The darkness (closed)

"Oh, we'll be ready for anything" Ember said happily as she pointed to her father's old Winchester that sat above the bar.

Meanwhile...

Marco had been wondering the streets, looking for a man who would assist him in taking down Ember, Benjamin, and Austin. He knew of one man that would be more than happy to help get rid of Austin. Marco turned down the dark alleyway, and made his way to the hooded man.
"Mister Garrett Donnelly?"

Austin couldn't help but grin and shook his head as he took another drink while Benjamin sipped his own and continued to play his game with his earphones in. He was hardly paying attention.

Meanwhile...

He remained as he was, back against the wall, hands crammed into the pockets on his leather jacket, hood thrown up over his head and one foot crossed over the other. "Who wants to know?" He asked slyly.

"I'm heading out for a smoke. I need to think up a plan" Ember said with a sigh before she headed out onto the balcony.

Meanwhile...

"Marco Coetzee. I believe we have a common enemy, Austin Donnelly. If the rumours are true, he's hiding out with Ember Shay, and Benjamin Beckett. I think it would benefit us both if we worked together."

Benjamin looked up for a moment before he took his phone and drink outside to be with Ember. He sat down on one of the patio chairs with a sigh, taking a sip of his drink before setting it back down upon the small table that was there. "Ya know," he began slowly, a grin playing on his lips as he did his best to take Ember's mind off of her ex and off of Austin's brother. "I don' think I've ever played a more amazin' game than Identity. I' jus' proves how much we're lucky ta 'ave Assassins as our identity. A' leas', in my mind."


Meanwhile...

Garrett's eyes flicked up and down Marco's body and his feet shifted, his back sliding up the wall as he rose to his full height. He towered a good three inches above Marco and his head had turned to face the Assassin Deserter. His eyes were the darkest of greens, similar in color to Haemon Donnelly's back in Altaïr's era and bits of dark brown-blond hair poked out from beneath his hood. "Rumors," he began slowly. "Aren't as reliable as actual information, Coetzee. But do tell. How is it that my brother managed to end up here in London? He doesn't trust anyone and he certainly wouldn't trust a distant cousin of ours, what with their ties to the Templars." Garrett seemed like the kind who wouldn't take rumors to heart. Nowadays, rumors could go anywhere. He seemed more like the kind of person who needed solid evidence and reliable information before he did anything.

"It's both a blessing, and a curse" Ember said with a sigh. She had lost a lot because of the Assassin-Templar war.

Meanwhile...

"I don't know their exact reasoning for coming to London, but I do have proof that he has been travelling with Shay and Beckett" Marco said smugly as he showed Garrett a photo of the three Assassins.

Benjamin looked up from his game and glanced over at Ember with a sad expression. "We've all los' a lo'," he said softly, as though to make her feel better. "Bu' i's those losses tha' made us who we are today. I certainly wouldn' be here if no' for all the thin's tha' have happened ta me. Austin's family curse is wha' makes him a good Assassin and you...well your own family line has i's own good qualities."

Meanwhile...

Garrett took the picture in hand and examined it for a moment. His eyes narrowed when he caught sight of his brother and his grip tightened slightly on the photo before he raised his head to look at Marco. "You have my attention," he said slowly, handing the photo back to the young man. "But do not disclose anything to me here. We don't know who'll be listening." Garrett reached into his jacket and pulled out a small, folded piece of paper and passed it over to Marco. "Memorize the location and destroy the paper. You'll find me there in three hours."

"See, that right there just proves how fucked up the Shays are. Can't decide if we're a Templar or Assassin family. I'm a basket-case, Jack is a certified criminal, and my father, the Grand Master of the British Templar Order, has cancer." Ember downed her drink, and let out a sigh.

Meanwhile...

Marco looked at the piece of paper, memorised the address, and set the piece of paper on fire using a Zippo bearing the Templar cross. He gave Garrett a nod before slipping away.

"You're lookin' a' everythin' tha's goin' wron' with your family instead of wha's good." Benjamin said softly, looking up briefly from his game to give her a gentle smile. "Havin' me' you and your brother and spoken with your father, I can tell ya wha' i' is tha' I see." For once, Benjamin paused his game and set his phone next to his drink, popping his earbuds from his ears to lean forward and stare up at the girl he'd fallen in love with. "I see a stron' independan' youn' woman who has strengths in both sides, a youn' man eager to protec' his family and the Grand Master Templar of the British Branch who wan's wha's bes' for his little girl.

"If ya always look for the negative in everythin', then tha's all tha' you will receive." When had Benjamin gotten so deep?

Meanwhile...

Garrett watched Marco slip away before he, too, left the location, his hood low over his face and his hands stuffed inside of his pockets. He had somewhere to be and then he would hear what Coetzee had to say in three hours. A grin creeped upon his face. Oh how he longed to see his brother's reaction when they finally met after all these years.

"I suppose you're right, Benji. I've never really noticed just how amazing my family is" Ember said with a soft laugh, and a warm smile. She had to hear it from someone else just to realise what she had. "I'm not going to let him take my family from me. Austin, he's part of the Shay bloodline whether he likes it or not. You? Well you're pretty goddamned special to me, and I swear on my mother's grave that no harm will come to you."

Benjamin gave a soft chuckle and flicked his eyes back to his phone for a moment before he grinned over at the young woman he'd come to love. "You wudduv loved my father, Ember." He said sadly. "And he wudduv approved you."

"In a way, I know him. He raised you, Benji" Ember said softly as she rested her head on Benjamin's shoulder. She didn't want to upset him, so she didn't ask him any questions about his family.

When she didn't say anything else, Benjamin couldn't help but resent the silence. So he spoke willingly, starting with his mother. "Mum was quite the opposi'e of ya. She was qui'e patien'. She and our Gardener, Rick, were the only ones ta know tha' dad was an Assassin. They kep' i' from me since I was a child, bu' I remember watchin' dad from the bottom of the stairs while he was a' the door. He was talkin' ta someone who sounded...strange ta my ears and they were talkin' abou' me. I didn' 'ear wha' they said, bu' I could tell tha' i' upse' dad."

He paused for breath and then gave a chuckle. "Uncle Ma' is a retired Assassin, havin' taken a bad injury ta his sword arm that rendered i' useless in battle. And I think tha' he sustained damage ta a hip as well, if his stories are ta be believed." He shook his head with a laugh. It was obvious he was close to his Uncle. "He and dad were twins, like you and Jack. Well, no' identical twins. They look nothin' alike."

"At least you knew you mother. And until I met Jack, I didn't know that I had a twin brother" Ember said sadly. "The Assassins did their best to raise me. I'll never know why they cast Jack aside, and I'll never forgive them for it. I'm just glad that we all found each other in the end."

"Sounds like the Assassins who raised you were jerks," Benjamin couldn't help but comment with a shake of his head. "I can' imagine anyone castin' aside a child tha' small."

"They were, in a way. Jack ended up in the foster system. The Assassins made sure dad didn't find either of us."

"Why?" Benjamin sounded bewildered. "From wha' I was taugh' of Assassin history, mos' of the Shays chose the Assassins over the Templars."

"I'm afraid it's the other way around. Sure, most of the Shays started out as Assassins, but they almost always join the Templars. Elizabeth was the only way that stayed an Assassin until the end." Ember buried her face in Benjamin's chest for comfort.

Benjamin remained silent for a moment before he planted a kiss upon her forehead. "And I ge' the feelin' tha' you will too," he said softly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders to comfort her.

"I know that my father won't be around much longer. I'll have to run Abstergo. Benjamin, would you still love me if I had to become a Templar?" Ember trembled slightly at the thought of losing Benjamin.

Benjamin took a pause. He was silent for a long while before he spoke. "Why can' your brother run Abstergo?" He questioned. He kept his voice even, but it was clear he didn't want her to become a Templar. He didn't want to lose her. There had to be another way. A way that she could remain an Assassin; remain with him. "I'm quite sure he'd do i', if i' mean' your happiness."

Benjamin had a burning question in his throat that he kept to himself. So why can' Abstergo do the same? He closed his eyes tight and even his hand tightened on her shoulder. He didn't want her running Abstergo. He didn't want her to be a Templar. He couldn't help but ask, "Couldn' Abstergo find someone else to run them? Like...someone no' a Shay?" He was half tempted to say "someone like Marco or Austin's brother."

"Benjamin, Abstergo is my father's legacy. He was raised in poverty, and he didn't want that for his children. He started Abstergo before he had ties to the Templars. I won't leave my father's company to anyone. I've seen the will, and Abstergo is mine." Ember was proud of what her father had achieved in his life.

"If i's yours, then appoin' someone else ta run i'," Benjamin said quietly, rising to his feet and walking to the edge of the patio for a moment. His heart was racing. He loved her too much to let her become a Templar. What would happen if she did become one just to run a company started by her father? What would happen if he wanted to marry her one day? They would never be able to be a family. At least, in his mind. The last thing he wanted was to be selfish or to hurt her. He could feel emotions bubbling to the surface and a few tears made their way down his cheeks. He was glad that his back was to her now, so she wouldn't see them. He took a deep breath and listened to it shiver as it returned to the air in a sigh. He didn't say anything else. He didn't want to hurt her. He didn't want to be selfish. He was afraid that the next thing out of his mouth would do both.

Ember let out a sigh, and wiped her face. She knew had let Benjamin down. Being the crazy, suicidal maniac that she was, she was half tempted to throw herself off the balcony. Ember walked over to Benjamin, and hugged him from behind.
"Benji... Owning and running Abstergo won't make me a Templar. When I have Abstergo, the Assassins will finally have the upper hand. I'll be able to find the Templars within the company, and take them out."