Hey, everybody! Darou here! Sorry it's been a while, I don't know if I updated last week or not. Anyway, happy Fourth of July! We're getting closer to my most recently written chapter, and from then on, I might not update as often or with as many chapters.

Assassin's Creed and the character Pufftail do not belong to me. Pufftail belongs to my friend Jontaea, and I am writing this fanfiction with her permission. The cameo characters belong to their rightful owners. Rosco was designed by and belongs to me. Please do not use this story or its characters without my permission. Enjoy!

Cameo's in this chapter:

Stafford-Jon Lim

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Chapter 21

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The shots rang out, and an enormous eruption shook the earth as a blinding light filled the sky. Rosco and I leapt off the platform just as the dam exploded, fire and water flying everywhere. We were launched into the air and hit the water, the force of the explosion too powerful for us to manage a leap of faith.

I hit the surface on my back, pain scouring through my body. The water that the dam had been holding back rushed into the rest of the lake, creating a strong wave that pushed us toward the river connected to the body of water.

I clawed my way to the surface, being shoved back underwater by a wave multiple times.

"Rosco!" I screamed, just as another wave came towards my face. I swam back up, gasping for breath. "ROSCO!"

No reply.

Thinking quickly, I dived down and tried to find him, but the water was too murky. The current strengthened, and I instinctively fought against it, lashing out all I could to stay above the surface.

I tired quickly, and soon I was being dragged down to the bottom. My lungs felt like they were going to explode as my consciousness faded. Everything went black.

/ / / /

"Hello?" said a voice. It was like a distant echo, as if I were awake, but just barely. "Are you alright, wolf?"

I tried to reply, but when I opened my mouth, lake water spewed out. I sat up, coughing.

"Gee, you must've had quite a swim, eh?"

I looked up to see a river otter sitting next to me, with big, brown eyes staring at me.

"Who…" I coughed. "Who are you?"

"The name's Stafford, kid." He scratched his head. "I don't think I've seen you in these parts. Where ya from?"
"Spain," I replied as I stood, groaning when a jolt of pain went through my back.

"You don't look too good."

"Where I am I?"

Stafford chuckled. "Why, in my house, of course. And on the floor, to be specific."

I looked around. I was inside a small wooden shack, with a lack of furniture and decorations other than cooked fish. Through the window, I could see the river with a forest beyond.

"How did I get here?"

"Uh...not sure. One day I just walked out to the river to catch a few fish, and then there's a blue wolf on the bank right in front of my porch. Hey, how come you're all blue, but your tail is brown? How does that work, exactly?"

I gasped, then whipped around to face the otter, making him flinch. "Did you see a brown dog? With black and red robes and an unnecessary amount of weapons and grouchiness?"

"I can't say I have."

I sighed. What happened to him? Did he escape? Was he looking for me? Did he think I was dead?

"Oh, no," I whimpered. "I have to find him."

I went to the door, but Stafford raced me to it.

"Wait! Before you leave, why don't you get something to eat?"

"No, I really have to"- I paused as my stomach growled. I looked at him meekly. "You wouldn't mind, would you?"

"Not at all!" He left and eventually returned with a plate of fire-cooked fish. "It's not very often that I get visitors out here."

Later on I thanked him for the meal and headed out.

"If you need anything, I'll be right here!" He called after me.

"Thanks, Stafford!"

/ / / /

Figuring that Rosco had shared my earlier idea, I followed the river further into the woods. I searched for a long time, slowly losing confidence as I went. He was probably hiding, considering that we were wanted by now. Sure enough, as I walked, I saw several wanted posters with sketches of Rosco and I on each one. Most of them were largely inaccurate-one showed me with a disgustingly large nose- although we were recognizable. Not good. I tore down each one and tried to rip them up.

Then I heard twigs snapping. I spun around to see a group of guards standing a few yards away with their rifles aimed at me. One of them-probably the leader-held up a wanted poster with me drawn on it. Now my ears looked freakishly big.

"Is this you?" he growled.

I was quiet for a moment. One of the guards cocked his gun, and I immediately took to the trees. They began yelling and shooting at me, although they didn't seem to be very good at aiming. I continued leaping from branch to branch, trying to get as far from them as possible.

"After her!" they kept screaming. Some of them tried to climb as well, although any cats in the French royal guard were declawed during initiation, since they saw themselves as civil folk and believed that only wild animals used their teeth and talons. They barely got three feet off the ground before they fell on their rump.

Up ahead, I saw towers sticking up, seeming to pierce the sky. The city! They'll never find me there.

I sped up, doing my best not to fall, and leapt over the ten-foot-tall fence that separated the town from the woods. Miraculously, the cats managed to do so as well.

Knowing they would spot me if I traveled rooftop to rooftop, I instead tried to blend amongst the villagers. Of course, it's kind of hard not to miss a blue wolf in green and brown robes, so they found me pretty fast.

"There she is!" I heard someone yell, and I broke into a run, constantly bumping into passers-by. A tall building was up ahead. It looked rather difficult to climb, and so I was sure that they wouldn't be able to follow me to the top.

I reached the base of it and started climbing. When I was halfway up, I heard a gunshot that rang in my ears. There was a sharp pain in my leg. I tried to keep climbing, but when I set my foot down on a narrow window sill, the pain became excruciating.

I cried out as I fell, landing on my back heavily. A shadow loomed over me, and the leader of guards appeared.

"Pufftail, you are under arrest," he snarled.

/

Oh, dear. Well, thank you so much for reading! Don't forget to leave a review and tell me what you think! Comments, questions, suggestions, pie recipes, whatever! And if you'd like, go ahead and share this story with your friends! See you next time!

-Darou