The Forest (Chapter 8 Part II)

{Hey, I'm really sorry for the short chapter last time, I just procrastinated a heck of a lot then it meant that I didn't update this. I am working to update this more though (as well as Home)! So stay tuned.

...Reviews:D...

Sarafinja: *evil laugh* (I know, Kadar is such a cutie :( I'm sorry...kinda)

Sissymac: I'm really sorry :( I hope this chapter makes up for it.

ROC95: Thank you :)

...

Remaining Characters:

Altair Ibn-L'Ahad

Malik Al-Sayf

Giovanni Auditore

Mario Auditore

La Volpe

Bartolommeo D'Alviano

Desmond Miles

Rebecca Crane

Abby Freilich-Jones

...

Enjoy the bonus chapter end, next chapter we will return to the main storyline.

Please review and tell me what you think :)

P.S Italics in Altair's story signify French }

Altair

"Curse this hunt, why do we have to be up at this hour?"

Altair's eyes immediately snapped open and he froze within the pile of leaves he had captured a light rest in. On high alert, he slowed his breath and tamed his shivers as he kept his ears pricked for footsteps and more speech.

"Because Robert ordered us to, I will not disobey him even if it means being out in this cold. We are here for a reason." Another voice drifted through the trees as Altair heard footsteps crunching through the woodland. They were not very stealthy people. However they piqued Altair's interest when they mentioned Robert, he could not just sit there and let them get away when they had information of the whereabouts of Robert in this place (if he was in this place at all, it was possible that he had ordered them into this forest).

He winced a little as he struggled to get out of the leaves without making any sort of large sound. Kadar slept close by in the little undergrowth there was. Bringing Kadar along was a very large risk since the man wasn't very experienced in the ways of an Assassin. He would be like a bull in a china shop and then it would be all over.

Luckily for him Kadar did not do some much as stir and he quickly blended with the shadows of the night and followed after the men who walked through the trees in a clear route. Being one with the shadows, he remained in range that he could hear their voices and keep them in sight as he activated his Eagle Vision. Their red glow danced in and out of view as they weaved their way through the trees.

"Do you think he is following?"

"He must be, we mentioned our master after all."

"I hope so though he is very quiet if he is."

Both men stopped and tried to listen out for any footsteps but Altair had already sensed them slowing and had pressed himself against a tree, controlling his breathing and almost melding into the tree itself. After a few very slow moments, the men shrugged and carried on, their faces carrying uncertain smirks as they lead the man right where they wanted him - they hoped.

"If he is following then we only have to capture two more and then we can leave."

"I hope that happens soon, I miss my wife's cooking."

"I just miss having an actual bed to rest on."

"Quiet, we are close." One of the men whispered to the other in thickly French accented English. "I do not wish to be reprimanded about talking again"

"Ah there you are!" A booming voice said as Altair edged closer again. He knew that voice well and focused in on the man as he glowed gold in his second sight. Robert. "I 'ave been waiting too long for you to arrive. Is 'ee 'ere? Is the great Altair really with us."

"He is." Altair's voice said but it wasn't from his mouth. Altair's arm was caught mid swing as he tried to catch the man now standing behind him silently. He tried to use this against him and flip the man but the man seemingly had been expecting this as he let Altair go to shove him to the ground. Altair was surprised enough to allow the man to grab him and pin him to the tree, face into the bark, that he had previously been pressing himself against. He tried every tactic he had both been taught and created himself but nothing worked, it was as if the man knew every single thing he had been attempting to do. But that was impossible, no one of the Assassins back at Masyaf had seen some of the moves had had tried to pull to get out of a disadvantaged situation. All too soon he could no longer move as a blade was pressed against his neck.

He heard an arrogant laugh boom from nearby at the small fire. Someone was clapping merrily.

"Ah très bien!" Robert said loudly as Altair pulled from the tree, blade removed from his throat and could look back to see the captor. His own hooded smirk greeted him as he was shoved toward the crackling fire in the early daylight.

That is impossible

"I really did not think that you would fall for zat!" Robert sneered with a laugh.

"You knew where I was all along." Altair realised as he was forced to stand before the man he had been so intent on killing. He had been blinded from being suspicious at how easy it was considering the difficult he had been under before with this forest crawling with the enemy.

"Oui I did and separating yourself from Kadar 'as made things a little easier." Robert stepped forward and smacked Altair with the hilt of his dagger, grinning in satisfaction. Altair's head snapped to the side and he grunted but otherwise did not react, he did not want to provide further entertainment even though his cheek throbbed and he could taste metallic taste of blood in his mouth. "Along with ze 'elp of your little dark replica."

The grip on his arms tightened as all of the men around him laughed, enraging Altair in the process. His whole body tensed and his jaw went rigid as he held in a growl that threatened to come out.

"How is that possible?" he asked, struggling to keep his tone neutral.

"You have no need of that information, not with the fate that awaits you." His 'replica' said and unnerved him as he would never get used to it.

"Oh 'e is good." Robert said with another chuckle. "Almost as good as moi if I do say so myself."

"Should I tie him up Master?" the other him asked and he gritted his teeth as he heard the word Master roll off his lips when addressing the stupid bald templar. He would never address a templar as master.

"S'il vous plaît (Please)." Robert said with a casual wave of his hand.

Two other soldiers appeared as he shook himself and tried to get out of the strong grip he was held in, cursing loudly in Arabic as he did. But even so his arms were forced still a thick, coarse rope was tied around them. But something was different, the rope burned his skin but not in the usual way. His fingers twitched as the shooting pain went through his hands and arms and made him wince and bite his tongue to hold in his groans.

"Ah you 'ave noticed ze little... improvement to your bindings. We will only 'ave the best for you and so we 'ave used 'modern' technology." Robert sneered in his face as he twitched minutely and tried not to look as if it hurt him. Robert got right in his face, to the point where Altair was almost suffocated by the pungent breath that overwhelmed his nose. "Take 'im away."

"With pleasure." His captor knocked him out cold with a hit to the temple with his dagger hilt before dragging him away through the forest to his prison.

Giovanni

As time progressed, Giovanni was becoming increasingly...suspicious, if that was the right word, of his brother. There was nothing wrong with his behaviour, he was completely normal which felt like the issue. His brother acted as if they were just walking around the countryside around Monteriggioni that they had come to know well before Giovanni had moved into Florence with his Uncle Ilario only almost two years before now.

But they were not, they were in an unknown place that had signs of life but which his brother had previously said could not be trusted - a reasonable judgement considering their occupation and way of life. Giovanni was beginning to think that there was something that Mario was not telling him.

"Brother?" Giovanni said as they walked through the eerily quiet forest.

"Yes, what is it?" Mario asked though he sounded impatient.

"Is there something you have not been telling me?" Giovanni voiced his concerns.

Mario looked at him with a look that bordered between hurt and annoyed.

"In what context? There are things I have kept from you but you have told me they were things you did not want to know."

Giovanni sighed a little though pulled a disgusted face at what his brother meant but shook his head and got back on topic.

"I mean about this place, you said that we need to be careful yet you act as if you know the place."

Mario had turned to look ahead again but Giovanni could see a smirk appear on his brother's face as he stopped walking.

"Ah, I was waiting until you would notice that." Mario said with a small chuckle, just as his appearance flickered.

Giovanni took a step back and his foot was immediately trapped in what seemed to be a clamp of some sort. It did not hurt but it meant that he could not move any more.

"I do not understand." Giovanni said as he heard footsteps from all around him.

The figure laughed once before dissolving into a fine golden powder that dispersed in the air as figures stepped into view. He did not recognise any of them though they seemed to recognise him.

"Giovanni Auditore ah at last." The man dressed in the noble dress as he sauntered forwards and looks down his nose at him.

"Who are you?" He asked as if everything were normal and he was not trapped with many weapons pointed at him.

"Ah ragazzo (boy) there is no need for you to know my name, but you will know it soon enough."

Giovanni looked up at the man and studied him closely. The man's thin black hair framed his bearded face which was partially covered by the black cap on his head. In fact every garment on his body was dyed black but only with accents of white and gold to show his wealth. However, the thing that caught his attention most was the house insignia on the man's black leather cape. Two twin dolphins back to back, the crest of a noble family of Florence that Giovanni had learnt a little about. The Pazzi.

"You are a Pazzi, I have no quarrel with you. Why do you want me?" Giovanni said calmly though he tried to move his foot to no avail.

The man chuckled as he and his men stepped forward, swords raised to his torso height. Giovanni had no need to look, he knew the men behind him to be doing the same.

"Ah not yet maybe boy, but you will be and I aim to get revenge before your work is even done." the man said, tilting the young man's head up with the tip of his sword.

Giovanni just puffed out his chest confidently and was about to speak when cursing was heard along with a lot of crunching and shouts.

"Unhand me you devils and I may spare your life and dignity!" That gruff, threatening shout sounded just like his brother but he had just disappeared into thin air, literally, hadn't he?

"If you let us go then I will not chop off your balls and feed them down your throat!" Another much coarser yet unfamiliar voice cried along with that of his brother, though many more accompanied this (though he didn't think it best to dwell on their meaning or the images that came with them).

Moments later, two figures came crashing through, their chains rattling as they attempted to regain their balance. Sure enough it was his brother and two very big guards who were already shoving him to his feet and making him stand in a certain place to insure his feet were secured in the clamps too.

"I will have your heads for this!" his brother spat, unafraid as usual.

"Hah like you can try ragazzo!" the leader said with a hearty laugh. "And now you may witness your young sibling die before you."

"I already killed him." Mario said sadly and there was an underlying tone of guilt in his voice, he had not noticed him as of yet.

"No but I am about to." Francesco now dropped his sword a little to walk closer and place the whole blade against Giovanni as he stood and was forced to try and strain his neck away though Francesco had also grabbed his hair to keep his head still. He swallowed and tried to hold his breath to stop his skin being in contact with the sharp blade. He could feel the sting of a small cut appearing on his neck. He had been in situations like this before but there was always some hope and right now Giovanni could not think of a single way out of this. Quite frankly it scared him. A lot. But he saw his brother's eyes widen.

"No!" Maria cried and Giovanni knew he had to try and calm his brother.

"It is alright fratello I will be fine," he said though it was strained by the presence of the blade. "He will not-"

Giovanni felt a slash of sharp pain and his voice died, replaced with gasping and gurgling.

He couldn't breathe, he tried but all that happened was a gurgling sound.

He was dying.

He reached his hands up to try and close the wound and give him some time but already he felt weak and his head hurt as the dizziness peaked along with his fear.

And then he slipped away and everything was calm and peaceful in his mind even with the sound of his brother shouting and the laughs.

Mario

Shaking in anger and pain, Mario watched the twitches and gurgles slowly stop and his brother's hands fall away from his neck as the boy passed away, blood settling on his linen shirt and clotting in his younger brother's dark, fluffy hair.

His eyes were glued to his brother's face, staring at his brothers unseeing eyes as they looked up at the bare tree canopy above them. They were not in a living forest anymore, they were in a forest of the dead.

He should have done something, forced his brother not to talk, to give him time to try and give him his own life in exchanged for his younger brother's - the one who had had a career in banking ahead of him and a woman waiting for him back in Florence. What did Mario have? He had no woman, only seeking the company of prostitutes and refusing any other woman since his sweetheart, Luciana, had died and his career was an Assassin path - one that any man could take even if he loved what he did and felt proud of his heritage. But what was pride if you could not pass that on to the boy who also had it?

"What is the matter? Surely you are used to witnessing death now, after all you end so many lives." Francesco sneered and Mario was too angry to take in his philosophic thoughts.

"You will pay for the murder of my brother!" he seethed as he looked Francesco right in the eyes and made it known that he was prepared to fight even if his feet were caged.

"Don't worry, you are about to join him." Francesco said with a grin as Mario held in a groan of pain as he felt a spear press through his heart. He barely had time to register the pain before he his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed on the floor, feet still clamped still in death.

La Volpe

La Volpe had been hiding in the undergrowth for a couple of days, even forgoing food and water in order to stay hidden. He had noticed that the patrols of guards and people had begun to decrease as of late but he did not rest on his laurels, he was not at an advantage and needed to be very cautious.

Bartolommeo had created a good enough distraction but had ignored the man when he had quietly called his name going through the forest. The man had been quiet then but he knew that the soldier was naturally loud and his footsteps had been easy to hear. He estimated that the man's life would not be long and in situations like these, he had to be selfish.

Illness was beginning to affect him, the dehydration making him sick and nauseous whenever he tried to do anything but lay still and his stomach had rumbled dangerously though now his entire abdomen was badly cramped with hunger and there was nothing he could do to soothe it without leaving his hiding place.

He didn't know how much longer he would last but he knew it would be best to die in hiding rather than combat. He would die a thief and not a soldier.

Rebecca

Things were going better since she had met Shaun, her dehydration was no longer a problem as Shaun went out every day and came back with enough to last them the day. They always had scavenged enough food and they were making great progress through the trees.

Even the bickering had simmered down from what it used to be. They were less an old married couple and now got along with only the little occasional argument which was quickly resolved. Still she missed their old arguments and bickering, it was kinda their thing.

Sure things were great but they just weren't as good as before and it kinda put a downer on the whole thing.

"Do you need anymore water?" Shaun asked her for the tenth time this morning .

Rebecca sighed and decided to speak up.

"No I'm fine. Look I know you're trying to look after me and everything but you're not the same. You're a little calmer and... I kinda miss all the bickering." she said, coming to a stop as she spoke her mind.

Shaun stopped too and looked at her with an expression she couldn't quite place.

"It's just an entirely different situation Rebecca." he said stepping forward towards her. "And I'm not the man I was before."

Rebecca frowned in confusion. "You can be, you just have to try."

"No, I mean that Shaun Hastings was killed after getting snared in a fox trap and stabbed in the chest." Shaun said as his expression turned very dark as he gave her time to process that and create the image in her head.

"What?!" She said, shaking her head in disbelief and fear as the image already filled her head.

"It's amazing isn't it?" Daniel said, coming into view but remaining outside his circle of soldiers. "Clones made of dust, makes the hunt so much fun to watch when their own "friends" kill them." His twisted laugh echoed through the forest as Rebecca watched through the pain of the cool iron shackles being fastened too tightly to her wrists.

Rebecca looked to the new Shaun but Daniel cut through him and his dissipated and was gone.

"Not for you!" Daniel shouted in a very suddenly which shocked everyone. "No, I have something extra special for you and some others."

Rebecca had the specific feeling that it was not special in a good way and so actually groaned as she was lead away.

{Oh my gosh it's been a long time but I just got so busy with mocks and exams coming up and everything. Anyway, please enjoy this xxx}