Quick author's note: I don't know how soon my updates will be as I'm a college student taking 5 classes this semester, but I'm going to do my best and hopefully I'll get something out at least once a week. Let me know what you think at the bottom, I always enjoy feedback :)

Thanks for reading!

-Jade


Zero awoke in a cold dark cell. Her head was throbbing, her arms were tied behind her back (very possibly to the chair she was sitting on), and there was a dull ache in her bones which told her she had been sitting in the same spot for a while. There was nothing in the room, save herself, from what she could see. A large metal door stood in front of her however, and she could hear a shuffling sound coming from the other side of it.

"Hello?" She croaked. "Five, is that you? Where am I?"

The shuffling paused, then the door creaked open revealing someone Zero had never seen in her life. They poked their head through the open slot and gawked at her.

"Er, hello there." Zero tried her best to smile. "Did someone from Unit 305 put you up to this? I haven't seen you before, you're a new threader correct? Which division are you from?"

The person did not respond to her, rather they flinched as the words bounced around the small room, and squeaked, slamming the door shut with a metallic screech.

Zero frowned. That's not right.

Sure, new threaders often were a little edgy when they first joined, but everyone in the Night Division knew that Zero was a big pushover, even if she was a Captain. Five must have convinced them that I was mean. I'll set them straight whenever they come back, then have a talk with Five about bullying new recruits.

Zero sighed out loud. "I'm going to have to get a new Lieutenant for Unit 305, aren't I?"

She tried wiggling out of her restraints, but the ropes were too tight and dug into her hands. "Who the hell even learned how to tie ropes like this? We're threaders for fuck's sake! What have you been doing in your free time?"

There was a knock on the door and Zero stopped wiggling as a woman in a purple cowl and leathers walked in, smiling charmingly. "Horra, I un Leliana. Muav I ukk hav auai'xo kaddov holo?"

"I don't suppose this is a joke is it?" Zero felt a twist in her stomach. "A horrible prank played by Lieutenant Five in order to mock his Captain?"

Leliana shrugged, held up one finger, then knocked on the door. "Sarkaol, ka kod Solas uvk Danica krouko. Duv avai ivkolkduvk no?"

"I don't know what you're saying, but there's a building feeling in me that this isn't a joke." A pit filled with dread replaced the twist. There were a few people in the Night Division that disliked her, but none of them had the resources or extra time to kidnap her, learn a completely new language, and tie very well done knots. Forcing the pit down, Zero made a list of all the possible things that might have happened.

1. She actually had been kidnapped.

2. It really was all an elaborate prank pulled by some unit, most likely to be headed by Lieutenant Five.

3. She had pissed off a Weaver and they were going to either reset her or send her 'away'.

4. She was having a VERY realistic dream.

5. She had assimilated.

Zero shuttered at that last thought. It was probably the most likely, but nonetheless the most frightening of the five. Slowly, as Leliana continued watching her, Zero went down the list in her head. There's an explanation somewhere.

It was possible, but highly improbable she was kidnapped. She wasn't a high ranking Captain, and had only just moved up a year ago from being a Lieutenant. She knew nothing and did her best to bother no one.

The prank was also rather improbable. Threaders were generally all squishy babies; none of them had the strength to tie a rope this tight, and while she knew many who were dramatic little shits, none of them were as good at acting as Leliana, although she did look vaguely familiar. Maybe she was a different district's Captain who owed a favor to Five, although why would she be speaking a different language and wearing strange clothes? No, that didn't seem plausible enough.

Pissing off a Weaver made sense to her. Weaver 79 didn't like her relaxed attitude with the threaders, and that she also hadn't stepped down, but had absorbed her duties as a Captain while still keeping up with her job as a threader. Although, Weaver 79's problem was that Zero didn't fall under his jurisdiction anymore, and he couldn't punish her unless she royally fucked up. Maybe he was trying to get her demoted by implying that she couldn't control the threaders under her Captaincy. If that were the case, it would mean that Leliana was most likely a Guardian. But guardians only spoke one language and didn't wear leathers.

Her dreaming was more improbable than the first two. This was not a dream; not like any she'd had before at least.

Assimilation… Just the word made her want to throw up. However, if her case was indeed… assimilation, she would need to ready herself in preparation for the Guardian's search for her. What had Seven- no Kalen, he had asked her to call him Kalen. What had Kalen said to her before he had assimilated and she had been reassigned? Something about her barcode and a tracker. Well, I can't take care of that now with my hands tied. I'll have to wait until later.

Leliana was still sizing her up across her at the wall. Look closer at her, she's familiar for a reason. The faint memory of campfires and monsters danced out of her reach. Find out why.

Whose thread had I just started? The Inquisition, headed by Danica Lavellan, known as the Herald of Andraste after her survival of the explosion at the Temple of Sacred Ashes. How far in the thread had I reached? They reached Skyhold, Lavellan was named Inquisitor. I think that's the farthest in the thread I'd gotten. Zero sighed to herself. And on the first thread too… I have no idea how things will turn out if I make it that far. And that's if I get past the Guardians. She couldn't hide her grimace. Well, shit.

The door opened, breaking Zero from her thoughts. Leliana nodded at whoever was on the other side of the doorway as they stepped into her cell. The first to come through was a bald elven man, and then a female elf, the vallaslin of Mythal like branches high on her cheeks, golden hair, a kind face, with gentle green eyes – oh fuck, it's her. Danica Lavellan.

It was official - Zero had assimilated. Just my luck.

The elven man, Solas, stepped forward to examine her. Zero filtered out their words as they talked about her.

That would be why I recognize Leliana, Zero mused. She was a companion of the Hero of Ferelden. Divine Justinia V, formerly known as Revered Mother Dorothea, was Leliana's benefactor prior to the Fifth Blight and led her to her religious lifestyle. Leliana later became the Left Hand of the Divine and served as such until the breach opened and Justinian was killed in the explosion. She's currently the spymaster for the Inquisition. Leliana does look different, but I guess ten years will does this to a person. I wonder which thread this is? I hope it's not one of the shittier ones.

Finally, Solas waved his hand in front of Zero's face, catching her attention.

"Horra. Ka avai huxo u vuno?"

"I don't understand your words." Zero replied to his gibberish, internally beating her head into a wall.

"Ah. Vuno, vuno." He pointed at each member of the cell. "Leliana, Danica, Solas. Avai vuno?"

Oh, you want my name. Fair enough. "Vuno, my name. Name Zero."

Solas nodded. "Nav name ak Solas. Avai name ak Cero."

My name is Solas. Your name is Zero. His pronunciation of her name was amusing, but at least Solas was trying to teach her the basics of whatever common language was used here. She'd probably pick it up quickly - after all she had been studying Thedas for over 10 years now. If she did a good enough job at learning the language, maybe she could get them to help her get rid of her barcode before the guardians came after her.

Leliana stepped forward. "Vholo ulo you dlan?" She opened the door enough for Zero to see the person she had believed to be a threader salute. "Sarkaol, kod u nik ad Thedas, uvk u dhual." Leliana reclosed the door as they walked off.

"Sarkaol, soldier." Zero muttered.

Danica seemed to hear her because she nodded. She pointed at Solas and herself, unhooking her staff from her back and pointing at it too. "Nuko."

"Nuko, mage."

The three of them looked at each other and smiled slightly. The soldier came back, carrying a rolled map in one hand, and a wooden chair in the other. Leliana pulled a knife from her side and Zero froze in panic. When did things escalate so quickly that they were going to cut her now?! Was Leliana really a Guardian?

Fortunately, Zero had jumped to the wrong conclusion. Leliana made a peaceful gesture and moved around her to cut the ropes from her hands. Zero slowly brought them in front of her to her lap, making no sudden movements.

She started to rub her wrists, when she noticed her hands were not the same as when she had last laid her eyes on them. On her arms were thick black markings that looked like runes which swirled up her limbs. On the inside of her palm was a tattoo that laid in the shape of a dragon curled into a circle. Unlike the others, it was not black but made up of reds, oranges, and yellows.

It was not from this thread-world. Before she had been assigned her Thedas' thread-world, she had studied another world.

It was a highly controversial move; her Captain had told her after the reassignment. No one ever changes thread-worlds unless you're close to the assimilator. And most of them aren't reassigned into the same division they were in before.

"Alo you vad dunaraul vadhdhon tuddaak?"

Zero jumped at the voice. Solas was peering at the marks, pointing at the intricate lines. "Tuddaak."

"Tattoos. They aren't mine, I didn't have them before this." She shrugged. However, she reached her fingers down her leg and felt the back of her calf, where the barcode that listed her numbers and rank was branded into her skin. She forcefully prodded the muscles until she felt a hard thing that she could only assume was the tracker that the guardians would use to find her. That would have to wait for now though. If you're still alive somewhere out there, Kalen, you were right you old bastard.

Leliana moved back in front of her, holding a map of Thedas. "Vholo ulo you dlan?"

Where are you from? Nowhere they would recognize. The words were becoming easier to think about and learn. Still, Zero shook her head. "Not Thedas."

Danica and Leliana murmured to each other while Zero held out her arms for Solas to inspect. Eventually he had his fill and let go of her appendages. Danica cleared her throat behind him. She waved at Zero as she stepped out into the hall. "Kaak-kavo, Cero."

"Kaak-kavo. Good-bye." She waved as the two left and Solas settled down into the chair behind him.

"Harra." He waved.

Ah, so you're the lucky bastard chosen to teach me then. Zero grinned widely at the elven man. "Harra. Hello."

By the time they finished their first lesson, many hours after Danica and Leliana had left, Zero was feeling very drained. She had accomplished much despite the language barrier, she felt. Solas was a good teacher with a lot more patience than she had with herself. As she yawned, the elf chuckled and stood, moving the chair close to the door.

"Good vakhd, Cero."

"Good night, Solas."

Zero spotted a thin blanket in the corner of the room on top of a pile of hay. I guess that's where I'm sleeping for now. She settled onto the prickly hay, but her thoughts still swirled in her mind, pushing at the walls to escape her brain.

"How am I going to get out of this? How am I supposed to explain?" Zero clutched the thin sheet as close as she could, eyes still wide open.

Everyone knew the protocol for assimilated threaders back in her world. The guardians would slit the throat of the assimilator on the other-world, so they wouldn't be a problem after the guardians killed their other-body on the escaped world. After both bodies were killed, they would burn the 'corrupted' thread that the assimilator had escaped into.

It was what they did with Kalen. It would be what they did to her.

She'd only been ten years old when she had been reassigned from her first world to Thedas' world, after the guardians had deemed her too close to her former mentor, Kalen, but to young to 'send away'. In the new barracks on her first night, she had asked her Captain what happened to the threads that were destroyed by the guardians.

They still exist, little Zero, but they have been corrupted from the assimilator's touch and we do not want their corruption to spread into other threads.

As sleep started to fade into her vision, Zero resolved to talk to Solas the next morning. He seemed the most approachable, given that Danica was probably busy and Zero had the feeling that if Leliana thought she was a danger to the future-inquisitor, she wouldn't hesitate to shiv Zero.

The guardians had nothing on how scary Leliana could probably become.