She didn't feel right, she felt as if maybe something was wrong. She needed to wake up, she knew that much, but she didn't know why. If she did, then she wasn't remembering it.
She could feel her body ache, the dull pain in her gut still was being acknowledged in her brain yet she could not wake up. There were no sounds, no indication that she was alone or with someone. What was happening? Was she...dead? Maybe dying...?
As thought seem sluggishly cross her mind, a sea of emotions surged through her and the darkness suddenly began to show a light. Images began to flash before her eyes, images that were familiar yet distant.
She saw herself with her friends, laughing with some appropriately green and yellow colored Rooks. She saw the late Grandmaster Starrick staring at her with an expression she did not like. There was Evie, looking young, sitting on the couch with a cup of tea. Henry Green was there too, reading a book that doubled as a projectile object for Evie to use. Jackie and Zenin were arguing, Christina was being her annoying self with the two, they were all happy.
Then she saw Jacob, and never in her life did Samantha ever feel such a pain before. She remembered when they met, how they grew to care for each other, how she adored his kindness and desire to protect others.
Then it struck her, the memory of that night. She remembered going to the ball, being dragged around by the Disraeli couple before Jacob left to gather their weapons. Her uneasy dance with Starrick, her forcing Jacob to help her get dressed, them confronting the horrible Templar in the vault, it was all coming back to her.
Then, as if she was reliving that memory, she felt where Starrick stole her life away. The knife entering her stomach, the feeling of it being pushed into her despite it already being deep within her gut. The pain, the sorrow, the memories....everything was coming and going.
"Don't you remember anything?" Samantha heard Zenin say, her voice cracking as tears rolled down her face. They were in the hospital, it was the day she woke up. "Anything, fucking anything!!"
"What are you talking about?" She asked, watching this scene just hurt. "Quit being so silly, people can't enter video games."
Samantha awoke with a sharp gasp and a stream of tears running down her cheeks. She did die, she really did. And yet, she still was alive. Somehow her dying had erased her memories of her time here and now, she was feeling like absolute shit. How could she forget? Why did she?
"Awake I see." Samantha glanced around, having not realized where she even was. From the looks of it, it was an old surgical room. She could smell the faint scent of blood and she had the most sickening feeling that she knew where she was. "Welcome to Lambeth Asylum, we had to make some last minute accommodations for you."
"Lambeth Asylum." She repeated, so this place was of some significance.
"Evie will be here soon, I've already informed her you'd be here and she seemed quite anxious to have you back," Samantha growled to herself, Jack wasn't in the room with her. From the slightly muffled sounds, she could guess that he was behind the door. She suspicion was confirmed when she heard him leave.
"I'm not as helpless as you think, Jack," Samantha muttered to herself. Think Sam, where is this hell hole might he have put me?
Samantha tried to think of where in the asylum she was, damn her stupidity for not finishing the game and its DLC. She knew Jacob was being held in the basement, at least that seemed like a pretty logical place to hide someone in her mind. Hell, she didn't know if this place had a basement.
It's an asylum. She reasoned as she stood up from the nasty floor. "Alright, what can I do.." she glanced at her wrists, surprised to see that her gauntlets were still with her. This led to some concern, why would he leave these with her? She checked them, making sure they were still functional. "What have you planned, Jack?"
She surveyed the room, noting everything she could about it. There was a window and a vent she could use get out but, that seemed to easy for her to think that Jack didn't mess with it in advance. She did notice that the vent didn't seem to connect to a system, instead it appeared to be really just another way into the neighboring room. It almost seemed like a better option until she heard the sound of shuffling feet and someone calling for a pretty bird.
Well, that's a big fucking nope. She thought to herself, c'mon, there's gotta be something I can do....
She checked the window, noticing how there wasn't anything harmful hidden anywhere. She carefully opened the window and stuck her head out to see what it looked like outside. Upon closer inspection, because she's not that stupid, she found that there was a layer of something slick on the parts of the building she could grab at.
"Jeez! This man has too much time on his hands!" She groaned in frustration, throwing herself against the nearest wall. "What to do...."
Jack did say Evie was coming and that she knew Samantha would be there, but how could the young woman trust a madman's word? Not to mention she was no patient girl, Samantha would have to save herself this time. The window was probably her best option, if she angled herself just right she could reach the rooftop. She didn't intend on leaving though, Evie wouldn't be able to take Jack down on her own. Not only that, but Samantha intended to also exact revenge on Jack for whatever harm came to her Jacob.
֍
Evie reached the insane asylum where crowds had begun to form around the main gates. There must be quite the scene to be witnessed for this many people to gather around.
"Back to the beginning, eh, Jack?" Evie spoke to herself from the roof of another building. "My brother freed you from this madhouse and made you one of us. And now you've dragged Samantha into this..."
Evie climbed down the building and sought to enter the grounds without being seen or harming any officers. It was quite the task as they were all spread out and patrolling. She had to use what she had left of her smoke bombs to get in and from there, she needed to deal with the lunatics.
"I'm not going to get far with these inmates running around." She grumbled to herself as she dealt with one inmate who spastically ran for her. As she was about to round a corner, Evie heard someone coming her way. Believing it to be another inmate, Evie flung a knife toward the unidentified person only to hear a small yelp.
"Hey! What the fuck did I do?"
Evie never reacted quicker as she turned around and hugged the twenty-year-old girl. Samantha was taken by surprise as she never recalled Evie being this way before. Then again, maybe if she had her memories from the start she would have experienced this much sooner.
"You're alive." Evie smiled in relief, if she was still alive then Evie was willing to bet that Jacob was too. "Where on earth have you been? You were supposed to go with Arthur Weaversbrook!"
Samantha smiled sheepishly at the older woman, it felt so odd to speak to Evie after regaining her memories. How should she approach this topic? "It's a long story and I'm positive we don't have time to discuss it. We got a madman to kill."
Evie almost argued with Samantha, still preferring that the young woman stayed out of the fight. However, Samantha was quick to point out that Evie would need help dealing with Jack. Even if it was something as simple as just diverting his attention for just a split second, anything small could make such a difference.
"Alright..but should anything go wrong...."
"I shall like run away as if my mother is throwing her chanclas at me!" Samantha grinned like a fool and ignored Evie's attempt to understand what that even was.
"Right, let's find whatever clues Jack has left for me." Samantha followed Evie's lead and was admittedly bothered by the maniacal laughter that they were hearing.
"These aren't the everyday crazies," Samantha whispered to Evie. "They seem like a special kind of crazy."
"Perhaps they're the more disturbed inmates."
Evie suggested, "Jack wouldn't pick just anyone to roam these halls."
Samantha made a slight hum before they found a stair case that had a few inmates roaming around and one Rook supervising them. One inmate, who was the closest to them, was curled into a ball and rocking back and forth. Another was running around like an annoyingly hyperactive child.
Evie silently instructed Samantha to stay put and she quickly dealt with the first inmate in her sight. However, she had accidentally tipped off the one who was running around and, by extension, the other three people in the room with them.
"Get her!" The Rook shouted to the inmates, sparking their need for violence it seemed.
Samantha didn't intend on reacting, she really didn't as she knew it might incur the wrath of Evie, however she found herself in the fight without realizing it. Her hidden blade was lodged into one man's throat and she had the other locked into a choker hold. Once she dislodged her blade, she slit the other man's throats and stabbed him in the back. Evie took care of the last two men before glaring at Samantha a bit.
"It just happened," Samantha told her with a small apologetic smile. "I'm serious, it was just a reflex!"
Evie simply sighed and motioned for Samantha to follow her. She couldn't judge Samantha for her reactions and now wasn't the time to ask questions. So instead, they both went to find some clue that Jack could have left for Evie.
It wasn't that hard to find though, they stumbled upon the room filled with corpses when Samantha carelessly jumped though a window into an old lecture hall. Which wasn't one of her best ideas as she ended up landing on a corpse who made a sound as she landed on him. Yes, the man was probably freshly slaughtered but she didn't expect a shit ton of blood to shoot out his mouth.
"Ah!" She yelped, earning a slight chuckle from Evie. Samantha shot the twin a glare and blushed in embarrassment as Evie climbed down with ease. "D-Don't laugh at me!! You should know by now that I'm not graceful!"
Evie merely smiled as shrugged, "I suppose, it doesn't make much of a difference though."
Samantha made a slight growling sound and carefully got off the body. As she brushed herself off, Evie announced that Jack was waiting for them in the basement.
"So there is a basement in this madhouse," Samantha said as she followed the Assassin out of the room. "What's the plan?"
Evie considered that and sighed, "I'm not sure what to expect from him this time, however, I must ask you not follow me for a moment."
"Hm?"
"I don't have much of an idea of what kind of fight this might be, if you truly wish to help then it would be best if you waited before joining me."
Samantha wasn't a hundred percent sure she liked where Evie was going but, agreed none the less. If she tried to argue with, Evie would refuse her help period. "Alright, but don't think I'll let you do this alone."
"Wouldn't dream of it." Evie smiled and they continued to descend into an abyss of the madhouse. When they reached their destination, Evie only gave Samantha a warning glance before leaving.
Well if looks could kill... She thought to herself as she calmly waited for her time to waltz down there to assist. It was rather eerie to her that the place where Jack was to be waiting for them was so close to where he had hidden her. Also, she was just standing and waiting in an insane asylum kind out in the open when there was a bunch of loonies roaming about.
Yes, she and Evie dealt with a few on their way here but, that might not have put a dent in the population of inmates. She could still hear quite a few men laughing in the distance and the sounds of their feet from running around. She didn't like asylums anyways and visiting one was never on her bucket list; this experience pretty much solidified her resolve to never go near an asylum again.
"Looks like you're lost." Samantha hadn't the time to react when she felt someone shove her down the staircase. "Although, perhaps you might need a couple nights stay here."
Samantha hit the tile floor hard and yelped in pain as she landed on her hidden blade. The blade had somehow unsheathed itself during her fall and stabbed her in the side. Nowhere lethal of course. She rolled onto her hands and groaned as she touched the wound.
"Shit..." she mumbled to herself, biting back the tears. She heard foot steps follow her and she looked up to see a slightly familiar face. "You're...the Rook they arrested..."
The man nodded as he came closer, "I guess that's one way for you to remember me..."
Samantha narrowed her eyes in confusion and slowly got up from her spot on the ground. "What do you mean one way to remember you? We've not met before."
"Still playing that card, huh?" The man sighed in noticeable annoyance. "You don't remember a teenage lad who adored you? Trained with you? Fell hopelessly in love with you? Whose heart you broke?!"
With that last angry question, the man lunged at her and slammed her into a wall. While she was prepared for the attack, she hadn't realized just how much stronger this man was than her. He had her pinned and she was seeing stars as he held his arm against her throat. He applied enough pressure to make it difficult for her to breath but, not enough to kill her right away.
As Samantha struggled for air, memories flashed through her mind again. Someone who adored her, trained with her, fell in love with her? A gasp escaped her lips and tears formed, this was Adam!
"A-A...." she tried to call his name, she tried to reach out to him, however, Adam's hatred toward her was strong. "A-Adam...please.."
Hearing her call his name seemed to upset him even more as he threw her half way across the room. She landed against an old gurney and fell awkwardly to the floor.
"Don't think you can plead you're way out of this Samantha," Adam growled at her as if she was just a weak girl.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Samantha growled back as she rubbed her back. "I never did anything wrong to you. And supposedly breaking your heart shouldn't have made you this much of a maniac!"
Adam lunged toward her again, however, Samantha was more prepared this time and dove to her left. She quickly stood up and had her blades ready to kill.
"You know nothing." He told her with a dark glare, "You don't know what I've done for you, what I put myself through just to prove I was better than Jacob."
As he turned toward her, Samantha noticed that there was something gravely wrong with Adam. He didn't look like he was all there in the head anymore. His eyes were blank and she felt like he was stuck in the past, always looking back at his youth with her.
"And what might you have done?" She asked softly, her guard was still up but she wondered what had happened to the young boy she was once friends with.
"I wanted you." He said calmly, "I killed so many Blighters, learned how to hide my own disgust for my actions until I couldn't feel anymore...."
When he trailed off, Samantha fully realized that there was more wrong with Adam than she initially thought. He was disturbed, almost like Jack was...
"I did it for you!" He snarled as he tried to slug her. She ducked and punched him in the gut, kicking back with her left foot.
"I don't fucking recall asking you to!" She tried to kick him again but, he managed to catch her foot and yanked her enough for her to fall again. She was quick to get back on her feet and charged at him much like she used to with the old Blighters. She tried to shove her blades into his throat however, he was prepared for her attacked and grabbed both of her wrists.
Undeterred, she twisted her wrists so that she could grab his own and yanked him toward her as she could bash her head into his face. She got him two more times before kicking him into the wall. There was blood everywhere as she had broken his nose and maybe even knocked out a couple of teeth from her attack. With him occupied with his own pain, she lunged toward him and shoved her blades into his gut.
Adam made a sickening gurgle sound and instead of trying to fight back or even push her away, he just started to weep. Samantha watched in confusion and shock as he cried, pleading for forgiveness.
"What are you going on about?" She asked in whispered.
"He wouldn't stop asking for you," he spoke in a hurried tone, almost like he was babbling. He kept repeating that a few times before muttering something she couldn't understand. "I didn't mean to do it."
"Do what?" She asked only to never get another response. Adam's vacant eyes stared back at her, forcing her to gently close them as she had been taught. "Rest in piece, Adam."
Gently laying his corpse down, Samantha stood up and glanced around. She needed to get to Evie and fast.
֍
Evie stuck to the shadows as she tried her best to avoid any direct contact with Jack. He wasn't someone she could easily beat with a straightforward approach, she needed to use her stealth and wait for the right time to deal a lethal blow. She had gotten twice already but, the bastard would not die. As she hid in the shadows, she heard Samantha upstairs and silently hoped the girl was handling the problem on her own.
"Seems your partner may have been dealt with," Jack spoke aloud in a mocking tone, his patience with Evie was wearing thin but the thought of disposing Samantha brought him satisfaction. The girl meant something to Evie as did Jacob, killing everyone she loved would surely enrage the assassin. "Pity, she seemed to be quite the promising fighter. I would have loved to make her my apprentice."
Evie fought the urge leap out and strike blindly, she knew he was provoking her and kept hoping he was wrong. Samantha wouldn't die so easily, not now. Her opportunity to strike would come soon, she just had to wait.
"I've had enough of these games, come out and face your fate."
"How about you face yours, Jack The Freak!" Evie gasped as Samantha's voice echoed in the room. She did survive! And she was mocking the Ripper....Evie should have guessed that Samantha wouldn't cease her badmouthing ways even when faced with such a monstrous killer...
"So the girl survived..." Jack made a sound of annoyance before throwing a fear bomb. Samantha wasn't within the range of the bomb's gas, however, Evie was. While Evie struggled to not inhale the gas, Jack released several other inmates who were held in the basement cells.
"Jack The Ripper cannot die!" They heard him shout over the wails and growls of the inmates. "Those women think you're mad! Free yourselves and kill them!"
"Oh come the fuck on!" Samantha growled as she fended off two men who happened to see her. "You're a coward, Jack!"
"Coward?" They heard Jack echo through the room, "This world needs fear!"
Evie hurried to Samantha's side and aided her in dealing with the few inmates that were released. For the most part, these men were nothing compared to assassins while a small number of them were capable of defending themselves. Even so, the women still cut them down without much trouble.
"I know you blame Jacob for the death of your mother, Jack," Evie called to the killer, anger and a hint sadness was laced within the tone of her voice. "However, nothing can excuse the horrors you've committed."
Samantha dodged an inmate's swing while simultaneously upper cutting another man. She was quick to slay a few of the men, but not quite as efficient as she used to be. Still, she was in enough shape to handle herself and that was all that mattered.
"My legend will live on forever," Jack called back to Evie, "I will haunt men through time!"
Samantha took down the last inmate when she heard Evie grunt. Believing something horrible had occurred, Samantha hurried to Evie's side only to find a dying Jack being laid to rest.
"We are the same, you and I." Jack laughed softly to himself.
"You were an assassin, yes, but we are not the same," Evie told the dying man with a solemn tone, she was laying the beast to rest finally. The monster she and her brother had unknowingly created was done for. "And that is why your memory must be erased for all time."
Standing over the two Assassins, Samantha heard the soft sound of a groan behind her. Picking up the discarded keys that fell from Jack's pocket, Samantha hurried to the cell and opened it to reveal a horribly injured Jacob Frye.
"Jacob..." Samantha stood in shock at the doorway for a moment before hurrying over to her old lover. Jack had done a lot to the Master Assassin; blood that was both old and new stained his aging features and robes. "Oh Jacob, what happened to you..?"
Jacob only groaned, unable to speak or even understand what was happening around him. Samantha took him into her arms and cradled him as Evie placed the dead killer in the cell. The two women gently touched Jacob as the sounds of police men hurried down the stairs to them.
"Miss Frye!" Evie's head shot up as the Inspector's voice echoed in the room. He appeared at the doorway within seconds, assessing the scene. "What the hell happened here?"
Samantha ignored Evie and the inspector as she whispered softly into Jacob's ear. "It's okay Jacob, we'll take care of you."