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Avapithecus — Cinder Fall: Chapter 3
#assassin #assassination #colonies #creed #dutch #east #elias #fanfic #indies #jaga #johannes #templar #assassinscreed #rajawali #apsarini #teijsmann
Published: 2017-05-21 14:14:12 +0000 UTC; Views: 1168; Favourites: 1; Downloads: 0
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June 22, 1882; Buitenzorg, Java“I still don't think this is a good idea, Apsarini,” Jaga said.
Apsarini rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on,” she said. “This'll be fun!”
“I just feel like we should've discussed this with the Mentor first…”
Apsarini gave a passive wave. “Please. She won't mind. I mean, do you honestly think she'd be mad at us for taking out another Templar anjing?”
“Well… no. But I just think it's best if we don't stray from the normal protocol.”
Apsarini looked at him. “You just don't want me to go down there, do you?” she said, mildly annoyed but ultimately unfazed. She'd win this argument, just like every other one she had with her brother. He just couldn't resist the adorable, manipulating eyes of his little sister.
“Well… I…” stuttered Jaga. “I mean I would definitely preferred if you stayed back this time.”
“Come on, Jaga, I can do this. I'm not a kid anymore.”
“I just…”
“Pleeeeease.”
Jaga looked at her. She gave the biggest puppy-dog eyes she possibly could. She stared at her brother, and he gave up with a sigh.
“Oh, alright…” he said. “You can take this o-”
“Yay! Thanks Jaga! Watch my back!”
She took off across the rooftops at lightning speed, a giant grin on her face. Jaga barely had time to react. He just stood, watching her go. “Er… um... just be careful!” he called.
“Yeah yeah,” Apsarini jokingly called back.
She raced across the rooftops of Buitenzorg. Her excitement reverberated throughout her body. She loved these missions and the adrenaline rush that came with them. She loved the chance to race across the cityscapes, feeling the wind in her hair as she gracefully leapt around like a jungle cat. She loved the sense of adventure, the opportunity to look danger in the face and triumph over it. But most importantly, she loved the opportunity to help rid her people of the tyranny of the Templars and their Dutch allies. And that was what she planned to do now.
She eventually skidded to a stop when she caught sight of her destination: 's Lands Plantentuin, the National Botanical Gardens.
Apsarini pulled her hood over her head and scanned the area for her target, a Dutch scientist named Johannes Elias Teijsmann. To the public, he was a mere botanist, known for exploring these islands in search of wildlife and also for establishing several lavish gardens across Indonesia, including the one Apsarini was scanning now. But Apsarini knew it went much deeper than that. A charitable man on the surface, Apsarini knew his true allegiance was to the Templar cause. Everything he did, he did to secretly further the power they held over the islands. Until today that is.
The lead that she and her brother had received indicated that Teijsmann was meeting up with a few of his allies somewhere nearby. And thankfully, the lead was proven solid.
Soon enough, Apsarini saw her target walking along one of the Garden's paths with a few allies at his side, all men whom Apsarini recognized. Teijsmann was an old man with neatly groomed hair and a bushy white beard. A pair of spectacles sat in front of his eyes. Beside him were men in clothes as formal and clean as his own. A Templar cross rested upon their outfits in one form or another.
Beside him walked another bearded man, whom Apsarini recognized as Frederik Lodewijk Anthing, a Dutch missionary whose main goal seemed to be robbing the people of Indonesia of their culture. In front of them both walked two large men in lavishly decorated military uniforms. The taller one had a face of stone, his mouth fixed in a permanent frown. Jacobus Antony Waleson was the name Apsarini recalled. A Dutch military commander, and the personal bodyguard of the Templar Grand Master, who stood at side.
Apsarini’s expression grew particularly bitter upon laying eyes on the man. Lieutenant General Huibert Gerard Boumeester, a Dutch knight and the commander of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army, as well as the current Grand Master of the Templars in the Dutch East Indies. He stood tall and proud with the arrogance that only an experienced Templar is able to obtain. He walked in front of his inferiors, discussing their plans. Apsarini walked stealthily amongst the citizens who were busy enjoying their stroll through the gardens. She blended with the crowds as she tailed the Templars, listening in on their conversation as she waited for a chance to confront Teijsmann alone.
“How goes our search for the Piece of Eden?” Boumeester said to Teijsmann and Anthing.
“The locals have their whispers,” Anthing replied, “They have myths and stories of strange glows and bizarre hums, but unfortunately, that’s all it is so far. Nothing conclusive.”
“Hmm.”
“I’m afraid I have had similar results, Grand Master,” said Teijsmann. “My wildlife expeditions have dug up signs of the relics, but nothing beyond that. We’ll need a few more weeks and a bit more funding in order to proceed with a more thorough investigation.”
“Very well. I’ll gather my middelen and see what can be arranged.”
“Thank you, Grand Master.”
“We need to hurry up,” Waleson said to Boumeester. “We’re on a time limit, Grand Master.”
“The time limit is whatever I decide it is,” Boumeester said, a bit irritated.
“Not to mention, there is still the threats our enemies pose.”
Teijsmann laughed. “What?” he said. “The Assassins? Please.”
“Do not underestimate our foes, Teijsmann,” Waleson spat. “We may have thinned their ranks, but they are still at large.”
“They're practically extinct here!” Teijsmann laughed. “We've ruled these islands for decades. Any traces of the Assassins remaining will be annihilated within the next decade.”
“It is arrogance like that that will bring us to our knees,” Boumeester said coldly, authoritatively. Teijsmann started to decide it would be best to shut up.
Apsarini saddened a bit as she listened. It was true. Very few Assassins remained in Indonesia. Just her, Jaga, the mentor, and about a dozen agents laced across the country. They'd put up a hard fight against the Templars ever since they arrived with their Dutch allies in the seventeenth century, but the invaders had better technologies, wider resources, and a cruel determination to crush their competition. By the early 1800s, the Assassins were all but destroyed here. But they were still kicking…
“I don't get why we don't just march into Batavia and finish off their little sect,” Anthing said. “Personally, I'd love to see their wretched mentor up in flames.”
“Scattering the roaches will not accomplish anything,” said Boumeester. “We must make sure that our reach extends so far that they'll have nowhere to scatter to. Cut Nyak Dhien will be dealt with, as will the rest of her Broederschap. But for now, we must focus on more practical matters. Like the Piece of Eden.”
“And we are focusing on it, Grand Master.”
“And yet our progress remains slow.”
“The artifact has been lost for over two centuries,” said Teijsmann. “It’s not as though we can just wave a magic wand and know where it is like magic.”
“Then perhaps I should consider finding better-suited men than you bums for the job. Heed my warning, both of you: I want that artifact found within the next year, and if I don’t have it by then, I shall personally have you nailed to a tree in the deepest jungle of these retched islands and leave you to the cats and parasites. Am I made clear, gentlemen?”
Teijsmann and Anthing nodded nervously, knowing full well that Boumeester could and would punish them in such a way if he didn’t get his way.
“Good,” said the Grand Master. He started walking ahead of them, Waleson loyally walking at his side. “I bid you farewell then, gentlemen,” he said. “I must hurry to Master Baud’s office in Batavia and check on his progress. Hopefully he will supply more valuable information than what I received here.”
And with that, Boumeester and Waleson were gone, leaving the two lower Templars alone in the peaceful rustle of the gardens.
“Verdomme…” said Teijsmann.
“Indeed…” replied Anthing.
“What do we do now?”
Anthing shrugged. “Our jobs,” he said simply, and with that, took his leave as well, leaving Teijsmann alone amongst the people wandering about along the garden paths. He pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed his forehead.
“Right,” he said, “Our jobs. Right…”
He began to walk away. Not far off stood Apsarini, standing amongst the crowds, blending in perfectly, watching the whole scene.
“A Piece of Eden?” she whispered to herself. “What are you planning, you dogs?”
She began to move away from the crowds. She considered for a moment going after Anthing and the other Templars, but decided against it. If she were alone, absolutely she'd chase after them. But she had Jaga waiting for her to return, and she'd rather avoid a lecture on the Creed and policy and discipline and whatnot. As much as everything in her body said to kill them all and save the islands, she held back and focused on Teijsmann. She was closing in, but still stayed back. She was waiting…
Teijsmann walked through the Gardens, nodding and smiling at people passing by. Though Apsarini could see how fake it all was. The smile was an act, a well-practiced one, but an act. And it showed when he turned his face away from the passers-by and made an arrogant face of disgust, as if he were annoyed that these people were smudging up the clean paths of his Gardens. Apsarini was ready to wipe that sneer right off his bearded face.
Soon enough, she got her chance at last when Teijsmann turned into a part of the Gardens that were mostly cut off from the rest of the area. No witnesses if she did this right.
Apsarini got into a crouch and stalked towards him. She flexed her fingers, and out sprung her hidden blade with a quiet snick. The blade gleamed in the sunlight that leaked its way through the dense tree canopy. Teijsmann was only a few feet away, and she started picking up the pace, speeding towards him, blade raised, ready to strike…
...And then a bit of foliage cracked under her feet when she stepped on it.
The sound was small, but in the quiet of this sector, it sounded like a thunder strike. Apsarini swore under her breath as Teijsmann froze for a second and spun to see the source of the noise. He saw her there, hood up, blade raised, and panicked immediately. He started running down the path in fear.
“Guards! Guards! Assassin! Help!” he cried.
“Sialan,” Apsarini bitterly cursed to herself as she sprinted after her target.
It wasn't long before the guards arrived in their groomed military uniforms and started giving chase to her. Heads turned as they all rushed past the people who just moments prior were simply enjoying the peace of the gardens. Many started running away as to not get caught in the middle of whatever was going down.
Apsarini paid no mind to the shouting guards behind her. She kept her focus on Teijsmann and only Teijsmann. Looking back would slow her down, make her gain distance between them instead of lose it. Fortunately for her, Teijsmann didn't come to that same conclusion. He constantly looked back at her, causing him to trip and stumble over all the fallen foliage in his path. And before long, Apsarini had lunged on top of him, sending him sprawling to the ground. She flicked out her hidden blade and rammed it down into him all in the blink of an eye.
And then Ava felt a now-familiar sensation as time seemed to slow down in the simulation and she felt her consciousness return to her. The simulation collapsed into the blank digital void all around Apsarini and Teijsmann. Ava simply watched as her ancestor turned the dying Templar over to look him in the eyes as he died.
“Your schemes are ended now,” Apsarini said firmly.
Teijsmann looked up at her. He was dazed and coughing blood, but he began to laugh.
“Is that what you think, child?” he said. “You think just killing me will do anything? Well, you're wrong. We're a hydra, Assassin. Boumeester will find another to take up my part of the search…”
“Then I'll be glad to remove him as well.”
“I'd love to see you try, meisje.”
“What is it the Templars are searching for? What kind of Piece of Eden?”
“Something… long lost… Something… Boumeester needs… and that you'll… never have…”
With that, his head fell back onto the ground, and he died. Apsarini looked down at him, and closed his eyes.
“I will never let such power fall into the hands of men like you,” she said. “Berehat dengan aman.”
She stood from the body, and her hand instinctively started sliding towards the handle of her karambit. Ava’s mind slipped away again, being replaced by Apsarini’s as the Animus rebuilt the sights and sounds of the Gardens around her.
The guards came rushing up to her, bayonets raised. Apsarini thought fast and yanked her karambit out of her pouch, sticking her index finger into the ring in the handle and gripping the weapon tight.
The first guard was arrogant, believing her easy prey. He came forward and sloppily thrust his bayonet forward. She was quick to make him pay for his foolishness. She spun away in the blink of an eye, dodging the attack and making the guard lose his balance. She then used her momentum to swing back around and smack her arm into his face, disorienting him and giving her the chance to swing around again and put him in hold. She slashed forward with her karambit, quick and accurate, slicing little red slits into his torso before bringing it up to his neck and ending his life with one swift flick of the wrist. The body fell to the ground, and Apsarini stood to face the remaining guards. It had all happened in a matter of seconds.
The guards immediately had second thoughts. But they still had a small sliver of a sense of duty, and so another came forward. He swung his bayonet, and Apsarini leapt to dodge. But the guard was smarter than the last, and he began to spin the other way, bringing his blade right into Apsarini’s path. She winced as the blade caught her skin and she rolled away. She stood and touched a finger to her face. A bleeding gash had opened up across her cheek and eye. But it was hardly fatal, and thankfully missed the eye itself. She was still in the fight, and so fight she did.
She managed to dart towards the guard quick enough to catch him off guard and slice his throat. As he fell, she used her momentum to fall another. By now the garden’s had been abandoned by the civilians, and in their place more guards were arriving. Apsarini quickly realized that she was outnumbered. And while she’d love nothing more than to spill more Dutch blood over her people’s grounds, she knew the best option now was to run. And so she did.
She took to the rooftops, leaping the gaps between buildings in hopes of leaving the shouting guards far behind. An alarm bell had begun to ring somewhere in the distance, letting the entire city know the news: an Assassin’s work had been done.
She just kept running, startling birds that laced the trees and rooftops. She could still hear footsteps running behind her, but they were fading fast. It wasn’t long before she was left with only the sounds of the city. She smiled and took her hood off. She had escaped. She laughed in victory and started casually walking down the streets. It was high time she made it back to Jaga and let him know that the Templars had lost another man.
------------
The bells were still ringing by the time she made it back to the edge of town, though they were slowing and quieting down. Apsarini clambered up on top of the rooftop, where her brother was waiting. He rushed up to her the moment he saw her and hugged her tight.
“Apsarini!” he said. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Jaga,” she said, her air cut off slightly by the tightness of his hug. She pulled away from the embrace.
“You sure you’re fine?” he asked, always paranoid.
“I’m fine, Jaga. I promise.” She smiled. “The same can’t be said for Teijsmann though.”
“I know.”
“What do you mean, you know?”
He put a cupped hand to his ear, turning his head to the direction of the bells but keeping firm eyes on his sister. “The whole city knows, Apsarini. Could you not have done your job with a bit more stealth?”
She rolled her eyes subtly and shrugged. “I did my job. Isn’t that what’s important?”
“We need to be careful, Apsarini. Our Brotherhood doesn’t just go around making a spectacle of our work. We need to take our time and exercise caution.”
“And when caution allows the Dutch to keep coming in with more and more men?”
“Apsarini…”
“You know I'm right, Jaga.”
“We've talked about this before, Apsarini…”
“And we'll talk about it again. Look, I know there's not a lot of us left, but that's no excuse for letting these foreigners steal our lands out of paranoia!”
“It's not paranoia, it's caution. If we are to survive to fight another day, we must-” He paused. Apsarini fixed him with a dagger stare that told him she wasn't going to have it. At all. He sighed. This was never a topic they could agree on. Apsarini saw a threat to her people, oppressive Dutch leaders hurting innocent lives, a threat that needed to be addressed immediately. Jaga saw a crushing power in their enemies, one that could destroy the Brotherhood and any chance of freedom if the Assassins didn't exercise caution. They knew they couldn't change each other's minds, and so the argument was dropped once more.
“Forget it,” Jaga said, defeated.
“Forgotten,” responded Apsarini, equally peeved.
The two stood in silence for a moment, not acknowledging the other out of anger. But it wasn't long before their expressions lightened a bit and they glanced over at one another. Smiles slowly crept onto their faces. Jaga gave a light chuckle and pulled his little sister into a hug, which caused her to laugh as well.
“I'm just glad you made it out safe,” he said. “We should get that wound of yours stitched up though.”
Apsarini’s hand went to the scar she had been given by the Dutch soldiers. The bleeding had slowed considerably, but it was still an open wound that welcomed all sorts of issues if left untreated.
“It's just a scratch,” Apsarini insisted.
“Sure it is,” said Jaga sarcastically. Apsarini jokingly held up an ara tanda. Jaga simply smirked.
“Come on,” he laughed. “We should head back to Batavia. The Mentor’s probably expecting us by now.”
Apsarini nodded in agreement. And with that, the two siblings made their way off the rooftops and started their journey home.
