Note ~ New summary! Now that I got this whole thing kinda sorta figured out, I was able to write a more accurate sum-up. :D Also, I would greatly appreciate some feedback. Does it make sense so far? Or dollars?

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Altair blinked away sleep as the sound of hooves slowed to a light trot. It was still dark out, but he could still see the wavering path in the moonlight. The desert moon was so bright, it was almost surreal.

"Altair," Faruq began. "I think we are far enough away. What do you say we stop for the night?"

"Huh?" Altair grunted, working to vacate his thoughts.

The luring stillness of the night had snaked its way into his consciousness, prying at memories of Sarah's arms. Try as he may to forget them, he couldn't bring himself to let go of their seemingly apparent significance. Maybe she had been brought to his world for a reason...

"Do you think we could stop for the night?" Faruq repeated patiently.

"Hmm…Do you see a side path for us to lay low in?" Altair was not about to sleep in the open, disguised or otherwise.

Faruq scanned the growing cliffside ahead of them. "I don't kn- Wait, what about over there, Brother?"

Altair followed Faruq's guiding hand and squinted in the scanty light. Right off of the main path was a small crevice of palms that swayed easily in the wind. They were unobtrusive and quiet, perfect for trying to appear inconspicuous.

"That'll do," he approved, leading his steed towards it.

When he reached the desired spot, Altair patted Sarah's arms, wary that she may have fallen asleep. "Shabah?"

To his surprise, she answered almost immediately. "Yeah?"

"We're stop-"

"I know, I know."

Altair winced at the sudden chill that replaced Sarah's arms as she pulled away from his back. "You were not asleep?" he asked.

"Why would I be?" she countered.

"Well, you usually are."

"Pfft."

"Do you have any food, Altair?" Faruq questioned, carefully dismounting his horse.

Altair slid off of his own saddle and began to rummage through his waist pouch. "I brought a little bread. If we need to eat again we can stop at a village or camp. This is just to get us by."

With this, he pulled a stumped loaf of dark bread from his belt and handed it to Faruq.

"Hey, can you help me down?" Sarah called, tugging on Altair's sleeve.

The Assassin sighed. She was so useless.

"Hold still," he warned as he reached for her squishy abdomen.

"Oh wait," she pressed, warding off his hands. "You're injured."

"It's alright, Shabah. You don't pose much a hindrance."

"Is that right? Well, I don't buy it."

Altair was forced to back away as Sarah tumbled her way down from the horse, landing with wobbly grace in the sand.

"There," she smiled, brushing herself off. "How's that?"

Altair stared at her humorously, admiring her attempt. "The way you move, it's a wonder you aren't an Assassin," he mocked.

"Hey, give it a rest. Nobody's perfect." Altair could have sworn he detected a hint of gayety in her tone. For the first time, she didn't seem so solemn.

"Here," Faruq interrupted, handing the bread back to Altair.

Altair nodded and broke what was left of the loaf in half, offering one crescent to Sarah.

"Mmm!" she beamed. "I was beginning to wonder if there was any real food in this place."

Altair stared at her quizzically for a moment before deciding to leave her to her bliss. He turned to observe the little hollow of palms that they stood in.

"No use trying to make a fire," he wondered aloud. "Faruq, I'll keep watch for a few hours. Then, we'll switch."

Faruq nodded between chewing and situated himself against a sizable tree. Altair and Sarah followed his movement and found their own palm to lounge on, a mutual feeling of ease overcoming them.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"So," Faruq began when we had all finished eating. "May I ask about that thing that fell out of your robe earlier?"

Altair visibly tensed as I pondered a response. "Depends on what you're asking," I finally said.

To be honest, I had all but forgotten about the incident with my ipod. Distraction after distraction had rendered it rather unimportant.

"What…umm…what is it?"

"Faruq," Altair broke in. "That device is nothing you should concern yourself with."

"Does it have something to do with why you're working so hard to protect this girl…why Laleh gave her life for her?"

I bit my lip until it bled. Why did everyone have to keep bringing her up. Why did she have to die for Altair and me to live? Zafar had told me to let her go. Well, how could I let go when I was constantly being forced to relive it?

"No, Faruq. Our friend here is being pursued by the Templars. All I'm trying to do is protect her until she can get home again."

Well, it was partially the truth. Altair had a fine way of buttering things up to the point where you felt his answers to be quite satisfying. Faruq thought for a moment and gazed up at the waxing moon. I began to fear that he saw me as hardly worth Laleh's sacrifice, and in that I would agree. Nobody was worth the life of another as far as I was concerned, especially mine.

"I see…What is you name then?" he asked suddenly.

"Umm…Just call me Shabah."

Of course, it sounded hideous with my American accent, but that was my new name. Altair had told me not to share my real one with anyone else, so Shabah is was.

"Ghost? Is that-"

"That is what she is and what she will remain," Altair interrupted.

We really weren't helping Faruq find a reason to see Laleh's death as worthwhile. What was the point of sacrificing yourself for a ghost?

"Well," Faruq sighed, leaning into his tree. "At least we got out of the city without too much trouble."

"I'll say," I agreed. "No one even noticed my eyes."

"Well, it was pretty dark…Wait, what's wrong with your eyes?" Faruq asked.

"They're blue," Altair offered.

"Altair," I cut in, eager to prevent Faruq from asking about my ancestry. I couldn't stand telling another person that I was from England. "Why did we work so hard to get to the gate on time when all we had to do was hand over some money?"

Altair arched over to unbuckle his boot, "Because had we arrived any later the guards would have changed shifts."

"How did you know when they would switch?"

"I didn't. I just knew we had to get there as soon as possible. The night shift guards are always much more alert than the day shift."

"But that doesn't make sense…"

"Really? Think about it, Shabah. The Templars aren't naive. They know that if an Assassin is trying to escape the city, he would much rather do it with the shadows of night to aid him. Armed with this knowledge, both the Templars and the Damascus guard send their best men to watch the gates after dark."

"Is that what you meant by 'cultured knight' earlier?"

"Yes. The best Templars are the ones who are not in it for the gold, but rather for the ideal. The fanatics are dangerous and cannot be bargained with."

"Lucky for us, their lackeys can," Faruq chuckled.

"So…Can I wipe this stuff off my face now?" I asked hopefully.

Whatever Zafar had used on my skin was starting to make me sweat like crazy. It was like a thin layer of wool that stuck to me no matter how I tried to shake it off.

Altair snuck a glance at my darkened face. "Uncomfortable?"

"A little, yeah."

"Alright, just as long as you can keep your head low."

"Deal," I smiled as I rubbed at my eyes with my sleeve.

"You two get some rest," Altair advised sleepily.

"You sure you don't want me to keep watch?" I asked, giving him my best alert look.

"Get some rest," he repeated.

Well, if he insisted then I had no argument. Running through the streets like madmen had not exactly left me with much stamina to function on. I fumbled with a comfortable position on the tree until my exhaustion decided any spot would do, sending me plunging into my dreams.

~.~.~.~.~

"Get me some coffee, would you?"

"Cream?"

"Nah."

"Alright. Let me know what I miss."

"Will do, though I doubt anything too exciting will happen. She's asleep."

"Yeah well, you never know."

"Just go get that coffee.

"Alright then, sweetheart. Looks like your brain is adjusting just fine. Hmm…Now would be the perfect time for that implant. You just sit tight and I'll get everything ready.

"Hmm…Looks like your body temperature is dropping at point zero one percent every three hours. At this rate, you'll deteriorate in a matter of days…Now don't worry, Sarah. We'll have this implant working in no time."

"Here's your coffee. Hey, what are you doing?"

"Her brain is in a state of calm. She's ready for the implant."

"Good. That's a load off my back."

"Tell me about it. It's a shame we couldn't integrate it at the very beginning."

"Yeah well, we gotta take what we can get with this thing."

"Check her muscle degeneration."

"Let's see…Looks pretty normal."

"And her blood pressure?"

"A little low."

"Hmm…Change the settings on her nutrient cycles."

"Increase by how much?"

"Let's try five extra grams every hour."

"Done."

"Then we can start with the implant. Monitor her status while I do this. If she goes under, there's no telling what will happen."

"Monitoring. All systems are green. Go ahead."

"Perfect. Cross your fingers."

~.~.~.~.~

"Gah!" I gasped, clutching my head.

I had had weird dreams before, but that one took the cake as the most lifelike, torturous nightmare that my subconscious could ever materialize.

"What is it?" Altair yawned, trying to break out of his overbearing exhaustion.

I stared at him blankly. He may as well have been a talking elephant because he was just as strange-looking to me. I had been back to my time. I had seen and smelled and felt my own world again. What was I doing back here? I couldn't hold it in any longer. My world was falling apart and I was getting dragged along with it by wishy-washy clues that only confused me further. The tears came in a flood of unbearable ignorance. I wanted my home. Damn my mind for teasing me with dreams about it! Nightmarish as it was, it was still my time.

"Hey!" Altair breathed, taken aback by my sudden croaking tears. "What's wrong with you?"

I choked up one last sea of loss and curled up in a tight ball in the sand. "N-noth-nothi-ing."

Altair scratched his head, confused. "What, did you have a bad dream or something?"

I bored into my knees with my fingernails, remembering every familiarity of my life before I had been so cruelly shoved into this world. "I-I s-s-saw my h-home…"

"Oh…"

"I w-want to g-g-go b-back, Altair…" I wiped at my eyes desperately, trying to stop the surges of longing that erupted in my chest.

"Shabah…"

I looked up at him with excruciating effort. I would have much rather just lost myself in my episode, which seemed to be becoming a common trait of mine.

"W-w-what?"

He hesitated. "We're going to get you home."

"…I-Is that a p-promise?"

"No."

My heart sank. "Oh…"

"It's a fact."

I managed to smile a little at his determination. He really was trying his hardest to help me. It wasn't fair for me to dump on him like this.

"Altair…I h-have a brother w-who's a l-lot like you."

Altair was about to protest against my sudden sentimentality, but for one reason of another, he caught himself. "You'll see your family again soon, Shabah."

I watched avidly as he leaned over to rouse Faruq. It was his turn to keep watch.

"Faruq," he whispered. "Faruq, wake up."

Faruq brushed his hand away and groaned. "Huh? Oh…" He pulled himself up and aligned his spine with the palm he was leaning on. "Okay, Brother. I will wake you in a few hours."

Altair nodded and fell back on his own tree, exhausted.

"Goodnight, Altair," I offered, but he was already asleep.