Note ~ I do not own any part of Assassin's Creed or ipods. :P

WARNING: May contain spoiler for those of you who have not beaten Assassin's Creed (The first one)

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"Wait! But this is a game! You…You're not real! Heck, I'm you!"

Altair shifted his weight uncomfortably, irritated. "Are you going to continue on with these mad rantings or are you going to tell me what you're doing here."

"I…No, you have to listen to me! Something terrible must have happened! How in the heck could I end up inside a game?"

"This is no game, girl!" Altair snapped, planting both hands squarely on my shoulders. "Now what are you doing in my quarters?"

I stared him straight in the eyes, or at least at the little glimmer of reflecting candle flame that I could see in them. The room was light enough, but his eyes were mountainous voids of crimson mud with insignificant pupils hiding somewhere in their middles. He was so real. All of it was. But how?

How could this be happening? I had been absently diddling about in Assassin's Creed, climbing towers and synchronizing view points. How did that lead to…to this? Altair, the master assassin, the fictional character, staring right at me through those incredible dark irises in the midst of his own quarters at Masyaf. I could smell the faint twinge of incense drifting through the cool, shrouded chamber. I could hear the "ting" of blades clashing against each other in the training circle outside. I could taste the cruel desert sand crawling down my throat. But most vivid of all, I could feel this reality. It was true, as true as my own heartbeat. This world was alive.

I blinked, "I'm not where I'm supposed to be."

"I'll say," Altair mumbled. "I'm going to ask once more. Why are you in my quarters?"

Why can't he tell that I'm not from this…time? Can't he see my clothes?

I tilted my face to scrutinize my appearance and gasped in horror, for over my body draped a thick, coarse robe, obviously designed for some desert practicality that I was unaware of. My hands began to shake uncontrollably as I raked my brain for an explanation, a memory perhaps, anything that would set my heart at ease.

Finally, it came to me. A dream. I must have been dreaming. This was simply not real and would go away as soon as I woke up.

"Of course!" I laughed aloud. "Goodbye, Altair. I will wake up now."

I squeezed my eyes shut and focused on consciousness with all the enthusiasm I could muster. A minute passed. Nothing. Another minutes slid lazily by. Still Nothing. I opened my eyes, incredulous grief compelling my knees to betray me, sending me to the floor with a quiet, hopeless thump.

"I'm not from this world, Altair…" I whimpered.

He knelt beside me, annoyed. "Is this more of you madness speak?"

"No," I breathed, imprisoning his arm in my grip. "Listen, please…Just listen."

He gazed at me for a long time before nodding resignedly and wriggling his arm free of my grip.

"I am not from this time," I continued, more to myself than Altair. "I am from the year 2010. That must be what…one thousand years in the future?"

"Nine hundred," Altair murmured, obviously not believing a word out of my mouth.

"This world of yours…your reality. It's a game in my world. It's a game that people play all over the world. People play your role in your life's missions and experience all of the things that you did as an assassin. I…I know how this must sound, but it's true, I swear!"

"A game? My life is a game in…your world?" Altair pondered, anger building in his throat.

"No…er yes…Listen, I know it probably seems like I'm just another madwoman walking the streets and I wandered into your quarters for some unknown reason, but I really am from another world!" I looked around frantically, desperate to find some evidence of my claims.

Altair brushed his chin and nodded, "Can you prove it, madwoman?"

I would have laughed at this in any other situation, but right then I could find nothing humorous about life at all.

Suddenly, an idea caught my tragic thoughts.

"I can! I can prove it!" I whistled.

I reached for a pocket in my robe and gasped. It was still there. I slid a black, boxy object from the pocket's depths; my ipod. I flipped open its case and turned it towards Altair hurriedly.

"What is that?" he asked, unfazed.

Then, when I turned it on and the little square screen lit up on his startled, dusty face, he screamed and leapt backwards, shrieking harsh arabic at the small contraption.

"This," I smiled, "is called an ipod. It is technology from my world. This proves my story. I am NOT from this time."

Altair caught his breath and glared furiously into the dull blue light, then nodded very slowly.

I shut the black leather case and stuffed the device back into my pocket. He believed me. Now maybe me could help me get out of here.

"Will you help me go back home?" I proposed quietly, allowing him to calm his frantic heartbeat.

Altair leaned back on his palms and thought for a moment. I mused how the game hardly did his features any justice. His skin was a prominent copper brown, clad is his fine arrangement of weathered assassin robes. Several small pouches and knives lined his belt, which bore a simple red flag to signify his rank. A sorry lost digit haunted his left hand, where a blade lurked in the shadows.

He was a truly beautiful creature, yet somehow his lure seemed marred by a guardian of sorts, constantly keeping him in its sights, thus painting a lone, tortured look in his eyes. Nevertheless, over top of this sadness blazed a harsh sincerity that one could practically smell on the man.

"I don't know how I will be able to help you," he finally said, still a little uncollected. "But I will protect you while you are here in…my world."

"What do you mean?" I asked, puzzled. What did me mean protect? Who would try to kill me?

"These times that you were blessed as to have been thrown into are perilous. If you have played through my life then you must know this."

I nodded, "But I haven't played through this part of your life. I don't know what happened to you after you killed Al Mualim. That's as far as the game goes…"

Altair cringed, remembrance clear in his expression. "I…I did not destroy the Templar treasure…"

"I know…" I whispered, not wanting him to lapse into an emotional episode. Not that he was prone to them…or so I thought. I had never actually known him in person, as he isn't…wasn't real.

He shook his head, "Malik has taken Al Mualim's place - "

"What?" I asked, startled. "Why Malik and not you? You were the one who killed all of the templars! You were the one who saved the world!"

Altair shot me a challenging glance, "Malik is best suited for the position. There are many more Templars who draw breath still. With his missing arm, Malik is in no way capable to continue the fight as the rest of us do. So, I have decided to pursue these living perversions as long as my youth will aid me. Maybe one day I will take Malik's place and guide the brotherhood."

"So what exactly would you be protecting me from?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"There are many who would try to kill you in this place simply because they hunger for violence. I will ensure your safety until you are able to return to your…umm…time."

"Why? Why are you willing to watch out for me?"

"Because I would like to see you home safely. I cannot imagine what it must be like to be separated in such a way. It only seems just to help you."

So he really does believe me…

I hesitated, "Thank you. But…now I have to find out how to get back."

"Yes…I suggest we visit all of the major cities that I have gone to. Perhaps you were brought here because of a connection to me."

I nodded. It seemed like a good idea. After all, I was only familiar with the cities that Altair visited in the game anyway, so why else would I have been brought here? There must be a reason. Something to do with the game maybe…In any case, I was not about to sit around in Masyaf all day and wait for some sign that I was going home soon.

"The cities in the game were Damascus, Acre, and Jerusalem. Arsuf was in the end but I doubt that one has any significance."

"Nevertheless, if we find no answers in the other three, that is the first place we will head."

"You know," I mused. "You're taking this whole game and future thing pretty well. Better than I would if I was in your shoes anyway."

Altair turned and gazed out towards his room's balcony absently. "Best not to get upset about it," he said calmly. "The sooner you get home, the sooner I can forget you were ever here."

His words split something inside of me, though I could not understand why. Why did I care what he thought? He was right, after all. It was best just to get home and forget this ever happened…But then, why was I sent here in the first place? Why would it be so simple to just get home and banish this experience from my thoughts? No. I just could not believe that. There was more to this. I was sent here for a reason. There would be no forgetting this event anyway. Altair had seen an ipod, technology from nine hundred years in the future, and I had seen….Well, I had seen him.

"So," Altair interrupted. "How come you are dressed appropriately, yet you still possess that…device?"

His question puzzled me, for I did not know the answer myself. I did not know the answer to a lot of things it seemed.

"I don't know…" I finally said. "Who…or whatever did this to me must have had some sort of plan…They wanted me to keep my technology…but I don't understand why…"

Altair stood and brushed himself off with one quick swipe, "I must go speak with Malik. Stay here until I return."

"What? What are you going to tell him?"

He simply ignored me and disappeared from the room.

I shrugged and allowed my gaze to caress the sweet exotic grooves of the room. Hand-painted vases occupied the corners and crevices, filling the small chamber with tiny glints of color when the sun struck upon them. There were pillows with strange stitch work clustered across the floor, each one smiling up at me, beckoning me forth. The room's balcony looked over a glorious mountainous landscape with little pockets of palms tickling the rocks at their bases. And most magnificent of all was the sun. It's blinding aroma engulfed the room and seemed to take with it one's life energy when it disappeared behind the clouds. So sweet it smelled. I had never seen such a sight, and despite myself, I began to feel a soft peace overcome my tense muscles. For a moment, it seemed like I would be going home immediately and I would see my family again. All of this would have been dream…But that was only for a moment.