Lip Gallagher had always expected life to throw curveballs at him. He was a Gallagher, after all. But nothing—nothing—could've prepared him for what was waiting for him outside the hospital the day Karen was supposed to give birth.

The South Side was its usual mess, streets littered with broken dreams and beer bottles, but Lip wasn't focused on any of that. He was anxious, heart pounding as he approached the hospital entrance. Despite everything Karen had done—the games, the manipulations, the sleeping with his dad—Lip still felt some twisted sense of responsibility. Maybe the baby wasn't his, but part of him had been ready to step up. That's just what Gallaghers did.

But as he neared the door, a sharp voice called out from the shadows of the parking garage.

"Philip Gallagher."

Lip stopped mid-step. No one called him that. Not even teachers when he bothered showing up to class. His gut tightened. He turned, half-expecting to see some debt collector Frank pissed off or maybe one of Mandy's crazy brothers with another grudge.

Instead, two figures dressed in sleek, dark clothes stepped forward. They didn't look like South Side trouble—too clean, too precise. Their eyes were cold, calculated, and something about them screamed danger in a way even Terry Milkovich couldn't match.

"The hell do you want?" Lip spat, masking his growing unease with his usual bravado.

One of them, a tall woman with piercing green eyes, stepped closer. She moved like a shadow—silent, fluid. "You're not here for the baby."

Lip frowned. "The hell I'm not. Look, I don't know what kind of scam you're running, but—"

"You're here because it's time you learned the truth," the man interrupted, his voice smooth but carrying an edge sharp enough to cut glass.

Before Lip could respond, the woman pulled something from her coat—a small, ancient-looking pendant shaped like an eagle, wings spread wide, clutching a hidden blade. The sight of it sent a jolt through him, like his body recognized it before his mind could catch up.

"This belonged to Philip J. Gallagher," the woman said, eyes locking onto Lip's with unsettling intensity. "Your ancestor. You are his namesake—and his legacy runs through your veins."

Lip blinked, scoffing. "Yeah, okay. And Frank's the Pope. Get lost."

But the pendant... It felt familiar, like a memory from a dream he never had.

The man stepped forward now, his voice lower, more serious. "You've always known you were different. Smarter. Sharper. Always two steps ahead, even when you didn't want to be. That's not just luck, Lip. It's in your blood. You've been chosen to join the Brotherhood of Assassins."

Lip barked out a laugh, though it sounded hollow even to his own ears. "Assassins? You guys lose a bet or something? I'm a Gallagher. I break into cars and flunk outta college. I'm no killer."

The woman's lips curled into a knowing smile. "You've been fighting your whole life, Lip. For your family. For survival. We're offering you a purpose. A real one."

Lip opened his mouth to fire back another sarcastic remark, but something stopped him. A flicker of curiosity. Or maybe it was the exhaustion of carrying the Gallagher family on his back for so long, only to keep falling into the same self-destructive patterns.

"What's in it for me?" he finally muttered, crossing his arms.

"Freedom," the man replied. "Knowledge. The power to shape your destiny, not just react to it. You'll never be shackled by the South Side again—unless you choose to be."

Lip hesitated. Karen, the baby, the Gallaghers—it all felt like it was slipping further into the background. For the first time in his life, someone was offering him more than survival.

And maybe... maybe that was what scared him the most.

"What if I say no?" he challenged, though the fight was fading from his voice.

The woman shrugged. "Then you'll walk back into that hospital and keep pretending you're just another screw-up from the South Side. But you'll always wonder what could've been."

Lip stared at the pendant, the weight of the decision pressing down on him harder than any Gallagher family drama ever had. He thought about Frank, Fiona, Ian, even little Liam. They'd all been trapped in this cycle, drowning in it.

Maybe it was time someone broke free.

With a deep breath, Lip reached out and took the pendant. It felt cold against his skin, but there was a spark beneath it—an awakening.

"Alright," he muttered. "Show me what you've got."

The woman's smile widened. "Welcome to the Brotherhood, Philip Gallagher."

And just like that, Lip's world shifted—not with the chaos of the South Side, but with the silent, deadly precision of a blade in the dark.

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DGW: Hello everyone, thank you for reading, this story was brought to you by me rewatching FaverMySabre's assassins creed series, I hope you all enjoyed. If you have any complaints feel free to tell me as I have not finished Shameless

Word Count: 849