The Nemesis Brotherhood
Oneshot
Mitchsen
Rating: T

TW: Violence & Bloodshed

When I was still a little girl, they took my mother's eyes away; they broke her and left her there to die. Since then, I trained and trained until I became the best assassin. Until I could cut someone in pieces with a single knife. Since then, my only goal in life is revenge.

"Merda." I mumbled to myself, holstering my knife at my hip before sighing. I had lost them again. I groaned before disappearing into the crowded streets of Venice once again. Back to the shadows. Back into waiting. Just waiting for the Nemesis Brotherhood to surface again. I gritted my teeth at the mere thought of the clan that stole the only good thing in my life.

I was only a little girl, living in Milan with my mother. We weren't well off but we did alright all things considering. My father had disappeared when I was a baby, leaving my mother to care for me, alone. I often wondered what my life would be have been if my father had stayed. But at the same time, I also knew I was lucky to have what I did. My mother could have easily lost me when my father disappeared. That wasn't uncommon on the streets to Milan. But my mother truly loved me.

We lived in a small place on one of the poorer side streets of the city. My mother worked daily as a merchant, selling wares I scavenged from various places. I was glad to help my mother provide for our small family. In fact, I took pride in the fact I could be self-sufficient.

One late afternoon, it was nearing sundown and my mother hadn't returned from the city square where she sold her wares. And I began to get nervous. My mother had always returned home before sunset. Usually bringing our daily allowance of food, typically a small amount of bread and occasionally some meat when we could spare the extra coin.

But today, the sky was darkening to a fiery orange color and my mother had not yet returned. So a young Beca Mitchell took to the streets of Milan in search of her mother. Obviously, I went to the city square where my mother usually set up shop, but there was no sign of her. Or her wares. So I went to visit the shops where we usually bought our food.

When the young Italian girl reached her destination the shopkeeper told her that he had not seen her mother that day. I bowed her head, thanking the man before walking away. I was beginning to panic now. My mother had been able to leave the city square but never made it to the shop I decided to retrace my steps in hope of finding my mother.

That's when I heard it. A pained groan from a dark side street. My mind racing and my heart praying, I carefully headed in the direction of the sound. When I reached the dark alley, I nearly screamed. I saw my mother, lying in a pool of blood. I rushed to her side, forgetting that the people that had done this to my mother might still be around.

Tears streaming from my young eyes, I wanted to call for help. But there was no one around. As if by magic, the street had emptied. So instead I knelt down by my mother, who, to my horror, had blood dripping from her eye sockets, her beautiful blue eyes having been gouged out of her head. I was horrified and wanted to be sick to my stomach. But I had to be strong for my mother. "Mom." I whispered shakily, reaching out for one of her blood stained hands.

Luckily for me, my mother was still alive, if only just and grasped my hand. She seemed to recognize my voice. "Beca." She whispered. "Why are you here? You…." She coughed. "You should be at home. Safe." She managed to gasp out.

"I worried about you. When you didn't return home, I went out looking for you. And I find this." I cried. "Who did this to you?" I questioned, desperate for answers before the inevitable happened.

"I wish I had been able to save you from this, my sweet child." She said, reaching her blood covered hand, I think trying to reach for my face. To feel the face of her child before she passed into the next life. I grabbed it and held her hand to my cheek, disregarding the bloody handprint I knew would be there later.

"What will I do without you?" I sobbed.

"Find…" She coughed again, this time, a trickle of blood dripping from her lip. "Find Fazio Beale. Tell him…" She gasped. "Tell him that Nemesis Brotherhood has struck again. He will know. He will take you in." Tears dripped down my cheek.

"I don't want to be taken in. I want to live with you, mom." I struggled out. My mother caressed my cheek.

"You know that will not be possible, Cara mia. Find Fazio. He will help you. I believe he has a daughter only a few years older than you. You always said you wanted a sister." My mother smiled gently at me, even though she could no longer see me. "I love you Beca. Never forget." She whispered before I felt her hand go limp in mine. I knew that my mother had been stolen from me. I wept for her before cursing the gods and a fire ignited in my belly.

I would find this Fazio. I would find out all I could about the Nemesis Brotherhood. And I would make them pay for stealing my mother from me. The only good thing I had in my life. They would pay. I would make them feel my pain.

As I leaned against the stone wall, hidden in shadows, I waited. The Brotherhood was searching again. I could tell. I had been searching for them for years, since that day. Each year they kidnapped a young girl off the streets of an Italian city. This year it was Venice's turn. This year I would not let them get away with it. I had failed every year since I started searching. I would not fail this year.

After I found the will to leave my mother's body, I sought Fazio Beale. It wasn't too difficult to find him. I had no idea how my mother knew him though since he seemed to be a wealthy merchant in the city. But I knocked on his door timidly, hoping that he wouldn't turn me away. The door had opened to reveal a young girl, looking to be a few years older than me with bright red hair. "Oh dear, what happened to you?" She semi-yelled at me.

"Is Fazio Beale home?" I asked weakly. The girl nodded before grabbing my hand, no regard for the blood that stained it, shutting the door behind us.

"Papa! Come quick." The girl yelled. "I'm Chloe, Chloe Beale." The girl smiled brightly at me. I nodded.

"Beca. Mitchell." I managed to choke out before a large man came walking into the entryway.

"Chloe… what is…" He faltered at the sight of me. He gasped before bending down to examine me.

"You poor child, what happened?" He asked, checking me over for any signs of injury.

"My… my mother. She told me to tell you. The Nemesis Brotherhood has struck again." The man suddenly stopped. And looked me straight in the eye.

"Your mother… You are Beca?" I nodded, not knowing how his man knew me. He just shook his head.

"So… The prophecy has finally come to pass. Come, child, let us get you a bath and a new pair of clothes." He turned to his daughter. "Chloe, do you think you could find something for Beca to wear?" The redhead nodded.

"Yes, papa." She said before running off. The man took my hand, leading me through the house into what looked like a bathroom.

"I know you're confused right now, and I promise I will explain everything to you. But you need to clean yourself up first. I nodded and there begun the next chapter of my life.

As the sun began to set, I set myself on high alert, watching and waiting. Looking for a glimpse of the blood red wolf insignia of the Nemesis Brotherhood. They seemed to strike as the sun faded into night. I would not let another innocent woman fall victim to their hellish rituals.

I needed a better vantage point, so I climbed from my place on the ground to the rooftops of Venice. As I hopped from rooftop to rooftop, I watched for the wolves. I would not fail and I would get my revenge.

"I'm a what?" I asked Fazio. The man just nodded.

"You're the assassin the prophecy foretold." I frowned.

"You're trying to tell me that some magic voodoo told you that I'm destined to destroy this Nemesis Brotherhood and that your weird clan of assassins is going to train me to do that?" I asked skeptically.

"I know it's hard to believe Beca, but your mother knew it would be you who would end the reign of the Nemesis Brotherhood."

"What is this Brotherhood anyways?" I asked, trying to wrap my head around this amount of crazy.

"The Nemesis Brotherhood is a cult who worship a blood wolf named Faezor. The Brotherhood revere him as a god."

"I've never heard of this god," I said, confused.

"That's because Faezor is not a god, but a demon. The seek to find the chosen one who, supposedly, will raise Faezor from the depths of the world. Each year at this time, they steal a woman's eyes which are an ingredient in the dark ritual to summon this demon. But it cannot be any woman. There has been another such prophecy that has foretold some details about her."

"What does the prophecy say?" I asked, beginning to believe all of this. There was too much detail I had been told for it to be someone's fever dream.

"That, I do not know. The Assassins of the Corrupt, our order, has not yet been able to find it. What do you say Beca? Will you fulfill your destiny? Destroy the Nemesis Brotherhood and make sure Faezor will never rise from the fiery depths of the world?" I nodded, sealing my fate.

I saw a flash of black and the blood wolf insignia in the corner of my eye. I pulled a knife from my boot before pursuing the agents of the Brotherhood. They seemed to be following, no, herding, a blonde woman into a side alley. I would not fail again. They would not take the eyes of another innocent. Faezor would not rise this year. Or any year if I had it my way.

"Wow, Beca! You're really gifted. I think the prophecy was right." My best friend, no, sister, Chloe said. I shrugged, letting her up off the ground. Offering my hand to her.

"I guess. It just comes easily to me." My extremely exuberant friend huffed.

"Yeah, the Brotherhood and Faezor won't know what hit them." We both laughed. I had been training for years now. Chloe and I were on the brink of becoming fully fledged Assassins. And we'd be able to hunt the Brotherhood to extinction. I never forgot my mother. She was the reason I was here. And she was the reason I would succeed.

"I hope so," I said seriously. "Those murders will pay." I spat. Chloe looked at me sympathetically.

"You know I'm sorry about your mom." I nodded. Chloe and Fazio had been extremely kind to me when I had sought them out. My mother was right. They had taken me in as their own family. I owed my life to them. And I was determined to pay them back by eradicating the streets of Italy of the Brotherhood. Fazio's family had been Assassins of the Corrupt for as long as the Brotherhood existed. Doing this, I would succeed in doing what their family legacy was built on. To train the chosen Assassin. Destroying the Brotherhood. Avenging those innocent taken in the name of Faezor. They would all pay.

I saw the glint of a knife before pouncing on the agents of the Brotherhood. They had backed the innocent woman into the alley, her back against the wall with nowhere to escape. But all their attention was on her, so they didn't see me jump from the rooftops to plunge my knife into the taller of the three's neck, before withdrawing it, letting the blood pour out of the open wound. I pushed the dying man to the side, as the blonde woman whimpered, the other two agents turning to face me.

"Assassina." One of them hissed at me. I just smirked. I pulled one of the knives from my belt with my left hand and threw it. The knife lodged itself into the chest of the agent that had spoken to me. He grunted, grasping at the knife as the third agent advanced towards me, the blonde woman forgotten. I tried to subtly gesture for her to run, but she was frozen in fear.

This third agent must have been a shaman of the Brotherhood as he had been blessed with magical powers from Faezor. He conjured a ball of flame, the light bouncing up and down in his hand, waiting to be released. He threw it at me like one would throw a ball. I took a deep breath, pulling my own magic from within me, phasing into shadows. The ball of fire sailed harmlessly into the portal of shadows I had left before I phased behind the third agent, sticking my knife into his neck like the first.

"Vai all'inferno." He spat at me. "Faezor will rise. And you, Assassin will be his first meal before he bathes this world in flame and shadow." He said before I pulled my knife from his neck and me man died from the blood loss like his fellow agent.

I sneered at the agents. Wiping my knife clean of blood on the unstained part of his robes, I turned to grab my knife from the second agent's chest. As I turned, I saw the blonde woman the Brotherhood had been hunting. I had completely forgotten about her. I holstered my knife and raised my hands to show her that I meant no harm.

"I'm not here to hurt you," I said slowly, not sure if the woman spoke English or only Italian. Luckily for me, she seemed to speak English, though she did have a strong Italian accent.

"I… who were those men?" She asked, obviously fearful of them and of me. I tried to reassure her I wasn't a threat. And that all I wanted to do was protect her.

"They were a part of a demon worshiping cult," I said. The longer story was much more complicated and I needed to get this woman to a safe place. If the Brotherhood was going to target this woman this year, they would try again. Of that I was sure. "It's not safe here. I can take you to safety." She looked warily at me. I could tell she was trying to tell if I was trustworthy.

"Or I can just leave you here to get your eyes gouged out and left for dead. I offered. Not the best way to go about it, I know. But I was in a hurry. Her eyes widened and she nodded furiously.

"Okay, okay. I guess if you wanted to kill me, you would have by now." She reasoned. I nodded, a sudden bout of fatigue hitting me. As it always did when I used my Assassin abilities. Shadow phasing was not easy. It was a strain of my physical abilities, but I wasn't prepared for a shaman today. I offered her my hand.

She eyed it cautiously before grabbing it. I immediately felt a sudden shock, like I had a had been struck by lightning and I inhaled sharply. She went to jerk her hand out of mine, as I imagine she felt it too. But I grasped it so she couldn't. Her eyes met mine and I was greeted by a shade of deep green. And I felt lost. I felt confused.

I blinked, shaking my head, coming to my senses. I couldn't linger here much longer. Other agents or city guards would be coming any minute. "Do you trust me?" I asked hesitantly. She had no reason to. In fact, she probably shouldn't. But I had to ask. And to my surprise, she nodded with little hesitation.

I took a breath. I was going to be paying for this for the next few days. I pulled at the shadows, gripping the blonde's hand tightly, before yanking her through a shadow portal I opened. And so began the next chapter of my life.

A/N: Well. Oneshot. Easily could be made into a standalone. But unfortunately, I've been so swamped with school that I haven't had time to write for enjoyment. There's like, 2 or 3 multi-chapters I need to continue, but I just don't have the time. But I wanted to write something fun. I needed a break from school for, if only for an hour or two.

Anyways, I found the prompt on DevaintART and I altered it a little bit. Originally it was a gunner rather than an assassin, but I've always found assassins to be a lot more fun. The inspiration was partially taken from some elements of Assassin's Creed and partially from my own imagination. I'm not generally into prophecy, soulmate, magic type stories, but this one was kind of fun to write.

Honestly, I really like this idea and maybe if I get the urge, I might write this as an original. But for now, it'll remain a one shot. It's more Beca focused rather than Aubrey. In fact, I probably shouldn't even put it in this compilation, but oh well. This story would be playing with Soulmates again anyways. And well, Aubrey and Beca are soulmates in this.

I also haven't written in the first person for a really long time. But this felt more fun to write in the first person. So there's that. Anyways, hope you guys liked it. Kind of more of a set-up for a future story rather than a real romantic one-shot, but I've had a few of those in here. So oh well. *shrugs*

Also, translations as there's a bit of Italian here:

Merda - shit
Cara mia - my dear
Assassina - Assassin
Vai all'inferno - go to hell

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