#deadly class sysfy

[written-in-flowers]

Legacy: Chapter 4

Summary: “You’ll be surprised how many people don’t know they have Assassin’s blood in them.” Maelyn Dorian is about to find out exactly which person. (Assassin’s Creed/Deadly Class crossover)

Pairing: Marcus x Original female character

Genres: Action, Romance, Angst, Smut

Rating: M for mature (graphic scenes of violence, sexual content, drug and alcohol use, mentions of death)

Word count: 3k

A/N: If you want a link to chapter one or can’t find it in the tag either message/inbox me and I’ll give it. Idk why the Tumblr Monster isn’t letting me :( It’s also on my AO3 account.

Tagged: @sargesbestgirl @flowercrowns3438 (note: if anyone else would like to get tagged, let me know.)

Chapter 4: The Grey

A wonder. A wonder that intrigued him. Most people simply tolerated his rants about society’s hypocrisy and unfairness. She’d indulged him; bounced off his ideas like a tennis match. Her words and the way she'd said struck him. She too saw the world for what it really was and hated it. But, she did more than hate it; she wanted to do something about it. She wanted to kill the person who’d taken someone from her. She’d clearly learned a lot about him; he believed her when she said she’d kill him one day. Walking beside her up to Shabnam’s house, he felt stumped on what to say. He should say something suave and cool that gets her attention. But whenever he looked to her, the words bunched up in his throat. She looked heavenly. Her pink and blue midriff hung from one shoulder, teasing him with her stomach and waistline. The mini skirt didn’t help either; he nearly drooled over her soft thighs and legs. His hormones went into overdrive thinking of being between them.

“Wow,” she said as they reached the house, “That’s a lot of people.”

The entire school came. People hung outside on the lawn drinking beer, while the skater kids rode around on their boards. Drinks flowed around freely while he got hints of cigarettes or weed in the air. The music blasted from a brand new stereo system that they’d connected to two large speakers. He felt the energy in the room filling him up as he and Maelyn followed Billy through the house in search of his first drink. The day wore on him. Rory wore on him. Even the damned door preyed on his thoughts throughout the day. He planned to destroy the visions of what he’d done. He still recalled the pain in his arms from the bashing; the way his biceps burned and shoulders ached. The exact moment where pipe met skull came back to him in a horrible blur. He’d get rid of it tonight. They walked passed a small room of people dancing into the kitchen and through into a lounge area. Lex, as per usual, annoyed any person he could find before turning around to see them. He handed them their first beers of the night, and Marcus didn’t wait to drink.

Maelyn popped open hers, but didn’t drink immediately. She held it tentatively as if it might bite her. The three watched her give it a sniff, wrinkle her nose before Lex said, “Come on and drink it. One isn’t gonna hurt.”

Cracking under the need to fit in and the pressure of her new pals, Maelyn took a gulp. Billy and Lex cheered, but he only grinned. He saw her hide a gag from the bitter taste, and couldn’t help awe at her. She forced herself to keep drinking regardless of taste. Not that anyone drank beer for the taste. While the three chatted, he scanned the room for what he really wanted: drugs.  

“Well look who’s gracing us with her Legacy presence!” Lex said as she came to them, “And in public no less!”

“Rules are different outside of school.”

Saya. Shorted haired, slender, dressed in black, she’d initially been the reason he joined King’s. He’d tried running from it before. He’d tried running from it all. He’d been standing where his parents died until she came to his rescue. ‘What do you have to lose?’ she’d asked him that night. She’d kissed him. The taste of her lipstick, the smell of her hair in the wind made him dizzy standing on that ledge. He’d thought they’d continue talking; maybe they’d become friends. But once again, life proved him wrong. Sipping his beer, he forgot about her. At school, her Legacy status meant she couldn’t talk to him. The Kuroki Syndicate wouldn’t forgive her if she started hanging out with him at school. But strangely at a party it didn’t matter. He didn’t understand the point of the class system.

Maelyn. Now, Maelyn he can talk to whenever, wherever.

Saya noticed Maelyn right away, “Hey, you’re the new girl, right?”

“Um yeah,” she said, sticking out her hand, “Maelyn.”

“Saya.” He couldn’t help noticing her eyeing Maelyn. Another admirer? “I heard from one of my crew you aced Denke’s poison exam.”

“Well, it’s not like it’s hard, is it?” Maelyn shrugged. “It was a simple acid based poison at a low Ph level for minimum damage. I personally would choose some more plant-based if I poisoned anyone, since they’re harder to trace and can look more natural. But I suppose acidity works if you wanna get a point…” she stopped when she noticed them watching her. She gave a slight cough, “Um, sorry.”

“And have you?” Billy asked.

“Have I what?”

“Poisoned someone.”

She looked between the three of them before saying, “In a way? I used to make poisons for my dad whenever he wanted a clean attempt. Well, as clean as you can get with poisons.”

He’d blocked out the conversation at this point. He’d lost himself in trying to find anyone who might sell to him. There must be one dealer around here somewhere. He saw a group of Hessians-kids in black t-shirts with long hair-passing a joint amongst them, and knew.

“Do you always carry that katana?” Maelyn asked Saya halfway through.

“I do. It’s a sign of honor where I’m from.”

He spotted a large balding man in a green coat walking across the room. Yes! “Is that Shabnam’s old man?” he asked.

“Nah, he’s with the Hessians,” Billy answered. “Probably a pederast.”

“Let’s go make friends with him.”

“I am not getting buggered for a joint again,” said Lex.

Marcus made his way to the dealer. He stood by the fishtank teaching a long-haired Hessian about gravity bongs. Marcus didn’t care where his high came from, as long as it came. In a reflection in the window, the world went red again. His chest tightened and his head spun as Rory began laughing at him through a sea of crimson. No. No, wouldn’t let him get to him. Nihil est verum. Omne quod licet. Nihil est verum. Omne quod licet. He repeated the strange mantra in his head, squeezing his eyes shut and shaking Rory from sight. He needed a high. He needed another beer.

****

“....I post up, right? Tryin’ to do what I gotta. Comes at the dome, dodge that, hit him with one, pop right back up, back in my face. Dude had a screwdriver, so I did what I had to…”

Willie didn’t stop. He’d gone about what he’d supposedly done all day. Marcus immediately wished he hadn’t helped him. It’d been a class assignment: kill somebody who deserved it and bring back proof. Marcus helped him find Rory in their little shanty town under the bridge, but once Willie pulled out his gun, he backed out. He claimed to be a pacifist who didn’t believe in killing. He’d been forced to the school by his mother. Marcus did it for him. Marcus did everything for everyone. He always put his neck on the line for complete strangers. While Willie gloated, he leaned against a wall downing a bottle of vodka he’d taken from the bar. He forced himself to not think of Rory or the redness. He’d forget the entire thing ever happened.

Was he a bad person for doing what he did? He’d taken a human life. Granted, it’d been a horrible human, but still human. Rory no longer walked the earth because of him. In actuality, he was no different than regular murderers and thieves. He went to a school for assassins; he should expect that kind of assignment. The storm raged inside him with crashing oceans and thunder. He hadn’t gotten the high from the Hessian’s dealer, so he stuck to Shabnam’s bar which supplied plenty of drinks. The vodka bottle empty, he’d need another drink. Then another and another and another until any memory of Rory and that night left his mind. He’ll drink forever if it meant forgetting.

“...And then I grabbed that pipe and wham! Knocked his lights out!”

He wouldn’t shut up. Marcus needed him to shut up. He pulled out his walkman and on came the headphones. He’d planned on shutting everyone out before a flowery scent reached his nose again. Maelyn stood in front of him arms crossed.

“What kind of guy invites a girl to a party and then leaves her hanging for drugs?” she didn’t sound upset. In fact, she didn’t sound surprised at all.

Guilt hit him like a bullet in the gut. “An idiot, I guess,” he said.

She gingerly took the headphones from him and placed them over her ears. She snickered, “The Smiths? Not exactly party music, is it?”

“No, but it’s honest and brave...unlike some I know.” He forced himself not to look at Willie nearby.

“What do you mean?” she handed him back his headphones, which he held idly in his hand.

“Nothing. It’s nothing. Really.”

“Doesn’t seem like nothing if you’re drowning yourself in it,” she noted.

“Look, it’s not like you know me-”

“-But I know when someone is running from something.” Despite her height, she stood her ground. “Does this have to do with that Willie kid?”

“Wait, you know him?”

“We have Criminal History together,” she said. “He let me borrow his pen. He’s actually really sweet. He’d been bragging about his Black Arts assignment all day in class.”

“Probably because he wants to screw you. You know, like every other guy you run into.” Rory’s laughter filled his head. Willie’s story droned on and on nearby to anyone who’d listen. Nihil est verum. Omne quod licet.

“It’s not like I ask for it,” she replied. “Are you always this big of an asshole or is it because of me?”

It’d never be her. She shouldn’t be around someone like him who’s so broken and angry. He’d bring nothing but misery for her. “Like I said, you barely know me.”

Frustration went across her face, “But I would’ve liked to.”

The words made the entire thing even worse. She stormed away from him into the party. He felt like an idiot. She would’ve liked to know him. But would she like him once she did? Would she like him after hearing his whole reputation is a sham and he’s just another lonely kid? He hated imagining the rejection. He leaned against the archway, sticking the walkman back in his pocket and saw her. She stood with Petra and Saya looking annoyed. She wasn’t drinking the beer anymore; she’d moved to a red cup instead. He’d hurt her. He saw it in her snappy replies to Petra’s gentleness and Saya’s wisdom. He should apologize. He should go to her, take her in his arms and kiss her.

“You ain’t gonna get any if you just stand there lookin’ at her.”

Willie, dressed in a tracksuit with a gold chain, came up beside him. “I’m not looking at her,” he lied.

“I don’t blame you for it,” he said. He gazed in her direction, “She’s fine as hell. Hella smart too. She blew everybody away in Criminal History.”

“You take Criminal History?”

“Hey, a man can like crime documentaries, can’t he?” he defended. “Besides, we improve ourselves by learning from our mistakes in the past.” He observed Marcus a bit longer, then said, “You scared of her?”

“No.”

“There ain’t no reason to be. She’s little. She won’t bite-”

“-You’re the last person to talk about being brave,” Marcus snapped.

“Whining about not getting with some cute girl ain’t brave.”

“It’s hard to be fearless about sadness.”

“It’s hard to...what?”

“Some people hide it,” he’d change the subject to anything but Maelyn. “Like it’s a weakness.” He looked right into Willie’s eyes as he said, “Acting so fucking tough…”

Willie paused, looking at him back, “You ain’t got a rep. People will see you weak and come at you.”

“Let them. Better to expose your ankles and see which snakes bite.”

“Then you’re in the wrong place, because here at King’s Dominion, we all bite.” He added, “Now you better go talk to that girl before that other dude does.”

“What other dude?”

Willie walked away without answering. Marcus looked back to the bar where she’d been a moment before. He searched around the room for her, finding her dancing by herself. She went off like a firecracker to the music; moving her body along to the beat with everyone else. He liked the way she giggled off the feeling of her own giddiness. If he hadn’t known better, he’d thought she was drunk. Perhaps that’s what her pursuer thought. He glanced around the crowd and spotted him. The man wore a long black coat over a Whitesnake shirt. By his scraggly hair and beard, he must be with the Hessian dealer. He stood in a corner with a few of the headbangers, watching Maelyn closely. Marcus tried rationalizing even in his slightly tipsy state. He could be looking at someone else. He might be staring off into space in some kind of drug induced trance. But then he confirmed his suspicions when Maelyn made her way into the center of the room, the man’s eyes followed. The instinct jumped out of him. The same one that got him in trouble every time.

He strode into the flood of dancers and drinkers towards her. She gave a yelp when he grabbed her, spinning her to his chest. Immediately, Maelyn yanked herself from him.

“What are you doing?” she sniped.

“Dance with me,” he said quickly, taking her hand again.

“First, you ditch me to get high. Then you go off and sulk in a corner, and now you want to dance?” A little viper. That’s what she was. “You’re drunk, Marcus.”

He reached for her a third time and didn’t let go. He took her by the waist, put one of her hands on his shoulder and held up the other. All the alcohol and cigarette smoke filtered out her perfume; her lip gloss faded in the time since they arrived. For a brief moment, he wanted to kiss the rest off.

“Let go of me!” she attempted to free herself, but he held her tight.

“There’s a guy following you,” he hissed in her ear. He pretended to be kissing her neck as he said, “Willie says he’s been stalking you.”

Her body stiffened in his embrace. He heard her gulp thickly, “What guy?”

“Dude in a black coat and Whitesnake shirt,” he whispered in her ear. “Don’t-Don’t look at him. Just stay close to me, okay?”

“Oh, is Captain Superdrunk gonna protect me? That guy will throw you down like a rag doll.”

“I’m not going to let somebody hurt you.”

“Why? Do you have a thing with getting into fights with people?”

“No, I have a thing for sticking my neck out for complete strangers. Call it a hero complex.” Also, he’d never live with himself if he let anything happen to her. They kept a slow dance to the high-tempo music. He liked this, he realized. She felt different. He’d never danced with anyone before, but it came so naturally to him with her. He spun her around, earning a small giggle when he came back to him. Their bodies became magnets completely stuck together. Neither said anything for a while, not seeing the point considering the loud music.

“I don’t like the attention,” she suddenly said. “I don’t like people looking at me. It’s only my first day and three guys have already tried flirting with me.”

“Three?”

“Lex, this Hessian guy just now and that Russian guy, Victor. It’s disgusting. They have absolutely no shame or conscious. It’s like I’m a conquest they’re all fighting over. I showed a little bit of kindness and suddenly it means I wanna screw them.” She sighed, “Maybe I should start being a bitch. Saya says it’s safer like that; nobody touches you.”

“No, no,” he shook his head, “Don’t think like that. You shouldn’t change yourself because of other people. Shit like that works for Saya because she’s got that katana, but you...” He checked over her shoulder, seeing the creeper still standing there avoiding eye contact. “You’re not like that.”

“You barely know me,” she repeated his words back. “How do you know I’m changing who I am?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “I just kinda get this feeling off of you. Call it a hunch.”

The music changed to an equally up-beat song, but they continued their slow dancing. When they made a turn, she spotted him. Fear hit her like a wave. Her hand quivered in Marcus’s and she stayed close to him. He held her tightly, leaving only inches between their faces.

“You know him,” he murmured, “Don’t you?”

“No. He’s-He’s just, you know, like creepy and stuff.”

All thought of drinking his sorrows left him when he saw it. The fear she desperately tried hiding. He knew it because he once feared the same way. Those late nights in the boys home, praying that he’d get to sleep a full night without hands touching him. The constant worry he might upset his bunk mate and be mutilated for fun. Worrying about being beaten or whipped for ‘disobedience’ brought on the fear Maelyn showed now. The fear of somebody chasing you; having to watch your back all the time. A single misstep and the danger caught you.

“Let’s get out of here,” he said to her, pressing his forehead to hers. This time she didn’t push him away. “Get lost for a while somewhere else.” He hardly knew her, but wanted her with him.

“Okay. Yeah. Let’s do that.”

She took his hand and led him through the crowd. He’d expected they’d go out the front, but instead she guided him into the kitchen. Consistently, she checked over her shoulder for the man. She made sure they stuck to big groups where they’d be less noticeable. He took in how silently she walked, like a cloud gliding through the air, yet kept a normal pace. He said nothing to her as they walked outside. She looked around again before reaching a side gate. He was about to tell her it was locked but then she withdrew a lockpick. More and more Maelyn continued amazing him.

“This way,” she gestured for him to follow her. Once he entered the small side entrance, she locked the gate behind them.

“Can you please explain to me why we’re sneaking around?” he asked annoyed. “The creeper isn’t gonna follow you for this long.”

“Just come on,” she said. “You can buy me ice cream for being a dick earlier.”

Shabnam’s parents kept the side way as a storage for landscaping equipment. The pair passed rows of potted plants, bags of manure, gardening supplies and a lawn mower. Even in the dimness, he had no trouble guiding through the way. He’d done it in the boys home all the time. While everyone slept, he’d creep through the dark corridors for his supplies like a mouse. His eyes adjusted to darkness easily, and he never questioned why. Nobody ever caught him. Just like they hadn’t caught him making the bomb.

“There you are,” a raspy voice said ahead of them. His body bumped into Maelyn’s and they looked at him. The creeper must’ve used the front entrance as Marcus first suggested they’d do. “He’s not supposed to be here,” he said, looking at Marcus, “You were supposed to be alone.”

“Stay back,” Maelyn’s sweet tone suddenly became cold. “There’s no point cornering me here. People will see you. Go back to your master, lapdog.”

“Nobody saw me coming in,” the man replied in a toothy grin. “They won’t see me coming out.” Marcus recognized a flash of silver glint in the light from the windows. He thought somebody might see them, but as the man said, the party raged on. “Now, you’ll come quietly with me, girl, after I handle your friend.”

Marcus blocked Maelyn from view. “Handle yourself, creep.”

“Oooh, saucey boy,” the man cackled. A deep wound opened inside Marcus. He knew another person who cackled like that, but no. He’s dead.

He was given no time for reflecting. The man gave a single swing of his blade but ended up missing Marcus by inches. The shock froze him for a second; a fight was the last thing he wanted. Marcus kept Maelyn behind him when the man took another swipe. He laughed at Marcus’s feeble attempts to dodge him. He won’t let him hurt Maelyn. The small space left him barely any room. At a third swipe, Marcus took his chance. He made to charge at him, but then something rushed by him. A few feet from them laid a rusty spade, blunt from years of digging into the earth. Marcus barely processed it before Maelyn ran and bounced off the wall, kicking the man across the head. When she landed, she threw a punch square into his face and then another to his jaw. He gathered his wits quickly and slashed the knife at her, but she dodged every swing. She moved so fluidly and quickly Marcus’s booze-influenced brain had trouble keeping up. She grabbed a nearby gardening fork that she used to block his knife. When the creeper thrusted it forward to her chest, she hooked the fork on it so it sailed out of his hand.

“Get out of here,” she told Marcus over her shoulder. She slammed the small gardening fork upside the man’s face, making him stumble to one side.

“No, I’m not leaving you.”

“Go!”

It all seemed too real. It couldn’t possibly be happening again. His heart pounded in his ears and he couldn’t steady his breathing. Rory’s menacing laughter came back to him in the redness; he was laughing at him. Scared. Frozen. Useless. He looked on as Maelyn fought off her attacker. The man swung a right hook that caught Maelyn in the cheek, causing her to nearly fall. She swayed for a second, leaning a hand on the wall to regain her breath. Seeing her cheek red in the light, a sudden rage went through him. Marcus charged past as the man moved to her and wrapped his arms around his torso. Hitting the center of his gut, the man doubled over Marcus and began punching at his stomach. Angry blows hit right on the older man’s kidneys, which made him jolt. He easily threw Marcus into the house wall and advanced to Maelyn, who was ready.

She moved like lightning, striking hard and fierce at the man several times. It was as if she’d been unleashed; as if she’d wanted to do this all day. The man didn’t go down easily. Eventually beating her to the ground, he pinned her down and put the knife to her throat. Reality snapped back into Marcus, who then rushed forward to them. A swift kick to his face distracted the man, making his head tilt upwards and blood spew from his nose. Maelyn took this opportunity to roll him onto his back. A single hit from the back of the spade knocked him out cold.

When Maelyn stood up panting and sweating, she met his eyes. “What the fuck was that?” he asked incredulously. “Who is this guy?”

“It doesn’t matter. Just go back to the party.”

She tried pushing him back down the side of the house, but he stopped her. “I’m not going until you answer me: what the fuck just happened? Was that guy after you? Why? Did your dad get in trouble or something? And where’d you learn to fight like that? You were super fast and took him down like nothing. I’ve never seen that. What’s going on?”

“Trust me, Marcus,” she said, “It’s better if you don’t know anything. If we’re lucky, he’ll forget he saw you.”

“Why would that matter?” he took her hand, “Is somebody after you? Do they want to hurt you?”

“Just go back to the party and forget it.” She freed herself from him and began going down the lane.

“Well, where are you going then?” he followed behind, his back beginning to ache from being thrown to a wall.

“Back to school.”

“A guy just tried to kill us and you wanna go walking on your own?” they reached the end of the side where they faced an opened gate. “Maelyn, what’s going on? Why did he try to kill you?”

She turned and looked at him imploringly, “Get back to the party, Marcus, please.”

He stayed behind her even as she sped up. Once they reached the large tree in the yard, he lost her in the group around it. He searched around the place for her. He wanted to talk to her, at least comfort her. Someone came at her with a knife; she went walking alone in the dark. She shouldn’t be by herself. What if she got hurt again?

As he looked around, the world changed. Not into the deep red Rory brought, but a ghostly gray. It came over everyone like mist. The partygoers turned nearly opaque in the fogginess, though he still made out their shapes. This had occurred twice before. The first time happened when he lost his parents at the fair. He’d cried like mad, looking around for them by a cotton candy station until the world turned misty. The second time had been that night in the boys’ home. He’d tried catching a glimpse of the guards stationed around the house; the world became a grey backdrop for the golden figures. As he’d done then, he stared around until he found her. A gleaming speck of gold stood out in the sea of gray far ahead of him. He wouldn’t catch her now. He let her go for tonight. The real world appeared before his eyes as if nothing changed, and he went back into the house.

He spent most of the night wondering about Maelyn Dorian and if she was who she said she was