Pain During Remembrance Redux - Pistols at Dawn Chapter 29

 There will be two posts this month, covering both of the chapters. The word count when this was posted was 288, 132.

I had only been to Bellac’s place once years ago, and it took me some time to remember the precise location of it; clearly, it was the last place he would stay.

For a guy who's on equal footing, you sure do know little about him. You know everything about everyone and yet manage to remain in complete ignorance of them. Usually, it might be acceptable for a well-written, well rounded character, but Elysia has always been an awful one and this comes off as her being emotionally and neurologically stunted.  

Deserted, no living soul left in it and everything untouched since the morning when he left for the Brotherhood. Sheets of the bed swept aside for the early rise, a spare coat he hung by the bedframe in case it was cold. Crushed shells of nuts caked the windowsill, and language books stacked on his one desk of study where the notes were folded multiple times to the point of tear. The pan left on the oven for a meal that he didn’t get around to, and a cup with leftover wine that had turned sour from its abandonment. The aroma of baked apples lingering, almost gone from the misty, midnight air that seeped through his opened window.

Ovens were usually kept on lower levels and/or outside. You were bound to have fires in such a closely confined area. Ultimately, the sad thing is, these small, intimate details of Bellec's life were left in the chapter where he is killed.  

A simple note was left on the table:

It had to be done.

 Of course it did. We can't have Mirabeau running amok and doing his dastardly deeds, like running kangaroo courts and holding private meetings with King Louis XVI. We just need the Maguffin Deku nut poison from Elysia's twin boy toy Samson and all will be well. 

“How is the boy, Elysia?”

We waited outside for Arno to settle things himself. To take what he needed from the manor of where de la Serre used to live. To make his peace and move on forward for the challenge ahead.

“He’ll be fine; he needed time for himself, I think.”

In this particular case, we're referring to Arno's minute bout of depression and alcoholism, which will never emerge ever again. I still seethe over that. That small bit of character development and attention geared towards him was re-directed towards a protagonist who doesn't deserve to be in the spotlight. Elysia took credit for bringing him out of his mental rot - after blaming him for it chapters earlier. One thing is for sure: this story expects you to forget what happened in earlier chapters by its sheer length.  

Bellac had this certain, tranquil look on his face, certainly not one he wore occasionally.

“It helps.”

Like everything was going to be alright.

“What does?”

“To have you, with me. With us. You’re good with words, better than me.”

There is a trend of having white male characters self-flagellate themselves to make the female POC look good. Bellec, who has never complimented Elysia at all, suddenly says she's better at words than he is and generally gives better advice. This despite their continuous spats and Bellec calling her racial slurs. 

Do you think the author would be as forgiving towards her if a white man has said she was an illegal border hopper who just slugs along on welfare? I don't think so. 

Like everything was the way it should be.

“We make a good team, don’t you think?”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Just a tiny problem there: you have never written about them working together. I don't know how well they work together because, in all the chapters leading up to this one, they have all focused on Elysia or sub plots that go nowhere. You would think Bellec, a titular antagonist who truly deserved more screen time, deserved more screen time in this re-write. He didn't get it. So, not only do we have broken promises, we have a serial liar on our hands.

I searched far.

I searched wide.

I searched the banks.

I searched the alleyways.

What's great about this is that Elysia has known Bellec for around five to ten years and knows nothing about him. That is on purpose, by the way. The author never had Elysia and Bellec on equal footing or had exposition on their relationship. So Elysia doesn't know where he is the same way we don't know where he is: we were deliberately left in the dark. 

You would think suspicions would arise after Bellec's erratic behaviour. Elysia is written to be the best of the best; superior to all other Mentors, so she should have investigated what he was doing up to that moment. She didn't. Even Mirabeau was not a focal point of this story despite being a rambunctious politician. 

Everyone and anyone who actually matters...doesn't actually matter. The Magic Woman of Colour does.

The shops. The roofs. The hotels and brothels. The boarded bistros and closed parks. Night was gone in a flash, my legs thudding from the immense burden I had put them through. I had to stop and rest, to gather my logic because everything was so driven with emotion right now.

To find Bellac.

To ensure he didn’t do anything regretful, irredeemable, and uncontrolled.

Why is an Immortal who can climb up buildings with her claws and is essentially indestructible getting tired? And isn't it curious how she know has to 'gather her logic', when everything is driven by emotion? Wouldn't him pulling Arno around like a doll give you a clue? Him being evasive on what Shay meant to him?

This is all happening because you didn't pay attention. 

But I didn’t find him. I couldn’t. He vanished enough that I had no clue where else he could be.

You have superpowers and superior tracking skills. Use them for once. Since Arno doesn't have Eagle Vision, all the supernatural abilities belong to you.

My loss drifted me toward the Bureau, but I don’t remember how I got there. All I could recollect was the navigation in the night’s blanket, and the awakening light of the early dawn. I trudged on, and faced the entering gate of the caverns.

Sophie was there.

She must’ve heard my steps; her head whipped like she had been slapped. Her sharp eyes are inspecting around us, and I adjusted my own to properly read her face. It’s pale, and disturbed by something.

I think the funniest thing about this is that Elysia knows full well who took the Deku nut poison. Bellec knew what she was, and her connections, and knew her poison would be - literally - out of this world. 

She has the note, she has the motive. No reason to be shocked. 

I wanted to be wrong, “Sophie, what are you doi-were you waiting for me?”

Her hand clutched my upper arm, and her nails tried not to dig into me, “Come.”

We move in perfect formation, and it is only until we reach the gate I had passed earlier through that she turned to me. I exhaled out the question; it’s all I could muster from the trepidation that dug its way into my chest.

“What happened?”

“I headed to Mirabeau’s this morning.”

My shoulders dropped, and the anchor slammed its way down.

“He’s dead, Elysia.”

Well then. That's all that's left of his legacy. Leading up to such a grand conspiracy and you give us...this. In Chapter 1 a re-write was promised; lore would be down to a T and the plot of the game would be fixed.

What we got was a contradictory, inane, useless murder plot where an otherwise titular character was brushed aside like a pile of dead flies. 

The maids and butlers of the household are all on the first floor, unalarmed as both Sophie and I let ourselves in. They recognized her first, and she addressed them courteously with a soft voice.

“Thank you for waiting. We will conduct our search now. You’re more than welcomed to have the rest of the day off.”

I'm sure they are pleased Sophie is giving orders and not Elysia, a woman they fear and loathe. Too bad that angle was never examined. 

The group bowed their heads, and gathered their belongings before departing out the considerably-large estate. The white living room resumed its dimmed appearance from the hanging curtains.

"I gathered some of my team here to search for clues but..." Sophie's grip on the handrail locked her in place, her shoulders hunched tight as if she had gotten cold, "...it doesn't make any sense. I've been running circles in my mind trying to find an answer to this madness and yet there is none."

Hmm, let's see. You have a few clues. You don't know that Mirabeau was in correspondence with the King, not yet, but you knew he was engaging in Revolutionary politics and that some of the Revolutionaries were turning against him. You also knew Bellec did not like Mirabeau and had voiced his concern about Mirabeau's refusal to do anything about Shay.

It wouldn't take a genius to suspect Bellec, but since the author is geared towards retards, anything goes.  

“I take it you interrogated the workers already.” She nodded as we trekked up the staircase, “Did they see anything? Find anything unusual? Was he like this already when they walked in?”

Sophie's lips pressed thin when she reached the top of the stairs, "According to the Head who arrived first, Mirabeau hadn't been expecting any sort of guests and he claimed he needed space to clear his head. When the Head returned, the chamber maid had went to deliver clean linings when she found Mirabeau on his bed."

Instead of Arno and Elise uncovering the murder plot, we've got Elysia, who managed to not lock away her unique, deadly poison and didn't think anyone would steal it. Then again, she didn't think anyone would hear her shrieking sex noises, so anything's possible. 

I merely nodded, insinuating Sophie to open the door. She did so, and I instantly caught wind of the blood-like smell; it wasn’t much, but enough to draw my attention across the rugged floor and to the bloody, gaping mouth of the motionless, grayed out Mirabeau.

“…..Fuck…” Fingers dug into my eyes, of the utter disbelief. Of the resemblance of the lifeless flower I had tested the Deku nut poison: the shriveled veins, the curled limbs that resulted from such a violent intoxication. The greyed-out eyes that stood no chance against whatever concoction Samson had managed to conjure.

How effortlessly Bellac obtained it right under my nose.

There is no one to blame but yourself. You left it out in the open. Bellec knows you aren't fully human and that you have access to weapons and 'magic' that are not of this world. So, you being out of the mansion, moping and talking to your boyfriend, and him having unfettered access to your drawers and weapons, led to this.

"It's clear it's poison, or his pericarditis spiked suddenly in a reaction to something he had." Sophie reached to shut his opened eyes, leaving him as a man merely asleep who looked like he had scrambled to get on the sheets. She grimaced and spoke clearly, "Josephine, have you found anything yet?"

You wouldn't know it was pericarditis unless you did an autopsy. You don't have the equipment to tell.  

"Non." A dark-skinned, hooded woman withdrew from the corner of the room, a loyal Assassin I recognized being part of her team. "Désirée and I discovered some documents of the Grand Masters are missing and the obvious clue left behind." She pulled a dark, silver pin from her breast pocket, tapered to a point with a floral embellishment around the circular top. A crimson cross laid in the center of the petaled rings.  

You pulled a poison pin next from your breast, with the pointed tip exposed? Wow. Everyone here is just plain brilliant. You can't blame Germain for it because he's dead. 

The Master grimaced at this, "A Templar pin. An antagonizing message from our enemies."

I swallowed, shaking my head, “I don’t believe Lafrenière would commit something like this, and Élise is under Clement’s custody since last night. I don’t know what other Templar could possibly do this.”

"Too many to consider, especially with Shay's influence driving a wedge into the possibilities." Sophie pinched her brows, deep lines burrowing to emphasize her annoyance, "It's infuriating to think I'm less worried that Honoré is dead, but the fact that I can't figure out who could be responsible. The Creed is in shambles, if word gets out—" her sentence dies there.

The Creed is in shambles because of the Creed's leadership. Let's go over a few things:

- A Mentor  (Elysia) who became a Mentor in less than five years has no knowledge of Assassin history or bothered to learn. Also didn't know who Shay was (and Connor to an extent).

- A career politician (Mirabeau) who holds kangaroo courts among his own recruits based on one meeting with a Templar based on a mutual agreement.

- A Mentor who knows all about the Colonial Purge (Bellec) yet never tells anyone about it, including the Mentor he considers his 'equal' (after calling her a Gypsy of course).

- A Mentor who refused to take Shay seriously (Quemar) and sent lowly recruits to fight against him; proceeded to act shocked when Shay decimated his group.

- A Mentor (Beylier) who waited too late to ask for help.

- A Mentor (Trenet) who hasn't appeared aside from the token Girl Power moments. 

Coupled with internal strife, incompetence, and a Magic Woman of Colour who routinely breaks the Creed and doesn't care who watches (and has diplomatic immunity because she's brown), this Creed was destined to fall apart. The best thing about this is how the author(s) keep insisting they are making things right and making it better. 

“Josephine, can you….give Master Sophie and I a few moments?” There was no use dancing around this anymore.

"Of course," Josephine agreed to my request, and took her leave down the stairs.

Don't prick yourself on the way down. 

"....Do you have an idea on who had done this, Elysia?" I knew she would recognize my tone. "When I had saw you this morning, the same haggard look I wore, my first instincts were that you might've run into the culprit...but....I fear it's more complicated than that."

My lips pressed. Sophie waits, but I see the dread in her eyes.

I answered nevertheless, “It was Bellac.”

Sophie’s shoulders turn to ice, briefly studying Mirabeau's form before carefully removing herself from touching the frame. Her hands withdrew to grasping one another in front of her chest, swallowing deeply, "....I can see it, after his actions yesterday. Still, it...it’s much to accuse another Master, even if he had murdered our own. How can you be certain?"

Who else would you suspect? The neighbourhood dog? There weren't any secrets here. You had been suspecting Bellec would so something for a while. You also knew Mirabeau was up to no good. Lastly, Elysia is supposed to be the strongest, smartest and most intuitive Mentor. You'd think her word would be the final word.

“Yesterday before we arrived at the Brotherhood, we were having a discussion regarding the Templars joining our alliance. I was careless; I entrusted him too much, and he….took a heavy dose of unique poison from my desk. Judging by what we have here, it appears that Mirabeau invited him to talk after all. Unfortunately, it cost him his life.” I trekked over to the small table near the tall window, and the half-empty goblet that was there.

Whose fault is that? Why would you trust Bellec after he tried to pull at Arno as he if was a ragdoll and routinely undermined your authority in front of witnesses? This woman never learns. 

I'm glad any mystery surrounding this murder plot has been waived by matter-of-fact statements.  

"Finding compromises was always Mirabeau's weakness." Sophie's grimace manifested to a scowl. "Still...for Bellac to know Mirabeau's servants would be out, for him to steal a poison without your sooner notice...either he had been suddenly impulsive into these heinous acts...or he had been planning something like this for...far longer than I would like to imagine."

Wait, how is that a weakness? That's a skillset. Finding compromises prevents violent outcomes - something this Brotherhood has been lacking in. Mirabeau was infamous for being conniving. Naturally, since this is a 'lore down pat' story, none of Mirabeau's actual qualities make it in. He is another white male to be crossed off the board.

Second, Sophie knows where Bellec is coming from, yet acts as if she doesn't. Bellec believes Mirabeau is making the Brotherhood weak - and the evidence does indeed show that, see the kangaroo court in Chapter 27 - and took action. These people are blaming one another for consequences that could have been avoided.  

“I would like to find that out, before anything else happens. I searched all around, including his apartment. I don’t know where else he’d be….or have an idea where.”

"There is...the possibility that he's scouting...like he had done before. Waiting for a moment to strike. If that is the case, then he can't be far from the Brotherhood."

“You think he’d be that daft?” I gave an incredulous look.

I wouldn't be that smug. You left your novel poison out in the open and did not think Bellec was spurned by the slap or Mirabeau's court proceedings. You've undermined him since day one. He has a right to act this way.  

"Clearly," Sophie eyed Mirabeau's corpse. “It’s only a matter of time before word reaches the streets.”

“Then I should find him swiftly.” I crossed the room, and Sophie’s gripped at my arm. Her eyes narrow, as a warning.

But you just said you had no idea where he was. Where are you going to look? You don't have Arno's Eagle Vision, though you allegedly have the best tracking skills. Who are you going to ask, Samson? 

"I'll warn the other Masters of what's transpired...but I cannot protect you. If you confront Bellac and it escalates—”

I hold her hand in kind gesture, “I will do my best to make sure it doesn’t, you can count on that.”

Why would he attack them? Mirabeau was the head Mentor. He's not going to attack Elysia as she's Immortal and we cannot threaten the Mary Sue. We don't even have a solid motive this time around!  

“…Of course.” She let’s go, and suggested next, “If anyone should be able to find him, it’s you.”

I take that as a sign of good will, and hurry out of Mirabeau’s residence.

But - you know what? Forget it.

The Brotherhood was in disorder, and Arno avoided colliding bodies as he entered the premises in anxious haste. The murmurs increased the further he swam through the bodies, and it was there he realized Assassins were leaving in droves and groups.

Considering how few of them are left after Shay's attacks, do they even have a fighting force? 

“Did you hear the news? Mirabeau is dead!”

How his plunging heart burrowed into the deep crevices of his ribs. Mirabeau dead???

He cut into the group, and asked firmly, “Is this true?”

One hooded Assassin answered back, “The news came this morning; everyone with a sane mind is leaving the Creed.”

And do what? Mirabeau's death doesn't just affect the Brotherhood. It affects French politics as a whole. You aren't going to do well among the Revolutionaries and you'll starve along with the peasants. You aren't good military men either.

I cannot stress this enough: this author keeps implementing the worst decisions and they progressively get worse as time goes on. If Mirabeau was untrustworthy, or rumours were spreading of what he was doing, why would they leave? Why didn't they leave when Shay was attacking? Why can't they wait until Connor arrives and clean things up? 

God, no one has ever told this woman 'no'.

Arno separated himself away, and dashed to the spiraling staircase stationed in the Entrance Hall. Avoiding the descending members, he spotted a gang of confused Assassins at the archway and recognized Stephen leaning against the stone wall, unengaging but listening intently to everything around himself. Beylier and Quemar posted themselves at the end of the upper hallway, trying to settle the lifted concerns of the remaining Assassins (that were few and far in-between).

“We are in the process of keeping everything under control; rest assured we will deliver you answers when we can—” Beylier’s voice boomed like thunder across the stone hall.

First, it was assumed that not many people aside from Elysia and Sophie knew Mirabeau was dead. Now everyone knows. Faced with that, they are deserting, despite the Creed being a lifelong commitment. This huge mutiny should be an even bigger concern, but it won't ever be mentioned again. Watch.

Second, Trenet takes power and Beylier doesn't do a good job encouraging others to stay. No one has any reason to trust Quemar because he sent so many of them to die against Shay in a botched mission. None of these people are competent, and it is spectacular how things have stood up for so long.

“What the hell happened?” Arno ended up blurting out to his companion. Arno had never seen Stephen so serious, so it was a bit unnerving to see Stephen….not smiling as he usually did, and simply letting his eyes scan around as if calculating for something worse.

They weren't even this serious when Shay was routing out the Assassins...let that sink in. 

"Apparently Mirabeau was found dead this morning. Elysia went with Sophie to see what else they can find out." Stephen stated before motioning his eyes to the two Masters again. "That's all I have from Beylier."

Oh….shit.

This is one issue I'd argue was better left hidden. You do not want internal strife or disorder. Their first mistake was announcing Mirabeau was murdered before they even had a culprit. Desertion is high and so is mistrust. Every action they take is the wrong one.

“You’ve got to be ki-….” Arno mashed his hands against his face, and gave it a deep rub. “That is literally the last thing we needed right now.”

Yes, like literally. You had time to prepare. But you were too busy going treasure hunting, being involved in a kangaroo court Mirabeau dragged you to, and dancing in a leotard. You get what you fuckin' deserve.  

"Right?" Stephen agreed. He looked around before leaning in to Arno and whispering in his ear, "Just checking, but you haven't seen Bellac since he stormed out the other day, have you?"

Arno shook his head, slanting a frown, “No, unfortunately. And I’m guessing he’s not here either, is he?”

"Not that I've seen, no,” the light brunette affirmed.

Arno nodded gently…but then it hits him, and he doesn’t like the insinuation Stephen has suggested, “….You…You don’t think…” Stephen’s caught his glance, and there’s enough silent words to reaffirm the fear Arno unwillingly adopted.

You slapped the guy in the face, watched him storm out, and more or less saw his transformation into a distrusting SOB. This was all done off-screen; the author could not be bothered giving Bellec a proper character arc. So we have to deal with this.

When Elysia and him argued, and how insistent he was on to not work with Arno’s plan of recruiting his sister and her advisor…how crimson his face got from mere glaring alone. He couldn’t have been that impulsive, that stupid to commit something heinous such as this?! His own Creed??

Let's address a few things. When Elysia and Bellec argued, Bellec called her a 'filthy Gypsy' - or at least that was implied - and Elysia wanted Arno as her doormat and lapdog. Arno has been with the Creed for two years and has not once acted like an Assassin. He is routinely confused at social cues and cannot make decisions on his own. Elysia acts like an overbearing, murderous mother to him and it is, quite frankly, painful to read. 

It's not hard to imagine Bellec doing all of this because he is a man who has been pushed to his limit and forced to appear as the villain. If anyone had bothered to read between the lines, they'd discover he's not as evil as the author(s) want him to be. 

"I just find it highly suspicious that we haven't seen him, and then this happens. Of course, it could have been Shay. For Bellac's sake, I hope it was." Arno tries to quell the swaying maelstrom, and reassures himself that Stephen could be right…

The hoard of Assassins dwindles, both Arno and Stephen watching the only few that have remained and inhabit the hall. Less than ten at this point, but none are looking heavily convinced of Beylier’s words.

“Word has spread that this Creed is finished!”

“It has not, not in its entirety.”

For all intents and purposes, yes, the Creed is done. The reasons why are as you'd expect: pure idiocy. They threw their weight at Shay when they noticed he was there after two years, and refused to ask for help. The one man who had all the knowledge on eliminating Templars - Connor - still hasn't made an appearance, and the figure that would have given the Templars an edge - Germain - was killed in a botched villain overhaul. 

You cannot convince me that you are being serious. I stay in the first place to see how bad it's going to get, and Jesus Christ, it just keeps getting worse.

“Shay Cormac will finish what he started; no one will be spared!”

Quemar tried at this, “Rest assured our members are safe here. If you leave, we cannot protect you outside our walls.”

“There are no walls left to aid holding up if we are not told the whole truth!”

“We’ll do our best to keep you all informed, but as of now there is not much that can be said without speculation. We ask that you be patient with us.”

This is as reassuring as 'I'm from the government. I'm here to help.' Quemar especially should be held accountable as he killed around 20 recruits, and the rest brought down every Assassin stronghold, the Café included (blame Elysia for that). 

You will never get the truth because that is too much to bear.  

Never did Arno ever think he would ever see the downfall of a Brotherhood, nor think it was possible. He always imagined it would take some large, external force to literally batter down the walls, or the capture of an extensive fleet of Assassins to strike fear in the Creed’s core. It wouldn’t be the lack of communication, nor the misguided beliefs of its members…yet this is what he was facing. The supposed manpower of the Creed diminishing by the second from one fallen Master that had tried to do everything in his power to keep the Creed functioning with ill-guided decisions.

Don't be autistic, Arno. And yes, it is very much due to a lack of communication. Let's not forget that two chapters ago, Arno was nearly executed thanks to Mirabeau all because he had a talk with Elise. It is absolutely due to misguided beliefs as Mirabeau had no problem holding Arno in contempt due to no evidence. Another point: Elysia did all of those things and worse, and was never held responsible or even judged under their court. 

The Brotherhood is indeed falling apart and it is all due to authorial intent.  

Stephen scoffed tersely a moment later, earning Arno’s glance, “Y’know, back in my Brotherhood, people didn’t run around like chickens with their heads cut off. We went to the next chain in command.”

Competent people would. Try volunteering, Mr. Gay Time Traveler.

“…Guess they didn’t think ahead on that,” the Dorian exhaled out anxiously. Formulating a plan of action, the next step to ensure this didn’t get worse than how it was now.

No one thinks ahead. On anything. Because you are all retarded.  

"What happened???" Arno doesn’t need to turn around to recognize Élise coming up from the staircase, her and Clement turning sideways to allow the next group of Assassins to cut in-between them. "It looks like you've all been found and are scurrying to a better hiding spot."

"If only that were the case," Stephen answered back. "Mirabeau is dead."

"What?!" Arno winced, hadn't expected Clement and Élise to react in unison.

Ah, so much for the chastising of Arno bringing a Templar down to the hidden Assassin sanctuary! All is forgiven. Plot armor.  

Clement interrogated next, "When did this happen??"

"This morning. We're not sure what—or who might have done it," Arno added calmly.

Élise is not one to avoid delivering some sort of snarky answer, "How perfectly convenient that your Brotherhood decides now to start falling into disarray."

Arno pinched the bridge of his nose, “…Your sass is not appreciated right now. Much less helpful.”

That's not sass. That's called being a bitch. You'd think Elise would also be aware of the Assassins falling apart, what with Shay eliminating them as easily as he's eliminating her (remaining) support. Be useful or shut the fuck up. 

Clement throws his hands out, "What are we expected to do now? We're sitting ducks if word spreads."

Word is already spreading, because the Mentors had the brightest decision to tell everyone he was dead. 

“It’s already reached that point,” Stephen pointed out, thumbing to the departing Assassins behind them, “Hence, everyone literally resigning on the spot. Not much of a Creed with enough Assassins.”

“…Then, that’s it??” Élise’s shoulders dropped. “We do nothing?”

Yeah, actually. That's the end result of this shitfic. You make a big deal about issues and then collectively do nothing about them - just like the author does on her Twitter. There are no solutions, no recommendations, no ideas, for what to do. Everyone panics, leaves, and tells the rest to fuck off. 

There was no Brotherhood. These were just a bunch of groupies.  

Stephen doesn’t miss a beat, the answer on his tongue before she finished, "Elysia left with Sophie to find out more information, so hopefully we'll learn more when they come back. Until then, all we can do is wait."

Yup, just wait until Brown Mommy comes back to give you your bottle. You can't do anything on your own.  

“…Stephen is right,” Arno started with a glance to his team, “Waiting for Elysia is the best course, and I have to let Charlotte know what’s happening in case she stops there.” The Dorian made a motion to stride away, “Hmm?”

I reckon she already knows, because the Café belongs to her (partially) and Elysia.  

Élise is swiftly dragging him aside, “I’d like to talk to Arno for a second—excuse us—” she hauled Arno down the opposite flight of stairs, avoiding another collision of bodies before swiftly turning that his face almost hits her jerking one.

“What??” he’s trying not to sound annoyed.

"Oh no you don't," Élise interrupted with a squinting leer, "I know that look on your face." Arno’s mouth pressed together. "You're going to go after that other mentor. If anything were to happen to you, then…..our alliance is finished.”

Wow, is Elise actually viewing Arno has important and not as her own personal doormat? Shocker. Anyways, why does their alliance matter? I was told it wasn't important because Arno himself wasn't important. Are we retconning this?

"At the end of the day, this is my own matter to deal with, and it doesn’t involve you," he retorted with an edge.

Élise remains unconvinced, and Arno sighed, shaking his head.

What matter? You didn't kill Mirabeau. He did frame you, though, and you forgot about that. It's already been written Arno doesn't figure in his own story. What's the deal? 

"If I don't, everyone is going to come to their own conclusions...and I don't want it to be that they think you or Lafrenière had anything to do with this." This wavers Élise's stubbornness and Arno pushes it, "So please, just this once trust me, Élise."

How is Arno responsible? No, really?! He didn't have access to the poison and he probably doesn't even know where Mirabeau lives. It'd be hard for him to gain access to him and not one witness said he was there! 

She doesn’t say anything for a moment until, “….Fine. But I’m coming with you. Going alone is reckless.”

Bitch, you've been reckless since the beginning. Shut up.

Not what he wanted, but it will have to do, “I can agree to that. For your Order…right?”

“…Right,” Élise confirmed.

I can tell that it's going to be a major relief when she dies. Not because she's better as a character, no, but because I just can't stand how she's treated. Awful.  

Arno led the way back to both Clement and Stephen, who lift their attention to the Dorian.

“With everything happening, there’s something important we need to discuss with Élise’s advisor. I know its sudden but it’ll be quickly done with.”

What Arno didn’t expect was Stephen to straighten himself up from his lean, "It'd be smart to stick together.”

Huh, that's a first. You advocated splitting up every other time. Why the change? 

Arno placed a hand on Stephen’s shoulder, “We need the two of us to stay here, in case Elysia comes back soon. Élise would also be more comfortable if it was just one of us since the meeting place is discreet.”

She wasn't comfortable the first time. She was suspicious and hateful. I just cannot understand how these people act. Every decision they make is the wrong one.

When she doesn’t say anything, Arno darted his gaze to her, and this gives her a cue, “Very secret. I also have to decode our next meeting place, which will take another hour or two. I also would like to speak to Arno…alone. About private matters…” she closed her eyes, giving a slow nod.

Maybe this time you won't be hauled in front of your own peers to be judged? I think an hour or two would have worked the first time around, since it was pure luck that he found her. Supposedly.  

Stephen hummed long and drawn out, looking intently at the two of them. Just when Arno thinks he doesn’t buy it—

"Sounds fake……but okay." He pointed at Arno, "Don't let either of you get caught or hurt or killed." He pointed at Élise, "Don't let Arno do something dumb, we'll know if you do." Stephen eyed Clement casually, who then gives an uncertain scowl.

“...Don't get into trouble,” the bulkier man propped a hand to his hip, sighing gently.

Interesting how Clement is taking Elise's role - oh, wait, I know why. He's going to fuck Arno; he needs to be the love interest. He shouldn't be scowling either: Elise would be a hot target, more so since Bellec is lose and is after Templars. Please, PLEASE be smart for once.

It's also funny how Stephen still calls Arno incompetent or dumb despite their small moments of bonding/redemption/character development. Some things just can't change.

“Of course not,” Arno tried not to avoid his gaze, unsure of the meaning of his words. But he accepted them for now, “Then we’ll be back soon.”

They head off from the Bureau headquarters, and Arno takes charge of their destination. With Élise’s inability to scale the structures, they take the roads and alleyways to cut through the busier intersections of distraught civilians and crowds. Their headings involve several places Arno, for sure knew, Bellac could’ve visited.

From all their times together.

The many memories they shared, the conversations they had.

Conversations and memories we simply don't know about, because they were never written. This is all implied. There was more than enough time to make Bellec go from sympathetic to antagonistic. The author chose not to. So, whenever there is a mention of him teaching Arno or sharing a conversation, none of that matters because the readers were left out. You can't stress importance - you need to SHOW it.

Bellac couldn’t have done this, wouldn’t have done this without reason if it was him. Then again, Mirabeau’s record wasn’t exactly clean and crisp as he tried to make it out to be; hiding letters from the King and Queen themselves, quarantining the Assassins from Shay’s arrival, removing Elysia’s team from their beginning missions regarding the French people who were now starving in droves. Mirabeau wasn’t exactly the best role model…but this shouldn’t have happened.

You were hauled in front of him under treason and sedition. There is nothing graver than that, and that was done for having a conversation. This was two chapters ago. Miraculously, Arno forgot all of that and has to wonder how Bellec is guilty. The evidence is there in front of him.

Last I checked, Arno wasn't sent to fetch his letters - Elysia was. How could he have known their contents? There was no evidence or chapters dedicated to Elysia's team fixing anyone's problems or helping the poor or hungry. They just started taking Shay seriously. How I am to believe these of the valid concerns of a genuine person? 

This all could’ve been avoided.

Yes, with an actual author. 

“This is getting us nowhere,” Élise exasperatedly slapped her hand onto her thigh, trying to catch her breath. “We’re pointlessly running in circles.”

“Got any better ideas?” Arno tried not to raise his tone, nor lose his patience. He grew agitated with each place turning up empty. This wasn’t looking good, and was looking rather suspicion on Bellac’s part.

You have a mentor gone AWOL after the murder of another, and one who is miffed you slapped him in the face. Are you really that daft?

No, don't answer that. Everyone can tell. 

Élise exhaled at this, “There has to be some place you both always shared, where you would pass messages to each other if the time arose. If not, what kind of Assassin would you be???”

“…Then I have a last place resort, come on.”

Elise asking the big questions. It's funny, no, how Arno has not once acted like an Assassin this entire time? 

They arrived to the occasional café Bellac often visited for his morning brunches. The shopkeeper looked uneasy from the window, and his eyes jumped to Arno at the counter, though he recognized him a moment after. Élise awaited by the door, inspecting the crowds for lookout.

Surprised this café wasn't burned down. Privilege, perhaps?  

“Good day. I wanted to ask if you had seen Bellac this morning?” the Dorian questioned.

“I have.” Before Arno could ask, the shopkeeper raised a hand, “Wait here.”

Arno gave a confusing stare, exchanging a look to Élise who shrugged at the odd exchange. When the shopkeeper came back, his face was lightly sweating despite the cloudy day outside, and checking the windows for any possible onlookers. He pulled out something from his pocket, and laid an Assassin medallion on the countertop.

Huh. Why, it's the same medallion used in-game to find the Assassin sanctuary. Too bad it was never used in this story. Elysia was the one who brought Arno to the Brotherhood, remember?

“He advised me to give this to you.” Arno’s eyes narrowed, but he took the medallion, and set himself beside Élise at the nearest alleyway.

“A coin?” Élise raised a brow between the object and him. “Why would he give you that? Does it symbolize anything?”

“This is the trinket Bellac gave to me, when he first wanted to recruit me into the Brotherhood. Wasn’t impressed that I didn’t…solve it the first time around. Apparently, there’s a code in this.”

You would know if you had used it in Sainte Chapelle. He didn't; he used it for a completely inane purpose. Apparently, none of them can see the Assassin symbol in it, either.

“…..How…how did you even get into the Brotherhood?” Élise crossed her arms, a genuine, concerned expression regarding him closely.

“….I threw the coin and hit Elysia.”

“…..I’m not surprised. Why am I not surprised—why are we wasting time. See if it has a clue.” 

He threw the coin at her to get her attention, IIRC. That was after she told him he had no place in the Brotherhood and nearly choked him at the café when he approached her. This happened despite him telling her Bellec asked him to join. 

I'm not surprised, either. I don't why why we're wasting time.

Arno set aside his somewhat insulted pride, and gave the medallion a thorough inspection. The engravings, the organic symbols of a circular flower in the center where the Creed insignia was.

“It can’t be…”

“Well, what is it? Have you got an idea, or not?

“…Yes, follow me.”

Wow! This is the first time you've actually examined it! Bravo! 

It just took 29 chapters.

 

Arno….is in disbelief. Uncertain.

You and me both. 

 

“Above…the headquarters of the Brotherhood?” Élise scrutinized with a hand on her hip, staring up along the barren structure known as the Sainte-Chapelle. It towered mostly everything around, considering it was at the center of Paris itself. He recognized the organic symbol on the main rose window as the one on the medallion.

“Why, of all places would he lead you back here? We were just here.”

I cannot stress this enough on how hard this makes me laugh. This author goes above and beyond to promise her readership that she is going to fix the plot and make the characters better and she gives us this.  These characters keep acting shocked and surprised at things that were and so so obvious: Arno would have known Sainte Chapelle overlooked the inner sanctum had he solved its puzzle to begin with, or even looking at it more than once. 

Hell, why didn't Elysia think of it? She's the superior one, the Supreme Being. What gives?

"Only one way to find out.” Arno attempts to walk, but his arm is suddenly gripped with swiftness. Élise appears to be battling with her words. Arno doesn’t argue, and instead waits as a small roll of thunder occupies the silence between them.

"Are you that daft?" Élise demands, wrenching her arm back, "Are you really going to trust the man?? Especially if he did do it? All the bells in my head are ringing that this is a trap."

1. Yes, he's daft. 2. Yes, it's a trap. 3. You're all running into it. 

Why does Elise pretend she's concerned when she has treated Arno so poorly the few chapters she's been in? She doesn't even have a care for him as a childhood 'sibling'. Though it's hard to hate her for her feelings (Arno is legit retarded), it doesn't make sense. 

"I..have to try, Élise." She looks unconvinced and he pushes, "I need to know the truth, to reason with him first. I can’t have you there, when you saw what happened in the Bureau.”

“What if you can’t accept the truth?” Élise bites back, and Arno challenges it.

“It’s not whether I want to or not, it’s that I have to. This can’t be ignored; we can’t run away from this. There’s too much at stake, too much to lose. I….I can’t lose more important people in my life, Élise. I lost my fathers, I lost James….I can’t lose…..”

James had next to no importance to Arno. There was no relationship or friendship between them. I never caught it, I never found it, I never saw it. This is yet another thing that has been stated but never shown. James, for the few chapters he was in with Arno, bickered with him or viewed him as incompetent. He only sympathized with Arno when he told him Shay killed the French Templars. 

We have no inkling of their bond, because it was never written. I have no sympathy with Arno here. And let's be clear: NO ONE in this work can accept the truth, because the author won't. 

Élise bites back a snip, frustration withdrawing as she searched the walls of the cathedral. She grimaces and shakes her head, relenting, "I...understand, then."

His tense shoulders relax, a gentle smile unfolding, "Thank you."

“It doesn't mean I won't keep an eye out for you from here." Élise reminded with her hand at the handle of her holstered pistol, "I need you in one piece……Be careful."

Why? She's not nothing to benefit from him. She doesn't even love him. Why keep up this charade? 

Arno set off, and with effortless dexterity he lunged himself across the knobs and gaps of the cathedral’s face; a natural-born climber with the pounce of a leopard eager to reach the top of the mountain. One final leap and Arno pulled himself over the major, stone railing of the where the glass windows reflected the flashing and reflecting skies. A heavy mist had fallen over the city, and the summer humidity becomes a thing of the past. He rounds the windows to have a better look inside, an advantage point to see if Bellac was in there—

“Took you long enough, pisspot.”

This is where the cross-over with the game begins. It was an arduous journey to begin with; no, we can have a pseudo sawn song of  character who was never really there to begin with. 

Minor note: this is the only time Arno's parkour has ever been complimented. 

Bellac is a step ahead, and is across the way of the balcony.

“…Bellac,” Arno swallowed the cool air to ground himself. “….I…figured you wanted to lead me here.”

"Only took a half a day to do it." Bellac regards the darkening skyline when he faced Arno's way, "Figured you'd eventually show, that you’d follow the first path I tried to pave for you. The question is: what happens now?"

“….”

You tell me. It takes half a day for them to find Bellec, half a day for the entire Order to fall apart, half a day of Arno staring at a coin he was given on his first day of entering the Brotherhood and subsequently never used, half a day before Elysia shows up. 

This is meant to be a titular chapter and its's the ONLY time Bellec has a starring role. 

Arno fights the words, the dread sinking into his shoulders and filling his lungs with this toxin that it hurts to breathe.

“Tell me it’s not true…tell me you didn’t.”

"…I did what had to be done."

Everything Arno had hoped shattered at the end of that sentence.

Too bad we don't actually know what his hopes and dreams are, because they've never been written. It's also convenient his little spat and slap with Bellec two chapters earlier have been effectively erased. 

He hates how accepting Bellac says it. Knew what he was referring to without a rebuttal or dispute. Wasn’t ashamed to admit the guilt he so easily fostered and readily in his heart.

“Why?!” Arno’s voice begs, pleads with a flash of gritting teeth. “W-Why did you kill Mirabeau?!”

Why are you angry about it? He was the one who hauled you in front of a disciplinary court all because you talked to Elise. You mean to tell me you have no rage or mistrust over that? None at all?

This is what happens when A) you forget what you fucking wrote and B) you forget what you fucking wrote. 

Bellac’s face is stone, the left side of his face igniting white from the approaching lightning.

“It didn’t have to be this way!”

“It did,” Bellac enunciated with fixed eyes.

“This is bigger than Templars, Bellac! You know it is!”

Sure. But that isn't the focus of the story. Elysia is. Everything she does is meant to be important but is actually anathema to, well, everything. I would have LOVED to see the real issue - the Revolution - take centre stage, but it hasn't and never will. There have been zero appearances by any revolutionaries such as Robespierre, and Mirabeau was shoved aside for this murder plot. It's hard to take anything as 'bigger than the Templars' because they are not viewed to be as important. 

"Your mind's been poisoned, pisspot!" Bellac angrily retorted, jabbing a finger to him, "Peace with the Templars is nothing but a fucking fairytale! They’re the reason why we’re even in this goddamn mess. They created that monster—fucking Shay Cormac, and invited him here! You think I was going to let Mirabeau continue to waste away our numbers before it was too late?!"

“You’re not exactly helping that cause either!” Arno rebutted acridly, growing red in the face. “The last thing we need is to be divided on this. That’s what Shay wants, what he’s counting on! If we go back to the Brotherhood, and resolve this with the Council like reasonable men—“

I love the whole 'If you fight your enemies, they win' approach. Let's go over on how bullshit that thinking is. 

First, the Council has made mistake after mistake, and that is ALL due to Elysia. She is a diversity hire and she's done nothing but bring everyone else down.  

Second, you had more than a year to prepare for Shay. NO ONE even knew he was there and Elysia had no idea who he was. Quemar, Beylier, Sophie and the rest willingly let him massacre recruits. Having a quote from the game when your writing does not reflect that scenario is cheap and lazy. 

Third, Bellec actually survived Shay's purge of the Colonial Brotherhood so he has experience. Instead of being viewed as the most reasonable person there, he's portrayed as a villain. Yet no contextual evidence shows him to be a direct villain aside from slapping Arno in the face because Elysia didn't want to give him up. 

This is a bullshit excuse to shoehorn him as an antagonist and you know it. Or, well, I do, the author doesn't. 

"Reasonable men?!" Bellac barked a sadistic, forced laugh, "There's no reasoning with spineless arses like the others, who’ve lost their purpose in this pathetic, dying city. Boy, don't you see the opportunity we've been presented with? To get to rebuild the Brotherhood from the ground up, to rise from the ashes like history has done time and time again."

“There is no opportunity after what you did. You’ve left us all in disarray…”

He isn't exactly wrong here. Again, bringing in these quotes from the game when there is no context for it makes it stand out for all the wrong reasons. And I MUST stress this: Bellec did not leave the Brotherhood in disarray. The Council did that on its own, and the biggest contributor is and will always be Elysia. 

The wages of diversity.  

Bellac’s attitude does not change, “It’s the first step to reorganize again.”

Arno shut his eyes, exhaling deeply. “I can’t forgive you for this.”

He did nothing to harm you - except for treating you like you were a pet - so what is there to forgive? He didn't haul you in front of a court for treason. Mirabeau did. He didn't strangle you for telling the truth that the Café was failing. Elysia did. Of all people, Bellec has treated you the fairest. That's the funniest thing about this. 

"I don't expect you to." Bellac admitted, throwing Arno's initial guard off. The older man saunters across the space, nodding gently to himself, "But that's why I left the medallion at the café. Why I knew you'd be here; you can't seem to give up on people you care about. You might not forgive my actions, but maybe in time you'd learn to understand. What I'm trying to obtain...and I want you to be a part of it."

Ah, here comes the olive branch Just  damn shame there's no real use for it. You see, at least in-game, there was some reasoning for it. But this Arno is a doormat and has no role in his own story. You can't make me hate Bellec, but it's also damn hard to understand his reasoning here. 

“How can I be a part of this?!” Arno grits down the harsher words. “Any of it?? You told me joining the Brotherhood was for a cause, to be a part of something bigger than myself. To help Paris and its citizens, to find my true self amongst fellow peers that all share the same goal. Is that not what you told me back in the Bastille??”

Yeah, just one problem...none of that happened. Arno is not the central figurehead in this story. Elysia, the Woman of Colour, is. So all those talks, all that bonding, all those trials, were for absolutely nothing because it is all IMPLIED. 

'True self'? WHAT SELF? You haven't shown up once! Hard to have character development when said character never fucking shows up. 

Bellac demanded with his scratchy tone as if lecturing him for something trivial, "Think, boy! The Brotherhood has been poisoned by the ideologies of this Revolution. Whether you want to accept it or not, we were already divided from the damn beginning when Mirabeau decided to divert himself with the Templars, politics, and the King!"

What Brotherhood? Nearly everyone is dead, and that is due to Elysia and Mirabeau. It would be interesting to have Mirabeau's real-world politics show up, but we can't have actual intrigue in this, now can we? 

It would have meant something if Bellec actually had something to say on Mirabeau's politics, but we had to read a Magic Brown woman get dicked by a nine foot long schlong. 

His chest turns to ice, and he’s unsure if his teeth chatter due to that cold, hard fact, or it’s because of the rain that starts to drizzle onto them. He knows Bellac is telling the truth…

Arno’s voice lowered, “It didn’t have to be this way.”

"No...it didn't have to be."

*MGR OST starts playing*

The student steps forward, in order to meet his mentor halfway, “It doesn’t have to be this way.”

Bellac’s eyes examine him intently.

“I ask you, one more time, as a friend to come with me…to talk with Elysia…to give this a chance to stop Shay….”

Elysia has done nothing to stop Shay. Not a single thing. Recall how Arno feared her wrath so much he turned to James to help him find out where the Templars were hiding. James died for his trouble and Elysia made herself the victim. 

She is a Mentor and had no clue who Shay was. She only recently started looking for Pieces of Eden two-three chapters ago. Before that, pure filler. I'd 100% put my faith in Bellec to eliminate Shay than her. 

"And I'm giving you one last chance too: we can change the Brotherhood for the better. Finish Shay off ourselves. Doesn't matter if the city burns; the Creed will manage to rise from the ashes again, and we will be there to rebuild it, to lead it the way we want it to!"

The Dorian shook his head, and a stalagmite pierces down his spine, “…You know I can’t do that.”

Bellac’s face is expressionless, and Arno’s body braces, “…That’s a pity.”

What's pitiful is that this conversation means absolutely nothing. Neither of them have been properly fleshed out. Arno wasted his time in a tutu hunting for a random Polish ballerina and Bellec was in the background moping. All of the character development and plot revolves around Elysia. She carries this thing on her back and she still manages to fuck it up. When you have an absolute dumpster fire of a character carrying a dumpster fire of a story, nothing you do will ever fix it. Putting in these quotes does nothing to drive anything forward ad in fact confuses people. Why is Bellec handing out n olive branch when he never had any screen time with Arno? They had no bonding. No conversations, even.

The thunder roared in the sky, and Bellac’s full weight lunged like a bull. The hidden blade springs free, and Arno is facing it as Bellac is attempting to drive it into his hooded throat. The younger man grits his teeth, and they grind as Bellac forced him against the railing to overpower his objection. Actively trying to kill him—

“Bellac, stop!” Arno’s arms shake, and he doesn’t recognize the tenebrous, empty darkness that holds his mentor’s eyes. “I don’t want to fight you! STOP!”

I am having such a hard time getting through this monstrosity. I truly am. I cannot stress how mentally taxing this is. 

It's one thing to actually re-write a story you think didn't deliver. It is another to steal lines from the game that flat-out do not belong in the 'rewrite' you created. OF COURSE the doormat doesn't want to fight. 

You know who IS going to fight? Elysia. Because we just can't have the Magic Brown Woman ignored in a story she has no right to be in. 

"You're going to have to put a bullet in me!" Bellac pushes down, ignoring Arno’s strained objection, "Because I'm not going to stop. I'm moving to the others and purging the leadership of this tainted Brotherhood!"

Smartest thing ever said. Why not put him in charge? 

“Like I’d let you get away with that!”

What's he going to do about it? We all know he's not going to kill Bellec. Elysia is. What's the point of this posturing? 

Arno’s foot makes contact, and Bellac staggers back from the fierce kick. He regains footing, and brandishes out the longsword at his hip. Thunder cracks again, Arno’s instinct to fight overwhelms the need to run and warn the others. No doubt Bellac would catch up, and hurt whoever got in his way. He would hurt Élise the second he saw her.

Why didn't he have this instinct in the first place? Has he always had the instinct to run? Remember, he was the one who told James about Shay. He didn't run away there. He jumped right in. Am I supposed to believe he became cowardly all of a sudden? 

Never mind, I know who's writing this. 

“You’re not going anywhere, I’ll make sure of it,” the Dorian readies the newly acquired, rapier sword, taking a stance. Bellac accepts this, and at the sound of thunder did they both lunge, their weapons cracking against one another. They lock in combat, Bellac throwing heavy swings and downward swipes. Arno dodges swiftly and jabs, attempting to disarm rather than cut.

To disarm this entire, maddening facade that Bellac has created around himself.

It's not a façade, it's some gruesome attempt at constructing the truth. Bellec isn't in the wrong; that was the whole point of him eliminating Mirabeau in the first place. He's made evil in this story because he slapped Arno and, more importantly, he disrespected Elysia. Arno should know that Bellec is past redemption and should just kill him. 

Bellac’s adamant on pointing out Arno’s flaws, familiar with his footwork. Arno is heavily aware of this, tried to recollect the lessons Bellac’s given him. The way to parry, the block and deflect, and memory has served him well when Bellac swipes and the mentee takes the advantage. He rams his shoulder against Bellac, making him stagger; Arno takes the chance, and slashes across. The Master dodges, and the decorative threads on his coat are sliced off, hanging on his pectoral now.

What happened to 'I'm going to disarm him'? Oh, right: we're choreographing the fight scene lifted from the game.  

“You’re a stubborn little fuck, aren’t you?” his acerbic tone is anything but playful.

Arno readies his sword, “Ask anyone.”

This would have more impact if Arno was actually the main figure in this story. As he isn't, these plagiarized lines only highlight how the game works better in its original light. 

Lightning snaps the dark sky in half, and the downpour commences to pellet with reasonable force. Bellac’s aggression transitions to his legs and feet, forcing Arno back to create space. The wet stone splashes with every step, and Arno does his best to not slip—

Damn, how many times have I red 'lightning splits the sky'? Three times? Four? Come up with something else. 

“Never should’ve plucked you out of the Bastille!” Bellac uses his weight to skid Arno across the ground, and suddenly the rapier sword is rebounded—

I'm just waiting until Magic Brown Woman arrives, because the Fucking White Male cannot be trusted to fight his own battles.  

Arno doesn’t recognize his yelp when he slams against the ground. He rolls swiftly onto his side, dodging the sparking blade but isn’t quick enough for the kick that sends him flying. His lungs stick together, and he gasps out the burning rock that had lodged itself there to regain his bearings. The younger man scrambles to his feet, rounding the corner in an effort to create distance. He doesn’t get far when the plummet of a flashbang ignites the dry portion of the ground here. Arno’s shuts his pained, searing eyes, turning his back toward the enormous rose window for safety—

Burning rock from what? I’ll tell you what IS going to be a burning rock: the magnesium Bellec just threw on the ground. When magnesium interacts with water it creates hydrogen gas. It’s going to burn hotter and be far more damaging. Bellec isn’t going to be safe from it. Arno going to the rose window – which will break under the explosion’s impact – is the dumbest thing he can do. He’s going to be blinded from the shards.

The punch is swift, and Arno braces for the harsh impact against the ground.

“I had hopes for you!” Bellac hovered over, “Thought you could think for yourself!” However, the sword he brings down gets knocked back from a fierce kick to the wrist; the long-armed weapon crashes into the ornamental glass to make a good portion of its structure plummet within the church itself. Falling fragments of crystals and stars pours around them, and Arno takes his chance.

“I can, I just don’t think like you!”

Wow, Arno gets blinded from a flashbang and manages a wrist-kick to disarm Bellec! Incredibly. Is such a thing possible in real life? Probably not, because wrists are a small surface area and Bellec would need to lean in really close to Arno.

Oh, by the way, no. Arno cannot think for himself. He has never appeared in a chapter long enough for him to become an influential character. He’s been in the tutu plot, the kangaroo court plot (already conveniently forgotten) the brief Clement romance plot, and that’s it. There’s just no point in keeping these lines when they serve no purpose. 

The rapier sword slashes repeatedly, Arno driving Bellac against the stone railing. In a sudden motion, Bellac’s hidden blade ejects out with trigger, and halts Arno from driving the sword into his shoulder to incapacitate him. Bellac’s head comes flying, and the headbutt knocks Arno’s body back. He feels something broken in his nose, but doesn’t have much time to pay attention to it when Bellac knocks away his only advantage of success, now facing him bare with hidden blade alone.

“Open your eyes, boy!”

This isn’t good. Arno doesn’t like these odds.

Well the odds were never good to begin with, because the author is using plagiarized lines from a game she claims to have played religiously. As I've said many times: the lines don't fit with what Les has written. Arno appears here as if he has spent considerable time with Bellec and knows who he is and what his motivations are. Arno did not come to the conclusion that Bellec poisoned Mirabeau independently; Elysia did. When your focus is on a foreign, magical character who has stolen the limelight and development from everyone else, no amount of lifted lines from the game will save you. 

“I’ve seen Templars put entire villages to the sword just for the chance of killing one Assassin! Tell me, in your vast experiences—what have you seen?” he’s mocking Arno.

The Dorian doesn’t take too kindly at it. He straightens up, blood licking his teeth as he directly glowers at his ex-Mentor, “I’ve seen the Grand Master of the Templar Order take in a frightened orphan and raise him as his own son.”

Given that there was more context for Bellec to hold these grudges, he has every right to be enraged at the Brotherhood not taking Shay seriously. He survived the Colonial Purge – a topic that should have taken up more space – and not even Elysia bothered to ask him how he felt about the whole situation. They just viewed him as a backwards bigot yelling at clouds.

Arno’s statement on how he was raised by M. De la Serre doesn’t make much sense either because, aside from his few depression quests, the relationship with his adoptive father was seldom mentioned. It was all replaced for Elysia’s development.

Do you sense a trend here yet? 

Bellac shows nothing but disgust, “…Your father would be ashamed of you.”

The red overtakes Arno’s senses, and he combats Bellac directly with physical capability. Bellac might be larger, but Arno was faster. The younger man expels all momentum with precision, dodging Bellac’s hidden blade and delivering a consecutive round of punches. He manages to cut his knuckles across Bellac’s jaw, and headbutts his head upwards into Bellac’s chin. The older man growls in defiance, picks up Arno by the scruff of his neck and back, and Arno feels the air beneath him—Bellac was going to try to throw him over the railing—

Wow! Arno actually defended himself! Too bad this will be the one and only time he does and it’s from the original fucking game.

Arno shouts boldly, and swings his leg about when he catches the stone railing with his hands, knocking Bellac away. The man hits the frame of the rose window, but Arno is quick on his feet, and he’s sprinting straight for him, “Fuck you!”

I thought it already shattered when the stun grenade hit the ground? Or because of Bellec's sword?  

The two collide with maximum weight, and Arno huddles himself into a ball to avoid breaking anything vital when he hits the unforgiving ground floor. He knows he’ll bruise, and staggers to his feet after recollection his surroundings. His eyes shut, but they swiftly open to see Bellac getting up, his back to the Dorian. He’s coughing hoarsely.

I'm honestly surprised Arno didn't go blind from being exposed to said stun grenade at close range. Bruises are the least of your worries. 

“Arno!?” Élise voice rings out, and Arno’s eyes widen when he sees her at the entrance of the chapel, opening it without a thought-

Arno swiftly stands, and purposely puts himself in the center space of the frozen Élise…and the pistol Bellac pulls out to face her.

Half of Bellac’s face is bleeding from the cut glass they had landed on, robes tattered and the white linen smeared with blood. The decorations he wore on his jacket have all fallen off, and the mess of his dark mane hung like a wet mop over his face.

“Did you ever believe in the Creed?” Bellac interjected out, the pistol still facing her direction. Arno doesn’t answer, and instead makes himself prominently in the way of it, his hood pulled down to reveal his bleeding mouth and cheek. “Or were you a Templar-loving traitor from the start?”

There’s a problem with keeping this voice line from the game: Arno and Elise are not lovers in this story. They’re ‘siblings’. Not to mention, Arno never brought Elise to the underground sanctum – Mirabeau did when he caught Arno seeking her out. They are not lovers, they have no connection, so why is Bellec holding this grudge? Reasons, that’s why.

ELYSIA doesn’t believe in the Creed, and she openly said so. She never suffered any sort of punishment while Arno was nearly executed a few chapters earlier. Bellec should really re-direct his rage to her, as she has been the biggest obstacle to any progress in this fic. But that would make things too interesting, wouldn’t it? 

“You’re a fool, Bellac.” Arno finds the words, the sound of shaky lungs working hard to remain rigid and true. Death at a mere motion of a trigger. The Master took another step forward, then another. Arno doesn’t move, remains standing where he is until Bellac is merely two yards away.

“Stand aside.”

Arno doesn’t budge, “No.”

A shame, because Bellec has actually remained remarkably consistent in this fic. He has a reason to be angry, but since he’s white, he’s male, and he’s old, he needs to get out of the way for the Magic Brown Woman who is legitimately responsible for everything happening to the Creed. Bellec should reserve his rage towards her rather than Elise, because Elise isn’t half the threat here than she posed in the original game. Shay is the bigger threat.

All of this is pointless theatre meant to elevate a shitty character. 

“Dorian.”

“I won’t let you hurt my sister.” Arno glowers with enraged eyes, “I’m not going to let you hurt anyone else.”

Bellac cocked the pistol in place, “Last chance.”

Arno braced himself—

 

Why did you keep 'Templar loving traitor' in the story when you wrote Arno and Elise as siblings, Les? Are you that fucking retarded not to realize your copy-and-paste job  does not vibe with what you fucking wrote?

 

“BELLAC.”

 Ah, here comes the Magic Brown Woman to save the day! WhereEVER would we be without her?

My voice is ire. I don’t feel my feet land onto the ground base of the church. The chandelier I leapt from sways, and the crystals on it spark from the agitated lightning from outside.

Bellac’s form leisurely turns, and Arno’s pale, wet face….

And the gun in Bellac’s grip.

You mean to tell me she was on the chandelier the entire time, listening to this rant? How convenient. Always showing up at the right time as if she’s a coded Dark Souls boss.

And how many times am I going to see lightning similes? Give it a rest, Les. 

My teeth bare, and I stride over until I’m close range, equal distance on Bellac’s other side, “Put it away.”

He doesn’t listen.

“Put. The. Gun. Away,” I enunciated.

Just kick the gun out of his hand, just like you did with the goons in the Templar bitch’s mansion, right? Since you can’t die and all. You can take a bullet for the rest of us. 

"Think you can come in here and just take over?" the deranged Master snapped, and the pistol doesn’t lower from Arno’s face. "Not today, Elysia. I need to settle things; the only way it can be settled."

To answer your question, Bellec: Yes, yes she does believe she can take over and for the most part she has. Everything she has done would get anyone else murdered by the Brotherhood. They’d string them up for treason. She has broken every tenet of the Creed and stated she does not care for it; she’s been in France for five years and has never learned the culture or its people and never knew who Shay was (I will NEVER LET THIS DOWN) until he was, quite literally, in her face. She has always had problems with Bellec (the racial epithets seem to have been forgotten) and now the audience is supposed to believe this is a long, drawn out fight between former colleagues over what is right.

Give me that spoon so I can vomit already. 

“This is not the way to do it!” I promptly argued, making sure to keep my eyes on Bellac, and only Bellac. The audacity to point a gun to his student was already enough to signify where his mind was, where he stood. The measures he would take to pursue with this rabid notion of differences. “If you are a man of any valor, you would put that gun down, and face me.”

Funny to see this bitch talk about valor. She tried to kill Arno when he told her she was destroying the building she was entitled to look after. She was best buds with a Templar banker – never discovered, btw – and was not punished for her run around missions that did not benefit the Creed. Oversaw the deaths of dozens of recruits, leading to mass desertions, and spent more time fucking her well-hung boyfriend than make lives objectively better.

If I had to choose someone over her, I will always choose the nastiest villain. Bellec did no wrong here. The author’s attempt to paint him as an irrational white male who kills indiscriminately falls on deaf ears, because we just have to look at the protagonist to see where those morals come from.

Bellac scoffed at this, and it turns to an angry, unsettling laugh, “You should be on your knees, asking me for forgiveness! What you done, what you brought to this Creed!” Bellac’s head leisurely turns, and halfway he stops, and his mouth twitches.

“Bellac…” Arno whispered, hands open in a gesture to make him submit, to put down the weapon.

Oh for fuck’s sake. You just had a fight. He’s been pointing a gun at you this entire time. He is never going to submit, so drop the pretense of being nice.

Now, if Bellec directed his hatred towards Elysia, the woman directly responsible for everything happening to the Creed, these voice lines would actually hit hard. But since it’s directed towards Arno, who actually has nothing to do with the Creed’s problems since he’s been a doormat the entire time, well it’s just a matter of convenience.

Look away from the (wo)man behind the curtain, she might just stab you for looking at you the wrong way. 

Bellac’s voice is unrecognizable, “….What you brought….to us. Between us…between….” A revelation hits, and Bellac’s dark orbs cut to me, mouth half-opened, “My student, and me.”

I inhaled sharply, and taste the blood from afar. The scent of something darker than Twilight, and it resided in Bellac’s soul. I look to Arno for the first time, and he too catches my gaze. He opened his mouth to say something, to tell me something important.

Elysia can smell/taste/detect evil in other beings yet can’t be bothered to look in the mirror. This is the only time she has ever seen such a thing in Bellec. She didn’t see it when she co-mentored Arno with him; she didn’t even see it when Arno slapped Bellec. Nothing ever indicated Bellec was a literal demon aside from the author’s say so. 

Bellac’s voice echoed, “It wasn’t the Templars who poisoned your mind.”

I reach out in desperation, one single foot touching the aisle rug. So close, yet so far away.

“It was her.”

And the pistol swings, and it points straight to me.

“You’ll thank me later.”

The pistol rings out—

If this story ended here, I wouldn’t even be mad. I’d be relieved. But no, we’re a good 100,000 words away from this ending – if that – and the struggle must go on.

Anyways, it’s something to see Elise blamed for Arno’s ‘betrayal’ when she had next to no role in this fic. Arno only met her once – when he met her to cement the truce - and was severely punished for it. Did everyone just forget he was nearly killed by Mirabeau for it? Bellec would have a pretty good case to get Arno on his side. A shame he never went that route. That would be reasonable.

CRACK

 

“ELYSIA, NO!!” Arno screams, scrambles. Nails digging and hands punching everything visible about Bellac to him. The Master growls in defiance, and the next second-

WHACK!

I will never stop loving these action scenes. They are so retarded as to be ‘Scary Movie’ worthy, but at least Scary Movie had some smart writing. 

The butt of the pistol collides with Arno’s temple. He falls back, and another kick to his ribs is delivered to send him rolling. His eyes are flooded with tears, and he attempts to get up again.

How convenient that Arno has to be knocked out to ‘save’ Elysia (and Elise) while Elysia takes home all the glory. We just cannot have the white Frenchman be the star of his own story. We need the Mary Sue to get all the credit – and to make people forget she started this in the first place. 

“Arno, don’t!” Élise’s trained restraint holds him back, to prevent him from meeting the same doom, the same fate.

Wait, where she did she come from? She was behind the gate in the game. Did she sneak in? 

““ELYSIA!!!” Arno sobbed with vigor, falling onto his knees and digging his nails into the threads. “Why Bellac, WHY!?” Looks past Bellac’s few, approaching steps to see Elysia’s body on the ground, motionless. The splay of red curls peeking from her slumped cowl, and Arno sees the red glisten of blood across the marble floor she had stood on. It’s pooling, slowly.

It’s OK, guys. She’s not actually dead. She’s going to go full Beast Mode and tear him apart, because that’s just what the plot calls for.

Arno shouldn’t ‘sob’ for her, because she never really cared for him in the first place. She wanted to kill him for telling her off, remember?

Really wish she'd stay dead.  

“If it wasn’t for her…if it wasn’t for Elysia….” Bellac’s shadowed face commands an ambivalent expression. Indifferent, callous to Arno’s fallen mentor, his guide, his friend. “If I had you all to myself…you would’ve been better off that way.”

“You’re just like Shay!”

Bellac glowers, treads closer.

No, Shay is competent and is a real threat. But what Bellec says is true: Elysia actually is responsible for all the ills in this fic thus far. She has never been held accountable, be it in the first fic she appeared in or the last. She is just this shitty.

“You’re a fucking monster!” the Dorian’s teeth practically snapping.

Displaying the raw emotion of unforgiving rage. Bellac cocked the gun again, following Arno and Élise getting up, but he doesn’t pull the trigger yet. Inspecting, examining. Élise fully by his side, attempting to pull him away.

“We have to go!”

Arno doesn’t budge, “I’ll make you pay for what you did!!” The hidden blade extends out, red eyes solely focusing on Bellac.

1. Arno isn’t going to make anyone pay. He’s a cuck and a doormat.

2. No matter how hard the author tries, she cannot make Bellec as villainous as she wants him to be. I sympathize with him more than I ever did with Elysia.

3. You’re spending way too much time with Bellec’s finger on the trigger. Just pull an Alec Baldwin. No monologues. 

“A-Arno…” Élise tries to pull him back. A hidden fear in her tone.

“I’ll make sure of it for as long as I’ll live!”

Bellac raised the pistol to his face-level again. Arno’s tears stream down his face. Élise is still trying to pull him back.

“I’ll never forgive you.”

Bellac’s eyes sadden of this fact, “It’s for your own good.”

The gun cocks one last time—      

God, I’m so sick of crybaby Arno. He has no bonding with Elysia, let alone a friendship with her, to warrant this amount of tears. She’s been an absolute cunt. She’s used him as a lapdog with the promises of endless treats for good behaviour. To an outsider this is beyond cringeworthy. To the author, it’s ‘making things right’.

I just cannot wait until this fic is over. It is LOOOOONG overdue.

Bellac freezes, the pistol in a vice grip, but it can’t pull the trigger.

Élise’s gasp stutters in her throat, and Arno’s eyes lower by a fraction, his thin mouth trembling in horror. The invasive arm that protrudes out of Bellac’s chest stays there, the long claws adorned with a red, velvet sheen. The Master’s eyes inspect the limb, and the crimson waterfall chokes out of his mouth in a frantic, clogged sprout. His pistol drops, his arms shaking from the horrific fate decided on him.

So we went from Assassin’s Creed to Resident Evil, with Elysia being the G monster.

You know, you have officially lost any seriousness with this fic, if you had any to begin with. No one in their right mind is going to see a Mary Sue with the properties of the fucking G-virus as a convincing character. Now every OTHER character is going to see her as a monster, before that is retconned and they all conveniently forget.

Three. Fucking. Authors. This is so fucking awful. And there are five thousand fucking words left. 

His wide eyes shut, and the arm twists to complete the death contract. The man falls limp like a rag doll, face first as the cape slumps over his head. It collects the blood threatening to spew out across the marble floor, turning into a muddy hue.

Arno and Élise hardly breathe, hold onto each other as they raise their stricken stares to the only, remaining body standing there.

Elysia standing there.

Yeah, that’s what happens when you shoot Ms. Birkin here. She’s just going to become stronger and stronger. She doesn’t have the pitfalls of turning into a huge blob of teeth when the mutations become too much – because she’s just that perfect.

But she doesn’t look like who she used to be. Her cowl gone, flaming hair a messy mane; a predator who had gone for too long without a meal. Both hands wielding these long, sharpened claws. One shoulder slumped, the other open at her side and flicking off the excess of blood and flesh clean. The ripped fabric they happened to scrap back from the gaping hole in Bellac’s chest.

Élise tugs once, and Arno’s step sounds out.

Elysia’s head jerks toward them.

Hopefully, you’ve got the cheat code for the rocket launcher handy. Or, if you’ve got some of that Angel Dust, you can blow it in her face.

Strange how that weakness of hers was forgotten by Bellec. He had no problem knowing the Deku Nut was poisonous.

Arno holds his breath, quaking palm at his waist.

The voice is a mix of many, and it scratches the cathedral walls themselves when her lips open, “Little Rabbit, Little Rabbit…”

“…..Elysia?” Arno attempted, but his feet are betraying him as he backs up.

Again, we’re not in Assassin’s Creed anymore. We’re in a shitty Resident Evil game, with a shittier character and a shittier transformation. Swap her for Lady D and I will gladly get on my feet and worship her. 

Elysia’s neck cracks, and her slit, jade irises glow from her black pupils.

“We have to go!” Élise whispers, picking up speed, practically choking Arno from the way she grabbed his scarf.

And Elysia’s laughter rings out, sporting a wicked smile that only a devil could prevail, “Little Raaaabbiiiiiiiiiit~”

They sprint, Arno following behind Élise.

You guys missed the cheat codes! You need to utilize those tank controls to get rid of G – oh, wait. Wrong game.

Or is it meant to be the right game? I don’t know. Now Elysia’s going full yandere with her anime insanity. Who is meant to take this seriously?

“We can close the gate!” she suggested ahead. When they reach closer do the gears in Arno’s head spur like a loose, wagon wheel. Élise skids out, and Arno grips onto the gate, slamming it closed…in front of him.

He turns to face Elysia who is steadily walking to him. He makes space between him and the bars, Élise rocking them forcefully.

“What are you doing?!” she commands, “She’ll rip you to shreds!”

Well yes, but actually no. Arno won’t be killed; he needs to be kept alive for the gay buttfucking plot. So there’ll be a scene where Elysia will recognize him and be brought back to humanity, and from then on, Arno will have nightmares about her ‘true’ form.

It’s either that or he forgets what she is entirely, and I’m hedging my bets on the latter. 

“It’s still Elysia!” Arno confronted adamantly. Élise’s footsteps cut away, leaving Arno to determinedly face his sole, living mentor. He debates for the smoke bombs or hidden daggers. He had seen Elysia like this before, but this appeared to be a far, graver form. She didn’t answer to her name, and that gave Arno suspicion that she was not in control. Anything other than that—

Where has Arno seen her ‘like this’? When she attacked him at the Cafe when he threw a coin at her? When she scaled up the Church’s walls? When she tried to strangle him? At the opera house where the Angel Dust got into her lungs?

Where is the evidence he saw G-Elysia? I’d love to know. And I’ve read this word for word since the beginning. 

“Here!” Élise had come running back, and threw over Arno’s rapier sword.

He thanked her briskly, and collected it swiftly, “There’s an Assassin entrance near the waterway, just outside! Only warn Stephen and Clement!”

No, just don’t warn anyone else – that would frighten them, and make them desert even quicker. We can’t have two Mentors dead and a third who turns into a monster when you brain her. 

“I can’t leave you alone here!”

Arno shot a stare back, “….You have to.”

“Arno—”

“GO!” he orders fixedly. “I’ll be fine.”

Isn’t it nice how Elise suddenly cares about Arno? Half a chapter ago she was snarking at him, and the chapter before she didn’t even care if he lived or died. The author does an astounding job making these characters bipolar and inconsistent in their characterizations. It’s almost as if she didn’t actually play the game – oh, wait.

Élise doesn’t waste another word, and dashed out into the coarse rain.

Thunder rolled and the lightning strike reflected off of Elysia’s unharmed and bloody face. Her grin disconcerted the Dorian, but he approached cautiously, sword ready at his side.

“I know you’re in there, Elysia…” he commenced, circling around her figure. “I’ve seen you like this before.”

No, he has never seen her like this before because it’s never been written. I have not once seen Arno comment on her true form because this is the first time it has ever happened. There has been no evidence that he has seen her Twilight transformation.

What’s also interesting is that he approaches her as if she’s a wild animal (well, to be fair, she is) that he can tame into submission with kind words. He’s being braver to her than he was to Bellec. It doesn’t make sense, and I don’t think this was ever meant to.

Her eyes smoothly follow him, and its unnerving. A pair of elongated fangs flash out at her open mouth, and the inside of her mouth pulses out green markings Arno has never seen before. Closer inspection, he sees the same ones climbing up the flesh of her throat, and down her bare digits. It pulses like its alive.

Wow, mouth tattoos. Never seen those before. Did she eat some radium as a snack before fighting? Might explain the glow-in-the-dark attributes.

It’s been hinted at in the beginning that the Mentors and even some recruits like James that they know Elysia is not fully human. James’ uncle is a member of a supernatural organization (who was subsequently dropped from the story) who told her that she had watch who she crossed. We are expected to believe that this is the very first time Arno has seen her like this, and also that it isn’t the first. 

Suddenly, the side of her leg glows, and Arno has to blink several times to distinguish it’s…the Heart. The Heart is reacting to Elysia’s form. But why??

 Because Mary Sue logic, that’s why. Arno has more Isu DNA than most Assassins and he never glowed in the dark. The magic being from Hyrule can, because Reasons.

“It’s going to be okay, I’m here.”

When she moves, it's so disjointed and doll-like. Her bloody arm dragged behind her as if tied somewhere against the wall. Red curls bounce and fly like swatting flags.

“Poor little rabbit, left all alone~” the voices screech out in infectious giggles, and they ripple among the air. Her feet are light, hardly make a sound despite how much she’s swaying side to side. “What a terrible fate this is all become! Because of you.”

Oh, here we go. The Yandere monologue. We’re not in an anime. Try to be serious for once. You’ve got a character who got shot in the head, underwent the G malformation, and is having a monologue about how insane she is.

Once again: Arno isn’t at fault here. Elysia is. But she will never be held accountable because that’s not just how Mary Sues work. 

Arno readies the sword, inhaling shakily. Observing these specks of dark matter leaking out of her and glistening in the air. Lightning strikes again, and the cold air stuck his wet robes to his damp skin.

“It’s your fault, it’s all your fault~” she sings, and her body pounces—

 Arno didn’t decimate the Brotherhood. Elysia did. Arno didn’t cause internal division among the Mentors. Elysia did. Arno didn’t break the tenets. Elysia did. Now she’s trying to kill him – again – and this episode will be forgotten because Arno has just the right amount of reverence for her. 

“Tch!” Arno steels himself, the sword blocking the claw that attempted to undo him. He doesn’t forget the second, and kicks away her leg to make her stagger. The tip of his hard boot makes contact with the Heart…and what he sees isn’t what he’s expecting.

A bundle of bright nerves coiled around Elysia’s form, and she hisses and staggers from its low, profound hum. The effect doesn’t last long, and her hand swipes; it’s enough force to send his feet skidding straight back. He regains posture, and does it fast enough to deflect the next bolt of movement—

I told you it was a bad idea for her to keep her hands on the Heart. It’s convenient now for it to react to her being damaged, what with her being a magical being, but it didn’t occur to her whatsoever that her Twilight would interact with it poorly. She kept it knowing what it would do, and know she’s trying to kill a man who rightfully should be the centre of this story.

We get it, Les. You hate white men that fucking much. 

The claws come down in succession, and Arno’s arms scream from how much stronger each delivery is. The smoke bombs land and smear out in a hiss, giving Arno ample opportunity to dash out, and look over readily. The smoke settles…but Elysia isn’t there—

Her claws can go through human flesh no problem. I’m amazed Arno even kept his arms. There is one thing, however, that makes me pause: the incident at the opera house showed that Elysia is allergic to ashwood. If I were Bellec, I would have kept some as a backup plan in case she went full on Birkin.

There’s a running theme in this work of people knowing exactly what Elysia is and refusing to take her seriously as a threat. As a result, people die. Don’t expect her to be disbarred anytime soon. 

The digging of claws alerts him, and Arno swings back, cutting across the air to deflect the lunge Elysia makes from scaling the ceiling three stories above. She skids to recover, and her laugh rings when she crawls along the wall like a spider; leaping to spot any sign of weakness Arno displayed as he did his best to catch up. Elysia’s form does a front flip, and reinforces all her weight against Arno’s deflection. He yells right back, and the rapier sword meets its end.

So. A creature that can leap up three stories high, can crawl along walls, can survive bullets to the head and glows green, can be stopped by a man with basic parkour skills and a sword. How is this logical?

Oh, right. I forgot: Mary Sue powers. That’s how she can body him mid air like she’s the Undertaker. 

The bloodied top of it swings rapidly across the air, sinking into the wall yards away. Arno drops the useless handle, and backs up to examine the slash he had made across her arm. It bleeds, but she’s unaffected but it. Then, Arno watches horrifically to see the cut attempting to seal itself back up with the glow of emerald, the geometric symbols of before coating around it like a bare sleeve—

I think the fact she recovered from a bullet to the head is a clear sign that no matter what you do, ordinary weapons cannot stop her. Arno is an intelligent man – well, he SHOULD be – and he cannot deduce that the Heart is the entity feeding off of her power. In any case, even if she didn’t have the heart, she’s unstoppable. 

“Elysia, you have to listen to me!” Arno equipped himself with hidden daggers, and something compels him to strike first. One hidden dagger goes flying, and when it hits the center of the shining Heart once more—

Elysia has never listened to Arno. Not once. She’s a narcissist. When he went through his drunken depression episode, she made the comfort all about herself. SHE was the one that had to go through the trial of carrying him to a better mental state. SHE was the one who kept everything together. Arno’s mental state and feelings didn’t matter. He’s been treated like an abused dog since the beginning. The people around her fear and hate her. Let’s not forget that Arno didn’t approach her when Shay appeared with his new Templar clique – he approached James. THAT is how bad she treated him. How are cutesy words going to turn her around? 

“AHHHH!” the blood-curling howl rattles the golden chandelier itself. White threads ensnare across her entire body, and she throws her arms back and forth to fight it off. The cut on her refuses to close from the Heart’s enchanted capabilities, and Arno hatches a plan.

You probably should have gone after the heart first, since it’s, you know, glowing and shit. 

“Don’t give up on me!” his plea goes on deaf ears; he skids to the side, and the next second he’s on his back. Elysia’s hands attempt to curl to keep him pinned from her onsalught, and Arno’s feet send her flying upwards. She touches base, and is halted from pursuing further when the hidden daggers dig into her shoulders. She hardly flinches, sauntering her way over.

 Too late. She’s given up on you long ago. This also implies that she even had belief in you in the first place. Don’t try to redeem characters with traits they never had. It won’t fool anyone, least of all people like me.

“Wretched, disgusting human thing….thinking you could best us???” the disoriented cackle wails across the chamber, the flames of the ignited candles wavering from the other worldly substance that splatters out from Elysia’s body. Cut like broken shards, flickering and rotating like demonic windchimes.

I’m glad she’s showing her true colours. It’s just a shame this isn’t as cathartic as killing one of the bosses in Dark Souls or some other RPG. We know she’ll be back. We cannot kill our strong female character this way, now can we?

BTW, what’s a ‘demonic windchime’? A Lil Nas X prop? 

He winces from the deep cut at his forearm, readying the sleeping darts into the Phantom Blade, “Wake up, Elysia!”

“Always have us, she will always have us…” her head jerks, the sound of bones cracking in her contorting hands and knuckles. “Pathetic fox, so alone and so afraid. We’re here to staaaaay~”

Afraid of what? And don’t get me started with her faux tears and her faux depression. There has been no evidence of her showing regret towards anything. When she does cry, it’s because something she wanted has been denied to her. When she gets ‘depressed’ it’s because something that would be under her control isn’t. These aren’t the emotions of something who really feels regret, shame, and loneliness. This character is a walking set of contradictions, viewed as the magnum opus of ten years of authorial love and joy.

I’d understand this were it written by a teenager. But this is a grown woman who graduated from college. This is unacceptable. 

ZIP!

I'm loving these action sounds.  

Elysia dodges. Arno throws a smoke bomb and cuts across the room. He fires once more into the smoke-

A piercing screech floods the air, Arno picking up the dart he had missed previously as its wedged into the wall. She spots him, and despite the feathered bolt protruding out her upper arm, she raises the same one and slashes down. Arno rolls out of the way just in time, and looks back to the claws marks deep in the wall. She pursues, but Arno is quick to slow her movements with another piercing blade clanging against the Piece of Eden, followed by another sleeping dart.

How long are her claws? 20 feet? I’m sorry, but E-Birkin here is trying too hard. You come off as a greater villain with fewer monologues and more damage you render to an opponent. I’m glad Arno found the cheat codes, though. I was worried. 

“ARGGGH!” her gurgling yell manifests to a bellicose glower when the white threads engulf her figure. She increases on offense, but the Dorian immediately takes notice of her languid movements. He remains a good space away, avoiding to give her an edge to strike. He fires another, and this time it hits her neck. She pauses-

So, word of advice: Phantom Blades work, bullets don’t. Be sure to lace them with ashwood and you’ll see the bitch really freak out.

Oh, and are we abusing the thesaurus again? ‘Bellicose’ is fine on its own. ‘Glower’ means the same thing. You’re essentially writing, ‘she angrily glowered.’. Redundant. 

“TCH!!” Arno’s back is slammed against the wall, watching Elysia swiping across the ground in retaliation. Her long arms battle the air itself, and suddenly a dark-like wave smashes itself against the walls and ceiling, shattering a few other colored windows of the building. The sturdy cathedral takes the hit, and Arno could sense the pressure of the air waning, growing heavier. He gets up—

 If there isn’t evidence that she is an otherworldly being with dark energy swimming through her body like shit in a pool, this would close the books and reach a jury deal. You cannot see her as anything other than a monstrosity at this point.

“Human pest!”

Arno’s body flies again, this time his throat in Elysia’s grasp. His back painfully hits an engraved column, and he digs heavily to loosen her cobra-tight grip. The air is lessening, and he prepares for the worst—

Ah, back to square one. This is the third time she’s strangled Arno. Might as well call her ‘Dommy mommy’ at this point. 

The hidden blade darts out, and Arno drives it through her forearm. She hisses loudly, and there Arno stares at the bestial expression of her powerful canines, and the tapered eyes that resemble much of a predatory wolf. She withdraws, her blood splattering across Arno’s face when she swipes her limb away, and claws with the second, drenched arm. He drops, hits the ground.

Like I said, man: pack the ashwood next time. Blow it in her face like you’ve got a vape pen. That would shut her up real quick. 

“Insignificant little worm!!”

She’s not done—

Arno’s foot is hiked up. He catches the last dart, scrambles to put it in the Phantom Blade—

“You’ll pay with your life!”

The Dorian aims—

She raised her arm.

—and the dart hits against her forehead, sinks.

Ah, I wish this was the end. Alas, it isn’t going to end until we see that long author’s note about the tearful goodbye from the author and the ten years she’s loved this character. A shame: I’ve been following this for two years and it manages to be worse than Mirror and Image’s ‘Unity Rewrite’, and THAT one made me crack a tooth.

You just can’t have your swan song here and now. You need to have Elysia return to normal, take the blame and glory for killing Bellec, and get off Scot-free. It’s the fuckin’ way she blows, boys. 

Elysia remains immobile, the hand that attempted to finish Arno slumping. He doesn’t wait, and sends one last kick to agitate the Heart. In a second he’s let go, grunts agonizingly at the harsh drop. Immediately analyzes the situation to see Elysia staggering and crying out from the bolts of heavenly white pinpointing to her leg. Like a leaning tower, she slowly tips to one side—

Oh wow. Know what this reminds me of? When Chris rips the device off of Jill’s chest in RE5 and she goes crashing to the floor afterwards. Albeit this time, there’s loads of electricity, dark energy waves, glow-in-the-dark tattoos, and an immortal woman who can’t stand Angel Dust.

Not the best rodeo, but hey, you take what you’re given, right? 

“Elysia!”

She hits the floor with the last of the electricity, beside Bellac’s corpse.

Arno gets on his knees, tries to get up, and seethes at the pain budding on his arms and back. Crawling over, “Elysia….Elysia! Can you hear me?” His hands wipe the curls away, and removes the dart from her face and throat. He checks her pulse….

And it’s beating just fine, if not lightly erratically.

Amazing. She tries to kill him for the umpteenth time and he’s filled with nothing but forgiveness. This isn’t so much a character flaw than it is him acting stupid. He has had no reason to forgive her for anything, especially the things she’s done to him, and yet he does. He’s a token cuck: he’ll watch the women in his life literally fuck him over and he’ll take it all with a smile on his face.

Later, he’ll go on and on about how brave she was and how grateful he is for her saving his life. Anything, anything to prop up the Mary Sue.

His tears build, and giving her a shake, “I-I thought you died…oh god, I thought you were…” Ignores the shared battle scars, starts to wrap her bloody arm with his scarf. Grimaces at the smell of blood and how fresh Bellac’s remains were on her.

Buddy, you just saw her scars magically heal on their own. I don’t think a simple piece of cloth is needed. 

“Arno!” Élise’s voice echoed, and he could feel her hands trying to unlock the gate door he had previously shut on her. His mind works fast, and he shuffles into Elysia’s pocket for the Piece that is glowing ever so faintly. He doesn’t have time to analyze it before stuffing it away.

You should have kept it in the first place, given that in the wrong hands – and you just witnessed said scenario – you create a being that is literally unstoppable. Maybe next time you won’t trust a stranger all because he looks sexy, eh? 

“Are you okay?!” Stephen calls out frantically. The door unlocks, he’s not sure who did it. The feet scurry over, and all three bodies stop a yard away, seeing Arno cradling Elysia in his lap.

Aw, how cute. He’s cradling the woman who, just a minute ago, nearly killed him. Don’t they have such a bond? I’m literally tearing up. 

“Arno, ARNO.” Stephen is the first to approach, pushing Arno up to look at him properly, “Look at me, Arno.”

He does so, and he feels like a child. A hurt child.

Elysia isn’t your mother. Relax. Fact is, she could use a bit of humbling. 

“Are you seriously injured?”

“I-I’m fine, I’m fine,” Arno wiped away the tears on his own shoulder. “Bellac, he tried to…he killed Elysia, and she—"

 Nah, she just tried to dismember him and choke him to death. But that’s OK! The Magic Brown Woman will live another day. There can never be a moment where her life is actually threatened.

Stephen looks.

For a split second, Arno’s chest tightens when he follows his gaze, “…She’ll be fine,” and is relieved to see Elysia’s face has returned to normal. Within an instant, all her demonic features are gone. Arno questions whether Stephen saw it, “…I don’t….think I can get up on my own.”

Stephen doesn’t wait, “Then let us help you. Clement, going to need your muscles here.”

 As said before, it’s obvious that Elysia is not human and her abilities are right out in the open. Arno just saw her become a Dark Souls/Resident Evil monster and still believes she’s the same bitchy character who mentored him. There’s no helping these people. Just point and laugh.

Stephen doesn’t wait, “Then let us help you. Clement, going to need your muscles here.”

The steps are slow, and eventually Clement makes his way over, inspecting Elysia for a moment…before landing onto Bellac. Arno and Stephen sense his hesitation, and it doesn’t make it better when Élise steps away quickly to face the active doorway…

“…Shit,” Arno mutters, and inspects the rest of the Council members striding in. The silent seconds burn the space, Arno unable to breath properly. His breath hitches when Stephen gets him on his feet.

How convenient. Yes, I know I’m using that word a lot. There really is no other appropriate term for these situations. You just had a colossal fight, where a Mentor who was granted Mentorship in under five years ruthlessly massacred another because of a relic she was ordered to protect. Do you think she’s going to suffer consequences from this? Of course not. She’ll be venerated as a hero and this episode will be forgotten. 

All eyes land on the group. Their faces pale, but Beylier is the first to constrict his face to that of rare fury.

“What is the meaning of this?! Explain yourselves. NOW.”

 ‘Yeah we just had an epic fight and the token Woman of Color mentor became a Dark Souls boss...hope you don’t mind, we used all of our portions and had to use wall clippings to beat her.’

“….Bellac was here, he was waiting for me to find him. Elysia she…” Arno held his side, regaining his breath, “Bellac tried to kill me, and Elysia protected me.”

No, she didn’t. She just tried to kill you. Fucking hell, there’s no point in defending this woman and here you go doing it. 

"That doesn't explain what this is!" Beylier directs to the destroyed interior and carnage, Quemar shying away with a disgusted sneer. Unable to stomach the blood that pooled. Even the most experienced of Assassins found this harrowing.

Sophie frowned at the scene before directing her focus on Arno, "Did Elysia do this?"

NO FUCKING SHIT SHE DID IT. Jesus Christ, you were the ones who entrusted her with the heart in the first place. Do you really think Arno had the strength to plunge his arm into Bellec and rip out his organs?

You have your fucking culprit on the ground, with her clothes ripped and bullet wounds visible. And you have a cuck simping for her. It’s not hard to deduce who fucking did it. 

“….To protect me, yes,” Arno defended. This seems to worsen their expressions.

"God, this is—" there's no words for this, "First Mirabeau now Bellac—"

 Yes, she nearly tore you to pieces to ‘protect’ you. Which is funny, because Bellec was always less aggressive than she was. This was the third time she attacked Arno. It’s on record. Do something about it!

"Bellac was responsible for Mirabeau's murder!" Arno defends aggressively. As if it would change the forlorn grimaces they all wore.

"We know that—"

"There was no way to avoid this outcome—"

"There could have been any other outcome, than what this is!" Beylier answered defiantly back. "If it is true that Elysia killed Bellac, there is a consequence. It is word-binding when you take that mantel. Elysia is not spared, even if it was for the sake of your life."

What consequences? LOL this woman has suffered zero consequences even when she told you to your faces that she didn’t give a shit about the Creed. Arno faced harsher consequences for ONE meeting with Elise and NO ONE held Mirabeau accountable for that sham trial. Elysia was entrusted with the relics even after he suspected treasonous acts against Mirabeau. All of these threats are empty as fuck. She didn’t suffer anything when she refused to raise a hand against Shay. All she’ll get is a slap on the wrist.

Arno stood firmly, Stephen quick to keep him up from falling, "You have to make an exception—"

"We can spare no more!" Beylier confronted.

"Bellac threatened to kill the rest of you!"

Sophie shuts her eyes, but remains silent.

"He threatened to kill every Assassin in the Brotherhood!"

 Yeah, so did Shay. And what did you do about that, hmm? You dawdled and whined and worried about Mirabeau. Whose death you broadcast to the rest of the Brotherhood without thinking what the side effects of that would be.

You can’t spare any more excuses because anyone worth anything has deserted or is dead. Hell, it’s been a year since the chapter where James died was published, and no one ever seems to remember him. Who cares if a few dozen leave? I mean, we’re at that point, aren’t we?

Quemar's feet resounded against the marble floor, and cautiously approached the group. Inspected them critically, with a soft, melancholy acceptance before facing the two Masters, and setting his cane in front of himself.

"I stand with Elysia, and her team. If what Arno says is true....then we owe Elysia a large sum of gratitude for halting Bellac's intentions. A punishment will be ensued....but it will be altered for our concerning circumstances."

 Here we go. Just as expected. The woman who is directly responsible for every problem befalling the Brotherhood is defended and excused despite her wave of destruction. You can’t see her torn clothing and tattoos on her body or the big gaping hole in Bellec’s chest, now can you? You can’t be bothered to understand Bellec’s motivations. You weren’t even aware of what Mirabeau was doing behind the scenes. You can brush him away as if he was a pesky bug and never speak of him again.

At least in-game, Bellec had a good reason to do what he did. In this story, he didn’t get half as much screen time as he did in-game, nor did he ever get a chance for adequate character development. Like Germain, he appeared, he had a monologue, he was executed.

Will Shay suffer the same fate? Hedge your bets now. 

"....I too stand with Quemar's decision." Sophie spoke next, quietly glancing to Beylier, "We can't...afford to keep squandering after each other like this. No more..."

Beylier regarded her, and this unannounced spell meshes one of pain and concern along his face, when he looks at Sophie that way. The team waits, until finally—

"I will follow what you decide," Beylier bowed his head to Sophie. "....Make haste, and take your Mentor so you both receive medical aid." He refused to look at Elysia’s direction.

 Of course! Pretend that none of this ever happened. Everyone conveniently forgot the trial Arno went through for having a conversation, why would this be any different? She’s a Magic Woman of Color, and everyone KNOWS you cannot criticize them because to do so is to commit a heckin’ racism.

Arno finally let out the withheld breath, and it makes him shudder. Stephen notices, and hooks his arm over his shoulder.

"Let's get you fixed up," he reassured with a smile, looking back toward Élise and Clement. Élise made an attempt to wipe and clean off the visible blood along Elysia's face and uninjured arm, and fixed the cowl over her head. Clement waited until Élise stepped back, wiping her fingers clean of the blood residue. Then, he takes a kneel beside their mentor. Hooking an arm underneath her legs and back, he lifted her up with a momentary pause to examine her before following the trio.

 This is probably the only time she’ll ever allow a white male to carry her bridal style. This is also the only time our dear Mary Sue has ever been vulnerable; that is, when she’s knocked the fuck out. It’s nice, isn’t it, to have a moment where she isn’t giving a monologue?

At the doorway does Arno squeeze Stephen’s shoulder to make him pause, looking over to where the other Masters inspected Bellac’s fallen figure.

Stephen answered, giving him a secure squeeze, “I’m sorry, Arno.”

“…Me too,” he answered before turning away.

 

 Why? It’d be different if Bellec had actually bonded with Arno in some way. As it stands, nothing of the sort ever happened. No time was spent drawing out a relationship. Instead, we got opera fights, tutus, antique roadshows, and treasure hunts. We’re well past novel length now. This could have been fixed a dozen chapters ago.

Arno has a lot of time to himself, to quell his own concerns and thoughts while being treated by one of the few medics left in the Creed.

It’s eerily quiet; wouldn’t expect anything else from the disbandment of so many. He wondered how many were left, though that was a question for another time.

Whose fault is that? No, really: whose fault is that? I cannot think of a more incompetent leadership than one who announces the death of a Mentor when the man, the politician and the entity, is ripe with scandal. There is a reason they kept Mirabeau’s death as secret as possible. They buried him and kept his secrets. Here, everyone knows Mirabeau is dead and are deserting at a ridiculously high rate. Though I really do wonder what took so long: after the initial purge by Shay there was no motivation to stay.

You’d be better off disbanding the whole thing. Elysia has been nothing but a parasite on it, sucking its lifeblood so she can gain glory. It’s also not a flattering character trait for a Woman of Color. 

It has been hours since he had seen Elysia, and he wasn’t sure where they put her exactly. Nothing was said about Bellac’s remains, and frankly, Arno was too afraid to ask. It all happened within seconds…and Arno wasn’t sure it had all been processed through his head fully by now. The gravity of the situation. Of what he saw when he faced Elysia’s that way…

 He wasn’t afraid when he nearly had his arms ripped off by her when she was in G-mode. Now he’s worried about seeing a corpse? He’s an Assassin. Make him act like one for once!

You also wrote that Arno has seen Elysia like that ‘before’, so why is he acting shocked now? Oh, right. The author forgot what she wrote. Typical. 

“Thank you, monsieur,” he rubbed his fixed nose, giving it a light squeeze.

The medic nods his head, “You are to stay here for the night, until tomorrow,” and leaves Arno in the spare room. A moment later, a knock at the door prevented him from being lost in thought further.

“Come in.”

It’s Élise. He sat up straighter on the bed. He nodded to the empty chair the doctor left, and she occupies it. Her eyes don’t meet his.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

"....Are you really going to ask me this?" Élise sounds tired.

“…..”

"No, I'm not. I don't...I don't know how to comprehend all of this. It’s unbelievable."

 I can’t comprehend it either. I have no idea how this author manages to go almost a full decade of this bullshit, promoting her Mary Sue as if she’s the best character to ever grace the Earth. It’s been two full years of this bullshit for me, and I still haven’t a fucking clue as to what this author wants. No one is remotely in character and her promises of ‘making things right’ is going as well as Joe Biden’s mental state.

Characters acting shocked at a Mary Sue usurping them of their own roles is expected. What isn’t expected is how easily they go along with it. This is what happens when you give creative control to someone who isn’t that creative and has never been told ‘no’ in her life. No one ever told this woman that her portfolio is a piece of shit and that her writing is equally Taco-Bell-tastic. What she’s got going for her now is sitting in her own shit and thinking it’s the best thing to grace the Archive.

“…….I know.” He held his bandaged arm, giving it a soft caress of his thumb. “I didn’t believe it either. I wasn’t sure what to make of it, when I first saw Elysia like that—” she gives him a curt stare but he ignores it, “But, I’m glad you believed in me, enough to trust me.”

"You're mad. Absolutely mad..."

 Wasn’t it written that Arno had indeed seen Elysia like that before? Or was it retconned so he could act shocked and appalled here? This was written half a page ago.

Why yes, Elise, Arno is stark raving mad. And there’s nothing endearing about it.

Note: since when did Elise believe in Arno? She’s been belittling him since the beginning.

“Aren’t you the one who used to tell me you wondered if any fairytales were real? Maybe we wished too hard on that one.”

"Perhaps….but you're also the one that goaded on and on about the possibilities if they were real." Élise scoffs....but a faint smile held in place, "I remember Father lecturing you to stop with the fantasies...that it was distracting us from our studies."

“I think he still wouldn’t believe us if we told him…” he chuckled softly like that. “…I’m glad you’re safe.”

Isu tech is one thing: it operates within the confines of the universe and has its own rules and boundaries. Elysia does not apply here. She breaks all of the rules, manages to be invulnerable and then extremely vulnerable when something she owns is destroyed, and her greatest weakness is the bark of a tree that is the most populous in Europe.

This isn’t including her fellow immortal, portal hopping, gay Japanese vampire friends. They’re another lecture. 

"You had me worried there..."Élise agreed gently, "Reckless behavior isn't going to get us to the finish line. If you want to earn my forgiveness….you need to at least be a little bit more considerate on how I might feel..." she trails off but she doesn't need to finish it.

“Of course…” he answered with a sincere look. “If that’s what it takes to earn your trust, then I will follow through.”

 ??? What the fuck. Arno has done everything for this woman. He was nearly killed in a botched trial for her, nearly had his arms ripped off to defend her, nearly got shot trying to distract Bellec, and eschews his safety for her. Elise has zero right to act the way she does. She should be the one forgiving HIM.

"You should do it whether or not you do earn it." Élise paused, considering her next sentence, "Look, whatever happens Arno, I want to know that you'll be considerate of yourself and others...sometimes they need more time than you realize. You can be incredibly daft."

“…Well, that’s rude,” he sighed, “but I get it.”

 Are you fucking kidding me? He nearly fucking died. You did absolutely nothing to help. Don’t sit there and lecture the man who was willing to sacrifice everything for not one, but TWO ungrateful women who have continued to insult and demean him from the very first chapter.

Give me the goddamn hammer so I can bust out my kneecaps.

"Well, since we're all in agreement," she stands, wiping her hands unconsciously against her trousers. "I best be going. After today...I think I need a stiff drink." She looked to Arno, battling for the words, "Do...you need help with getting home?"

“No, I’ll be fine. You have to go to Clement’s anyways, don’t want to inconvenience him, so I’ll ask Stephen.”

"All right. Rest, Arno." She opened the door way and a shadow of an individual waiting there. Arno doesn't mean to overhear, but he latched onto the words the moment Élise regards Clement by name.

"Are we heading to your apartment now, Clement?"

"Not yet, give me a moment." Oh, shit.

Ah, here comes the convenient explanation as to why Elysia is the way she is. Only took, oh, about 300,000 words. Arno has spent two years with her and never once suspected she was otherworldly or inhuman despite things like crawling up a church wall?

Maybe he is as retarded as others call him. 

Arno fleetingly looks the other way when the sound of heavy feet enter the room after the closing door. Clement seats himself on the chair Élise sat in not that long ago.

“…I’m guessing a lecture is due, considering I didn’t…essentially…listen to you, earlier,” Arno tried, his thumb fidgeting. “Suppose it’s well deserved, think Stephen was too courteous with that.”

 Listen to what? What did Arno do wrong specifically? I’d love to know.

Clement doesn't say anything initially, instead staring at his knees before responding with, "This isn't about...this isn't a lecture. I just...I want to know what happened." He must have some idea, or been told something from Élise.

“…What...specifically?” Arno swallowed, avoiding his gaze still.

"Specifically?? There's a gaping hole in Bellac's chest. Elysia—I don't know how, but she was untouched—it doesn't make sense."

Yeah, one has to fucking wonder. The strange woman with long ears she hides under her hair, who was gifted a Mentorship despite being in the Creed for only five years, and is able to run great distances and perform feats humans are physically incapable of...what was your first goddamn clue she wasn’t human?

Not the first time someone has questioned it, but he simply couldn’t give more than that. Not without endangering whatever tether Elysia had left in the Creed.

What tether? She snapped all of them in the first place. Because she’s just that much of a goddamn Mary Sue. 

“Elysia did what she had to do to keep me safe,” he replied, as he had been rehearsing for the past hour.

Clement's lips quirk at the answer and he withdraws for a moment.

"Is that really the truth?"

Arno feels the heat climb to his neck, and he can’t answer the way he wants to, “…The last time you heard that news...you didn’t take it well.”

"Because my friend ended up dying." Arno avoids flinching at that. Clement steeled himself, frowning, "And now, Bellac is dead and stupid rumors are forming, thinking Elysia is responsible—" Clement stops himself, pinching his brows, "I...don't want things to fall apart again."

SHE IS FUCKING RESPONSIBLE. Arno turned to James before Elysia because Elysia was that much of a bitch to where he didn’t feel secure enough to tell her the truth. Had Arno told her Germain and the OG Templars were killed by Shay, she would have never believed him and punished him for going outside against her orders. THAT is how godawful of a character she is.

The ‘bear’ here can shut the fuck up and die of syphilis already. I’m so sick of these people. Clement has done jack shit for anyone else. All he’s done is flex his muscles so Arno can give himself prostate orgasms at night.

The Dorian relents, and frowns when he realizes the situation he’s put his friends in. Without wanting to.

His voice is hardly audible, aware of who was left in the Brotherhood, “….Elysia did it.”

Clement stared, stricken. Arno isn't quite sure what's going through his mind. The silence is suffocating and when Arno thinks he would stand up to leave—

"....They're going to disband us."

“…They will, if they find out.” It’s not a threat, or a warning…a mere statement of fact. “Too many Assassins left the Brotherhood…they would have no choice but to keep us here….right?”

They already KNOW, you dumbshits! The Council couldn’t keep Mirabeau’s death a secret for more than five minutes. How am I supposed to take your vows of secrecy seriously when you announce every calamity?

Everyone who has a mind has left already. You’re lucky there isn’t even a French Rite in the first place, otherwise the Parisian Brotherhood, one of the oldest and most accomplished Brotherhoods, would be rendered extinct.

And that’s all because a diversity hire was brought in.

"Yes...but we'll be split to the other mentors..." Clement dug his fingers into his trousers, and Arno catches the slight shaking, "Stephen might leave if that happened and they won't honor the deal with Élise...then...I'll be..."

 Why should anyone honor the deal with Elise? She has virtually no power. There is no Rite. There is no Brotherhood. End this charade now.

“We won’t.” It’s instinct, and Arno grips at Clement’s sleeve, giving it a firm tug. The bulkier Assassin and him share a glance, and the Dorian’s heart races that way when Clement’s lashes close halfway on his stormy eyes. He lets go quickly, “….Ahh…” he forgets his arm is injured, and seethes when he withdraws it to his lap again to let it rest again.

"Careful—" Clement hesitated to reach, instead curling his fingers into a fist, sighing, "Its...something we have to consider."

You just have to inject that gay romance, didn’t you? I’d enjoy this a lot more of Arno and Elise were actually siblings and were fucking. Even the Fryecest pairings don’t bother with this much politicking.

“We’ll figure that out later…” Arno hopes the lighting in the room doesn’t make his blushing cheeks prominent, “Until then…don’t…try to think too much about it.” Because asking Clement to not worry seemed impossible to ask for.

I’d rather not think too much about this chapter, because this behemoth took me three days to slog through. I have never had this issue with any other story. 

Clement's shoulders sink slightly, "Right....I should get going...you and Élise have had a long day." He stood up, fixing his feet to stand directly in front of Arno.

“We all have,” Arno corrects. “Take….care, Clement. Thank you for checking up on me.” He hugs his arm, and eventually meets his companion’s orbs directly. Arno can’t hold it long enough and stares at the wall instead to level out his pounding heart.

"I'm sure you would've done the same if it was one of us." Clement cleared his throat roughly and turned to the door, “See you soon.”

The Dorian sighed, “See you.”

I don’t think that would happen. You see, Arno does the bulk of the self sacrificing and what he gets in return is...nothing. Even a gas station clerk gets more mentions and honorifics than he does. He is still viewed as a lesser being who doesn’t even deserve to lick shit off of someone’s boots.

Cucks are not attractive to women.

The next morning, he anticipated he would face confrontation, considering Charlotte was the first to contest him about Elysia’s whereabouts. He took her to Mathias’s Study (who also happened to be wondering the same thing), and…did his absolute best to give some truth to his claims, and the result of Mirabeau and Bellac’s demise.

“Where’s Elysia?” Charlotte immediately asked.

 What, no anime thought bubbles and squeeing? Is the 40-year-old woman actually acting mature? Perish the thought!

“She’s recovering at the Bureau, and will be released when the Masters see it fit.”

Mathias rubbed his face deeply after removing his glasses, “Another thing we have to worry about. Luckily the café can sustain on its own income but I have concerns it will only carry us so far.” He collected some folders and his coat, “I will head to the other café, and inform them of our financial standing.”

This is what happens when you give control to a woman who has no idea how finances work – cough just like her author cough – and has been repeatedly told that nothing she is doing is making things better. Mathias should have given control to Arno, who managed more than one social club and turned it into a profit.

She has never been seen reading the financial ledgers. Hell, when she was in Italy, she couldn’t even learn it from Claudia. What makes you think she’s good at it now? 

Charlotte turned back to Arno, holding his face in her hands, “You’re not badly hurt, are you?”

“No no, I’ll be okay,” Arno smiled. “It’ll be alright. We’ll figure something out.”

‘I almost had my arms ripped off by the living Exorcist but it’s OK, I managed to smooth talk her with some THC and gummy bears.’ 

Charlotte takes this, and gifts him with a morning breakfast to replenish himself. He eats calmly, though notices the shakiness in his hands. He addresses it with a curt stare, and sets the utensil down.

Little Rabbit…

I thought you said you saw her like that once before? During the fight? Oh, need I remind myself that the author cannot remember what she wrote?

He shuts his eyes, trying to push away that face. The way she…didn’t look like herself at all. He breathes heavily to settle his nerves—

"Arno."

“Ahh…” he jumped at the voice, seeing Samson standing beside him. How long had he been there? “Y-You gave me a fright…”

“Apologies, I didn’t mean to alarm you.”

Right, just as he didn’t mean to give Elysia the Heart which led to her G transformation.

“It’s…fine. Uh…good morning, Samson.” He didn’t expect to see him so early. Then again…Arno was the reason why Samson would be coming over. Ugh, this was somewhat awkward, “I didn’t realize you were coming over today.”

"I was supposed to discuss private matters with Elysia." Samson eyed the café’s interior with a quick scan before inspecting Arno's face last, "I take it she's not here then."

For a fellow immortal who knows what Pieces of Eden are, he sure doesn’t know how to read a room. The café is empty, its owner isn’t there when she usually is, and her student is dead quiet while eating breakfast. Something should have tipped you off something was wrong.

“…No, she’s not.” He takes a bite of his stale bread, shoving his free hand beneath his thigh to keep it steady. “I’m not entirely too sure when she’ll be here. I’m hoping by tonight…”

Samson nodded understandably, “Mind if I sit?” Arno shook his head, and Samson sits on the cushioned seat of the booth, “…That’s an awful sling someone made for you.”

Arno cleared his throat, “Medics were in short supply.”

That’s what happens when you fire them – uh, excuse me, wrong timeline – they leave because of inadequate leadership.

“Got yourself in a scuffle?”

“…It could’ve ended better.”

The dude nearly had his arms ripped off. I dare say he made it out quite well.

"I can tell." Samson deliberated before pulling his leather bag out from underneath the table, "Let me fix it, I have too much experience fixing brawl related injuries." Arno doesn’t have time to give input when Orfeo’s twin grabbed a spare chair from a nearby table, and set it beside the Dorian. Arno’s face leaned away a tad from how close Samson has gotten, already seeming to be examining his injury with meticulous scrutiny.

Arno joked, “If you can wave magic to make it look like it never happened, that would be swell.”

We’re not in the 1950’s. They didn’t use this terminology.

Plus we’re not dealing with minor brawls but arms almost torn out of their sockets.

"Maybe I can get close." Samson picks from a small set of jars and small tissues, holding his hand out for Arno, "May I?"

Arno turned in the booth seat, trying not to hit it again- “Ow,” he hit it against the table, nevermind. A moment later he’s stretching his gauzed arm out to Samson who takes it with the upmost care.

Samson sliced the gauze with a small knife, taking away the dirty cloth and applied—

"Ow!"

"It's going to sting," Samson mused, focusing on cleaning the injury. Arno’s face turned slightly red from the way his fingers held firm, and merely inspected the table to let the doctor do what he needed to. He sighed after when he feels Samson’s firm thumb rub some sort of ointment into the crevice of his injury…which didn’t hurt as much as he thought it would. 

Is Sampson a doctor? I thought he was an Indiana Jones type of character, hunting relics at the farthest reaches of the Earth. Yes, I know I’m being pedantic. What I’m surprised is that Arno’s wounds didn’t get infected. Elysia was slicing at him with God-knows-what under her claws and coated with human viscera. Maybe someone DOES have a magic wand.

“Uh, thank you, by the way.”

Samson answered gently, “It’s what I’m built for.”

“Ahh…” Arno accepts that answer, clearing his throat and resuming his inspection of the table.

A few moments later, Samson commenced to put new bandages on with a secure, soft knot until finally, "How does it feel now?"

“It feels…better, a lot better.” Arno knits his brows together questionably, and waves his arm a bit. “What did you put on it? I don’t feel anything anymore?”

"Specialized medicine from the Americas." Samson returned the medicines into his bag, cleaning his lap of the old gauze, "It took a while to perfect it, but now I have a seventy percent rate of recovery, so far the highest I've encountered." 

 Huh. Imagine that. A white dude took medicine the Native Americans used, perfected it, and makes money off of it. So are we going to get a settler colonialism narrative or is it OK since he actually isn’t from Earth?

Just double checking. 

 “I don’t think I’ve ever had any kind of medicine like that before.”

"It’s not one I'd like to have going around, but you looked like you could use it after the long day."

“Long day is an understatement.” He chuckles wearily, rubbing his head—shit, he forgot he had a bump there too. “I know you came for the Piece, so let me at least inform you what we found out.”

Nah...we can’t have medicine like that given to the masses for free, now can we? What are you, Samson? A venture capitalist?

Given with what happened to the Heart and Elysia, do you think it’s a good idea to inform a shady man you barely know with details about the most sacred objects known to mankind? Be sure to tell him how the Heart turned Elysia into a literal demon.

Arno reiterated the history of Jacques de Molay and Thomas de Carneillon, the separation of the Heart and Sword Eden, and Shay’s possible plans to locate it. Samson is clearly invested, sitting forward in his seat and letting Arno continue without interruption.

"I see..." he said when Arno finished, followed with a small hum.

All second hand information, because Arno didn’t know who Thomas de Carneillon was – and neither did Elysia, again – and couldn’t tell you who de Molay was even if you showed him a portrait with the giant Templar cross emblazoned on the front.

Also, since WHEN did he learn this information? Elysia never told him this, and she was the one tasked gathering the information. 

"Right now, we're in the process of trying to find the Sword," he absentmindedly brushed his healed arm.

"Perhaps with some greater context or clues, I'd be able to help formulate a plan. It'll have to require Elysia's assistance no matter so...I will need her help, and probably yours, too."

Arno shakes his head, “I’m flattered but…I don’t know much about these Pieces of Eden, or anything regarding…magical or other worldly kind of topics. Elysia is definitely the person you want to converse with….” his eyes avert away—

Little Rabbit…

 A slight shudder streamed through him.

Of course. Elysia is the only one entrusted with sacred information; she is the only one able to access these gifts. No one else but her knows about Isu objects and how they’re used. Arno, the one with high Isu DNA, is deliberately left in the dark because what does a Fucking White Male know?

Shudder now, boy, because the other shudders are going to come from the train run on you.

"I know she is, but I also understand the importance of someone....mortal."

Arno’s regarding him heavily, but it doesn’t faze Samson, “Huh?”

"You might not understand but your opinion is more valid then what either Elysia or I may have to offer. These things, these Pieces directly affect your lives. Human lives. Their history can be learned, only if you're willing to learn along the way."

Oh wow! Arno is validated for something! Imagine that. Took you...29 chapters to do so. The real journey is the friends we made along the way, right?

Arno absorbs this faster than he had anticipated, feeing the chill roll up his back and over his head. Samson is not wrong, but to be fair, Arno was still trying to grasp everything paranormal that has happened. How the word ‘mortal’ unraveled his existence so easily, and how it ended so quickly for Bellac in the blink of an eye. The question of before lingered again: how long….was long ago?

You’re in a world where ‘apples’ can stop time and control people and you’re looking for a magic sword. I don’t think immortality is out of the question, especially when Sages are a de-facto form of immortality for Aita. Remember that subplot? I do.

Shay was also a mortal man, or at least, that’s what Arno hoped considering what he knew, and how effectively he ended so many lives under his blade. Surely…they could conquer him, overpower his efforts.

Yes, just use the Heart and Elysia will enter G mode and she will tear him apart. Easy said, easy done. Just have Shay call her a Gypsy or some other racial epithet and she’ll enter that mode even quicker.

Arno was so sure of Elysia’s capabilities….but what happens if she ended up like that again? If Shay had the power to end something called a Sage, what made Elysia any different? And….if he was searching for the Piece…would that explain why the Heart affected Elysia while Arno fought her off? Did Shay know that??

Arno hugged his stomach, and the breakfast churns with an unpleasant probing, “I…understand.”

Germain was killed in an ambush. Sages are not all-powerful; they are often normal people who can die from a badly managed flu. Their gifts are what make them unique. Shay knows ashwood can render Elysia helpless and there are a fuckton of ash trees in Europe. He likely knows Elysia better than the Brotherhood does. When the final showdown comes, it’s going to be epic – and not in the ways you’d expect. 

Samson looks gently at Arno's disposition. He considers their surroundings again before leaning, "Are you well? You're looking clammy."

“Yes, I simply….need some time to get—that’s a lot to take to in, and I’m….adjusting.” His tongue went dry, “This talk about…mortals, not being…mortal-“ he holds his head, pressing his thumbs against his temples. “Pieces and Hearts and Swords….Elysia she…..” he paused there.

She turned into a demon. She IS the demons.

Samson blinked, slow. Almost like Eugene does when he eyes something Arno is holding, "Yes?"

“You knew Elysia wasn’t…human…does that mean, you’re not…either?”

"Did you not know? She spoke so carelessly around you about it. I only assumed you already knew."

Uh, no. Elysia never told anyone she was immortal. It was hinted that James knew, and his family is part of a supernatural hunting cult (I’m still waiting for the Winchesters to show up) but no one else suspected that she was inhuman. Yes, they were intrigued by her weird ears and odd complexion, but they attributed that to a birth defect. Arno had no way of knowing she was immortal or inhuman. We saw that with the opera fight: Arno and the others wondered WHY Elysia was sensitive to the gas when they were not. They weren’t allowed to ask questions. We all know why.

We’re also forgetting that she ran up the church wall with Samson on her back. It’s not a mystery.

"Not everything...no..." Arno revealed with a slanted mouth. "...She got really injured today....I didn't recognize her. And she didn't recognize me."

"That's how you got injured." It’s not a question.

His coffee eyes drift to his fixed arm, and back to Samson again, "......Mhmm."

You think? His injuries aren’t ones inflicted by bears or guns. Elysia also isn’t there; it shouldn’t take this long to put two and two together.

Samson's lips lock into a contending debate, his gaze fixing to Arno’s arm, to the mound of gauze that sat beside Samson's freeside, then back again.

"Sometimes, things like that can happen; accidents tend to follow. I'm sorry it had to happen as it did. What was so unusual about it, if I may ask?"

"Um....it's a lot to...." his voice almost turned to a whisper, "....Bellac he...my o-other mentor, he....shot her, and I think she.....she got back up, and she wasn't herself."

Yeah. She got shot in the head. She got up, glowing, tattoos emblazoned, and scaled up the walls. She had tendrils leaking out of her as if she was Okkoto from Princess Mononoke.

Tell me what’s usual about that.

At this....Samson's expression fell, contorting from an imagined setting to the reality Arno was speaking. His shoulders goes flat and he concentrates fully on what Arno has to say, "She got back up? That's a rarity if I have ever heard. How was she not herself? If she had injured you, I can't imagine she was in the right state of mind."

Buddy, you’re an expert in Pieces of Eden. You knew she had the heart. You know she’s immortal and you likely know what happens when she’s injured. It was feeding off of her injuries and rage.

Come on, I’m putting more thought into this than you are. 

 Arno shakes his head, "She wasn't....it was her body, but it wasn't her." He doesn't realize he's trembling, coming to grips of the reality of what happened. "Dear God, she killed Bellac, she...." He shuts his eyes, and shakes his head valiantly, "NO, that was Elysia, I knew she was in there. I trusted her. I know it's her, Samson, no matter what everyone else says."

You never trusted her, don’t bullshit me. You had no clue what she was until that incident happened. She was fine luring you around in the dark as if she were an angler fish and you were bait. Enough with this ‘she always loved me’ rhetoric. No context exists for it. Trust me, I’ve tried looking for it.

"I believe you." Samson's tone is soft, "When Elysia next wakes, I'll try to get to the bottom of this; perhaps something can be done if she so chooses."

Arno nodded, and breathes normally for what felt like a long time, "Thank you, Samson. I want her to be okay, that she's going to be okay no matter what happens. She's....she's the only person I have left."

LOL. You don’t know the bitch and the bitch doesn’t care for you. What happened to Elise? Is she not your sister anymore? Funny how she was written out of your life the minute the Woman of Colour started barging in and making demands. Are we cucked for the dommy mommy, Arno?

"I understand. After an ordeal like today, I think you're the one in need of rest now."

"Rest sounds nice..." Arno stood up, gathering his empty plate, "Thank you again, for taking care of my wound. I'm sorry you came all the way here for nothing. I'm sure Charlotte wouldn't mind offering you something for your visit."

"It wasn't all for nothing." Samson bowed his head, "But I digress. Go, rest. You'll need it."

"Have an easy day, Samson." Arno gives a brief wave before leaving his plate for Bridgette before heading up the staircase of the manor.

Ugh. When are we going to see the DP twin sex scenes? I’d love it if these pleasantries ended and we went right back to the shitty smut. At least that made me laugh.

Samson takes position in the empty booth this time, his fingers curling on the table. He hyper-focuses to his fingertips, wondering what degree it had to take for nails to cut into skin as they had been for Arno. Razored, refined talons. A beast contained within a human form.

Yeah but...you know this. You’re immortal, she’s immortal. Come on.

Samson takes his notebook and sketches. Commits to memory. For the road he walks is etched in uncertainties, much like his memories and his past actions. They command him, control him—but he will not be a slave to it. Not like Shay has become...

Shay is a slave to what now? He’s been remarkably consistent. What kind of magic has he used, aside from a stoic Native American woman who only leaves cryptic warnings? The rocket launcher gun?

Samson's brows sink into a furrow ravine, his grip on the charcoal sinking deeper into paper. Angry lines sketch, reimagining the tale. Honest mistakes grow dark, unforgivable actions are taken in vengeance. The cycle of hatred continues, with no room of healing in sight. No one will walk away from it or admit to their wrong doing. It is almost one with human nature...

Except...it is possible.

Augustine is not a man to be changed, and yet from all the years Samson had spent rekindling his relationship with his eldest....he saw hope. Hope of the ongoing possibility of change. It all began with a spark, one which Elysia had helped tend the flames for. So, when Samson puts down his sketch of a furious, unwilling beast who's unable to tell friend from foe, he can't stop the unnerving smile that forms.

 

It'll take a monster to defeat another....and he cannot wait to see the outcome of it.

Wait, wait wait. So you mean to tell me the twist in this story is that the THIRD brother – the triplet – is going to be brought in because he’s also a monster and we need an epic battle of monsters to solve this thing? I don’t recall this Godzilla King of the Monsters twist.

Or is Augustine Shay? Is his spirit in Shay? Can we just ditch these stupid fucking cliffhangers and get to the point already?!

Goddammit. This took me four days. FOUR. DAYS. I have never spent so long and so much time on such a taxing chapter. And I’m two chapters behind, mind you. 

You know what? usully I have a long after chapter write-up. But I'm so fucking exhausted from this I'm just going to let the commentary speak for itself.