An Assassin's Hunt [Open]

Jayr leaned forward from her perch at the edge of the building, her violet colored gaze locked upon her quarry. The targets had changed through the years but her method of hunting had remained the same: wait until your target is alone, perhaps stuck down a dead end street or back alley, and then strike. It was simpler that way; and it was easier to get away with it: the less people to see her strike the less likely the police were to get involved. It also gave her the added benefit of keeping her presence known within Edge City as secret as possible: she didn't want those who she was tracking – The Templar's, that is – from knowing she had hunted them here to begin with.

Of course, this method of doing things required the utmost patience, something that Jayr thankfully had in droves due to having been at this for several thousand years by now. As Jayr kept watch on the group of men, three in total, she felt the wind pick up, bringing with it the smell of the city as it ruffled her white 'robes'. While the world had changed around her Jayr had remained much the same: her goals were to thrash the Templar's attempts at gaining a foothold, and her outfit was still... Well, it was old. From ages long past and long forgotten to the world as a whole. Only those who were immortal, such as herself, would know who and what she was by sight alone. Of course Jayr often went overlooked; she was a vampire yes, but without fangs – a human immortal essentially with a great deal of speed. Nothing more, nothing less.

Jayr shifted slightly, glancing up at the full moon that hung low in the sky and cursing it silently: moonless nights were far more preferred for something such as this. A frown formed on the female's face as she watched her quarry enter into what appeared to be a bar... it looked like she was about to have a very long night.

Like any other day, Jr was sitting behind the desk of the office, looking through cameras around the city. He was dressed in his Armani suit, his white hair slicked up with grease. An aroma of cologne hung around him his immediate area.

Nothing had been going on as of late. Although a bit boring, he couldn't really complain. He hadn't seen or heard anything from his father or sister since they decided to go exploring the new areas on Amaranth's island, but if it was his dad, he knew they'd be alright.

His eye caught something he hadn't seen before. It wasn't something normally seen around Edge. Jr went back to the camera in question and made the holographic screen larger for a better look. There was a girl, dressed in something that looked really old. She was on top of a building, watching someone. There was an aura about the girl that made it seem like she was from another time. Facial recognition scans were bringing up nothing on her.

Who was she? It made Jr rub his chin in thought. Maybe his father knew? His grandfather? He wouldn't make any calls or do anything at the moment. For now he was just going to watch...

Figuring she was in for a long wait Jayr shifted on top of the edge of the building; shifting from a crouched position to a sitting one. She allowed her left leg to dangle over the edge of the building while her right leg was bent at the knee. Her right arm rested on top of her knee. Out of boredom, or perhaps out of habit, she caused her hidden blade to engage and disengage repeatedly while she kept watch.

The action was repeated again and again while her gaze remained trained on the door; she had all of the patience in the world after having done this for so long – no longer ruled by what was once a lust for blood, for the kill. ”Come out, come out... Come and play, my Templar prey...”, she sung softly beneath her breath while waiting.

The bar door opened and then shut; a couple staggering out in the street and disappearing into the closest alley way. While the wind whipping around the high building she was perched on killed any sound she might be able to hear she was sure that the two were likely 'busy'. This caused her to frown somewhat: if her quarry came out she wouldn't be able to dispatch of them in this location, not without drawing unwanted attention. She would have to track them again, delaying the inevitable.

Once more the bar door opened and closed and out came exactly who she was looking for; the three men she had been tracking, one of which was rather old, and the other two which looked to be middle aged. All three of them were dressed fairly nicely, and all three of them were wearing equal armed crosses that hung from chains around their necks. Jayr leaned forward, her stance shifting instantly into once akin to a cat ready to pounce on its prey.

After streaking across the skies in a rapid, unseen travel pattern, Alec arrived at Darkman Tower. He opened the widow to the office, often used by various members of the family, and stepped inside. The first thing he noticed was the way Jr looked now. He looked older, more mature. He was dressed in a suit - Armani from the looks of things. He even had a new hairstyle. It made him grin, as he was proud of his son.

But, with how Alec looked now, one would think Alec was the kid, and Jr was the adult here. Probably because of the chain given to him by his father, Alec's looks had changed as well. He looked much like he did when he was a teenager, his hair short and black again instead of the usual trademark white and shoulder length. He caused his symbiote to change up his looks too, wearing a white wife beater, a long jacket with red innards, jeans and boots. His Angel Sword could be seen on his back.

"Looking sharp there kid, slick suit. What's with the make over?"

Alec was stepping around in front of the desk, his silver eyes landing on a female dressed in white standing on a building somewhere in Edge. She looked like she was stalking someone. Alec wondered if this was a TV show, or if it were for real...

The window opened, and in stepped someone he didn't really recognize. He nearly got up to make a sword and stab whoever this guy was, but then Jr saw his eyes, and the stupid grin on his face. He saw the Angel Sword on his back, recognizing it instantly, mostly since he wanted the weapon for himself for the longest time, but his father claimed that it was connected to him.

"...Dad?" It appeared something happened while he was out in the world, because he looked different now. He seemed... younger. His grandfather Darkman once mentioned that his father once had black hair when he was younger. What happened?

"I could ask you the same thing. Was it that chain grand dad gave you?"

The girl looked ready to pounce, like an animal after it's next meal. Another camera looked at her targets. They all appeared older, but then Jr could see a familiar cross hanging from their necks. The same guys who'd attacked and kidnapped Cala. So there really were more of them. Was a new thing about to start?...

Jayr threw a quick glance towards the alley that the couple were still down and swore under her breath: there was definitely no way she could strike here, even though that had been her original intention. Her gaze then darted back towards her three targets; they were laughing at something that one of them said, completely oblivious to what lurked in the shadows a few stories above them. Cursing beneath her breath again she watched as they then turned towards the east and began walking along the sidewalk.

Frowning still, Jayr lifted herself from her crouched position, watching them for a moment, before she turned her attention to the building nearby. There was at least a good six foot gap between the building she was on and the next building, but it was nothing she wasn't used to. She turned, and took off running along the buildings raised edge. As she got to the very edge of the building she took a fearless leap into the air. Strong legs pushed her farther, higher, then an average human, and she cleared the gap easily enough with a foot or two of room to spare. She landed on the next building and kept moving; keeping close enough to the edge so that she could continue to keep visual track of her quarry.

The three men below were completely unaware of her presence yet: none of them thinking to look up or watch their backs. They acted like they were untouchable, but it was something that Jayr planned to change as soon as the chance arose.

As they kept moving so did she, continuing to jump and leap from building to building. When a building was taller she would simply leap, grab the edge of a window, and climb up skillfully to the top to then continue on with her chase. After doing just that she reached to edge to see that her targets had paused again: one of them was tying his shoe and the others were waiting. Jayr leaned forward, crouched once more on the edge. Her gaze darted around, searching for anyone who could be nearby, anyone who could be watching...

"Yeah... that's what i'm thinking too. Happened while I was in the tundra over on Sunset..."

Alec turned toward the screen again when he too noticed the cross. The same cross from those people that Vigilante went and beat up. "Somebody will just replace me," was what the guy said before he died. Alec knew there were more lurking in the shadows somewhere, was now the time they were making a second play? Could this have been what Seraphina talked about back on the island when she mentioned "action-packed?"

"Well, it looks like our secret cross pals are active again, and that girl in the white there must be a secret admirer. Maybe I should go down there and make introductions. After all, 'my enemy's enemy is my friend,' as the saying goes..."

Yeah. If shit was about to pop off again, Alec was going to be on the front line. He was home again, so it wouldn't be as if no one knew where he was. There were cameras everywhere, and his family could keep tabs on him in Edge even better than they could in Pacific City. He walked back to the window to open it and simply fall out, picking up speed as he fell hundreds of floors towards the ground, speeding downward through clouds around upper floors, causing them to spread.

He could never really understand the mysterious artifacts and toys that his grandfather often gave them, or where he got them from. He'd been alive a really, really long time, he'd been all over the world, and on other worlds too, so there was really no telling. So his father looked a little younger than he did now. He'd get used to it...

As for the 'secret cross pals,' Jr didn't know what was in store this time around. Last time the kidnapped Cala in an attempt at getting their hands on an "apple of Eden," but Jr didn't know what that was. Maybe Darkman did. he wandered around aimlessly almost constantly, and there was no way of telling exactly where he was. He often popped up at times like these, and perhaps he would again.

"Sure," Jr said when his father suggested going down to meet the lady in white. "Maybe she knows more about this whole thing than we do, and she'd be willing to fill us in."

Jr pushed the window closed again after his father jumped out of it...

Jayr's violet gaze caught no one nearby, and no one near any windows either. This specific area of the street was blissfully quiet and ignorant of the dangers that lurked about – and she by no means meant herself. These Templars were the true danger to the world: if they got their hands on what she knew they were here looking for... well, the world wouldn't be the pretty place it was anymore, that was for sure. With no one around that she knew of to bare witness to what was about to take place Jayr poised herself to strike.

The third Templar was still tying his shoe, and thus it would give her time to remove the other two threats before having to deal with him. In one lithe and agile movement Jayr stood and jumped. As she neared the ground her legs bent, preparing to absorb the impact, while she engaged her hidden blade. Her blade pierced its mark, true and clean, as it was driven into the mouth of the nearest Templar and out the back of his throat. The man was dead before he hit the ground.

Jayr's attention then turned to the other standing Templar and she made quick work of dodging a swing and impaling him in the kidney. Jayr moved like the wind, steam rising up off of her body as she whirled around to face the last Templar. The man had pulled a knife from somewhere in the confusion, but it hardly mattered: this was no different a situation then others Jayr had faced before. His two comrades were dead, and unless fate intervened on his behalf, he would be too.

”You.. the smoke rising off of you. You're the one... the Leader of the Assassins...”

”And you are yet another blinded Templar... Shut up and fight, or slit your own throat. I have little patience for talking during battle.”

The Templar lunged with the knife...

"Templars... so that's what they're called."

The young sounding voice could be heard on the street, but it was far from young. The girl in white was an Assassin. She had hidden blades, much like his own. It was interesting to watch her in action; she quickly took out 2 of the 3 now known to be Templars.

Alec made a move of his own. He quickly darted from the shadows of the nearby buildings, making a swing of his Angel Sword with his right arm. The razor sharp weapon that had been with him for as long as he could remember blurred through the air as he passed the remaining Templar, slicing through the wrist of the hand that held the knife he attempted to swing at Jayr. it was like a hot knife through butter, as Alec could feel no resistance as the sword passed through flesh and bone.

As he no doubt had to be screaming and hollering in pain by now, Alec slid to a stop while turning to face them and putting the Angel Sword back onto his back.

"You Templar people kidnapped a friend of mine, and tortured her to try and get something called an Apple. You look like one of the higher ups in your little cross club, care to do some explaining?"

As he said this, Alec drew one of his Desert Eagles from the back of his jeans, holding it in his right hand, the index finger resting close to the trigger.

Jayr was about to handle the last Templar when a voice caused her to pause and the Templar to falter. Of course, this was all before the Templar's hand holding the knife was cut cleanly off. Jayr withheld her wince: she knew what it was like to lose a body part – only in her case the choice had been made willingly, and thus she had parted with her ring finger.

Jayr took a step back, ensuring she was out of the Templar's reach while she watched the new arrival out of the corner of her eye: he looked young, but so did she, and so she ensured herself that she didn't pass judgment too quickly. At the strangers next words she frowned deeply, eyebrows drawing together: the Templar's had kidnapped someone and tortured them for information on an apple? Could it be that the Templar's knew of where the apple was hidden? It was the very reason Jayr herself was here....

”No! No. I won't say anything at all. I won't tell you. They'll kill me!”

Jayr simply rolled her eyes, annoyed, it was always the same in this day and age. ”I'll kill you, too, you dolt. The only difference is is I won't get my rocks off torturing your sorry excuse for a hide before I do... where as the moment you go back to your leaders that's exactly what they'll do to see if you truly did talk or not.”

He was backed in the corner of course: either option had him dead, but at least with Jayr it was going to be quick and clean, not drawn out for days to come, or longer. Of course, she couldn't say the same for the man with the sword and the epic skills: he might think differently after all considering it was his friend who was tortured.

”We've been digging through your past: we recently unearthed an old tomb that had journals in it. Your journals... We couldn't decipher them at first of course because they were written in a language that died out thousands of years ago. But, we found an old vampire who was willing to help us, and he translated. We found mention of someone you seem to have known, a man named Darkman.... your journals stopped shortly after he was mentioned. So we came here in search. We figured you had likely hidden the apple in Darkman Tower... Now please. Just... kill me quick.”

Jayr looked over towards the young man with the sword. ”So, you got lucky in finding my journals, eh? I'm sure that took some doing... I didn't leave that place easy to get to. As far as your death... That's not up to me, Templar. It's his friend who was tortured after all...”[/color]

"What the hell does my pops have to do with any of this. He never mentioned any apple or hiding anything in the tower. My family and me, and me being the former Boss is no big secret, you Templar fuckers fulla shit or what?"

Alec frowned listening to the story, pointing the Desert Eagle at the Templar's face. How could have this female known his father? From the way things were sounding, these journals had to be old, or hidden well. Was the female older than she looked? It wasn't hard to believe, so was Alec.

It could have been possible for his father to have hidden something deep within the recesses of the tower, now that he thought about it more. There were areas of the tower that even he couldn't access, being the former Boss of the city. This apple thing started to seem like some kind of doomsday device, or something that would give it's wielder great powers.

Whatever it was, he'd have to find and have a conversation with his father. Whatever this whole thing was, it was even older than him. Someone had already been captured, tortured and altered forever behind this whole thing. He'd be damned if any of the family got swept up into this shit next...

Jayr paid close attention, listening intently as the stranger spoke: Darkman was his father, that much had become clear, and he was also the former Boss of Edge City. It made her wonder who to the current Boss was, though she didn't voice the question at that time. Instead, she glanced back to the Templar who looked about ready to piss himself given the weapon pointed at him. She then shifted her violet gaze back onto the other individual. ”So, you're Darkman's son? It seems we need to have a conversation.. but not here, and not in front of him. I'm sure you want more answers then those you've gotten, and I can give them to you. Privately. Let's just say these matters are not to be discussed where they can be overheard.”

Jayr wasn't about to air her business anymore then it already had been; she was too private of a person for that. The only reason she was willing to trust Darkman's son was because of his relation, and former status as Boss. It was going to be a long tale to tell though, so she hoped he was patient enough for it all.

”Please, please spare me. Let me leave. I won't go back to the Templars. I won't go anywhere. I'll start a new life somewhere else... please.”

Jayr snorted and rolled her eyes. She shook her head before a grim look appeared upon her face. ”If it's one thing I hate about this modern world it's the fact that no one can seem to face their death with some dignity. It's always the same thing with you Templar's in the end: begging for life, promising you've changed. You're cowards, the lot of you. At least your predecessors had some balls and back bones.”

The female spoke of a conversation that they were supposed to have. It seemed like she knew his father. She didn't want to talk here, because there were ears everywhere. Alec was curious about this whole thing too. Was his father really hiding something in Darkman Tower, something that'd been there long before he was born? Was that the reason behind all the crazy security on the lower levels?

"Come on, get up. No need to worry about anything else, on your feet..."

Alec helped the Templar up. His left hand suddenly covered the Templar's mouth, while the right shoved something into his back. Something that glinted in the light and looked as sharp as a razor. it easily sank into his back and protruded from his chest; red crimson spilling fourth. A choke sound came from his mouth as he tried to scream, muffled by Alec's fingerless glove covering his mouth and nose. His eyes rolled back into his head as he expired, and Alec let the body drop. He retracted his own hidden blade back into his sleeve.

Alec motioned for the girl to follow him. He began walking toward the tall building on the horizon with clouds around the uppermost floors. Alec figured his father was somewhere watching like he always did, and that he'd show himself in the midst of these new happenings.

Jayr was half expecting the one handed Templar to be released when the man spoke, and yet it became quickly apparent that that wasn't to be so. He was killed quickly and efficiently, with skill that Jayr herself could admire. It was apparent that Darkman's son knew well how to dispatch of an enemy when it was needed.

Jayr followed Alec without question and without saying a word. She noticed the direction they were headed in – right towards the tallest building in the city with clouds up near the top most floors. Jayr hadn't been back to this city in well... since before it was an actual city, so it was rather interesting to see.

As they moved Jayr kept a sharp eye out, half expecting more Templars to show up at any moment – or the police considering the three dead bodies that were left behind.

As he approached the gates connected to the 20 foot tall walls that surrounded the tower, they opened automatically, and would close again once the two of them walked through them. Alec walked across the large courtyard and through the thick glass front doors. Walking through the lobby next, Alec gave a nod towards the security guard and receptionist on the first floor before moving to the elevator. When it arrived, the doors opened, and would close again once they stepped inside. Alec pulled tissue from his jacket pocket and engaged his right hidden blade to wipe the blood off of it.

"Name's Alec, by the way... I'm not actually Darkman's kid, he found me a long time ago. Said I fell out of the sky... Don't remember though. Raised me, taught me everything I know."

Why hadn't his father ever mentioned anything about Assassins and Templars? Was the whole purpose of Darkman Tower to hide some secret doomsday device? With all of the secrecy, security and underground vaults, whatever this apple thing was had to be pretty dangerous. Darkman had to have known something like this was going to happen one day; that someone would come looking. Alec had too many family members now, he didn't want to put any more of them, or any of the many friends he'd made at risk.

"So it seems dad and you have some history, probably going back before I was even thought about, what's the story there?"

Jayr followed Alec through the gates, across the courtyard, and into the building. She hesitated but a second at the elevator but got on: elevators were a modern invention she still didn't like – that and planes – even someone such as herself had very little chance of surviving if either crashed or had an accident after all.

“My name is Jayr; or Jayr of Locksley as I used to be known.”

She thought about Alec's question and bit her lip for a moment as she thought: she had no reason not to trust Alec – even if he wasn't blood related to Darkman he still was his kid. If there was anyone she could trust... well, it'd be them. Considering her organization was in the gutter at the moment, it wasn't like she had a lot of options left. ”I knew your father back before this city was a city; back when it was a village. I asked him to hide the apple for me because I knew that if anyone could find a safe place for it it'd be him... I had too large of a target on my back even by that point. It was safe to assume that the Templar's would think I had the apple on me considering the fact that at that point they knew I was 'somewhat' immortal.”

The elevator moved so quickly up 1,000 flights that it barely felt like it was moving. So, Darkman Tower was a hiding place, and this Apple thing had to be dangerous. Darkman probably kept him out of the loop for his own safety, or because he didn't want to involve Alec in another war, what with that Kingdom and INC business. It wasn't like someone could just break inside of the tower to steal it anyway. Maybe Darkman thought it would be safe down there, hidden where only he could access it.

The girl's name was Jayr. Alec also wondered why Darkman never mentioned her either. He had to know she'd probably show up one day. She seemed pretty nervous about the elevator, probably because she was from another time and not used to technology. There had never been an accident with the Turbo Elevators, as the robots that inhabited the tower constantly performed maintenance on everything to keep things in perfect working order.

The elevator came to a stop on floor 1,000 and the doors opened. Alec stepped out into a hall with blue carpets and glass doors leading into various rooms and offices. These rooms and offices had windows allowing those that looked out of them to see that they were quite high up. The landscape below looked like toys. Stars were visible in the night skies. At the end of the hall was the largest office, with various couches and chairs. A large desk sat in the rear. The leather chair was deserted, which meant that Jr probably went to bed.

"As I said before, I used to be the boss here, but... long story short, there were several episodes in another world, and when I decided to come back I brought the village I lived in with me. You can see it over to your right... Dad, he kind of wanders around alot now. I'm pretty sure he knows what's going on, so i'm expecting him to pop up like he usually does at times like this... In the meantime, i'm sure my kid would't mind you hanging around here for now. Alec Jr, he runs things in Edge now."

The elevator ride was thankfully uneventful; in fact the whole thing felt as if it were barely moving, but sure enough when the doors opened they were exceptionally high up. She followed Alec off of the elevator and down the hallway; past what looked to be several offices until they got to a much larger one. Jayr glanced around curiously, and then looked off through the window to the direction of Makkura. She had been wondering exactly how that village had simply appeared out of nowhere and now she had her answer.

She listened as he explained that Darkman often wandered around a lot now, but that he likely knew what was going on regardless – it was something that didn't quite surprise her. She then listened as he explained how his son, who was now the Boss of Edge, probably wouldn't mind her hanging around for now. She nodded, still looking around curiously.

She then focused her attention back onto Alec. ”So, I'm sure you have a lot of questions... Do you want your answers now? Or do you want me to hold off until your dad and son are around so they can hear it all too?” She didn't mind explaining everything twice if she had to, but she figured it would save time doing it all at once for everyone. Either way though, she didn't care.

"Jayr of Locksley... how long's it been now? A few thousand years?..."

A tall man walked into the office, dressed in black. He wore a pair of sunglasses that, rumor had it, he never took off. He wore a long trench, and many weapons could be seen and holstered on him. Standing even taller than the 6 foot Alec, Darkman looked down upon her and Alec while walking into the office.

Alec looked different. It was the magic of the suppression chain he'd given him. Darkman had his suspicions that Alec would be... "rewound," for lack of a better word, but not to the point that he looked like a teenager again. It'd even changed his hair color. Alec didn't look affected in any other ways, so Darkman simply nodded with a grin.

Jayr still looked as she did when he first met her, dressed in the trademark garb of the assassins. "Hoped you enjoyed the trip, son. And yes, before you ask, one of the reasons the tower was built was to house the Apple of Eden. Those Vaults downstairs? It's why I had them put in... So, the Templars still exist, and they're starting up again... but what of the Assassins?"

Before he could open his mouth, his father came into the office, looking like he always did. Alec could never figure out how he always seemed to know everything that was going on, and exactly when it was best to show up. Alec sat on the edge of the desk, taking out one of his Desert Eagles to make adjustments to it. His father confirmed his suspicions, saying that one of the reasons Darkman Tower existed was to hide the Apple of Eden.

"So what is this apple thing, then? And why all the secrecy?"

If he and his family were once again in danger, and there was the possibility of yet another war that could stretch on for years, Alec wanted to be totally informed. These Templar people weren't above kidnapping and torture. The also had the means to create drugs that removed people's powers, rendering them totally human. This had to mean they were well funded.

"Assassins, Templars, apples... it obviously goes back way before I ever fell out of the sky, what's it all about?"

A grin automatically spread across her face as she heard Darkman's voice; turning her head to look upon him before nodding. ”At least that long.”, she responded to his question.

At Darkman's question about the assassins her grin slipped instantly off of her face and a more sobering look took it's spot. She looked between Alec and Darkman for a moment and then sighed very softly: she would have to give the whole story apparently for this to make sense – Darkman had, after all, kept the secret of the apple hidden well. ”As much as it pains me to say this the assassin's are no more; I am the last. I only made it out because of my immortality, or else I too would likely be rotting somewhere. The Templar's had been picking off our numbers for a while when we were betrayed from the inside: every last one of us remaining was killed off. They thought me dead too; but well. I suppose my father's... curse... was more a gift at that moment in time.”

She looked then towards Alec. ”I'll give you the long tale in as short a way as possible starting with a little explanation about myself and how I came to be involved in all of this. My mother was raped by my father; or so that's the story. It drove her insane and when she gave birth to me she died in the process. My father knew of my conception and dropped me off at an convent. I was raised by nuns.. or well, I thought they were nuns at first. It was a cover for a group that called themselves the Assassin's. They were attempting to stop the Templar's from getting their hands on something they called the piece of eden – of which there are several. This wasn't the only outfit like it of course; there were at that time hundreds spread across the world, all set on keeping the truth in sight and the corruption of the Templar's at bay from the world.”

“When I was born I was born with a sickness that stunted my growth a bit; something that in modern time would have been fixed with treatment but of which at that time there was no cure. I learned to use this to my advantage though: woman back then were nothing more then a means to reproduce, but given that I could pass easily as a young male I was able to go places and do things that others couldn't. I rose up quickly because of this. On my seventeenth birthday my father, a vampire at the time, decided not to grant me a choice in the matter on if I were to become one like him or not. However, when he attempted to turn me something happened: the vampiric virus and my own disease caused a mutation – I became incredibly fast, and strong, but I remained human. No fangs, no need or urge to drink blood. I still breathed, I still bled, and I still had a heartbeat. It allowed me to pass for something I wasn't during a time when all manner of anything not human was hunted down and destroyed. I could also heal incredibly fast – though not as fast as a vampire: broken bones and the like only took days to heal instead of months, cuts and bruises were healed within seconds... Anyway, after I came to terms with all of this I began to use it to my advantage. The assassin's gained power, gained more footing, and we got our hands on a piece of Eden.”

“Now, these Pieces of Eden are often depicted in artwork,; hidden, and only those who know of them could honestly pick them out. There's even stories of them; though again only those who know the truth know to believe them. They're incredibly powerful artifacts that go against the 'normal' rules of this plane of existence. Nothing can stop them: no defense can protect against them. Mental attack, physical attack, seeing the future... so on and so forth can be accomplished with these. Even those with natural immunities to magic find them rendered useless against these pieces. Someone with the apple, weilding it, could turn your own children against you and have them kill you – or your best friend, and there'd be nothing anyone could do to stop it.”

“So, when I got my hands on one I knew I had to find some place safe to hide it – but there was so much corruption in the world I needed to leave it with someone I could trust. I was a known face by then, the Leader of the Assassin's, plus many knew of my immortality – at least to an extent. I knew that I would be hunted down whether I had the Apple on me or not. I knew your father for a while at that point, and the villagers here. I knew I could trust him; and so I did. I left the Apple with him for safe guarding. I could still be killed – quite easily if someone got lucky enough. But, I knew your father wouldn't fall so easily, so it made the perfect sense. And now... well. Now it seems that the Templar's have been doing their work – their organization is far larger then anything I could have imagined. And it's going to take more then me to bring it down for good – yet I find it hard to trust people in this world. Too many lust for power for their own self gain, and care little for the rest of the world.”

Darkman knew the story already. What he didn't know was that the order of Assassins were all but extinct. Knowing Jayr was the last one put a grim expression on his face. The Templar order was now vast, it seemed. The situation had become desperate. Somehow, after all of these years, they'd found out that the apple was housed here. A Company member had already been kidnapped and tortured because of it. The rest of the family and employees were also in danger.

For the first time in a long time, Darkman felt that he'd probably have to take the lead again. This was his problem, long before any of them, long before this city even existed. "So... the Assassins are gone and the Templars most likely have their fingers into some of everything, possibly even here in Edge," he said, Adjusting his sunglasses. "Alec, the secrecy was for your own protection. I never said anything because honestly I thought the Templars would never find out where it was... You were in Pacific City with cannibals after you for days, then you were on Sunset in the wilderness. You can stay out of this situation, I can handle it. It's about time I got the rust out anyway."

Alec had fought in enough wars over the years. He'd finally won against those Kingdom characters, but all of those years of war left Alec changed. The last thing Darkman wanted was for him to end up fighting in more years of war. He had too many family members now...

Jayr ending up as an Assassin seemed to be total coincidence. She didn't have parents. A Vampire attempted to turn her, instead she became something else - this kind of mutation wasn't unheard of. She and the Assassins tangled with the Templars and the Assassins managed to get their hands on the Apple, which was just one of several 'Pieces of Eden.'

The apple was just what Alec thought it was. Something that needed to be locked away, just as it was. Something that would give whoever used it ultimate power. Dead Zones and Negations fields wouldn't matter anymore. Not even powers such as the ones Niala had would matter much in the face of one of these things. Alec could see the grim look on his father's face and knew that this situation had to be serious, for he hadn't seen a look like that on his face for a long time.

Now, the Assassins were all dead - betrayed by someone on the inside. The Templars were still around, and big, if they had the funding to turn a vampire back into a total human. His father said the secrecy was to protect him, and he understood. He also said that he'd handle things himself, probably because he didn't want Alec getting into another war.

"You don't really expect me to sit this out, do you? Not after what they did to Cala. I recruited her, you know. I'm responsible. If you really have something like that locked up in this building then I gotta be in on this. Those Templars find some way in here and get their hands on that thing, we're all fucked..."

”Yeah, total and complete world domination tends to come with the majority of their plans... Better this Apple stays locked away, and hidden. However. I do have to use it for something unless you have a Seer hidden around somewhere... That was partly why I came here. I need to locate the other pieces, see exactly how many there are, and get them before the Templar's have a chance. I can do that through using the Apple.”

She folded her arms lightly across her chest. ”As far as the offer for help goes I won't turn it down: I need as many people as I can trust right now. I need to do some recruiting but I can't just pick up any old beggar off the street anymore unfortunately. No use in allowing history to repeat itself after all..”