Ninja's Creed: Awakening

Chapter Four: Today Is a Good Day For Someone Else To Die Hard

  Lloyd's eyes widened. "Um...what the actual hell?! I have an uncle I never even knew about?" Then Cole's earlier statement sunk in. "And he's the Grand Master of a group of teenage hitmen?!"

  "Hey!" Kai snapped. "We're Assassins, not hitmen. There's a fine line between the two!" "Explain it, then, because you're confusing them!" Lloyd retorted, stepping back slowly. "And where am I?!"

  Wu raised his hand for silence, then craned his neck to face his nephew. "Have a seat, child, and I shall explain everything," he admonished. Lloyd, although reluctant, complied, and when he was seated, Wu turned to Zane. "But first, a briefing on our location?"

  Zane spoke. "To answer your question, my team and I have brought you aboard our mobile headquarters, a ship-like vehicle called the Destiny's Bounty. We set sail about two hours ago, and are currently somewhere over the Southwestern region of the United States."

  "What?!" Lloyd screeched, rushing to a nearby window to verify the revelation. They were, indeed, soaring above the clouds, and—as confirmed by Zane—were on aboard a vehicle that seemed to be a cross between a jet and a massive brig.

  "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! S**t!" Lloyd screamed, unable to take his mind off of his current situation. "Why couldn't I be on an acid trip?!"

  "At ease, child", Wu said to his nephew. "As I said, have a seat and I will explain all of this." Once again, Lloyd complied with the request and waited for the explanation of the circumstances he had been thrust into.

  "Millennia ago, in 531 B.C.E Egypt, Bayek of Siwa, founder of the Assassins, hunted down ten members of the Order of Ancients, an ancient equivalent of the Templars we see today, to avenge the untimely death of his son, Khemu, at their hands. To ensure that no other being would experience the pain he had, Bayek formed the Hidden Ones, an equal to the Assassins. Four hundred years before, two Spartan siblings named Kassandra and Alexios became mercenary legends in the Greek world, making it highly possible that they were the first Assassins, but back to our history.

  "Nearly a millennium later, in the Holy Land 1190, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad stopped his mentor, Al Mualim, from controlling the Holy Land with one of eight Apples of Eden—"

  "Like the Bible story of Adam and Eve?" Lloyd asked his uncle. "Something like that", Kai answered. "Except the Apple that Al Mualim wielded was originally designed to enslave humanity and predict complex possibilities about the future."

  "And as sure as I am that we'd love to listen to the entire history of the Assassins, that piece of info brings us to our aforementioned 'mission'", Cole interrupted. "Your dad is the current Templar Grand Master, and we have intel that suggests that he'll be making his move on one of the Pieces of Eden any day now. Normally, we'd just kill a few of his forces and steal the Piece back, but there are eight Apples, and plenty more Pieces out there. Garmadon has three, and if all eight Apples are reunited...well, all hell will break loose, and that was a huge understatement."

  "Do you guys even have a clue where the next one is?" Lloyd inquired. All of this was putting him on edge, even more than usual. "The intel we obtained told us the location", Zane stated. "One of the members of our Italian branch overheard a conversation between the head of the Cosa Nostra—" "The Italian mafia", Cole translated. "—between the head of the Cosa Nostra, an influential Templar by the name of Tony Lacaranzi", Zane continued, "and Garmadon's associate and main hitwoman, Andrea Boccitellia. Apparently, they were confirming an exchange that will be taking place tomorrow night in Rome, in an on-site facility at the Università Sapienza di Roma."

  "Based on what we were able to get", Jay piped up, "Andrea will be giving Lacaranzi $200,000 for the Apple, meaning that we need to somehow either ensure that the meeting never happens, go after Lacaranzi, or kill Andrea and send someone in her place."

  "All of this sounds wonderful, yeah, but for the last time: what the hell does this have to do with me?!" "That's what we're getting to", Cole assured him. "You speak perfect Italian, and, from what I saw with that Templar in the alley, are ultra-agile. All you need is some combat training and you can take the oath of the Assassins!"

  "Why would I join you guys?! One, I literally just met you, and two, you guys are highly-trained killers! Besides, what would Mom do if she never saw me again? I'm all she's got!"

  Cole sat down next to Lloyd and looked him earnestly in the eye. "We need you to take down your dad", he said to the blond teen. "I know you don't trust us, but—even if this is some 90's movie cliché—you have to." Green and brown clashed in a silent battle of wills, until finally, Lloyd sighed heavily and growled. "Fine!" he said, and Cole leaned back, triumphant. "But know this", Lloyd continued, "forcing me to do your dirty work won't kill Garmadon."

"I know", Cole replied coolly. "It helps. Your training begins tomorrow at dawn."