The darkness (closed)

Ember came to a sudden stop halfway into the forest, and smiled at the sight that met her eyes.
"It's still here" Ember said happily before she raced off to a treehouse. It was a simple oak building, with a window on each side. Ember entered the treehouse through a small door, and plopped down on an old beanbag chair.

Seth opened a bag of dried crickets, and smacked on them as he thought for a moment.
"Maybe Haemon is the nightmare? Ember have dreams like this from time to time. It like Little Dragon become ancestors in sleep." Seth handed Austin a small amulet, and a piece of quartz. "Amulet for protection. Stone to confuse bad spirits."

Benjamin followed Ember into the treehouse when he reached it and plopped down on the floor with a sigh, leaning back against the wood wall behind him. "Haven' run like tha' in ages," he puffed happily.

Austin smiled down at the two items and nodded his thanks to Seth before placing the stone in his pocket. "Thanks," he said as he tried to find a way to have the amulet on his person. He honestly didn't want to be wearing two necklaces, so when he couldn't find a suitable place for it, Austin stowed it in his other pocket before he addressed Seth's suggestion. "It wasn't like that at all. It was like I was watching through my own body and couldn't do anything about it. And maybe Haemon is, maybe he isn't. The only way I'll be able to find out is through the use of the Animus."

"Dad built this treehouse for me when he found out mum was pregnant. The Assassins wouldn't let him see me. But when I was old enough, dad and I finally met up. Even though I was a teen, we still had a tea party up here." Ember looked at the various photos hanging on the walls. All of them had been taken in the tree house. There were photos of her, her father, and her friends. Ember closed her eyes, and let out a sigh. "I know who killed those Assassins, and my friends..."


"Seth will be here for Donnelly. Seth will try and see what Seth can find on Haemon Donnelly."

"I' was someone who knows wha' you are, wasn' i'?" Benjamin asked quietly, his eyes soft and sad.

Austin gave a nod at Seth in thanks and looked around one last time before he took a breath and headed for the door. "Tomorrow then," he said quietly, his voice shaking as he stepped through the door from the world of the past and into the present. He wasn't certain which he was more afraid of.

Ember stood up, and pulled a photo off of the wall before handing it to Benjamin.
"His name is Marco Coetzee. He was part of my team, an Assassin, a Carrion Crow. After the incident, we ended up at Bethlem Royal Hospital for the mentally ill together. I was told that he had hung himself, but he had joined the Templars. He killed Daz, Patches, and the rest of the Assassins at my place."

"Tomorrow, Donnelly."

(Sorry for the short, and late reply. Global game Jam.)

(You're fine ^_^ What games were there?)

Benjamin looked at the picture with a frown, deepening when Ember told him that this was the bloke who killed her friends. "I's no' righ' when an Assassin Betrays," he stated with a coldness in his voice that sounded like fire but it was calm. "Sad is wha' i' is. I don' understand why they do i', bu' they do." He would know. His mentor and father figure had betrayed the Assassins and Benjamin had been the one to kill him.

"There's one more thing you need to know about him. About Marco Coetzee... he... he's my ex" Ember said sadly. She plopped down on the beanbag chair once again, and drew her hood. She didn't feel right talking about her ex.

(Actually, GGJ is a weekend thing where game Devs are given a theme, and have to make a game in one weekend.)

(Oh shit! O_o)

Benjamin shook his head and rose to his feet before reclipping the photo to the wall where Ember had gotten it from as the light of dusk poured in from one of the windows. "I could care less abou' who you were with," he stated calmly, his voice soft while his eyes turned toward her. "You're with me now and tha's all tha' matters. Your pas' is your business, bu' your future is my privilege."

Ember blushed violently at what Benjamin had said. She looked up at Benjamin, and lowered her hood with a smile. She was at a complete loss for words, at least until she saw the picture of Marco.
"If he finds out about our feelings for each other, he'll torture you, and kill you in front of me." Ember grabbed an old stuffed cat plush, and hugged it tightly. She had given up on trying to look strong.

"Eh," Benjamin waved a hand dismissively to the side before both hands came up to indicate two people on either side of him, hidden from other eyes and ears except his own. "These two always keep me safe. And I doub' tha' word would ge' ou' 'bou' you."

(Start a next day after a response here :3)

Ember set the old cat plush in a box, and wiped away her tears.
"Well, let's head back to the mansion" Ember said with a sigh before she raced off, back to the mansion. She headed straight to her room, and stayed there for the night. She even refused any offers of food.

The next day:

"Has Jack seen Ember this morning?"
"Unfortunately, no. The cubs wandered into my room this morning. An Animus is missing from her lab as well."
"Ember must have some important work to do. No need to worry."

Austin ruffled his hair while a yawn escaped his throat. He seemed more tired than usual, but didn't say anything about it. Instead, he spotted Jack and Seth and while he nodded a hello to Ember's brother, he turned to Seth. "Ready for today?" He asked with another yawn, planting a hand across his mouth to stifle it as best as he could. He'd eaten that morning when Walter had brought him something from breakfast. Said that he'd slept through half the morning, which Austin couldn't believe but when he'd checked his clock, it had said eleven in the morning, so he'd hurriedly ate breakfast to have something in his system for the day.

Ember had spent the entire night in the Animus, carefully analysing Marco. Now she sat at her computer, searching for any signs of her nemesis. Richard was off at Abstergo, working as usual. Walter paced around the mansion anxiously. He had left some coffee, and an apple at Ember’s door. He was relieved to find that Ember had taken everything into her room. Walter was worried about Ember, and it had become painfully obvious.

"Yes. Everything is ready for Donnelly" Seth said happily as he turned around in his chair. He had been looking at pictures of Ember on what seemed to be a vacation. "Seth ready when Donnelly ready."

Austin gave a nod at Seth's question and took a deep breath before he crossed over to the chair and reclined back into it before he set the headgear onto his head and let out a huff of breath. "Let's see what else Haemon can tell us, then." He said, his voice shaking. With a deep breath that was released a second after he'd taken it, Austin closed his eyes and awaited the transfer of his mind into the Animus.

Ember finally emerged from her room, and headed straight to the training room. She pinned a photo of Marco's face to a training dummy before she started her workout.

"Keep safe" Seth said warmly before he hit the button that activated the Animus.

The instant Seth hit the button was the instant Austin was plunged back into the body of his ancestor and once again checked that everything was in place. "Hey, Donnelly!" Austin turned around just as the same Assassin from the last session approached, letting out a breath as though he'd run from the top of the mountain. "Al Mualim needs you to do something today."
"Where?" Austin could feel his heart beating in his chest. He hadn't actually experienced an assassination with Haemon before. Instead, the last time he'd been in here, the Assassins had had him patrolling the city and keeping everything safe.

"Jerusalem. He apparently thinks there's something there that you can handle on your own." Austin remained silent for a while, trying to pull his thoughts together before he gave Dijon a nod.
"Tell the Master that it will be done." Dijon nodded and turned around to return to the castle while Austin turned back to the stable beyond the gates of Masyaf.
Let's go. He thought as he headed straight for the black stallion that was there.

Jerusalem; Animus...

The sky grew dark by the time Austin beheld the city of Jerusalem. He swung from the horse's back and tethered him to a pole before he entered the city, feeling at that moment like he didn't have control over his body. Austin felt like he was watching a movie as Haemon entered the city and immediately climbed up onto a rooftop to get a better look at his surroundings. Austin began to climb up to one of the vantage points and sat there on the board once he'd made it to the top and took in the city. Jerusalem's quite beautiful, he thought calmly. What he didn't understand was what Al Mualim needed him to do here.

(help O_O)

Ember collapsed in a sweat on on the floor, the training dummy ripped to shreds. Ember got up, and headed to her room to clean up.

One hour later...

"I wonder where Benjamin went off to" Ember asked herself as she wandered around the mansion.

As it was, Benjamin had simply explored a bit but had to get Walter to show him the way back to his room after getting lost. Now he was chilling on his bed playing Assassin's Creed Identity on his phone.

(help for the animus? :3 please? XD I honestly don't know what else I can do with it on my own)

(Boop :3)

(I don't know how to help you there. Sorry (/´△`＼) )

(maybe have a Templar or someone fight and then begin to poison Haemon's mind about the Assassins :3 We can continue off of that )

Ember gave up on her quest to find Benjamin, and made her way to her father's study. She looked at the ancient set of armor, and smiled.
"Donahue, the Dark Knight" Ember said softly before she lay down on the couch, and fell asleep.

"He shows great promise" Donahue said quietly to himself as he watched Haemon. He could sense the Assassin's wavering loyalty. He followed the young Assassin for a while. As time went by, he began to take a greater interest in the Assassin. Soon, the time came when he met the Assassin, and he spoke with him. Poisoning his mind like the snake that had charmed Eve in the garden of Eden.

In his chair, Austin's face twisted, his brow furrowing while his hands clenched tight at the armrests until the knuckles turned white.

Animus

Internally, Austin was panicking. What's going on? Austin fretted, his heart rate rising. He could feel the poisoned words as though they were in his own mind, repeating over and over until he felt dizzy. Once again, he felt like he was watching a movie as Haemon looked upon the ground, a frown upon his face as he took in what the Templar was saying.

"Ember! Big problem with Donnelly! Come, now!" Ember woke with a start upon hearing Seth's voice in her head. She quickly raced off to her study, only to find Seth in a frantic state as he tried to pull Austin out of the Animus.
"Step aside" Ember barked as she bolted straight for the Animus. She immediately began the emergency extraction protocol, and made her way to Austin's side. "Austin! Are you alright" Ember asked as she removed the headgear.

Before Austin's eyes, the Animus fell away immediately and he was ejected from the program rather violently. The only thing that lingered was the poisonous words that rang inside of his head and made his head hurt and spin wildly. Even Ember's voice was distant and sounded muffled, as though he were under water. For a moment, he felt himself suspended in space, not able to fully awaken. Then the nightmare flashed before his eyes, blood washing against his legs and the dark sheen of a blood-soaked hidden blade rose into his view before slicing down upon him.

Austin pulled away with a shriek of fear, shaking. He was breathing heavily, his heart threatening to explode out of his chest. His head hurt like a hangover and when he managed to force open his eyes, things were unfocused for a few moments. Ember and Seth were the first things to come into focus and he almost immediately broke down. "Make it stop!" He cried, his voice barely coming out of his mouth at all while his hands rose to his head as it fell forward, his back bending and his knees rising to his chest. His fingers twined into his hair and tightened while his palms pressed against his eyes.