Daniel Cross

"I just beat the shit out of two guys like it was nothing, my vision went red and something took over, pure instinct. […] It feels like there's something coiled like a snake deep inside of me, and it's waiting to get out..."

―Daniel Cross.

Daniel Cross (born 1974) was a Templar sleeper agent, an ex-convict, and recovering drug and alcohol addict during the late 20th century. Following a heavy night of drinking, Daniel was spirited away by Hannah Mueller, a member of the Assassin Order, and introduced to a new way of life. Curious about his constant visions of a past life, Daniel made it his mission to confront the Mentor, and find some meaning to his life.

For two years Daniel searched the 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 childhood, activated. Daniel killed the Mentor, and fled the Assassins, returning to the only people he knew would accept him, Abstergo Industries.

Biography

Early years

"Я хочу домой. (I want to go home)."

―A young Daniel Cross, c. 1985.

His birth name unknown, "Daniel Cross" was, as a young child, kidnapped by Abstergo Industries and subjected to at least one bout of surgery. Being dubbed Animus Project Subject 4, Daniel had his genetic memories explored, but also had a hidden impulse inserted that would drive him to kill the Mentor were he ever presented with the opportunity, with the usage of a replicated Piece of Eden by Warren Vidic.

After this, he was thrown out onto the street, alone, until he was happened upon by a couple driving by. When asked his name, he asked, in Russian, to go home.

A young Daniel Cross wanders down a country road.

Daniel grew up to become a petty criminal, though he suffered constantly from vivid hallucinations, which were in fact the memories of his ancestors, particularly the Assassin Nikolai Orelov. As a result of not being able to comprehend the hallucinations, Daniel turned to drugs and alcohol. Eventually, his drug addiction led to the death of his girlfriend, Kelly. Daniel was convicted, and upon being released, became court-ordered to take medication to stop the hallucinations he was having.

At one point in 1998, after it became apparent Daniel was not taking his prescription drugs, his court-ordered psychiatrist reminded him that he was required to do so by law. Simply throwing away the prescription as he left, Cross instead chose to visit a local bar. There he tried, unsuccessfully, to proposition several women before vomiting into a toilet. He began to have another hallucination, about his ancestor Nikolai Orelov's assassination attempt on Tsar Alexander III resulting in the Borki train disaster, before stumbling out the back door of the bar.

Outside, Cross was stopped by a man who asked if he was feeling okay. Daniel, still suffering from his hallucinations, accused him of being a Templar, very nearly stabbing him as well. Before he was able to do so however, he was stopped by Hannah Mueller, who pulled him into a car driven by another man and revealed to him that she was an Assassin.

Introduction to the Order

"Are you a field operative? Communications? You don't show up on any of our personnel records."

―Paul Bellamy to Daniel Cross.

Daniel meeting with Paul Bellamy.

The next day, Daniel awoke in a strange location, and learned that Hannah had taken Daniel to an Assassin camp. She remarked that they had been unable to find his cabin, and that nobody from the camp recognized him. Shortly afterward, they met with Paul Bellamy, the director of the camp. Adding to Hannah's own remarks, Bellamy brought up the fact that there was no record of Daniel anywhere in the Order's personnel records. Cross continued to preach his ignorance of either the Assassins or the Templars, and was aghast when shown that his tattoo was in fact the symbol of the Assassin Order.

At this moment, Daniel had another vision, physically speaking out the words of his ancestor, Nikolai Orelov. When questioned on this by Bellamy, and what "Tunguska" meant, Daniel got up to leave, but was prevented from doing so by two other Assassins who had been watching the exchange. The three broke into a fight, with Daniel quickly disabling his attackers; Paul Bellamy was forced to put his hidden blade to Cross' neck so as to ensure he did not kill either.

That night, in a fit of anger, Cross overturned the furniture in his room, which drew the attention of Hannah Mueller. Daniel told her that he had left his medication in his flat and that he needed to get it back. Although Hannah at first refused to help him, she quickly decided it was for the best and handed him a white hooded-jacket, so that he might blend in. Arriving at the apartment, the two realized that there was no medication left, as he had thrown the last of it away. Daniel quickly sunk into a state of despair, whilst Hannah recommended that whatever it was Daniel had locked up in his mind, he let it out.

Finding his purpose

"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.

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Cross' mirror drawing of the Staff.

After a brief discussion about her role in the Order and the rigging of the upcoming election, Hannah asked if there was anything about his hallucinations that he remembered. Rising to his feet, Daniel walked up to the window and drew the figure of the Staff into the condensation. At this moment, Paul Bellamy burst into the room. Approaching the two, Bellamy said that he had just gotten off the phone with Bill Miles, and that according to his records a small team had been sent to Tunguska in 1908, though only one survived the mission. The survivor, Daniel's great-grandfather, had eventually journeyed to America. After hearing the name "Nikolai Orelov", Cross once again started to hallucinate, this time on Nikolai's mission to retrieve the Staff from Tunguska. Bellamy urged Daniel to let them know what was going through his head, only to receive a right-hook from Daniel.

Daniel fled the apartment and made his way onto the rooftops, all the while continuing to see the events of 1908 transpire in his mind. He was pursued by both Bellamy and Hannah, who implored him to come down from the rooftops with them. As his vision reached its climax, Daniel's mind was flooded with a wide array of images; the Apple, Nikola Tesla, Eden and his own birth. He then collapsed to the floor, but was hurriedly cradled by Hannah Mueller; Daniel assured her that he was alright, saying that he had finally found his purpose; he had to find the Mentor.

Meeting with the Mentor

"Some of the others tried to tell me I was wasting my time, but I knew I couldn't give up the search."

―Daniel Cross upon meeting the Mentor

Daniel being sedated.

Over the next two years Daniel searched the globe for clues to The Mentor's whereabouts, visiting every single Assassin camp in the process. At each location, he appealed to his fellow Assassins for their support and guidance. On November 5, 2000, Daniel Cross finally got his wish. Whilst refreshing himself in his apartment, Daniel was accosted by at least two masked individuals, who after a brief struggle, managed to inject a sedative into Cross' neck. The following day, Cross awoke to find himself in the Mentor's Dubai facility.

Although unsure at first where he was, Daniel quickly worked out who it was he was speaking with. Daniel learned that his progress had been watched carefully by the Mentor, who knew about Daniel's visions, and that he was seen to be a unique asset to the Order. The Mentor then explained how the title of "Mentor", as well as the sum total of their knowledge, was passed on from the predecessor, revealing to Daniel that he intended for him to be his eventual successor. He further went on to explain how the Order itself had changed its way of operating and no longer simply killed those who became too powerful or greedy.

Daniel killing the Mentor.

The Mentor then passed on his own hidden blade to Daniel, commenting on how they were mostly ceremonial in the modern era, but still in working condition. As soon as the hidden blade was given to him, Daniel felt as if he was made to use it. Putting it upon his forearm, Daniel suddenly recalled the impulse that had been embedded into his subconscious by Warren Vidic during his time at Abstergo. Daniel acted upon this impulse and murdered the Mentor. He immediately regretted his actions, unsure of why exactly he had done such a thing. Upon hearing voices from outside the room, Daniel leaped through the glass windows, out of the tower into the sea below, and started making his way to the only place he felt would welcome him.

Return to Abstergo

"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.

Daniel returning to the Abstergo facility in Philadelphia.

On November 21, Daniel eventually made his way back to Abstergo Industries research facility in Philadelphia. Retrieving the necessary information from him, Abstergo began mobilizing its strike forces in preparation for their attack upon the Assassins.

As soon as he had arrived, Daniel demanded he be returned to the Animus, though it was only after an attack on an "unfortunate secretary" that Warren Vidic became convinced of his urgency. Daniel was inserted into the Animus to freely explore the memories of his ancestor, Nikolai Orelov, which had a calming effect on Daniel himself.

His withdrawal did not last however, as by 2012, Daniel had become a Master Templar and a part of the Inner Sanctum of the Templar Order. He was working in the Operations Division at Abstergo. According to his fellow Templars, they considered him to be "a true hero."

Personality and characteristics

"I hear voices, but I don't understand what they're saying. It's all in European or something. There's a woman... Sometimes I'll see old stuff. Horses and carts, things like that. It's not always a vision... sometimes it just feels like I'm remembering how things used to be."

―Daniel to his psychiatrist about his 'visions'.

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Daniel looking at his empty medicine tube.

Due to his hallucinations, none of which he could understand, Daniel was often confused. This confusion led him to be rude and unsocial to his surroundings, sometimes even going as far as to be violent.

Upon learning of the Mentor, Daniel Cross became incredibly determined to meet him, visiting Assassin camps all over the world to gain information and eventually entrance to the Assassins' Headquarters. After the murder of the Mentor, Daniel immediately regretted his actions. Knowing that he could not return to the Assassins, suspecting they wouldn't forgive him, he went to the only place he could call home: Abstergo Industries.

Trivia

• His first name "Daniel" means "Judgment of God" or "God's Judgment" in Hebrew.
• Daniel had an Assassin insignia tattoo on his right forearm, which he claimed to have gotten because "it looked cool and it sort of felt right."
• In the Assassin's Creed: Revelations multiplayer storyline, Abstergo files "File.0.11b\Prj_Subject04" and "File.0.17\Ins_InnerSanctum" both mention Daniel. The first details his importance to the Order and the second lists him as a member of the Inner Sanctum.
• Daniel is one of eight known Assassins to be converted to the Templar cause, with the others being Harash, Haras, Masun, Jamal, Al Mualim, Vali cel Tradat and Lucy Stillman. However, Daniel is the only one to have held an allegiance to the Templars before ever joining the Assassins, albeit unknowingly.

Gallery

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  Daniel Cross, in 1998.
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  Daniel's vision of the past and future.
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  Daniel talking with Hannah.
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  Daniel performing a Leap of Faith out of the window of the Dubai Assassin HQ.
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  Cross using the Animus.
• Cross, when meeting with the Mentor.
  Cross, when meeting with the Mentor.