Chapter Eight:

Still Alive

1511

"You should learn to stop howling," Ezio said as he stabbed his broken hidden blade into Leandros.

I waited patiently while Leandros said his dying words and gave Ezio the journal of Niccolo Polo. When he was done, Ezio came over to me and showed me the journal. I smiled, remembering the one time I met Niccolo. He'd had that very book tucked under his arm…

"We should go," Ezio told me. "Leandros said that the Templars already have one key. If we hurry, we can recover the rest."

I nodded in agreement. "Grande. Let's get moving."

"But didn't you have something that you needed to do, Sofia?"

I laughed. "Non ti preoccupare. When we return with the keys, I can pay my respects."

Ezio frowned, but nodded. "Molto bene. Then let's go."

1205

I flipped through the pages of my book and studied the pictures eagerly. I loved the artwork, despite how interesting I found the book itself. I wanted to learn how to draw, someday.

Maybe when I am an old woman, I thought with a smile. I can learn how to draw the mountains. I'm sure someone will like it one day… And anyway, it won't be long until I'm old. My smile faded. But… it's strange. I got impaled with a sword, and I didn't die. I healed completely. I always have, ever since…

"Suna?" Darim said, coming in.

I stood up. He didn't look very much like Altair as he did Maria, but he had the same smile as Altair. That made me always think of how excited I would be to have my own children, one day.

"Yes, Darim?" I asked, closing my book.

"You asked me to tell you if I saw a female stranger around."

"You have?"

Darim nodded. "She is hanging around the main gates. I saw her only a few minutes ago, so you could probably catch her."

"What does she look like?" I pressed.

"Short. She is probably fourteen or fifteen, and has black hair and grey eyes." Darim smiled. "She looks like Chara, your sister."

I automatically clenched my fists. "Oh…"

Darim grinned and patted my face. "Do not worry, Suna. The likeliness isn't that much."

I returned his smile as best I could and left Altair's library, and jumped on the rooftops to quickly cover some ground to the main gate. I was going to see if A'hd was telling the truth about me having a cousin. I knew it was stupid to look forward to it, seeing as there was a high chance that he was lying, but I couldn't stop my heart. Maria always told me that, with all the things I could control about myself, from expressions to feelings, I couldn't stop my own heart. I thought it was stupid at first, but I realized later that it was best that I was like that. It showed me that I still had room to grow.

I stopped at the edge of a rooftop when I saw someone moving around suspiciously, as if they were waiting.

I dropped onto the ground and made my way towards them. Darim had given an accurate description, and so I was thankful for that.

As soon as she saw me, even with my hood up, she knew who I was. But I could not read the expression on her face; she seemed too conflicted.

"You are the Master Assassin who fought my father…?" she said warily.

I nodded. "I am. My name is Suna Ibn La'Ahad. I hear that you and your father had an argument."

"And now it is my fault that he is being held by you people." Ahdara frowned slightly. Darim had told me that she looked like Chara, but he lied about the likeliness. They could have been twins. "Are you going to release him? It is my father's pride that made him fight you. He didn't like that I did not agree with the way the Templars did things. He just wanted to prove something—!"

"Like an idiot would," I cut-in. "Ahdara, can we sit down? I'd like to talk casually."

She nodded. "Of course. Where…?"

I smiled and led her up to the keep. She seemed both excited and afraid, but mostly nervous. It made me smile.

"Ahdara, I am willing to speak to the Grandmaster about your father's release, provided he never returns here," I told her as we sat beside each other in the mess hall. "Tell me; what is he like? I fear that I've only seen his ignorant side."

Ahdara bit her lip. "Well… he has been quite angry lately. My mother died recently, you see. And I know that he may seem overly hostile, but he's good at heart. He's just in mourning. He really loved my mother."

I nodded. "I didn't really know my parents. They died when I was young, and the Assassins took me in. Altair became the father I didn't know, though there is that regret that I never really knew most of my family. I met my older sister a year ago, and we lived together for a month in Constantinople before she was killed by the Templars."

Ahdara covered her mouth. "What did you do?"

"I killed them all," I admitted. "There must have been four-hundred men. They stabbed me and cut me, but I killed each and every one of them. I was so enraged that when Altair finally found me, I was stabbing their corpses, and I didn't stop until Altair dragged me away from their corpses. And then we headed back to Masyaf by way of a ship. I was in mourning for weeks before Maria finally came and brought me back to reality."

"I wish I had a sister," Ahdara admitted. "I am an only child. My mother did not wish for any more children, so my father respected her wish. He regrets it now, because he wanted a son."

I nodded. "Actually, we are on the topic I wanted to speak about. Ahdara, we are actually family, you and I. I am your cousin, Suna. My sister was Chara. I know that your father, A'hd, is my uncle, and frankly I am not very happy about that, since he threatened to kill my adoptive father. But I am willing to get to know you. Would that be all right?"

Ahdara thought quietly for a moment, and then nodded. "Yes. I would like to get to know my cousin, and see things the way you see them."

I smiled. "Great! I think I'll introduce you to Altair!"

2012

"So…" I cleared my throat. "Lemme get this straight: you want to go for a walk?"

"Yep."

"Outside?"

"Uh-huh."

"Where Abstergo could still be looking for you?"

"… I guess."

"Not to mention that you could actually be a Templar who just wants to get me alone so you can casually kill me and escape?"

"Now you're taking it a bit too far." Mason smiled. "I just want to take a walk! I've been in here for days, and I'm really starting to get claustrophobic. I'm inviting you along so you can watch over me and make sure I'm not an evil Templar, and so that you and I can get to know each other better!"

I hesitated. "Get to know each other? Like how?"

Mason shrugged, but I was sure he knew exactly how. "I dunno… Maybe a movie, or something to eat…"

I facepalmed. It would be just my luck that the guy we captured who was under suspicion of being a Templar would ask me out.

"You guys can go!" Rebecca said, sticking her head into the room. "I can distract Bill for a while, at least."

Rebecca, you're not helping!

Mason smiled his cat-like smile. "Awesome! Then let's get going!"

Rebecca was laughing at me as we left the apartment. I shot a glare back at her, hoping she'd feel the daggers at her back. Luckily, just in case Mason turned out to be a Templar, I had all of my weapons. I didn't think he noticed them yet.

As soon as we stepped outside, Mason took a deep breath of fresh air and stretched. "Man, does this ever feel great!"

I nodded. "Yeah, I guess…"

Mason smiled and patted my head. "Geez, don't be so down, shorty!"

I think my eye twitched. "I caught that pun, you asshole!"

"Well, anything to make you stop looking like a zombie. I swear, you act like you've seen everything!"

Probably because I have, I thought automatically.

"Well, let's get going!" Mason said, and started walking.

I followed him from a distance for a while, but sped up once I realized that it'd be best if I didn't have to go chasing after him. If I walked beside him, I could just grab onto him and take him down. Mason saw a book store and immediately went inside, so I followed, wondering why he'd want to go inside. I found Mason in the manga section of the store, laughing at a comedy.

"Look! He just—!" Mason couldn't finish his sentence, because he was laughing so much. And then he grabbed another manga and pointed at the character at the front. "This person reminds me of you, actually."

I didn't see the title of the manga because I was grabbing a volume of Black Cat from the shelves. I flipped to a page where the main character, Train Heartnet, was smiling like a cat.

I showed him the picture. "This is what your smile reminds me of. It looks stupid."

Mason laughed. "I think I like it! And I guess that's all that matters, right?" He replaced the books back onto the shelf. "Let's get going. I'm hungry!"

I rolled my eyes. "Do you have any money to pay for anything to eat?" Mason smiled at me, his eyes pleading. I sighed. "Fine, I'll pay for something. I think I have some money. Let's just stop at a bank."

Mason nodded. "Sounds good! Let's get hot dogs!"

I led him to a bank that wasn't far away and took some money out of my account. I was silently thanking myself for remembering a few years ago to set up an account in New York. That done, we found a hot dog stand in central park and sat down on a bench to eat.

"I was getting kinda tired of fruit," Mason admitted. "I just really wanted something warm in my stomach."

"You're a giant child," I said bluntly.

"Oh, really? If I were a giant child, I would've insisted that we go to McDonald's instead of a simple hot dog stand."

"Or you would've insisted I carry you everywhere."

Mason grinned. "You know, you're pretty hostile today."

"I hadn't noticed."

He patted me on the back. "Just chill out, Sam. I'm not gonna attack you. I'm not one of those Templar guys you keep telling me about." Mason finished his hot dog. "I'm thirsty, and I think I still have your change with me. I'm gonna grab a drink!"

I rolled my eyes. "I'm watching you," I told him. "So don't even think about running."

Mason smiled. "Not even if I run to get a drink?"

"You know what I mean, goddammit!"

Mason got up and went to the vendor to buy a drink. I leaned my head back on the bench and shut my eyes for a second, listening to the birds in the park. Last time I was in New York City was before I met Walter, I thought absently.

When I opened my eyes, there was a strange man standing above me. I leaped to my feet, but right into another guy. They were probably in their mid-twenties, and about three of them.

"You don't really see anyone wearing a hood like that," one of the guys said. "I wonder why you'd need to wear a hood when it's not raining? Are you ashamed of your face or something?"

I smiled weakly. "No. Just my style, I guess."

One of the guys put a hand in his pocket and grabbed something, but he didn't take it out. "I have a sudden interest in your face, I guess. Why don't you take that hood off?"

"Oh, please. I tan easily. I'll probably burn in the sunlight if I take it off."

He pulled out a switchblade and kept it close, to hide it from anyone who looked over at us. "C'mon. I don't wanna scar that face of yours."

I flicked my wrists and activated my hidden blades. The two guys on my sides saw them immediately and backed-off. "Sorry, but you couldn't if you wanted to."

"Is there a problem?" I heard Mason ask.

I looked over and deactivated my hidden blades. Mason was sipping on the straw of his drink, his face curious.

"Nope," the guy with the knife replied. "You should run along."

"Sorry, but that's my friend that you're holding that knife to," Mason said. "How 'bout you drop it and walk away, before someone gets hurt?"

The guy smiled and looked around for any police. Actually, it seemed like we were the only ones in that area of the park. The hot dog vendor had moved on.

"Dude, just leave. There're three of us, and I've got a weapon. Get the hell outta here."

"Sorry, can't do that."

The guy ran at Mason, knife raised. Mason moved out of the way effortlessly, but the guy had slashed his plastic drink. It spilled out onto the road, and Mason looked at it lamely.

"Do you know how much it is to by a soda in Central Park? Not cool, dude." Mason pulled the straw out of the ruined cup with his teeth and chewed on it, then put his hands in his pockets. "Last chance."

Once more, the guy ran at Mason. Mason rolled his eyes, brought his left hand out of his pocket, grabbed the guy's wrist and slammed his head against the other guy's. He fell to the ground, and before I knew it, Mason had the knife in his hand. I got behind the other two guys and activated my hidden blades again, pressing them against their backs.

"You guys'd better leave now," I told them. "There doesn't need to be any unnecessary bloodshed."

The guys hurried off, leaving their friend behind on the ground. I deactivated my hidden blades again and joined Mason.

"The hell?" the guy exclaimed. "How the hell'd you do that?"

Mason smiled. "I don't really know. I guess it was instinct." He put his hand on my head and pulled me towards him, much to my dismay. "But I'm gonna be the first one to see who's under the hood. Mess with my friend again, and I promise that you won't leave here with just a nosebleed again."

The guy quickly turned-tail and ran, trying desperately to catch up with his friends. Mason threw the shortblade into a garbage can, quickly followed by his straw.

"Can you let go of my head now?" I asked, almost desperately.

Mason smiled. "Oh, sorry."

We were walking back to the hideout when I finally couldn't just keep to myself. "How'd you pull that off?" I asked.

Mason shrugged. "Dunno. I just reacted. I mean, they totally demolished my soda, which I'd barely drank at all."

I couldn't help but chuckle. "Well, we've actually got some Coke in the fridge. I could get some for you."

Mason's usual smile turned into a huge grin that reached from one ear to the next. "Awesome! That sounds great!"

I laughed at him. "By the way, I'm not about to take off my hood any time soon."

"Oh, that's okay," he said. "You're probably some freaky albino anyway."

"Hey!" I snapped angrily. "I'm not!" I grabbed a strand on my hair from under my hood and showed it to him. "Brown hair!"

"But your eyes're probably pink," Mason prodded.

I almost took my hood off to prove they weren't, but then I realized what he was doing. "Oh… You're good."

"I try."