Assassin's Creed: Bloodstone Book 1

Assassin's Creed Bloodstone Book 1, is the first volume of Assassin's Creed: Bloodstone, a two-part story published in French by Les Deux Royaumes.
Following the end of the second cycle by Dorison and Hostache, Bloodstone is again written by Guillaume Dorison but illustrated by Ennio Bufi, and was released on 29 March 2019. It was licensed in English by Titan Comics and was released on 18 February 2020.
The story takes place in 2017 Tokyo, following Tomo Sakagawa who relives the memories of Alekseï Gavrani during the Vietnam War.
==Synopsis==
Tomo is one of the youngest members of a Japanese Assassin cell. More of a hacking technician than a seasoned fighter, Tomo identifies a massive misuse of data operated by a clinic in Switzerland.
His investigation makes him follow the footsteps of another cell of Assassins that seeks to carry out a project initiated during the Vietnam War. Exploring the memories of Alekseï Gavrani. An assassin employed by the CIA during the Cold War. Tomo discovers the experiments of a certain Boris Pash...
==Plot Summary==
On 6 December, 2000, on Kyushu Island, Japan, Japanese Assassins Hajime Shimada and Yuri argue in their responses to the Great Purge, but Yuri remained adamant to stay. However, Yuri is immediately killed by a sniper as the camp is sieged by Abstergo troops led by Maxime Gorm. Hajime takes Yuri's son, Tomo Sakagawa, and saves him from Gorm's men, Team Epsilon.
By 28 July, 2017, in Takadanobaba, Tokyo, Tomo works as a cashier at a local arcade but spends his free time looking for Maxime. Fortunately, he finds evidence of his presence at the Clinique des Rameaux, Switzerland, which is run by Dr. Nathalie Chapman. The next day, he goes to the Akihabara district and meets with Hajime about Chapman's true workings by exploiting Abstergo's Helix technology. Tomo sees that Gorm has worked with Templar technician couple Thomas Adler and Alice Adler and how their daughter, Elisa Adler, is in the program. With limited resources, Tomo convinces to go alone to the clinic and to find and kill Gorm.
Traveling by ship, Tomo sails through Lake Léman in 4 October, 2017 and tries to achieve a job under Chapman as "Dr. Florent Carpentier," after months of psychiatry training. He goes and find Dr. Chapman, who offers him the job due to his "resume." Within 26 days, he finds himself working with Elisa Adler, who believes both Chapman and her parents are hiding secrets. A moment of awkwardness occurs as they become too close but Elisa leaves but not before revealing her last name. Tomo leaves the clinic and confirms with Hajime but is caught by Dr. Chapman. However, Chapman reveals herself to be an Assassin and gives Tomo a ride.
During the ride, Tomo and Chapman compare notes on Gorm and the Adlers as she drives them to the Gorges du Pont-du-Diable. She reveals her secret hideout as well as Gorm's lineage and a past Assassin named Boris Pash. She divulges that Pash was retired by the 1960s but commanded a secret C.I.A group, the Bloodstone Unit. She states that Julia Gorm, Maxime's mother, was part of the unit and how Pash was working on experiments using Pieces of Eden on his unit to create superhuman soldiers. 
Her goal is to hack Abstergo's Helix database and use the DNA of Alekseï Gavrani, an Assassin who worked under Pash. Thus, she asks Tomo to hack through the encryption and she offers him to be the first to relive his past. He does so as Chapman sends him back to the first time Gavrani worked under Pash.
On 8 February, 1957, Gavrani walks into the Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C. as he is stopped by two U.S soldiers. Without a beat, Gavrani defeated the two soldiers before Pash walked inside. Pash told Gavrani to wait as he went to meet his old friend, John von Neumann.
Back in the present, Chapman realizes who von Neumann was and understands that Gavrani and Pash went to kill him, but still has no idea why. Tomo continues in his search as Gavrani.
Back in 1957, Pash walks away holding an Apple of Eden as he confirms John's death was "due" to pancreatic cancer. He tells Gavrani to leave quietly as he deals with the army.
In a moment, Tomo experiences a flashback of him and his mother, Yuri. They discuss the difference of his ability in technology versus his lack of skill to fight like other Assassins. However, the moment of time becomes fractured with Gavrani's events but Chapman helps Tomo come back to the present. Experiencing the Bleeding Effect, Tomo is helped by Chapman as she reveals Pash's retrieval of an Apple before going to Vietnam. With no time to lose, Tomo re-enters the Animus.
On 2 Jaunary, 1963, soldiers are moving out at a reserve base in Tân Hiệp, South Vietnam. In a military helicopter flown by Zenia, soldiers William Greer, Gavrani, and Cooper talk about the mission before being struck by the Viet Cong. Zenia successfully crash-lands the helicopter as the soldiers hold back the Viet-Cong's gunfire. Looking at the situation, all soldiers turn to Cooper, who was wanted by Pash alive. Luckily, Julia Gorm arrives and kills the Viet Cong soldiers attacking. However, she kills an injured fellow soldier due to no dead weight as they all go to meet Pash.
Cooper is tortured by Pash as to ascertain his Templar plans with President Ngô Đình Diệm. Gavrani sees Pash's lack of honor to the Creed and cannot be part of it. Pash overhears his concerns and dismisses him from the Bloodstone Unit.
Back in the present, by 2 November 2017, Tomo meets Hajime, who tries to persuade him to leave the mission to another Assassin. However, Tomo refuses as he deals with this new type of Bleeding Effect. Relenting, Hajime leaves Tomo to continue with Chapman as he later continues reliving Gavrani's past.
On 22 November, 1963, in Texas, U.S.A, after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Greer makes his way out of the public sight and hides behind a parked van, holding an Apple of Eden. However, Gavrani catches him and accuses him of killing the President over the Apple. Despite Greer's reasoning, Gavrani knows that Bloodstone was behind the assassination and defeat Greer in close combat. Leaving Greer alone, Gavrani takes the Apple and meets with Bill.
In an empty bar, they discuss that Pash has taken his unit too far and his disregard for the Creed is proof of it. To make matters worse, Pash had made a line fragile between the U.S.A and the Communists, in terms of nuclear warfare. Without any aid of other Assassins, Bill is told he must infiltrate the Bloodstone Unit and kill them himself.
On 11 November 2017, Tomo and Elisa go out in Geneva and hang out together. Tomo discusses Elisa's treatment as she divulges Chapman's treatment using a VR set to aid her memories, but to no avail. Tomo tells Elisa of her medical abuse and reaffirms to go back to her parents. Elisa agrees. In a bathroom, Tomo and Hajime talk about how Chapman is trying to wipe patients' memories and make them contain memories of past Assassins. Realizing the danger, Hajime plans for Assassins to track Chapman as he and Elisa must go inside her parents' home alone while he oversees from behind.
The next day, they arrive at her parents' home in Madrid but Tomo experiences a slight moment of Gavrani in his head. Nevertheless, they both concoct a reason for their arrival as they meet her parents. Tomo confirms Gorm's presence as Hajime green-lights an attack on Chapman, but Tomo goes on the attack alone. After killing Elisa's parents, he attacks Maxime but is wounded as he is struck in the eye. Elisa flees with Maxime. 
A hour later at Geneva, Chapman talks with Stanislas about Tomo and the Adler's demise as she details that her team actually recovers the Adler's data on the Bleeding Effect. However upon entering her home, she felt a presence of an Assassin. Goading them in with her false crying, she waits until Stanilas shoots them down. Both she and Stanilas realize Hajime is onto them sooner than later and plan to move without her Animus at Gorges du Pont-du-Diable.
At Chapman's base, Hajime and his Assassins recover an injured Tomo, who awakes to his voice. However, Hajime affirms Tomo's duty to continue to relive Gavrani's life despite Tomo's desire to not kill anymore. However, despite Chapman's files being erased, Hajime discovers that Chapman needs Pash's resources to continue her work on memory resurrection. Hajime and Tomo work to stop Chapman's plan to bring back any Assassin from the past as Tomo must continue his time in the Animus.
==Media==
===Editions===
*ISBN 9782918771685; 29 March 2019; Les Deux Royaumes; FR paperbackAmazon.fr: Assassin's Creed Bloodstone - Tome 01
*ISBN 9781787734258; 18 February 2020; Titan Comics; US hardcoverAmazon.com: Assassin's Creed: Bloodstone Vol. 1
*ASIN B07XQJ86GL; 19 February 2020; Titan Comics; US eBookAmazon.com: Assassin's Creed: Bloodstone
==References==
Category:Assassin's Creed: Bloodstone