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Description
January 18, 1815; New Orleans, Louisiana

And so the Assassins got to work on doing the tasks they set out to do. Connor and Shikoba traveled westward, into the frontier, to establish a new base for the American Brotherhood. Meanwhile, Aveza and Arnold quickly got to work on hunting down Andrew Jackson. They were pleased to find him within a few weeks. Not long after they began their search, they received a letter from Aveline Blanc, telling them that Jackson and his army had taken hold of New Orleans, and that the British were leading an attack in an attempt to take the city. And so the two made their way to New Orleans as fast as they could.

The city was covered in fog that was made eerie by the dim light of the setting sun. The smoke that spewed from the cannons and muskets in the distance only further added to darken the environment. As Aveza and Arnold rode into New Orleans and tethered their horses, they were immediately greeted by Aveline, Gérald, and Patience.

“Where's Jackson?” Aveza immediately asked.

“The Templar dog is leading his men over on the Chalmette Plantation,” said Aveline, pointing towards the location in question. She gave a worried look to her friends.

“The British have been losing this fight ever since they got here,” she said. “It’s not looking good for them. Unfortunately, I think this battle is lost for us. The Americans are likely to send the British back and gain the upper hand in this war.”

“The war is over,” said Arnold.

The older Assassins looked at them. “Quelle?” said Gérald.

Aveza and Arnold nodded. “A treaty was signed at Ghent back in December,” he explained. “Both sides agreed to end the war. The only reason this battle is allowed to continue is that news of the treaty hasn't quite reached the continent yet.”

“Sacré bleu,” said Aveline.

“Indeed,” said Aveza. “Unfortunately, information can only travel so fast. Hopefully we'll be able to speed up that process some day, but for now, we have to deal with what we have.”

The others nodded. The distant sounds of cannons and screams could be heard in the distance. Aveza and Arnold looked at each other.

“We're going after Jackson,” she told the southern Assassins. “You lot should keep trying to keep innocent lives out of the crossfire.”

The other three nodded. “Good luck,” said Patience.

“To you as well,” said Arnold.

And with that, the two groups separated. The southern Assassins darted back into the city streets, and the other two made their way towards the plantation.

They reached a hill that overlooked the battle. The British were definitely not doing well. Jackson's men stood tall at the top of their hill, and the British were terribly disorganized as they tried and failed to climb the steep land. Many soldiers were already retreating back to their ships. Aveza looked at Arnold worriedly.

“You go and try to help the British soldiers,” she said, pulling on her hood. “I'm going after Jackson.”

Arnold nodded, and the two started making their way down into the treacherous battlefield. Cannonballs and bullets rained around them as they wormed their way amongst the British. Arnold grabbed the nearest rifle and took position against Jackson's men. Meanwhile, Aveza started making her way towards the front of the British lines.

She pushed her way to the front. Now she was in the line of fire of both sides. She started running across the hilly clearing between the two forces, towards Andrew Jackson. The Shard deflected most of the bullets, but she had to manually dodge several follies by ducking behind rocks and trees. She kept on running, getting closer and closer to the Americans as she went. One of the commanders raised his arm, and his men raised their guns in her direction.

“Fire!” he yelled. The men pulled their triggers. Aveza ducked behind a rock just in time to dodge the blow. She sprinted out of cover while the soldiers were busy reloading their guns. She used the moment to thrust herself into the hoard of soldiers. She leapt up and kicked one soldier midair so that he fell unconscious to the ground. The soldiers looked shocked by her speed, but they instinctively started to fight back. One soldier charged at her with his bayonet as she stood back up. Aveza ducked to dodge the blow and grabbed the man's gun. He looked back at her as she grabbed it. In a split second, Aveza aimed the gun so that it lined up with the soldier's face, and she fired a bullet at the ground. The gun kicked back and its handle slammed into the man's head, knocking him out.

Another soldier tried to charge at her with his bayonet. But before he could, Aveza grabbed the gun she held tight and used it as a club. She knocked away the soldier's gun and knocked him out by smacking him in the temple. The next soldier met the same fate.

Aveza saw a brief opening in the soldiers and she used it to sprint away from the first set of enemies and get ever closer to Jackson. She climbed up the first steep hill and she was immediately faced with another soldier. He tried to stab her with his bayonet, but she dodged the blow and yanked the gun out of his hands. She punched the guy in the face to disorient him and then she ran him through with his own musket. Right as she did, another soldier came running up behind the first one. Aveza thought fast. She aimed the musket that was still sticking through her prey, and she pulled the trigger. The shot rang in the air as the second soldier fell.

Aveza let go of the gun and let the bodies fall. She looked up and noticed that a line of soldiers were raising their muskets in unison in her direction. Their commander raised his arm. “Make ready!” he cried.

Aveza looked around as fast as she could. Another soldier was charging at her with his bayonet. The gears clicked in Aveza's head also an idea formed. She ducked to avoid the man's attack, punched him in the temple, and grabbed him tight. And just as the commander yelled, “Fire!” to his men, Aveza pulled the soldier in front of her and used him as a human shield as the bullets came flying. The bullets smacked into the man's chest, killing him. Aveza dropped the corpse and kept running up the hill.

She grabbed her tomahawk and flicked out one of her hidden blades at the same time. Another group of soldiers fell upon her as she ran. One man tried to swing his sword at her, but she ducked and used her momentum to swing her tomahawk into another soldier's throat. As he fell, another soldier tried to hit her as well. She ducked again though, and she sliced his ankles. She stayed focused on Jackson, who was still smirking at the top of his hill. She scowled. Nothing was going to stop her from reaching him.

Another soldier tried to hit her. She blocked his bayonet with her tomahawk and she punched him to the ground. She used her momentum to counter a sword blow from another soldier. She quickly jabbed her hidden blade into his side. The red blood stained his blue uniform as he fell with a shout.

Aveza heard the roar of British cannons from behind her. A few cannonballs slammed into the ground nearby, but they did little more than tear up the earth. She stabbed another soldier with her hidden blade just before another cannonball came crashing down close to where she was standing. She rolled out of the way of the blast, which took out a few more soldiers that were just too close to dodge.

She quickly got back up, and for a brief moment, there weren't any soldiers upon her. They were all trying to reorganize themselves and reload their guns. It gave Aveza the opportunity to look up at Jackson. She saw that he was wearing the Temple key as a necklace. She made an immediate mental note to make a grab for it.

Jackson still bore his cocky grin. He still felt like he was going to win no matter what. He still looked down upon her like he would a diseased dog. Aveza could see it all on his smug face, and she hated it, hated him. This man was the closest thing to a real monster she'd ever seen. She scowled at him as their eyes locked across the battlefield. Her golden eyes had death in them as she stared daggers in his direction. But Jackson stood tall and proud. He taunted her by raising his hand and motioning his fingers as if to say, “Come and get me.”

And so with a shout of rage, Aveza charged up the hill in his direction. She hacked down any soldiers that got in her way, and she sprinted at Jackson as soon as she saw an opening. Jackson stood battle-ready as Aveza charged with her hidden blade raised high. She pulled her arm back, ready to strike. But just as she reached her target and thrust her blade towards his throat, Jackson grabbed her arm and pushed back against her attack. Aveza tried to push back, and almost managed to poke his throat, but Jackson shoved her away before she could. She quickly got off the ground and stood to face Jackson.

Some of the soldiers stepped forward, but Jackson held up his hand. “No, men,” he said to them. He drew his sword and smiled evilly. “This one is mine.”

Aveza twirled her tomahawk for show, and their blades clashed.

“I must say, Ms. Deryn,” Jackson taunted as their blades sparked, “I'm quite impressed with your determination. It's a shame we find ourselves on different sides in this war.”

“I could never be on the same side as a bloody tyrant like you!” Aveza spat back. The two locked blades again.

“Tyrant?” said Jackson. “Oh child, can't you see? I'm a liberator!”

“You're a slaughterer! How many innocent lives have you taken just so you could advance your own agenda?”

“As many as need be taken.”

They locked blades again. They stared daggers at each other. “I intend to create a perfect world,” Jackson continued. “Under my rule, there will be no conflict. All will have to adhere to my codes. And if something stands in my way, something like your precious savages, then I will burn them all in the name of order.”

“And that's why I'm here to stop you, you mad dog!” They clashed again. “I will never stop until all are free. A life under control is not a life worth living! The Assassins will keep fighting until tyrants like you are unable to spread your delusional perversion of order to the people!”

“Then you will allow the world to burn, Ms. Deryn. You put too much faith into mankind. We Templars realize the truth: that humans are pathetic animals in need of training.”

“Excluding yourself then, is that it?”

“We are above mankind! We are better!”

“No. You're not. No one is.”

They locked blades again, and pushed hard against the other's attack. They stared at each other, inches from each other's faces. Aveza gave an exhausted chuckle and smirked.

“That's why you're so anxious to take power, isn't it?” she said strongly. “Because you bloody mongrels realize that if you don't take power, you'd just be like everyone else. Your arrogance drives you to delude yourself about other humans. That's why you really conquer, isn't it? Because if you don't, you'll just be a nobody.”

“Shut up!” Filled with anger for the first time during the fight, Jackson pushed her back just before she was able to slice his neck with her hidden blade. She fell to the ground with a hard thud, and looked up at him.

“You know nothing of me,” he snarled. “I will be the shepherd of humanity! I will be a hero! And once I get what's in that temple, nothing, even you, will be able to stop me!”

Aveza smirked as she slowly stood back up, a hand behind her back. “Well, that's going to be a bit hard without this then, isn't it?” she said as she lifted her hand and revealed what she held. The key.

Jackson gasped and his hand went to his neck. Sure enough, his necklace had been cut off. He scowled at her as she put the key into her pocket.

“Word of advice,” she said slyly, “don't let your anger make you lose track of your stuff.”

And with that, she turned on her heels and sprinted back down the hill. She knocked out any soldiers that got in her way. She heard Jackson call to his men behind him, “Kill her! Kill the Assassin! Tear the savage apart!”

But Aveza was already halfway across the battlefield. And before long, she was amongst her British allies yet again. By then, the British were in full retreat. Aveza met up with Arnold again and showed him the key.

“I've got it!” she cheered.

“Wonderful!” Arnold cheered back.

“Now let's get out of here and get to that Temple. I don't care if it's still pretty risky. This had to end. Now.”

Arnold didn't argue. He nodded without hesitation, and the two started sprinting with the rest of the British. Aveza smirked as she heard Jackson cursing her name from across the battlefield.

The two Assassins eventually separated from the retreating soldiers and sprinted back to New Orleans. They met up with the southern Assassins one last time. Aveline and the others heartily congratulated them and agreed that the two should make their way back north as soon as possible. The two groups said their goodbyes, and then Aveza and Arnold grabbed their horses. They kicked the animals into gear, and then they rode off to the north, leaving New Orleans behind.

As they rode, Aveza looked down at the key, which she had tied around her neck the same way Jackson did. She looked down at its soft blue glow, and she smiled brightly at her victory. The two rode on, into the frontier.

It was time to bring this mission to an end.

Description
January 18, 1815; New Orleans, Louisiana

And so the Assassins got to work on doing the tasks they set out to do. Connor and Shikoba traveled westward, into the frontier, to establish a new base for the American Brotherhood. Meanwhile, Aveza and Arnold quickly got to work on hunting down Andrew Jackson. They were pleased to find him within a few weeks. Not long after they began their search, they received a letter from Aveline Blanc, telling them that Jackson and his army had taken hold of New Orleans, and that the British were leading an attack in an attempt to take the city. And so the two made their way to New Orleans as fast as they could.

The city was covered in fog that was made eerie by the dim light of the setting sun. The smoke that spewed from the cannons and muskets in the distance only further added to darken the environment. As Aveza and Arnold rode into New Orleans and tethered their horses, they were immediately greeted by Aveline, Gérald, and Patience.

“Where's Jackson?” Aveza immediately asked.

“The Templar dog is leading his men over on the Chalmette Plantation,” said Aveline, pointing towards the location in question. She gave a worried look to her friends.

“The British have been losing this fight ever since they got here,” she said. “It’s not looking good for them. Unfortunately, I think this battle is lost for us. The Americans are likely to send the British back and gain the upper hand in this war.”

“The war is over,” said Arnold.

The older Assassins looked at them. “Quelle?” said Gérald.

Aveza and Arnold nodded. “A treaty was signed at Ghent back in December,” he explained. “Both sides agreed to end the war. The only reason this battle is allowed to continue is that news of the treaty hasn't quite reached the continent yet.”

“Sacré bleu,” said Aveline.

“Indeed,” said Aveza. “Unfortunately, information can only travel so fast. Hopefully we'll be able to speed up that process some day, but for now, we have to deal with what we have.”

The others nodded. The distant sounds of cannons and screams could be heard in the distance. Aveza and Arnold looked at each other.

“We're going after Jackson,” she told the southern Assassins. “You lot should keep trying to keep innocent lives out of the crossfire.”

The other three nodded. “Good luck,” said Patience.

“To you as well,” said Arnold.

And with that, the two groups separated. The southern Assassins darted back into the city streets, and the other two made their way towards the plantation.

They reached a hill that overlooked the battle. The British were definitely not doing well. Jackson's men stood tall at the top of their hill, and the British were terribly disorganized as they tried and failed to climb the steep land. Many soldiers were already retreating back to their ships. Aveza looked at Arnold worriedly.

“You go and try to help the British soldiers,” she said, pulling on her hood. “I'm going after Jackson.”

Arnold nodded, and the two started making their way down into the treacherous battlefield. Cannonballs and bullets rained around them as they wormed their way amongst the British. Arnold grabbed the nearest rifle and took position against Jackson's men. Meanwhile, Aveza started making her way towards the front of the British lines.

She pushed her way to the front. Now she was in the line of fire of both sides. She started running across the hilly clearing between the two forces, towards Andrew Jackson. The Shard deflected most of the bullets, but she had to manually dodge several follies by ducking behind rocks and trees. She kept on running, getting closer and closer to the Americans as she went. One of the commanders raised his arm, and his men raised their guns in her direction.

“Fire!” he yelled. The men pulled their triggers. Aveza ducked behind a rock just in time to dodge the blow. She sprinted out of cover while the soldiers were busy reloading their guns. She used the moment to thrust herself into the hoard of soldiers. She leapt up and kicked one soldier midair so that he fell unconscious to the ground. The soldiers looked shocked by her speed, but they instinctively started to fight back. One soldier charged at her with his bayonet as she stood back up. Aveza ducked to dodge the blow and grabbed the man's gun. He looked back at her as she grabbed it. In a split second, Aveza aimed the gun so that it lined up with the soldier's face, and she fired a bullet at the ground. The gun kicked back and its handle slammed into the man's head, knocking him out.

Another soldier tried to charge at her with his bayonet. But before he could, Aveza grabbed the gun she held tight and used it as a club. She knocked away the soldier's gun and knocked him out by smacking him in the temple. The next soldier met the same fate.

Aveza saw a brief opening in the soldiers and she used it to sprint away from the first set of enemies and get ever closer to Jackson. She climbed up the first steep hill and she was immediately faced with another soldier. He tried to stab her with his bayonet, but she dodged the blow and yanked the gun out of his hands. She punched the guy in the face to disorient him and then she ran him through with his own musket. Right as she did, another soldier came running up behind the first one. Aveza thought fast. She aimed the musket that was still sticking through her prey, and she pulled the trigger. The shot rang in the air as the second soldier fell.

Aveza let go of the gun and let the bodies fall. She looked up and noticed that a line of soldiers were raising their muskets in unison in her direction. Their commander raised his arm. “Make ready!” he cried.

Aveza looked around as fast as she could. Another soldier was charging at her with his bayonet. The gears clicked in Aveza's head also an idea formed. She ducked to avoid the man's attack, punched him in the temple, and grabbed him tight. And just as the commander yelled, “Fire!” to his men, Aveza pulled the soldier in front of her and used him as a human shield as the bullets came flying. The bullets smacked into the man's chest, killing him. Aveza dropped the corpse and kept running up the hill.

She grabbed her tomahawk and flicked out one of her hidden blades at the same time. Another group of soldiers fell upon her as she ran. One man tried to swing his sword at her, but she ducked and used her momentum to swing her tomahawk into another soldier's throat. As he fell, another soldier tried to hit her as well. She ducked again though, and she sliced his ankles. She stayed focused on Jackson, who was still smirking at the top of his hill. She scowled. Nothing was going to stop her from reaching him.

Another soldier tried to hit her. She blocked his bayonet with her tomahawk and she punched him to the ground. She used her momentum to counter a sword blow from another soldier. She quickly jabbed her hidden blade into his side. The red blood stained his blue uniform as he fell with a shout.

Aveza heard the roar of British cannons from behind her. A few cannonballs slammed into the ground nearby, but they did little more than tear up the earth. She stabbed another soldier with her hidden blade just before another cannonball came crashing down close to where she was standing. She rolled out of the way of the blast, which took out a few more soldiers that were just too close to dodge.

She quickly got back up, and for a brief moment, there weren't any soldiers upon her. They were all trying to reorganize themselves and reload their guns. It gave Aveza the opportunity to look up at Jackson. She saw that he was wearing the Temple key as a necklace. She made an immediate mental note to make a grab for it.

Jackson still bore his cocky grin. He still felt like he was going to win no matter what. He still looked down upon her like he would a diseased dog. Aveza could see it all on his smug face, and she hated it, hated him. This man was the closest thing to a real monster she'd ever seen. She scowled at him as their eyes locked across the battlefield. Her golden eyes had death in them as she stared daggers in his direction. But Jackson stood tall and proud. He taunted her by raising his hand and motioning his fingers as if to say, “Come and get me.”

And so with a shout of rage, Aveza charged up the hill in his direction. She hacked down any soldiers that got in her way, and she sprinted at Jackson as soon as she saw an opening. Jackson stood battle-ready as Aveza charged with her hidden blade raised high. She pulled her arm back, ready to strike. But just as she reached her target and thrust her blade towards his throat, Jackson grabbed her arm and pushed back against her attack. Aveza tried to push back, and almost managed to poke his throat, but Jackson shoved her away before she could. She quickly got off the ground and stood to face Jackson.

Some of the soldiers stepped forward, but Jackson held up his hand. “No, men,” he said to them. He drew his sword and smiled evilly. “This one is mine.”

Aveza twirled her tomahawk for show, and their blades clashed.

“I must say, Ms. Deryn,” Jackson taunted as their blades sparked, “I'm quite impressed with your determination. It's a shame we find ourselves on different sides in this war.”

“I could never be on the same side as a bloody tyrant like you!” Aveza spat back. The two locked blades again.

“Tyrant?” said Jackson. “Oh child, can't you see? I'm a liberator!”

“You're a slaughterer! How many innocent lives have you taken just so you could advance your own agenda?”

“As many as need be taken.”

They locked blades again. They stared daggers at each other. “I intend to create a perfect world,” Jackson continued. “Under my rule, there will be no conflict. All will have to adhere to my codes. And if something stands in my way, something like your precious savages, then I will burn them all in the name of order.”

“And that's why I'm here to stop you, you mad dog!” They clashed again. “I will never stop until all are free. A life under control is not a life worth living! The Assassins will keep fighting until tyrants like you are unable to spread your delusional perversion of order to the people!”

“Then you will allow the world to burn, Ms. Deryn. You put too much faith into mankind. We Templars realize the truth: that humans are pathetic animals in need of training.”

“Excluding yourself then, is that it?”

“We are above mankind! We are better!”

“No. You're not. No one is.”

They locked blades again, and pushed hard against the other's attack. They stared at each other, inches from each other's faces. Aveza gave an exhausted chuckle and smirked.

“That's why you're so anxious to take power, isn't it?” she said strongly. “Because you bloody mongrels realize that if you don't take power, you'd just be like everyone else. Your arrogance drives you to delude yourself about other humans. That's why you really conquer, isn't it? Because if you don't, you'll just be a nobody.”

“Shut up!” Filled with anger for the first time during the fight, Jackson pushed her back just before she was able to slice his neck with her hidden blade. She fell to the ground with a hard thud, and looked up at him.

“You know nothing of me,” he snarled. “I will be the shepherd of humanity! I will be a hero! And once I get what's in that temple, nothing, even you, will be able to stop me!”

Aveza smirked as she slowly stood back up, a hand behind her back. “Well, that's going to be a bit hard without this then, isn't it?” she said as she lifted her hand and revealed what she held. The key.

Jackson gasped and his hand went to his neck. Sure enough, his necklace had been cut off. He scowled at her as she put the key into her pocket.

“Word of advice,” she said slyly, “don't let your anger make you lose track of your stuff.”

And with that, she turned on her heels and sprinted back down the hill. She knocked out any soldiers that got in her way. She heard Jackson call to his men behind him, “Kill her! Kill the Assassin! Tear the savage apart!”

But Aveza was already halfway across the battlefield. And before long, she was amongst her British allies yet again. By then, the British were in full retreat. Aveza met up with Arnold again and showed him the key.

“I've got it!” she cheered.

“Wonderful!” Arnold cheered back.

“Now let's get out of here and get to that Temple. I don't care if it's still pretty risky. This had to end. Now.”

Arnold didn't argue. He nodded without hesitation, and the two started sprinting with the rest of the British. Aveza smirked as she heard Jackson cursing her name from across the battlefield.

The two Assassins eventually separated from the retreating soldiers and sprinted back to New Orleans. They met up with the southern Assassins one last time. Aveline and the others heartily congratulated them and agreed that the two should make their way back north as soon as possible. The two groups said their goodbyes, and then Aveza and Arnold grabbed their horses. They kicked the animals into gear, and then they rode off to the north, leaving New Orleans behind.

As they rode, Aveza looked down at the key, which she had tied around her neck the same way Jackson did. She looked down at its soft blue glow, and she smiled brightly at her victory. The two rode on, into the frontier.

It was time to bring this mission to an end.