Part Two

Chapter 5

Jennifer Hernandez:

The walk back up to the swirl is less stressful than the one going to the stables. With my worries eased, thanks to Ezio's words, we make the walk home slowly. Almost reluctantly, as we leave Epona behind with Basil and a full list of instructions, though I have vague plans to come back and help.

The sun has gone down almost all the way when we finally make our way home. The world is bathed in dark blues and purples as the sun disappears behind the mountains and hills. The yellow glow of torches fights back the encroaching darkness as best as they can.

Still, the world is dark, the shadow longs, and the deeper they get, the more our carefree attitude fades. The eerier everything turns as the night swallows the last rays of the sun. Soon we move in complete silence, mindful of making too much noise and drawing unwanted attention.

Al Mualim had said, as Altaïr's apprentice, this is as much my home as any other Assassin. Though, without Altaïr here to keep the harsh glares away, it doesn't feel nearly as inviting as it should. We're no one's favorite people right now and Altaïr hasn't been since the siege of Masyaf.

So we scurry along, going faster as the world darkens until we're at the swirl and only a jump away from home. Even when we reach it, we don't linger. We jump through instantly, waiting only long enough to give each other time to clear the pillow pit.

"So any closer to actually being able to explain what 'The Energy' is?" I ask, settling onto one of the computer chairs once we've all made it through.

Ezio, the last to make the jump, lingers in the pillow pit. He sags against them, looking dangerously close to sleep. Ken throws him a quick look, brows drawn together in what looks like exasperation before he grabs his notes and shuffles through them.

"No closer than when you ran away in the middle of my explanation," he says as he places a paper in front of me. It's filled with sketches and numbers and equations and bigger words than I have seen since my high school years. "Which was quite rude by the way."

"I didn't run."

"Snuck away then," he corrects, tone amused as he watches me look through his notes. There's no point to this and he knows it. Not when I have no prayer of knowing what any of this means and especially since he can't explain it in small enough words to make me understand.

It's the exact reason I had 'snuck' away to go visit Epona. When he'd dragged me up here after our talk of going to Venice, I'd been fully intent to listen and learn about this mysterious energy that seemed to be causing my Minerva induced "dreams". But, as his attempts at explanation had only gotten more confusing as time went on, I'd taken one of his small moments of distraction to dive headfirst into the swirl and away from the frustration induced headache I could feel coming.

The fact that he didn't try to chase me down and drag me back suggests he realized it was probably for the best. Just like I can't understand what he's trying to explain, he doesn't understand it enough to explain it simply and easily.

"I have an idea," I mutter to him as I spot yet another word I have no hope of even pronouncing. "I need answers and you need someone else on your level—mentally—to help you figure this out. My answers lie in their world and yours? Well, there's only one person who's both smart enough to help and loyal enough to keep quiet about it."

"Leonardo Da Vinci."

~oOo~

The boat dips and sways, rocked by the gentle current of the waves as we near the port. I list with it, letting the current lull me to and fro. It's relaxing, comforting in a way I can't explain and I lay my head on my arms and enjoy the feeling of the rocking waves and warmth of the sun on my back.

Though the calm is soon interrupted by the sounds of Kenny losing his lunch over the side of the ship.

There's not much to lose. Travel rations are always light and ours doubly so. Only stale bread and granola bars had been left for our last day of travel due to both poor rationing and being severely underprepared for a trip where our biggest threat came in the form of boredom.

And what do bored people do?

Eat.

Then again, the decision to actually make this trip had been almost as rash as my first solo trip to Masyaf. Meaning that we had pack nothing but the true essentials. Not that they've been all that necessary to begin with. Other than to stave off boredom, most of our meals had, surprisingly, come from the Taverns and Inns Ezio had insisted we stay at.

"This is supposed to be a vacation," he had said when we protested stopping for the night at a cozy little Inn. It was more like a cabin, with log walls, straw beds, and candlelit rooms. "And a vacation does not include sleeping on the dirt."

So we'd spent that last two nights sleeping in warm little Inns and eating at the first taverns to cross our paths come midday. A true vacation, really. Where our only hardships were boredom and being saddle sore after a long day spent on horseback.

Peaceful, really.

Well, up until the seasickness hit.

"You almost made it," I tell Kenny, as he leans over the boat again, the last of our meager lunch coming up. I glance up from where I'm slouched against the railing of the ship, arms resting atop it and watch as he pulls back, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "We're half an hour from port, tops."

Kenny simply groans, slumping over the rail next to me, as Ezio runs a soothing hand along his back. Belatedly, I realized I should have packed some Benadryl for this very situation. I knew we would have to board at least one ship on this particular adventure and seasickness can hit anyone.

With nothing for it, though, I just watch as Ezio hand moves up to card through Kenny's hair. It's gotten shaggier, longer. Long enough to be pulled into a short ponytail at the base of his head where it's tied with a familiar red ribbon.

One I'm sure I've seen on a particular Assassin before.

Ezio pulls the ribbon then, letting the damp blonde hair fall free. The wind picks it up almost instantly, drying the sweat-soaked strands, even as Ezio continues to run his fingers through them. Kenny leans into the fingers on his head, eyes closed.

Having shed his dark green doublet long ago, due both to the sun shining over the water too brightly to comfortably wear the leather doublet and feeling more than a little nauseous, the wind blows easily through his billowy shirt. It helps dry his clammy skin and ease some of his discomfort.

"We are almost there," Ezio whispers, both acknowledging I was correct and trying to sooth Ken as the boat continues to rock with the current. "It really should not take much longer, look."

I do. I follow his line of sight to see tall, brick buildings, all three stories minimum and huddled close together with only narrow alleyways separating them. Beautiful, white, cobblestone bridges that arch so gracefully over the canals that wind their way into the city and deceivingly crystal clear, blue waters that just beg for you to jump in and go for a swim.

But if there was anything I've ever heard of Venice, it's to stay out of the canals.

"It's beautiful," I whisper back and I continue to repeat that in my mind even as the boat docks. Though, when we make our way through the city, it quickly turns to, "I'm in love."

Where Masyaf is dangerous, looming, and dark even on the brightest days and yet strangely beautiful in all it's treacherous ways, and Jerusalem had been liking coming back home, warm and comforting and oh so serene, Venice is gorgeous.

Stunning.

It's pale, sun-bleached building—with intricately carved walls and archways and stoops and even balconies—that sit on smooth, almost polished, cobblestone walkways. Pathways of stone so carefully laid down that it shines brightly under the gleaming sun. It's like walking into a fairytale, where everything is radiant and glistening and enchanting.

Like every Princess' castle rolled up into a whole breath-taking city.

"This way," Ezio says, leading us deeper into the city. He makes sure to go slow, mindful of that fact that this is as much a sight-seeing trip as it is a mission. I basically float after him, lost in a world of fairytales, and struggling not to actually get lost as my gaze keeps going everywhere but him.

"Here," Kenny grumbles when I drift too far behind and force them to wait for me to catch up, lest I lose sight of them. Linking his arm through mine, he tugs me along, faint amusement on his face as the sturdy ground and fresh breeze help clear away the last of his sickness.

It's not too long after that we enter a very familiar cul-de-sac, one with two thick and tall trees spaced a few feet apart in the middle, and a pale red brick building that hopefully holds the answer to all our problems.

While I know it isn't fair to place so much responsibility on Leonardo's unsuspecting shoulders, we're way out of our depths here. Though I'm pretty sure Leonardo will be too—I would be surprised if he wasn't—some help is better to no help. Even if we don't get any farther on that front, we have more than one reason for being here.

Minerva.

Though it would be just my luck that even on day three of our trip I've seen nothing. Nada. Not a glimpse or even a whisper. Sure, my dreams are still filled with fire and ash and burning cities but Minerva herself hasn't made an appearance. Two nights have passed with neither hide nor hair of the person who singlehandedly turned my life upside down.

Rude.

"We are here," Ezio says, leading us through the archway and into the outdoor foyer of the building. It's a small, private thing, with minimal décor and a wooden door, beautifully carved with vines and leaves, the only thing keeping us from entering Leonardo's workshop.

Still, Ezio hesitates at the door, fist raised to knock but stopping just shy of actually touching the wood. Almost as if he doesn't want us to intrude upon Leonardo's place. Which I completely understand considering, while Ezio knows us fine and well, Leonardo has never met us before and inviting complete strangers into his workshop might just be out of the realm of his comfort zone.

Just when I begin to think Ezio just might not knock after all, he does. He lets his fist fall against the door three times, hard and heavy, before casting one last calculating gaze at Ken. The look doesn't last long, it drifts back to the door just as it begins to creak open, revealing a beaming smile on a slightly scruffy face.

"Ezio!"

"Leonardo," Ezio greets back, the smile in his voice as well as on his face when he pulls the smaller man into a tight hug. "How have you been, my friend?"

"I could not ask for better days," Leonardo says as he pulls back from the hug. His hands linger though, one clasped tight on Ezio upper arm while the other stays loose where it wrapped around his waist. "Though I must say, you look much better than last I saw."

"Last time you saw me I may or may not have been involved in a bit of an altercation."

"I would not be surprised if you had," Leonardo huffs around a laugh, smile widening and eyes going bright as they finally flick to us. "You brought friends! Would I be wrong to assume they are brothers of your creed?"

"It depends on you ask," Ezio says amused smile on his face as he steps out of the way to introduce us. Leonardo's hands fall away almost reluctantly then, but the smile never leaves his face as he steps forward to greet us. "Leonardo, these are very dear friends of mine, Kenny Chase and Jennifer Hernandez."

"It is a pleasure to meet you," Leonardo says to Kenny first, right hand coming up to lay over his heart as he bows.

It's only then that I notice the rigidness in Kenny's body. Despite that his arm is still linked with mine, I don't realize he's tensed until he moves, rather stiffly, to pull his arm from mine and copy Leonardo's greeting bow. Though, once I finally do, I can do nothing more than give him a confused look that he doesn't even see. Not when his eyes are firmly locked on Ezio. A thousand questions in that probing gaze.

Uh-oh.

"The pleasure is all ours, we've heard so much about you," I cover for Kenny, gently nudging him out of Leonardo's way and behind me. Hoping to distract Leonardo from Kenny's absolute lack of enthusiasm, I dip into a very dramatic curtsey, flaring the skirt of my pale blue dress out as I do. "We're sorry for dropping by so suddenly."

"It is more than alright, my dear. A friend of Ezio is a friend of mine," Leonardo says, bowing back. If he's at all put off by Kenny's behavior he doesn't show it as he steps back and ushers us inside. "Please come in, come in, and let me know what I can do for you."

We shuffle in then and I almost have to drag Kenny in after me when he doesn't make a move to follow. At the first tug of his sleeve though, he lurches forward, reluctant legs tangling under him for a second before he straightens out and steps into the workshop.

While I want nothing more to look and poke and admire the full extent of Leonardo's slightly cluttered workshop, I find myself looking at Ken instead. He's still tense, quiet in a way I hadn't expected as he lingers near the door almost as if he wants to turn right back around and forget this half-baked scheme.

"Please ignore the mess," Leonardo says as he hurries to shove some of the clutter off one of the tables. "I am not used to having to entertain. My services tend to require me to work at a client's home rather than for them to come here."

"It's more than fine," I answer him as I toss down my pack by the door. It's a light one, several times lighter than the one I took to Jerusalem with only a change of clothes, basic toiletries, and an empty water bottle, but it's still a nice to be able to put it down. "We really don't want to impose. We were just hoping you'd be able to help us with a small problem."

"Is this about the Codex pages?" Leonardo asks as he drags a few stools to the table he's cleared and motions for us to sit down. With another tug, Kenny follows me to the stools, still a bit rigid, but tuning back into the subject at hand as he nods.

"In a way," he says, eyes going to look up at Ezio. He still stands, leaning against a nearby column. There's only one question in his gaze now, one asking just how much he can Leonardo. There has to be a limit somewhere, right? Some boundaries and rather than trip over them, he sends the question Ezio's way.

It's better to have Ezio fill Leonardo and omit whatever he feels is necessary than to let something truly secret slip.

So Ezio tells Leonardo.

He starts from the beginning. The true beginning. The one where Altaïr crashed through my living room ceiling, having travel eight hundred and twenty-three years into the future all on the whims of some deranged goddess who thought we were the answers to all her prayers.

"That is…that is…well it is something, all right," Leonardo says sometime after Ezio finished. His gaze is on us, wide and curious and almost revering as he looks us over. He believes Ezio almost instantly. Of course he does. He was the first one to know about us in this world, after all. The first one to decode the ever-changing Codex pages and read our story. We sit in silence as we give him time to finish processing the story.

"You are Jen," he suddenly says, recognition entering his eyes then. Excitement as well as he connects my name to its shortened version. The one most commonly used even in the Codex pages themselves. "The Grand Master's wife."

"Oh, ah, no," I correct him, cheeks flushing in embarrassment when the happy look on his face morphs to confusion. "That would be Maria, Maria Thorpe."

"But I thought he left her for you," he says, more confused now as he turns to give Ezio a questioning look. "Or, rather, with your appearance—the time-traveling women who turned his very meaning of life on its head—he never falls in love with Maria."

"It changes," Ezio cuts in, sparring me from coming up with an answer to that. "And very often. Though at this moment I would say you are very right in calling her Altaïr's future wife—as that was what the most recent codex entry pointed to—he has yet to meet Maria."

"Ah, so the possibilities that might result from their encounter are still endless."

"Exactly," Ezio says as I try very hard to ignore the way my heart jumps at his words and have to keep myself from asking if he read that before we left for Venice, because that would mean— "Now, I know it is unfair of us to impose on you with such a matter, but we are at a loss ourselves on just how to get the answers we need."

"We know the possibilities of you being able to help us are slim to none," Kenny begins, rummaging through his pack to pull his notes out. "The language barrier alone is going to be hard to overcome—in writing that is—but anything helps at this point."

"Language barrier? But I can understand you just fi—oh," Leonardo mumbles as Ken hands him the notes and he sees the papers scribbled with English. "Wait, could you not transcribe these into Italian? You two speak fairly well to not be able to—oh, wait, you cannot! Or rather you should not be able to."

"No, we really shouldn't," I agree with a shrug. "But one surprising gift we've gotten out of this whole mess is that we can. But other than being able to speak and understand languages we've never have before, we can't read or write it."

"Then can you truly speak it then?" Leonardo says, curiosity thick in his eyes as they narrow. "Do the words that come out of my mouth and into your ears sound Italian?"

"No, they're English."

"And if I switch to Latin, would you be able to tell the difference?"

"No, not at all."

"But the words that just came out of your own mouth are as fluent as my own Latin, if not more so," he says, bemusement in his words and on his face. "You are after the source and objective of this mysterious energy from our world, while I think I have found it. Tell me, when did you first notice your ability to speak and understand a language you never knew?"

"It was Kenny, actually," I tell him. "He was the one who noticed it first. As for when, well when Altaïr first showed up. Ever since I first spoke to him I could understand him."

"Ah, but Kenny could not?"

"No," Kenny answers his gaze swinging to me with shock. "I couldn't. I couldn't understand either of you at least not until—"

"You fell through the swirl with me," I finish for him, still a little confused as I struggle to see how all this lines up. "But my parents could understand Altaïr. From day one, they've been able to speak to him. Alexis too."

"Would I be right in saying they were in your home on that night?" Leonardo asks as he searches through the notes, eyeing the maps and sketches with interests as he does. "While Kenny was not?"

"Yes actually."

"Then there you go," he declares as he sets down the graph of energy spikes in front of us. "While I cannot say exactly what the energy did to you, I assume that its purpose was to give you the ability to translate multiple languages in an instant. In short, it altered you and your families' brains on the night the first swirl opened and then Kenny's on his first trip through. I must also assume that whatever has the power to do that comes directly from our world. Regretfully, how and why and what are out of my realm of expertise."

"Well, aren't we idiots," I mumble when the shock of such a simple answer finally wears off enough for me to answer.

"Sometimes the hardest answers to find are the simplest ones,' Leonardo soothes, a small smile on his face as he stands and stretches. "And hidden plain sight. In fact, I am more than positive the 'how, why, and what' are already there, locked away in your mind and labeled as too obvious to be the answer.

"And I am more than happy to help you uncover them," he says as he begins to walk away, moving through an archway and out of sight as he calls back, "but first let me provide you with foods and drinks, it has been a rather long day. For you lot especially, I am sure."

He's not wrong. The story itself had taken a few hours to tell with the detail necessary to have Leonardo fully understand it. Though the hours had passed quickly and unnoticed, now that Leonardo has pointed them out, I can feel the pain slowly building from sitting on a hard stool for so long.

With a groan, I stand and stretch, limbs tensing painfully before they go limp and I sag back onto the stool. There's nowhere more comfortable to sit so instead I perch on the edge of it, leaning more than actually sitting.

"Fifty bucks the answer is the apple," I tell Kenny as he stands up to stretch too, long limbs going high over his head.

"I would, but at this point, it probably would be."

Leonardo shuffles back into the room then, a tray of bread, cheese, and leftover sliced roast in his hands. Ezio moves to help him then, automatically taking the tray from him. It earns him a quick thankful smile before Leonardo turns to fetch a jug of water and some white, ceramic cups.

"It is not much," he says as he places them on the table and takes his seat again.

"It's more than enough," Ezio cuts him off before he can continue apologizing. "It is not like we gave you warning of our arrival to prepare, after all."

"It's perfect," I tell Leonardo as I help fill our cups with water. "Thank you."

"You know, I have been giving it some thought," Leonardo says as he takes a slice of bread and lays a piece of roast over it. "As much as I would love to keep helping, I would not be able to unless I can get a firsthand look at the situation and swirl in question. That being said, I would be honored if you would allow me to accompany you on your journey back."

"Are you sure?" Ezio asks, a worried look on his face as he takes a look around the workshop. "I know you have many projects pending."

"There's nothing important enough that I cannot set aside for now," he tells him, a smile on his lips as he does. "Not when something as wonderful as traveling to another world is possible. I would love to help you all with your research as well as to study it myself. Imagine the possibilities if we could be able to fully understand it. Recreate it even! Imagine the worlds we might be able to see!"

There's true excitement on his face now. Along with a smile so full and bright that Ezio has no choice but to cave. There's no way to deny a face that happy and no real reason to either, so Ezio says yes almost as soon as Leonardo turns it his way.

"All right, all right, you can come."

AN:

Hey everyone.

I know it's been yet another long wait since the last chapter and I'm sorry (as always) but there is something I must get off my chest. Especially since, at the moment, it is causing me quite a bit of guilt for even considering it but, here we go.

I almost abandoned this story.

As of September 7th, I have been struggling with whether or not to continue this story for both personal reasons and one user in particular who decided to hide behind a fake name, claim to be a fanfiction connoisseur, and tear Part One of this story (A World on Fire) to sherds. I had a flamer take it upon themselves to explain that my version of time/dimensional-travel didn't follow along with the"obvious" rules of time/dimensional travel set by "The Mist", "BioShock Infinite", and "Stranger Thing"...never mind that I've never played, read, or watched either of these.

Then, after criticizing every little aspect of the story, completely ignoring that this is a work of fiction and trading a few words, they proceeded to offer writing advice, help, and a look at how truly magnificent stories are written. Their own stories to be precise. (Shameless Self Promoting if you ask me.)

While I normally would have been able to ignore an attack of this degree, sadly they hit at a time where a gust of wind could have knocked me flat on my ass. So I did the most embarrassing thing ever...I cried and seriously contemplated pulling down the whole story.

But we're still here, so everything is fine right?

I wish it was that easy, but I'm going to try to continue to look past that and hopefully you'll hear from me soon. If not, just know I would never actually pull down the story. It will always be here for you to reread.

Love,

Trixy

P.s. I ask that no one goes after the flamer as they seem to thrive off the attention they get from people running to the defense of their favorite Stoy/Writer. I left the flames up though, if anyone is curious as to just what was said, on Fanfiction. Just please don't contact the flamer as they tend to post some very nasty things in response. (check their profile page for more info)