upon closer inspection was small bits of code, almost like DNA strands, flocking and floating, some even darting by. She had seen it many times before, the all purpose simulation matter that would be tricking her into feeling wind on her neck, sweat matting her clothes, the suns heat, vertigo...
Taking a few small steps, she looked around and could see colour, the same you get behind your eyes when you take a good hit to the face. It's there, but you can't really describe it so well... it's more like an excess of sensory stimulation that you can't rightly comprehend. She watched her hands as she walked, as the skin tone subtly changed, the scar on her ring finger melting into view, and lines of white dashed across the floor under her vision, drawing out the tiles that were forming under her sturdy boots. She looked up and saw the marketplace forming around her, the skeletal frames of people gaining form and colour, sounds and smells assaulting her as the horizon grew, towers and buildings constructing themselves as if they were made of blocks.
There was an unperceived popping, like a release of static, as the simulation completed it's construction, Lidia stepping seamlessly into Francesca's mind, not even breaking pace.
Her hands were wet with blood, hidden in the dark green hooded cloak that she wrapped around herself. Her footsteps were slow but there was purpose behind them, and shouts coming from the markets behind her. Even with the sun only now reaching it's zenith, the streets were packed with shoppers. Perfect cover for her kill.
She could hear a group of guards shoving pedestrians around, getting closer to her, and as she entered the shade of an alleyway, she saw yet another group of them ahead of her, shoving a store owner and barking a few words she didn't hear. They must have seen her when she left, because she picked out the words 'green hood' from his lip movements, and the store keepers eyes darted to the side and caught hers. He hesitated, but the burly man followed his gaze and put his hand on the old man's chest, shoving him aside and striding forward.
Francesca had already slipped through a door to her left, coming into a dank, unpaved room with a few water damaged boxes piled up in one corner. Her boots pounded the loose wood and then scuffed at the walls as she scampered up a few feet, hunching and then kicking off, darting up into the rafters. She had barely perched when the door flew open and the guards came pouring in, hands on their swords, looking about the tiny room, ready to draw. There wasn't much room in here... it was best she make some room for them and leave.
Dropping silently behind them, she slipped out and shouldered the door closed. She pulled down the wooden plank to lock it, dashing down the street, smirking to herself as she heard the outraged cry of the guards and the pounding on the door. The thrill of the chase... it never failed to set her veins alight.
Ducking into an alleyway off of the street, she dropped a hook from her sleeve, which dangled on the end of a chain. She twirled it and swung, latching onto a sturdy bit of iron in one of the green houses where the markets would dry their herbs. She scuffled up the wall and blended in with the dull greens, just another mass of leaves, completely unseen as the now free group of guards trudged by, shouting.
When she dropped back down into the mud, her cloak was gone, now in her much cooler under clothes, a simple set of tan shawls, she stepped into the moving crowds and simply disappeared.
Standing atop one of the roof top pigeon coops, she tied the blood stained feather to one of the birds delicate legs, cradling it on it's back in her strong hand. It cocked it's head and gave a small kick, but other wise stayed still. It twisted when she threw it up, throwing it's wings out and giving a few furious beats to right it's position before darting off with confirmation of her kill. It would get there sooner then her, and the sky was getting dark now. The guards had been more ferocious then she expected, and her escape had not been so easy. A few more hours of eluding them had followed, and she only just now managed to far enough away to risk getting a carrier pigeon.
She was sweating, chest heaving slightly. She knew why they were so persistent. Il Diavolo di Venezia. The Devil of Venice. That's all the people were talking about... the unseen demon. She couldn't blame them.
Dropping down into the now empty alleyway, she was immediately met with several armed guards, swords drawn. Damn, she thought... they had been waiting for her. She turned, and several more stepped out to block her exit. The burly man with the squashed nose she had seen before was at their head, smirking. "Well well well... what do we have here. A merry chase you've lead us on Assassin"
As he spoke, the men fanned out, feet spread, ready to intercept an escape, moving in. Her mind whirred, eyes darting to assess her situation. This man was good... he had trapped her somewhere she wouldn't have much chance of climbing out of. It was just two smooth walls, an archway above, and an old, unused green house that she didn't feel she could trust with a breath of wind, let alone her own weight.
Carefully, she reached down to push the shawls back, the hilt of her dagger showing, while she palmed something in her other hand, stepped back and threading something through her fingers. When the first man made his move, she fed the hook and chain through her hand and swung it, hitting the green house and yanking it down. The rusted metal gave way easily and a mound of dried soil and old plants came crashing down on the advancing men on one side. There wasn't enough weight there to do any real damage, but a minute of dirty eyes and mouths was a minute they weren't were trading steel with her.
Turning, the hook still attached to the swinging metal frame, she took her dagger out just in time to catch a short sword coming down at her, the blades sliding until they were meeting at the hand guards. He shoved at her, but her boots braced into the dirt and she ducked so most of his forward strength send him off balance, coming up under his guard and bringing her knee to his groin. His eyes flew open and she backstepped in a neat twirl, her dagger slicing through his throat and the chain coiling around her arms to remove the slack.
Without wasting any time, she flicked her wrist, the movement travelling up the chain and dislodging it from the greenhouse, swinging it down so it clapped over a guards helmet, sending him reeling, clattering across the ground. Winding it around her fist, she yanked, and the hook latched onto the back of another guards ankle, pulling his legs out from under him and putting him on his back.
Stepping around in a 180 and winding the slack as she did, she swung wide at the four men who were still struggling with the collapsed greenhouse, the metal hook smacking the first man's wrist and disarming him, clapping over the others thigh and sending him dancing back with a yelp of pain.
There she stood, twirling the chain, panting and trying not to let the strain show, the men circling her like a pack of wild dogs trying to bring down an injured but raging ox. More men had entered the alley way, more then she could handle. The chain could only hold them back so long. She needed a way out.
The man with the squashed nose snarled and swiped at the air in frustration as he stepped up, pacing with her, eyes never leaving that chain, jumping back to avoid her cautionary swings. When the hook wrapped around his sword, he dug his feet in and ripped the hook right out of her hands, sending her forward onto her face.
She was done for... she knew it. She scrambled to her feet, but she was counting the seconds down, expecting the first sword blow to come down on her unprotected back. Her mind screamed at her to get up, but her body said to curl up and cover her head, her movements becoming a confused tug-of-war between the two.
And then, all of the hairs on her neck stood up, and her nerves suddenly ran with ice water. Like a centerpede crawling up the back of her neck, she heard that same low, shuddering series of clicks.
"Diavolo! Diavo-" The guards scream was cut short, the sound of something fast whizzing by, with a wet slicing sound and a gurgling. the whizzing came again, and she almost felt it zip past her shoulder, which caused her to instinctually cover her head with her arms. Several more screams and wet tearing sounds followed, blood splashing onto her back, and then, silence.
She was breathing fast, a clump of dirt pressed close to her mouth, body shaking. Slowly, her unresponsive limbs spread out and she pushed herself up onto one knee, raising to stand and looking around the now deathly silent alley. In all her years of training and professional kills, never had she seen so much blood at once. The metallic scent of it hit her nose and travelled down to her stomach, twisting it and making the figs she had eaten almost come back up. She felt queasy... no blade she had ever seen could do such damage to a human body.
Bodies lay in pieces, the stumps so clean they could only have been made with one surgically precise strike, the flesh and muscle and bone all carved evenly. She had seen a butcher sharpen his knives and still have to chop furiously a few times just to get through the muscle mass, and he had to bring out the bone saw to finish it off. Intestines had spilled into the dirt, purple and black and red and yellow... she had never seen a man gutted. She had stabbed a few in the stomach, but never had she opened one up to the point where he just... fell out.
Her knees were shaking, heart racing, the daggers handle gripped with white knuckles, chest thudding. She could feel her hurried breathing and pounding heart in her ears, like a drum, eyes darting around, looking for it... for Il Diavolo di Venezia.
Her hairs stood up from a kick of static, a crossing network of red beams cutting off the alleyway behind her, humming. She had barely turned around when a second set hissed across the air on the other side, blocking her off completely. There was a thud, and a swirling of dust, and as she focused her eyes, she saw the wavering outline of something tall, thick, and man shaped.
The hissing, clicking sound rattled again, and a set of yellow eyes flashed, a yellow disc humming to life in it's hand. It's synthetic voice mirrored hers.
"Not... very... nice..."
There! Phew, that turned out to be a lot longer then I thought... there's a whole other fight that I planned to add, but it's going to be split into another chapter.
