Editing Daniel Cross

{{Era|Individuals|Assassins|Abstergo|Templars}}
{{Quote|It feels like there's something coiled like a snake deep inside of me, and it's waiting to get out...|Daniel Cross to Hannah Mueller, 1998.|Assassin's Creed: The Fall|Assassin's Creed: The Fall 2}}
{{Character Infobox
|image = AC3 Daniel Cross.png
|birth = 9 March 1974<ref name="MedicalReport">''[[Assassin's Creed: Initiates]]'' – [[The Desmond Files]] – 11 November 2012: "Medical Report"</ref>
|death = 14 December 2012 (aged 38)<ref name="ReturnToAbstergo">''[[Assassin's Creed III]]'' – [[Return to Abstergo]]</ref><br/>[[Rome]], [[Italy]]
|species = [[Human]]
|affiliates = [[Assassins]] {{c|1998 – 2000}}<br />[[Abstergo Industries]] {{c|2000 – death}}<br />[[Templars]] {{c|2002 – death}}
}}
'''Daniel Cross''' (1974 – 2012) was a member of the [[Inner Sanctum of the Templar Order|Inner Sanctum]] of the [[Templars|Templar Order]] infamous for his successful infiltration of the [[Assassins]] and murder of [[Mentor (2000)|its Mentor]].

An ex-convict and recovering drug and alcohol addict, Daniel was the grandson of [[Innokenti Orelov]] and the great-grandson of [[Nikolai Orelov]], a prominent member of the [[Russia]]n [[Russian Brotherhood of Assassins|Brotherhood of Assassins]]. In 1998, following a heavy night of drinking, Daniel was spirited away by [[Hannah Mueller]], a member of the Assassins, and introduced to a new way of life. Curious about his [[Bleeding Effect|constant visions]] of a past life, Daniel made it his mission to confront the [[Mentor]] of the Order and find some meaning to his life.

For two years, Daniel searched the [[Earth|globe]], visiting every major Assassin camp in his quest to meet the Mentor before he was finally granted an audience. It was during this meeting that a long-dormant trigger, implanted in his mind during his childhood, activated. Daniel killed the Mentor, and fled the Assassins, returning to the only people he knew would accept him, [[Abstergo Industries]]. There, he joined the Templar ranks, becoming a [[Master Templar]] and by 2012, a member of the Inner Sanctum.

In mid-2012, Daniel captured former-Assassin [[Desmond Miles]] and brought him to Abstergo for participation in [[Warren Vidic]]'s [[Animus]] [[Animus Project|Project]]. Following Desmond's escape and the failure of [[Project Siren]], Daniel tracked down and confronted Desmond multiple times around the world in an attempt to retrieve his [[Apple of Eden 6|Apple]] of [[Eden]] for Vidic. Ultimately, however, Desmond killed Daniel during a final confrontation in Abstergo's [[Rome]] [[Animus Project laboratory|facility]].

==Biography==
===Early years===
{{Quote|Я хочу домой.<br>(I want to go home.)|A young Daniel, 1983.|Assassin's Creed: The Fall|Assassin's Creed: The Fall 2}}
The birth name of Daniel Cross is unknown. The young boy was orphaned and kidnapped by Abstergo Industries in 1983 and subjected to at least one bout of surgery.<ref name="ACTF1">''[[Assassin's Creed: The Fall]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed: The Fall 1|Issue #01]]</ref>

Dubbing him Subject 4 of the Animus Project, Abstergo explored his [[Genetic memory|genetic memories]], a process which caused him to experience severe cases of the Bleeding Effect later in life.<ref name="ACTF3">''Assassin's Creed: The Fall'' – [[Assassin's Creed: The Fall 3|Issue #03]]</ref> Using a replicated [[Piece of Eden]],<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood]]'' – [[Rifts]]: "Cluster 8"</ref> Warren Vidic inserted a hidden impulse that would drive him to kill the Mentor were he ever presented with the opportunity.<ref name="ACTF3"/>
[[File:ACF young daniel.png|thumb|left|250px|A young Daniel wandering down a country road]]
Having been given the new name "Daniel Cross", the young boy was thrown out onto the street. He wandered the countryside alone, until he was happened upon by a couple driving by. When they asked his name, he merely said that he wanted to go home but in Russian, the language of the ancestor whose memories he had relived.<ref name="ACTF2">''Assassin's Creed: The Fall'' – [[Assassin's Creed: The Fall 2|Issue #02]]</ref>

Daniel grew up to become a petty criminal, and he suffered constantly from vivid hallucinations, often mistaking himself to be his great-grandfather, the Assassin Nikolai Orelov. As a result of being unable to comprehend the hallucinations, Daniel turned to drugs and [[alcohol]], a habit which led to the death of his then-girlfriend, [[Kelly]]. Daniel was convicted, and upon being released, was court-ordered to take medication to suppress his hallucinations.<ref name="ACTF1"/>

On 23 April 1998, after it became apparent that Daniel was not taking his prescription drugs, [[Daniel Cross' psychiatrist|his court-ordered psychiatrist]] reminded him that he was required to do so by law. Daniel simply threw away the prescription he had been given and chose instead to visit a local bar. There, he drank heavily and tried unsuccessfully to proposition several women before vomiting into a toilet. He began to have another hallucination, this time about Nikolai's assassination attempt on Tsar [[Alexander III of Russia|Alexander III]], before he stumbled out the back door of the bar.<ref name="ACTF1"/>

Outside, Daniel was stopped by a man who asked if he was feeling okay. As Daniel was still suffering from his hallucinations, he accused the man of being a Templar and very nearly stabbed him with a knife. Before he was able to do so, however, Daniel was stopped by Hannah Mueller, who assumed he was an Assassin and reprimanded him for breaking [[the Creed]] before pushing him into a car to take him to her camp.<ref name="ACTF1"/>

===Introduction to the Assassins===
{{Quote|Are you a field operative? Communications? You don't show up on any of our personnel records.|Paul Bellamy to Daniel, 1998.|Assassin's Creed: The Fall|Assassin's Creed: The Fall 2}}
[[File:HannahDanielBellamy.png|thumb|250px|Daniel meeting with Paul Bellamy]]
The next day, Daniel awoke in a strange location and learned that Hannah had taken him to an Assassin camp near [[Philadelphia, United States|Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]]. She remarked that they had been unable to find his cabin, and that nobody from the camp recognized him.<ref name="ACTF2"/>

Shortly afterward, they met with [[Paul Bellamy]], the director of the camp. Paul brought up the fact that there was no record of Daniel anywhere in the Order's personnel records. Daniel continued to protest that he knew nothing of the Assassins or the Templars and was aghast when shown that a [[tattoo]] he had gotten was actually the [[Assassin insignia|symbol of the Assassin Order]].<ref name="ACTF2"/>

At that moment, Daniel had another vision and said aloud the words Nikolai had spoken in one of his memories. When questioned on this by Paul and on what "[[Tunguska]]" meant, Daniel got up to leave but was intercepted by two other Assassins. The three broke into a fight, with Daniel quickly disabling his attackers. Paul was forced to put his [[Hidden Blade]] to Daniel's neck to prevent him from killing either, and Daniel was returned to one of the cabins.<ref name="ACTF2"/>

That night, in a fit of anger, Daniel overturned the furniture in his room, which drew the attention of Hannah. Fearing his uncontrollable hallucinations, Daniel told her that he had left his medication in his apartment and that he needed to get it back. Although Hannah at first refused to help him, she pitied him, and so she handed him a white hooded-jacket to allow him to [[Blending|blend in]] as they left. The pair arrived at the apartment, but Daniel realized that he had no medication left, as he had thrown the last of it away. Daniel quickly sunk into a state of despair while Hannah suggested that it might be best for him to release whatever was locked up in his mind.<ref name="ACTF2"/>

===Finding his purpose===
{{Quote|Hannah... it's okay... I saw everything... I saw the shape of time. I know my purpose, I understand what I have to do... I have to find the Mentor.|Daniel Cross, after his hallucination, 1998.|Assassin's Creed: The Fall|Assassin's Creed: The Fall 2}}
[[File:ACF staff symbol.png|thumb|left|250px|Daniel's drawing of the Staff]]
After a brief discussion about her role in the Order and the rigging of the {{Wiki|2000 United States presidential election|upcoming election}}, Hannah asked if there was anything about Daniel's hallucinations that he remembered. Rising to his feet, Daniel walked up to the window and drew [[Imperial Sceptre|the figure]] of [[Staves of Eden|a staff]] into the condensation, though he was unsure what it meant.<ref name="ACTF2"/>

At that moment, Paul Bellamy burst into the room. He approached them and said that he had just gotten off the phone with "[[William Miles|Bill Miles]]", whose records had mentioned a small team of Assassins who had been sent to Tunguska in 1908, though only one survived the mission. The survivor, Daniel's great-grandfather, had eventually journeyed to [[United States of America|America]]. After hearing the name Nikolai Orelov, Daniel began to hallucinate about the Assassin's mission to retrieve the Staff from Tunguska. Paul urged Daniel to let them know what was going through his head, only to receive a right-hook from Daniel.<ref name="ACTF2"/>

Daniel fled the apartment and made his way onto the rooftops, all while continuing to see [[Tunguska explosion|the events]] of 1908 transpire in his mind. He was pursued by both Paul and Hannah, who implored him to come down with them. As his vision reached its climax, Daniel's mind was flooded with a wide array of images: [[Apple of Eden 2|an Apple]], [[Nikola Tesla]], Eden, and his own birth. He then collapsed to the floor but was hurriedly cradled by Hannah. Daniel assured her that he was all right, saying that he had finally realized his purpose: to find the Mentor.<ref name="ACTF2"/>

===Meeting with the Mentor===
{{Quote|Some of the others tried to tell me I was wasting my time, but I knew I couldn't give up the search.|Daniel, upon meeting the Mentor, 2000.|Assassin's Creed: The Fall|Assassin's Creed: The Fall 3}}
[[File:Hannah Daniel meet.png|thumb|250px|Daniel speaking to his fellow Assassins, with Hannah in the background]]
Over the next two years, Daniel searched the globe for clues to the Mentor's whereabouts, visiting several Assassin camps in the process. At each location, he appealed to his fellow Assassins for their support and guidance, and on 5 November 2000, Daniel finally got his wish. While refreshing himself in his room, Daniel was accosted by at least two masked individuals who, after a brief struggle, managed to inject a sedative into Daniel's neck. The following day, he awoke to find himself in the Mentor's facility in [[Dubai]].<ref name="ACTF3"/>

Although firstly unsure to where he was, Daniel quickly worked out the identity of the man was he was speaking with. Daniel learned that his progress had been watched carefully by the Mentor, who knew about Daniel's visions, and saw him as a unique asset to the Order. The Mentor explained how the title of "Mentor", as well as the sum total of the Mentors' knowledge, was passed on from each predecessor. He further went on to explain how the Order itself had changed its way of operating and no longer simply killed those who had become too powerful or greedy.<ref name="ACTF3"/>

[[File:DanielKillMentor.png|thumb|250px|left|Daniel killing the Mentor]]
The Mentor then passed on his own Hidden Blade to Daniel, commenting on how the weapons were mostly ceremonial in the modern era but still in working condition. As soon as the blade was given to him, Daniel felt as if he was made to use it. Putting it on his forearm, Daniel suddenly recalled the impulse that had been embedded into his subconscious by Warren Vidic during his time at Abstergo.<ref name="ACTF3"/>

In a split moment, Daniel acted upon this impulse and murdered the Mentor. He immediately regretted his actions, unsure of why exactly he had done such a thing. Hearing voices from outside the room and driven by guilt and confusion, Daniel [[Leap of Faith|leapt]] through the glass windows of the building and into the sea below. He then began to make his way to the only place he felt would welcome him and keep him safe: Abstergo.<ref name="ACTF3"/>

===Return to Abstergo===
{{Quote|I admit, I felt a certain sense of almost fatherly pride, seeing our boy grown and carrying on our work. Indeed, any lingering attachment to his deceased parents has dissolved and he has come to regard Abstergo as his home.|An email to Alan Rikkin from Warren Vidic, 2000.|Assassin's Creed: The Fall|Assassin's Creed: The Fall 3}}
[[File:Fall 3 Daniel Abstergo.png|thumb|250px|Daniel returning to the Abstergo facility in Philadelphia]]
By 21 November, Daniel had returned to Abstergo's [[Abstergo Philadelphia Facility|Philadelphia facility]]. As soon as he arrived there, he demanded that he be returned to the Animus, though it was only after his attack on an unfortunate secretary that Vidic became convinced of his urgency. Daniel was placed into the Animus to freely explore the memories of Nikolai Orelov, which had a calming effect on Daniel himself.<ref name="ACTF3"/>

When not in the Animus, Daniel was permitted to train a number of new Templar recruits. One of his most successful students was [[Maxime Gorm]], another former Assassin who had been kidnapped and brainwashed by Vidic to serve the Templars, and who would be given the rank of squad commander in short order after displaying sufficient leadership capabilities and combat prowess to the Abstergo evaluators.<ref name="Bloodstone">''[[Assassin's Creed: Bloodstone]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed: Bloodstone Book 1|Book 1]]</ref>

On 6 December 2000,<ref name="Bloodstone"/> Daniel was tied to a medical bed before a large TV screen in a small concrete storage room that had been arranged into an impromptu operating room. Under the supervision of [[Alfred Stearns]] and other high ranking Abstergo employees, Dr. [[Sung]] was forced to extract information from Daniel by administering the drug SK-345 into him. Daniel subconsciously revealed the locations and secrets of the Assassin hideouts he had visited over the past two years, allowing Abstergo to initiate the "[[Great Purge]]", which nearly annihilated the entire Assassin Order.<ref>''Assassin's Creed: The Fall'' – Epilogue</ref> It was during this purge that Cross' prize student Gorm made a reputation for himself as Daniel's war dog, carrying out ruthless and thorough exterminations at every Assassin camp he visited.<ref name="Bloodstone"/>

For the next thirteen months, Daniel continued with his Animus sessions and relived the memories of his next ancestor, Innokenti Orelov, in uninterrupted real time. He was disconnected from the Animus in 2002 by Dr. Sung when his brain activity became erratic, and she introduced herself to him. She also informed him of the time that had passed and also explained that he was seen as a hero by the other Templars for having killed the Mentor. Daniel, feeling remorse, was led to his new apartment inside the Philadelphia facility, where he soon suffered from the Bleeding Effect once more and slipped into the memories of Innokenti.<ref name="ACTC">''[[Assassin's Creed: The Chain]]''</ref>
[[File:Daniel Sung.png|thumb|left|250px|Daniel spooking Dr. Sung]]
Daniel found Dr. Sung when she was about the leave the facility, but as soon as he looked at her, the Bleeding Effect caused him to confuse her with [[Anna Orelov]], Nikolai's wife. He implored her to allow him to go back in the Animus, which she denied, saying that he was going through a form of withdrawal. She then told him that she had to go, though Daniel had already stolen her key card, with which he entered the facility's new Animi room.<ref name="ACTC"/>

He walked past several Animi used to relive the memories of captured Assassins and was shocked when he saw Paul Bellamy laying on one of the Animi but chose to ignore him. He then lay down on one of the Animi, noticing its renewed appearance, and relived more of Nikolai's memories.<ref name="ACTC"/>

He was again woken by Dr. Sung, who expressed her disappointment in him and pointed out that his Animus was not even turned on. Daniel apologized and asked Sung if they had a file on him and his connection to Nikolai. After admitting that they had, she told him that he did not need to go into his past to be with his family because everyone at Abstergo cared about him and that he could consider Abstergo his second family. When Daniel woke up that night from reliving more of his ancestor's memories, which revealed Nikolai's parental abuse towards Innokenti, Daniel looked at Nikolai's picture in his files and scornfully scrunched it.<ref name="ACTC"/>

===Early Templar assignments===
{{Quote|We are the last bastion of civility in a cynical, confused age. We've chased them out of their dens and sent them scurrying. Now it's time to wipe them out. And I'm going to show you how to do it.|Daniel, while training his recruits, 2002.|Assassin's Creed: The Chain}}
[[File:ACTC-Daniel with recruits.png|thumb|250px|Daniel speaking to his trainees]]
Daniel joined the Templars soon afterwards, entrusted with instructing Abstergo employees and new recruits in the [[Animi Training Program]] to fight the remnants of the Assassin Order. By taking new medication and having weekly appointments with Dr. Sung, Daniel began to cope with the Bleeding Effect. Alongside this, Abstergo modified and upgraded the Hidden Blade he had received from the Mentor.<ref name="ACTC"/>

Daniel met with Vidic and several other high-ranking Templars in a meeting room of the Abstergo facility, where they told him that he was put on a new assignment and that [[Rothschild]] would be taking over his duties as a trainer. 
Vidic sent Daniel the specifics of his assignment via [[Abstergo Email Network|email]]. Daniel soon traveled to [[Moscow]], Russia to find the ''[[Prophet's Codex]]'' written by [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze]] and kept in the [[library of Ivan the Terrible|library]] of [[Ivan IV of Russia|Ivan the Terrible]] hidden beneath the [[Bolshoi Theatre]].
[[File:ACTC-Daniel Codex.png|thumb|250px|left|Daniel reading the Prophet's Codex]] 

On 19 October, he attended a play at the theater and quietly made his way through the backstage to find a hidden door to a tunnel, which led to the library. Upon entering it, he was spooked by an Assassin sentry who intended to greet him, causing Daniel to extend his Hidden Blade in fright. However, Daniel pretended to be the Assassin's shift replacement, and the man eagerly told Daniel about the location of the Codex when Daniel inquired. When the sentry left Daniel alone, Daniel opened the ''Prophet's Codex'' and read out [[Minerva]]'s [[In Bocca al Lupo|speech]] to Vidic via his earpiece, noticing the name "Desmond". Afterward, Daniel took the box holding the Codex with him and killed the sentry, before calling in a clean-up team and leaving the library.<ref name="ACTC"/>

Later, Daniel remained in Moscow to visit a local [[church]], where he went to sit next to an elderly lady. Unbeknownst to her, she was actually his great-aunt [[Nadya Orelov]], but she did notice his resemblance to her own son. Communicating in Russian, she told him that she knew he was not from Russia by looking at the difference in the cross Daniel wore around his neck, as he wore a simple {{Wiki|Latin cross}} while she carried a more ornate {{Wiki|Russian Orthodox cross|Russian Orthodox variant}}. Before Daniel left, Nadya told him that it would be nice if he came by again.<ref name="ACTC"/>

===As a Master Templar===
{{Dialogue2|Vidic|Listen, Daniel, and listen well. You know how important this training program is to us. We identified a few promising recruits and—|Daniel|Promising recruits my—|Listen! Right now, you're the best man for the job. The only man, really. You're our top operative and you've been training agents for a decade.|Vidic to Daniel after he had arrived in Rome, 2012.|Assassin's Creed: Initiates|The Desmond Files}}
Daniel subsequently rose to become a member of the Inner Sanctum of the Templar Order and was bestowed the rank of Master Templar as a result.<ref name="ACRV">''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]'' – [[21st century conversations#Assassin's Creed: Revelations|Modern day]]</ref> In 2011, he led a group of Templars in a [[raid]] on an Assassin hideout. Once there, the group found nobody but Hannah Mueller, who had stayed behind to slow down the Templars and try to return Daniel to the Assassins. However, her attempt failed, and Daniel killed her.<ref name="ModernDay">''Assassin's Creed III'' – [[21st century conversations#Assassin's Creed III|Modern day]]</ref>

Sometime before October 2011,<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Syndicate]]'' – [[Database: Reconstructed Data 001]]</ref> Daniel was involved in the [[DIA satellite accident]], an incident that took place in an underground Abstergo facility beneath [[Denver]]'s {{Wiki|Denver International Airport|International Airport}}. As the Project Lead, Cross and his team were experimenting with the [[Eye-Abstergo]] satellite when Daniel fell under the influence of the project's Apple of Eden and killed everyone in the facility. Amidst the massacre, the artifact was ultimately destroyed.<ref name="VidicEmail">''[[Assassin's Creed]]'' – [[Warren Vidic's email|Subject line: "Additional Subjects?"]]</ref>

While in Rome during August 2012,<ref name="CrossTraining">''[[Assassin's Creed: Rogue]]'' – [[Numbskull's personal files#Otso Berg's Profile|Otso Berg's Profile: "Cross Training"]]</ref> Daniel met [[Juhani Otso Berg]], a [[mercenary]] and former [[Finland|Finnish]] {{Wiki|Utti Jaeger Regiment|Special Forces}} member<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Initiates'' – The Desmond Files: "Berg. Otso Berg"</ref> who had joined the Animi Training Program in 2010 to ensure [[Elina Berg|his daughter]] would be cured of her {{Wiki|cystic fibrosis}}.<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Rogue'' – Otso Berg's Profile: "Vidic's New Recruit"</ref> Believing that the new recruit's latest success streak in the Program was overblown, Cross taunted Berg and issued a sparring challenge, which Cross quickly lost. Although bruised and defeated, he would not yield and attempted to crudely warn Berg that the mercenary was a fool for not thinking that Abstergo would abuse his unquestioning loyalty to the Templars until he was deemed no longer useful.<ref name="CrossTraining"/>

Cross then made an analogy with his Bleeding Effect hallucinations. While his voices were repeating echoes from a past that was long over, Berg heard voices in his head in real-time that told him where to go and what to do, effectively making him a puppet "owned" by many masters. Insulted at the insinuation that he was not in true control of his actions, Berg put Cross in a chokehold as he tried to explain that in Abstergo's "''glorious New World Order, there'' [would not] ''be any room for broken toys''". After Cross passed into unconsciousness, Berg immediately left the room.<ref name="CrossTraining"/>

Within the month, Daniel was tasked with finding Desmond Miles,<ref name="AbstergosTopOperative">''Assassin's Creed: Initiates'' – The Desmond Files: "Abstergo's Top Operative"</ref> and both greenlit and oversaw Miles' abduction on 1 September by Abstergo operatives to a lab in Rome.<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Initiates'' – The Desmond Files: "Kidnapped"</ref> However, Desmond escaped from Abstergo a week later with the help of the undercover Assassin [[Lucy Stillman]]<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Initiates'' – The Desmond Files: "Escape from Abstergo"</ref> and managed to lose Abstergo again when they launched a raid personally led by Dr. Vidic himself on the [[Rome hideout]] where Miles was staying with his [[Assassin cell]].<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Initiates'' – The Desmond Files: "Under Attack"</ref> Daniel remained unaware of these events and believed that Abstergo still held their captive, having been kept in the dark on this matter by the Inner Sanctum, who knew that Abstergo's "failures" were planned as part of Project Siren.<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Revelations – [[The Lost Archive]]'' – [[The Truth (memory)|The Truth]]</ref>

On 12 September,<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Initiates'' – The Desmond Files: "Gunfight"</ref> Daniel led an attack on two Assassin hideouts, one of which was in [[Whistler]], [[Canada]]. By the next day, a total of eight Assassins were believed to have been killed.<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Initiates'' – The Desmond Files: "Lost Team"</ref> However, one [[Canadian Brotherhood of Assassins|Canadian Assassin]] survived, living long enough to escape and contact [[Adriano Maestranzi]] of the [[Italian Brotherhood of Assassins|Italian Assassins]] in [[Florence]] on 14 September,<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Initiates'' – The Desmond Files: "Survivor"</ref> before identifying Cross during a debriefing three days later as the leader behind the raids.<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Initiates'' – The Desmond Files: "Witness"</ref>

On 21 September, Daniel called Dr. Vidic from Philadelphia and furiously demanded explanations for how Abstergo had lost Desmond twice in a week after Cross had personally delivered him to Vidic and why Vidic had withheld this information from him. Vidic dodged the questions and instead asked how it was that Cross knew such classified information, though Cross likewise refused to answer, only saying that he had his own networks. Before Vidic could hang up, Cross offered to return to Rome and hunt for Desmond again, only to be rebuffed and told that while he would be needed soon, he should wait until he received official communication.<ref name="AbstergosTopOperative"/>

Two days later, Dr. Sung called Daniel and inquired why he had turned down an assignment, as such action was highly uncharacteristic of him. Daniel immediately became terse and revealed that Abstergo had wanted to send him back to Denver. Still deeply traumatized from the events of the satellite incident a year before, he vehemently refused to visit the place ever again.<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Initiates'' – The Desmond Files: "Assignment In Denver"</ref>

Some time over the next two weeks, Daniel learned through his contacts that not only were Desmond's "escapes" intentional on Abstergo's part but also about Project Siren and its finer details. On 13 October,<ref name="DeathOfASiren">''Assassin's Creed: Initiates'' – The Desmond Files: "Death Of A Siren"</ref> he telephoned Dr. Sung in a state of panic after reading a final report on the collapse of Project Siren with Lucy's death at the hands of Desmond in the [[Colosseum]] [[Colosseum Vault|Vault]] on 10 October.<ref>Assassin's Creed: Initiates – The Desmond Files: "Lucy's Death"</ref> Dr. Sung quickly managed to calm down her patient, and Daniel eventually agreed to meet with her in {{Wiki|Rittenhouse Square}} for further help.<ref name="DeathOfASiren"/>

Daniel then spent the next [[72|seventy-two]] hours in the Animus, and upon waking on 17 October, angrily called Vidic to again voice his dissatisfaction at Vidic having completely lost the location of Desmond and his team. He furthermore revealed that he knew all about Project Siren. Vidic snapped at him, demanding to know how Cross learned about Project Siren but cooled when Daniel reminded him that as a member of the Inner Sanctum, he had clearance to view the files. As before, Daniel stated his intention to come to Rome, and though Vidic expressed concern after reading Dr. Sung's latest report, Daniel assured him that he was fit for duty. Much to Daniel's surprise, Vidic accepted his offer to join him, saying he needed Daniel's expertise on something and arranged for him to be on the next US flight to Italy.<ref name="TripToRome">''Assassin's Creed: Initiates'' – The Desmond Files: "Trip To Rome"</ref>

When Daniel arrived, however, he was assigned by [[Theodore Rizzo]] to coach more recruits in the Animi Training Program. He again phoned Vidic in a fury on 19 October, insisting that he should be going after Desmond instead of attempting to train people he saw as having no skills for Abstergo to improve on. Vidic told Daniel that his decade of experience made him the only one who could properly train the recruits and that it would only be for two days. Daniel begrudgingly agreed, though he still pushed to be involved in retrieving Desmond.<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Initiates'' – The Desmond Files: "Assessing the Troops"</ref>

Although he had agreed to stay and train recruits, Daniel's work ethic was incredibly lax in the knowledge that this assignment would be over imminently. As such—and much to everyone's grief—he refused to fill out necessary paperwork and regularly disobeyed orders. On October 22, the day after he was scheduled to leave, Daniel physically assaulted three recruits in the Abstergo facility mess hall for an undisclosed reason. An entire squad was needed to neutralize him, and it resulted in seven people being hospitalized, composing of the three recruits and four Abstergo agents. Following this, Rizzo sent an email to Vidic, noting that he was aware of Daniel's status in the Order but requested permission to put him off duty. Vidic denied his request and told Rizzo to continue having Daniel train the recruits.<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Initiates'' – The Desmond Files: "Loose Cannon"</ref>

The next day, Daniel left the Abstergo campus without reporting for duty. When prompted, Vidic told Rizzo in an email that Daniel worked best alone and that Abstergo had the means to track him should the need arise. He went on to say Daniel would likely need backup, and therefore assigned Rizzo to prepare his squad for Daniel.<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Initiates'' – The Desmond Files: "Lone Wolf"</ref>

Three days later, on 26 October, Rizzo and [[Delta Team]] made contact with Daniel in Florence. Rizzo called Vidic to inform him that Daniel was on their targets' trail, and Vidic told Rizzo to obey Daniel's command.<ref name="Breakdown">''Assassin's Creed: Initiates'' – The Desmond Files: "Wolf Pack"</ref> The next day,<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Initiates'' – The Desmond Files: "Breakdown"</ref> as Daniel and Delta Team prepared a covert strike against the then-comatose Desmond and his Assassin cell at {{Wiki|Florence Airport|Florence's airport}}, they were suddenly ambushed in turn by [[Harlan Cunningham]] and a team of Assassins who had assembled two days earlier on the orders of William Miles as their own back-up for extracting Desmond.<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Initiates'' – The Desmond Files: "Resurfacing"</ref>

In the ensuing gunfight, Daniel made a run for Desmond's cell.<ref name="Breakdown"/> Unbeknownst to them,<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Initiates'' – The Desmond Files: "Farewell To Florence"</ref> his proximity to the Apple in their possession triggered an uncontrollable episode of the Bleeding Effect, and he collapsed to his knees shouting incoherently as he held his head. With Abstergo distracted by an incapacitated Cross, Desmond's team seized the opportunity and fled. Mere seconds after the Assassins had escaped, Daniel rose to his feet in the middle of a psychotic attack and assaulted his men, eliminating the rest of Delta Team.<ref name="Breakdown"/>

===Tracking Desmond Miles===
Daniel soon recovered from his breakdown and, despite having killed an entire team of top Templar agents, was allowed back into Abstergo's Philadelphia facility. For the next two weeks, he resumed regular Animus sessions, at times staying plugged in for as long as three days per Dr. Sung's suggestions to Dr. [[Damian Saravakos]].<ref name="MedicalReport"/> However, during his spare hours away from the Animus, Daniel fumed in frustration over what he perceived was Abstergo's failure to continually keep track of Desmond.

By 15 November, Daniel had grown impatient at Abstergo's apparent lack of action against Desmond and decided to take matters into his own hands. Shortly after being confined to quarters upon finishing another Animus treatment, Daniel threw Abstergo into disarray by hacking their mainframe,<ref name="DanielHasLeft">''Assassin's Creed: Initiates'' – The Desmond Files: "Daniel Has Left The Building"</ref> looking for anything that could give a lead on Desmond's location. A quick search revealed that the Templars had recently developed an interest in a set of Isu [[power sources]].<ref name="StrayCat">''Assassin's Creed: Initiates'' – The Desmond Files: "Stray Cat"</ref> Reasoning that the Assassins would also want the artifacts, Daniel used the chaos from his hack as cover to break out of his room, cut down the men guarding it, and leave without a trace.<ref name="DanielHasLeft"/>
[[File:AC3 Daniel Skyscrapper.png|thumb|250px|Daniel confronting Desmond in New York]]
Although the only information he had were Abstergo files that acknowledged the existence of the batteries, within a day, Daniel had successfully located a power source in a Manhattan office in [[New York City]]. Having found the artifact, Daniel then waited for the Assassins to inevitably arrive. When Desmond broke into the office the night of 16 November intending to steal the device,<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Initiates'' – The Desmond Files: "Criss Cross"</ref> Daniel cornered him at gunpoint. However, Desmond easily disarmed Daniel and knocked him out with the battery before escaping.<ref>''Assassin's Creed III'' – [[Modern Tower]]</ref>

Daniel awoke the next morning alone and disoriented. Wandering the city and speaking Russian due to another Bleeding Effect spell, he was spotted around noon by Berg, who had been sent by Laetitia England to investigate the security breach at the office. A confused Daniel attacked Berg but was swiftly neutralized and returned to Abstergo, where he was detained in a holding cell until Vidic could be contacted.<ref name="StrayCat"/>

With Daniel having thrice proven unwilling or incapable of completing recent assignments after claiming to be fit for duty, Absgergo psychiatrist [[Ctibor Hašek]] emailed Vidic and [[Laetitia England]] on 23 November requesting that they reconsider Cross' status as an active agent. By his own assessment, as well as those from doctors Sung and Saravakos, Cross was well known to be unpredictable and uncooperative, both traits that could be manipulated to make him a security risk. Vidic replied within minutes, saying that Cross would no longer report to Operations to lead teams or be a part of any that were sent out.<ref name="CrossPurpose">''Assassin's Creed: Initiates'' – The Desmond Files: "Cross Purpose"</ref> Vidic refused to let Daniel's conditions inhibit how valuable he still was to the Templars though. Instead of allowing Daniel's skills to be wasted staying out of the field, Vidic reassigned him to serve as Vidic's personal agent, overriding the medical objections of Dr. Sung who felt her patient needed more treatment rather than work.<ref name="HisCrossToBear">''Assassin's Creed: Initiates'' – The Desmond Files: "His Cross To Bear"</ref>
[[File:AC3 Daniel Cross Stadium.png|thumb|left|250px|Daniel aims his gun at Desmond in Brazil.]]
By 2 December,<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Initiates'' – The Desmond Files: "American Gladiators"</ref> Daniel tracked the second power source to a martial arts tournament between [[Guilherme Venancio]] and challenger [[Luis Otavio Duris]] in [[São Paulo]], [[Brazil]], where it was being worn as a bracelet by a tycoon's trophy wife. Hoping to secure the artifact to prevent it being stolen like in Manhattan, Cross shot the woman and her husband just as Desmond arrived to take it himself. Daniel attempted to flee with the battery and was trailed to the stadium's gardens by Desmond, who hid among the plants and overheard Cross as he phoned Vidic to confirm he had the artifact but had almost failed again due to Desmond's sudden appearance.<ref name="TheStadium">''Assassin's Creed III'' – [[The Stadium: MMA Night]]</ref>

As Cross mused over the artifact's purpose and why the Assassins sought them, Vidic diverted his thoughts and suggested Daniel spend "''just a few hours''" in the Animus to relax. Daniel agreed and hung up, then began pacing along the garden stones as he awaited Abstergo's extraction team, muttering irritably as a minor Bleeding Effect episode took hold. Having heard all he wanted, Desmond emerged from the bushes and once again knocked out Cross in a fight before escaping with the battery.<ref name="TheStadium"/>

Two days later, Abstergo CEO and [[Grand Master of the Templar Order|Grand Master]] [[Alan Rikkin]] sent an email to almost all members of the Inner Sanctum summoning them to a mandatory meeting at {{Wiki|Pebble Beach, California|Pebble Beach}}, [[California]] the next night. In it, he said that "''several urgent matters need to be addressed''", among which was whether to promote Otso Berg to the rank of Master Templar after completing the Animi Training Program with exceptional results; if Berg was to be promoted, the next question would be if it warranted entry into the Inner Sanctum. Cross was notably omitted from the invitation list,<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Initiates'' – The Desmond Files: "Inner Sanctum Meeting"</ref> with Alan claiming it was out of concern for Daniel's "medical condition", though a more likely explanation was that he attempted to avoid an altercation in the likely event that Daniel disagreed with the other members' decision to promote Berg.<ref name="Trust">''Assassin's Creed: Initiates'' – The Desmond Files: "Trust"</ref>

Daniel remained unaware of the meeting and resumed his regular Animus sessions. Dr. Sung spoke to Vidic on 5 December after he returned to Philadelphia and noted that while Daniel had little memory of the events in Brazil and still needed much rest, he was faring far better than his previous sessions. Vidic asked if Daniel was "''presentable''", causing Sung to worry after Vidic had ignored her last objections, but he assured her that this would not be a field mission and that it would only be for two hours, and then Daniel would be returned to her for further treatment.<ref name="Presentable">''Assassin's Creed: Initiates'' – The Desmond Files: "Presentable?"</ref>
[[File:ACR Berg Injection.png|thumb|250px|left|Daniel restraining Berg while holding an injection gun]]
On December 6,<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Initiates'' – The Desmond Files: "Welcome to the Fold"</ref> Laetitia summoned Daniel to her secret office to serve as witness to Berg's promotion. Daniel waited in the complex until Berg arrived and had sat down in the seat in front of Laetitia's desk before surprising the mercenary.<ref name="ACRV"/> Remembering how Berg had choked him to unconsciousness in their first encounter,<ref name="CrossTraining"/> Cross decided to return the "favor" and restrained Berg with an arm to the throat as Cross' free hand threatened him with an injection gun holding a subcutaneous tracking chip. Laetitia stopped him from knocking out the Inner Sanctum's newest member but allowed him to go forward and forcefully inject the chip into Berg's forearm.<ref name="ACRV"/>

On 10 December, Daniel, Laetitia, and Berg reconvened with Vidic in Laetitia's office to discuss a new intelligence development. Getting straight to business, Vidic proudly announced that the Templars finally knew where the [[Assassin leader]] William Miles was located after he had been spotted in [[Cairo]], [[Egypt]] near the {{Wiki|Egyptian Museum}}. The Templars immediately knew Miles' mission must be extremely critical if he was seeing to it personally after being away from the field for so many years and reasoned that he had to be seeking yet another power source. To Daniel's shock, however, the two senior members of the Inner Sanctum gave the mission to their newest inductee Berg and did not offer it up to debate.<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Initiates'' – The Desmond Files: "Target Acquired"</ref>

Daniel stewed in a rage for the next two days, furious at being directly passed over for a mission of such importance with so high-profile a target and continually tried to contact Vidic on his phone in Abstergo's Rome facility. When Vidic finally answered on 12 December, Daniel vented his complete distrust of Berg's ability to complete so vital a mission while still new to the Templars and his resentment at the others in the Inner Sanctum for trusting Berg over him and not consulting him. Vidic patiently listened and then revealed to Daniel a secret withheld from the Inner Sanctum: contrary to what the group thought, William was not the true target. As always, the target was Desmond Miles, and Vidic needed Daniel to finally capture him when he came loowking for his father.<ref name="Trust"/>

===Death===
{{Quote|Let's not draw this out. You've got nowhere to go and I've got a gun. Speaking of which... it's the 21st century and you're still running around with only a tiny knife for protection? It's stupid. Alright, Desmond. Game's over.|Daniel to Desmond, during the Assassin's raid on Abstergo Industries, 2012.|Assassin's Creed III|Return to Abstergo}}
[[File:AC3 Desmond Cross Lab.png|thumb|left|250px|Daniel aiming at Desmond inside the Abstergo laboratory]]
Within the day, Daniel flew to Rome, where Vidic held William hostage in hopes of obtaining Desmond's Apple of Eden as an exchange. After Desmond arrived at the facility on the evening of 14 December, Daniel confronted him once more in Vidic's Animus room at 5:27 P.M.<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Initiates'' – The Desmond Files: "Game's Over"</ref> and demanded he hand over the Apple.<ref name="ReturnToAbstergo"/>

Before he could shoot Desmond however, Daniel's proximity to the Apple triggered a relapse of the Bleeding Effect.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: The Essential Guide]]'' (2nd ed.)</ref> Daniel panicked and fled, running through the facility, followed closely behind by Desmond. After a lengthy chase, Desmond quickly caught up to Daniel,<ref name="ReturnToAbstergo"/> and around 5:30 P.M.,<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Initiates'' – The Desmond Files: "Calling the Shots"</ref> slew him with his Hidden Blade in the Animi Training Program room.<ref name="ReturnToAbstergo"/>
[[File:ACI Daniel's Grave.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Daniel's grave]]
Vidic witnessed the entire scene through the building's security cameras. Enraged by Daniel's loss, he vowed revenge on Desmond, but his promise never came to pass, as Desmond soon stormed his office and used the Apple to kill him before rescuing William.<ref name="ReturnToAbstergo"/>

At 4:19 P.M. on 17 December 2012, Daniel Cross was buried in Rome's {{Wiki|Protestant Cemetery, Rome|Non-Catholic Cemetery}}.<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Initiates'' – The Desmond Files: "Tattoos Of Memories"</ref>

===Legacy===
In the years after his death, Cross was primarily remembered by fellow Templars for his contributions in helping them purge the world of most of the Assassin's presence. Despite their mutual animosity towards each other, by 2014, Berg held his predecessor in high regard and included Cross in a series of videos highlighting various Assassins through history who had turned to the Templars, believing it to be a sign that there would always be Assassins willing to betray the ideals they claimed to cherish and uphold so dearly.<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Rogue'' – Berg's Inspiration: "Daniel Cross"</ref>

==Ancestry==
{{Quote|He's a '''gift,''' Miss Clarke. A wonderful gift, delivered to us by Lineage Discovery and Acquisition. And now we're going to open him up and see what's '''inside.'''|Warren Vidic talking about Daniel, before experimenting on him in the Animus, 1983.|Assassin's Creed: The Fall|Assassin's Creed: The Fall 1}}
Daniel's unique genealogy caught the attention of Abstergo Industries and resulted in his capture by the company's [[Lineage Discovery and Acquisition]] division.

Daniel's only known direct ancestors were [[Orelov family|the Orelovs]], a family closely tied with the Assassin Order. Daniel's great-great-grandfather, [[Andrei Orelov]], migrated to Russia and joined the [[Narodnaya Volya]], in order to help rid the country of monarchism. His son, Nikolai, was forced to follow in his footsteps, and although dedicated, Nikolai was not so passionate in his devotion to the Assassins as his father was.<ref name="ACTF1"/>

Nikolai eventually married Anna, a Russian woman,<ref name="ACTF1"/> with whom he had a daughter, Nadya, while the couple resided in the country.<ref name="ACTF3"/> Following this, in 1917, Nikolai and Anna emigrated to the United States to start a new life, where their son Innokenti, who would become the grandfather of Daniel Cross, was born.<ref name="ACTC"/>

==Personality and characteristics==
{{Quote|I hear voices, but I don't understand what they're saying. It's all in European or something. [...] It's not always a vision... sometimes it just feels like I'm remembering how things used to be.|Daniel to his psychiatrist, 1998.|Assassin's Creed: The Fall|Assassin's Creed: The Fall 1}}
[[File:ACTF-DanielMedication.png|thumb|250px|Daniel panicking over his empty medicine bottle]]
During his formative years, Daniel suffered greatly from his perceived "hallucinations", none of which he understood; in actuality, these were a manifestation of the Bleeding Effect. From his arising confusion, Daniel became mentally and emotionally unstable, which often led him to be rude and anti-social,<ref name="ACTF1"/> sometimes even going so far as to resort to violence. Following his time with the Templars, Daniel often spent prolonged periods of time within the Animus so as to stymie his condition's effects.<ref name="ACTF3"/>

As the years progressed, Daniel's hallucinations largely subsided, though he would enter into an intense relapse upon close proximity to Pieces of Eden, as was the case at the bloodbath at Denver's airport,<ref name="VidicEmail"/> in late October 2012 during the Florence Airport ambush,<ref name="Breakdown"/> and in Rome in December 2012, which indirectly led to his death.<ref name="ReturnToAbstergo"/>

Upon learning of the Mentor, Daniel became incredibly determined to meet him,<ref name="ACTF2"/> traveling the world and refusing to listen to others' insistence that his goal was impossible. After murdering the Mentor, Daniel was horrified at his own actions. Knowing that he could not return to the Assassins, he ran in desperation to Abstergo.<ref name="ACTF3"/> Initially, Daniel felt a longing for connection to something he could call family and would often use the Animus to relive the memories of his ancestors, claiming it was ''"the closest thing to [one]"'' he had ever known. However, he became utterly disillusioned with his Assassin ancestry after witnessing Nikolai Orelov's abuse of his son Innokenti. It became the deciding moment where his heart hardened against the Assassins forever. From then on, Daniel grew to fit into his new home, as well as into the Templar Order.<ref name="ACTC"/>

Despite his rise to the rank of Master Templar, Daniel continued to suffer from the symptoms of the Bleeding Effect. Unable—or unwilling—to help him, his fellow Templars learned to simply deal with it. By mid-November 2012, Dr. Sung had resorted to keeping Daniel inside the Animus for periods of three days at a time in the hope that it might help his condition,<ref name="MedicalReport"/> though all filed medical reports suggested otherwise,<ref name="TripToRome"/><ref name="CrossPurpose"/><ref name="HisCrossToBear"/><ref name="Presentable"/><ref name="Trust"/> with Saravakos' notes specifically indicating that Daniel regularly suffered dizzy spells, headaches, nausea, and an unusually early onset of {{Wiki|retrograde amnesia}}.<ref name="MedicalReport"/>

William Miles later told Desmond his belief that by 2012, Daniel was simply serving more as a symbol to Abstergo rather than an asset.<ref name="ModernDay"/> Regardless how true that was for the company, Vidic openly declared that he loved Daniel as a ''"sickly son"'' who had done so much for him as well as the Templar cause.<ref name="ReturnToAbstergo"/>

==Trivia==
==Behind the scenes==
Daniel Cross is a fictional character first introduced in the 2010-2011 comic series ''[[Assassin's Creed: The Fall]]'', first published by {{Wiki|WildStorm}} Comics and later by [[Ubiworkshop]]. He later appeared in a minor speaking role for the [[multiplayer]] section of the 2011 video game ''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]'', though only his arms are seen and his voice actor is uncredited. Daniel finally appeared in full in the 2012 video game ''[[Assassin's Creed III]]'', where he is voiced by the Canadian actor [[Danny Blanco-Hall]], who later resumed his role for audio files in the 2014 game ''[[Assassin's Creed: Rogue]]''.

===Name===
"Daniel" is derived from the Hebrew name [[wikt:דניאל|דניאל]] (''Dāniyyêl''), meaning '[[Christianity|God]] is my judge'.{{Fact|18 June 2021}}.
*Daniel's surname, "Cross", is a reference to the [[Templar insignia]].

===Cut dialogue===
After being assassinated by Desmond in the Animi Training Program room, Daniel was originally meant to have the following dying words before bleeding to death:<blockquote>''Oh the voices in my head... Screaming. ''Screaming.'' All the time ''begging'' to be released! This... my body. My MIND! They lived their lives. Why... Why don't they let me live mine? You have to silence them. ''Пожалуйста'' (Please.) Please... PLEASE... Silence them.''<ref name="YouTube">{{Youtube|video=LP1b2s4YsiE|text=Daniel Cross' Last Monologue - Deleted Scene from Assassin's Creed III [ENG<nowiki>]</nowiki>|channel=channel/UCJagPhYpiiE09D5pA-ZGuZw|channelname=Access The Animus}}</ref></blockquote>

Audio of these lines was recorded but ultimately left unused, with no word on whether the scene had also been staged or digitally rendered. At the end of August 2013, the fan site ''[[Access the Animus]]'' uncovered the audio in the ''Assassin's Creed III'' game files and shared it to their YouTube channel.<ref name="YouTube"/>

==Appearances==
*''[[Assassin's Creed: The Fall]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Assassin's Creed: The Chain]]''
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]''
*''[[Assassin's Creed III]]''
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Rogue]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Bloodstone]]'' {{mo}}

==References==
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