DAZ's AC3 and IV Endings
I've just got to get it out there, I had some endings that I would have liked to see for AC3 and IV. Standard spoiler warnings apply. Still, I hope Ubisoft at least does something similar to this because when I thought of these I was pretty excited. Granted, it's easy for me to make myself excited but here we go.
AC3 Ending: (Thought of/written before and after AC3 released)
Daniel Cross is the most powerful figure in all of Assassin's Creed so far. He is a Templar, with Assassin abilities. As Nikolai Orelov, he also witnessed visions in the Apple of Eden, visions of the future. At this point, he has seen the past, present and future. He is very, very dangerous.
Desmond Miles finds the Key and is separated from the Modern Day Assassins. He reaches the Grant Temple's Inner Sanctum by himself... Only to find Daniel Cross already there, waiting for him.
Two Animus subjects, armed only with a single Hidden Blade each. They fight each other. The fight is long, protracted. Neither takes much more damage than the other one, and neither one knows how long it will be until one of them falls.
Due to being in close proximity with the Grand Temple's Core, which by itself is a giant Piece of Eden, Apple-esque rays radiate from the Temple's walls toward Subject 17 and Subject 4 during their battle. This triggers both Subjects' Bleeding Effects at random times. Desmond throws a punch at Daniel, and suddenly the screen flickers. It is Altair punching him instead. Daniel Cross dodges backwards and strikes at Desmond with a leaping attack. In the middle of his jump, Cross is suddenly Nikolai Orelov leaping upon a Templar.
Both of their minds are deteriorating, and they begin to lose their sanity at an increased rate. As the solar flare begins its preparation to reach Earth, Desmond must defeat Cross in a specific time limit.
A side-stepping slash at Cross' front morphs Desmond into Ezio Auditore for a moment.
When the blow is blocked, Innokenti Orelov delivers a swift kick to the stomach of Connor Kenway.
As Desmond reels back, winded, he falls to his knees while Cross begins slowly walking towards the player. Desmond begins to hear the voices of Altair, Ezio, Connor, and finally, Clay Kaczmarek tell him not to give up. Flashes of Masyaf, Florence, Boston, Animus Island and the Grand Temple itself rip through Desmond's mind as Cross approaches him speaking in Russian.
Daniel jabs down with his Hidden Blade just like an Assassin would to kill their target, but Desmond catches his blade arm with his fist. One by one, the voices of Altair, Ezio, Connor and Clay thank Desmond and call him Brother. They say that they are sorry.
No matter how hard the player tries to mash away Cross' Hidden Blade, they must be assassinated.
Daniel Cross defeats Desmond Miles, and holds him in his arms.
Desmond confides in Cross that he doesn't hate him for what he's done. He's sorry about Lucy. He's sorry about Altair, Ezio, Connor and Clay's suffering. And he tells Cross that just like Daniel, Desmond's been a pawn his entire life. As he bleeds out, the only thing he has left to say is to "make it count. Make it worth something."
Suddenly, something in Cross' mind snaps. Only an Animus Subject can truly understand another Animus Subject. Truly, he was just like him. Both of their lives were ruined because of the people they were, because of their DNA, and because of the Animus. His Templar programming is reversed, and right before Desmond dies, he brings him to the Eye. Desmond touches it and saves the world, but as he loses consciousness, he sees the sorrow in Cross' eyes. Daniel tells him, "Nothing is true, everything is permitted," while brushing Desmond's eyelids closed. Everything is permitted - even a former Assassin turned Templar going back to his original faction. To become the person he was meant to be.
Epilogue - A week later, several people are gathered at Desmond's funeral. Old friends from the bar, people he'd met. Shaun and Rebecca, William. Maybe even his mother. It's a dark, rainy day. But there's one person standing off to the side, leaning against a wall, unnoticed. He's wearing a hood. The rain falls over him as tears slide down his face, and a clenched fist reveals buried anger. Anger for a life stolen by people he once called family. A false family. A "family" that broke, remade and used him. The man's other hand holds an Apple of Eden, and from behind the hood, Daniel Cross' voice says, "Rest in peace, Desmond." in Russian. Lightning strikes and Cross is gone.
The series ends and Ubisoft lets it rest for a few years, until they continue it with Daniel Cross as the protagonist, shocking pretty much everyone - except old fans who held out hope.
THIS OBVIOUSLY DID NOT HAPPEN.
ACIV: Black Flag Ending: (all thought out a week before Black Flag released, as a "this would be cool" scenario)
At the very end of the game, the character we've been playing in First Person resigns from Abstergo Entertainment. They look around the many screens displaying the Abstergo Industries logo on them, and says that they're moving on to another position. They enjoyed the time they spent with Abstergo, and appreciated all the things they'd learned, but they'd like to try their skills somewhere else. The person running their project thanks them for all their hard work, saying that they've uncovered some very useful memories for help in their games, and even offers them a business card with a secret IP Address by which they can seek out Abstergo Industries themselves, and be elevated to a higher position there if they wish.
The character gladly accepts the business card and puts it in their pocket. As they walk through the lobby, they overhear chatter of how Erudito are just small-time hackers, and there's no way they could ever pose any real threat. The camera zooms out of the character to reveal them in third person. The camera keeps zooming out, getting closer and closer to the ceiling while still watching the character walk through the lobby. Suddenly, the Abstergo Logo on one of the hundreds of screens around the lobby flickers and turns upside down. It displays Erudito Industries instead. More screens flicker, one by one, slowly at first, then faster. The character puts their hood up and a large crowd of people walk in through the lobby's doors. The character walks into the crowd and exits onto the street.
Havoc and commotion rings out in the building as Erudito have taken over every one of Abstergo Entertainment's computers. The camera does a little "flicker glitch" as it often does in AC cinematics, and the character is on the street, somewhere, never to be found again.
Wow...that actually looks like a really good ending. Of course, the majority of players would be confused as to who Daniel is. Hopefully, he'll be hyped and built more up.
If I were Ubisoft, I would market a Digital Edition of Assassin's Creed: Subject 4 (Which collects both The Fall and The Chain) with every copy of Assassin's Creed III because by that point in time, it had been a year or two. So everyone who'd bought the game could read it on their console/PC. The rest of the hype would be through playing (my version of) AC3, and Daniel Cross would be established enough to be a major character, but we still don't know him well enough, so by the time Next-Gen hits (PS4, XBOne etc.) the audience kind of knows who he is, but there's still a lot to learn about him and a lot to play through.
Some of the Gameplay/Story Unification in Assassin's Creed Next-Gen would involve managing Daniel's Bleeding Effect in Modern Day. The excuse that they can't "do cars" is kind of... Hollow and paper-thin because the same company is making Watch_Dogs, and there's no way it's "completely out of their hands" and "they can't do anything about it."
But yeah, managing Bleeding Effect in Modern Day would be a MAJOR gameplay mechanic. Right now it's just a story thing, but this thing can mess you up very badly. Sometimes, you want to use it to learn something, or to level up certain skills that Cross might have. Other times, you want to keep it low because you have to focus.
In emotional states, or when Cross drinks too much (like in the comics) the Bleeding Effect can trigger, making him an excellent fighter, but draining a separate Health Bar that's basically his Mental Health. Calming yourself is huge, because during Chases or when you're Exposed, your adrenaline rush and mental state could become clouded, triggering the Bleeding Effect again. It's supposed to feel scary and claustrophobic at all times EVEN THOUGH YOU'RE IN A HUGE OPEN WORLD CITY!
Thank you for letting me read that.
You're awesome.
You're very welcome. It's what I really wanted to see, and was a little disappointed that none of it happened. It could have been such a thrilling, epic fight with a nice emotional finish, dovetailing pretty amazingly into the next generation of consoles while allowing it pause.