AN: I'm so sorry for taking so long with this update! You have all been more than patient and kind. Thank you so much for all the reviews! I hope I don't disappoint. :)

Ch2

The car slowed to a stop. A few seconds later, the trunk lid popped open. Kadar blinked in the sudden brightness, his eyes stinging. He was lucky to have been facing away from the opening. Desmond however, was not- he yelped and covered his eyes.

"Motherfu-" Desmond groaned.

"Come on, you two. Boy, don't you guys look cozy."

"Yeah, that's right; make jokes about the guys you stuffed in your trunk. Thanks for that, by the way." Desmond tossed Lucy a disgruntled look. She sighed and shrugged. Kadar ignored the exchange, a simple task due to his lack of understanding, and climbed out of the trunk. He stretched his cramped arms and legs, willing blood back into them. A pained groan reached his ears, and he turned to see Desmond struggling to sit against the back of the machine. He lowered his head and rolled his shoulders, causing a burst of distinct popping noises.

Kadar suddenly felt guilty, realizing that in his effort to provide more space, Desmond had given up his own comfort. He was jolted back to attention as Lucy handed him his weapons. Kadar slowly put them on, habitually checking each one for signs of sabotage. Desmond got up and began walking with Lucy. They spoke for a time before pausing.

"Really, it's okay. Besides… I kind of asked Kadar to teach me what he knows. I figured it was the best way to earn his trust… and I could use all the help I can get," Desmond explained. Lucy's face brightened.

"Thank you, Desmond! You have no idea what this means to us, to everyone." Lucy hugged him, much to Kadar's surprise. They immediately began walking once more. Kadar watched as they walked into another large room full of strange devices, with yet another glass wall. He missed the familiar architecture of his home at Masyaf.

"Lucy! You made it!" Kadar jumped at the sound of another voice. A short, dark-haired woman hugged Lucy and immediately began talking rapidly.

"… Lucy, who is this?" Desmond turned to look at the newcomer. He had a distinct British accent. A sharp movement alerted him to Kadar tensing up substantially at the sound of the other man's voice.

"Oh… right. Well, Desmond, this is Shaun Hastings and Rebecca Crane. They will be helping you with your adventures in the ANIMUS-"

"Baby," Rebecca asserted, folding her arms obstinately.

"… Right, Baby. Guys, of course this is Desmond Miles… and this is Kadar Al-Sayf," Lucy finished, indicating to Kadar who straightened at the sound of his name. Silence met her announcement before Shaun rested his hands on his hips and leveled the woman with a steady stare.

"Bullshit."

"Nope."

"You expect me to believe that Kadar Al-Sayf, died 1191 A.D. in Solomon's Temple, is standing here in our midst? How bloody gullible do you think we are? Well, I am, anyway," Shaun muttered the last bit, ignoring Rebecca's indignant scoff.

Kadar looked confused between the speakers, hearing his name being thrown around a lot. He could only guess that his presence was being explained, but not understanding everything unnerved him. In this strange language, even his name was hard to discern from their mix of garbled sounds. It irritated him.

"What is going on now, Desmond?" Kadar asked, trying to remain discreet in his question. Apparently, he underestimated the effect of speaking Arabic around non-Arabic speakers. Instantly, everyone including the addressee were staring at him.

"Well… I'll be damned. What's your name?" Everyone jerked in surprise at Shaun, including Kadar. "What? I was a grade-a study-holic in school you know. Languages are simply another door to understanding history. Name?"

"Oh… Kadar Al-Sayf. You speak my language?" Kadar was baffled, completely thrown off by the English-man's knowledge of his own tongue, no matter how rough.

"Only a little. There are no real chances to use it here. My name is Shaun. Pleased to meet you. So you weren't yanking my chain after all…" Shaun switched smoothly from the awkward Arabic to English, turning to Lucy to speak with her. "What are we supposed to do with this?" This time it was Desmond's turn.

"What do you mean 'do with this?' You have something in mind," Desmond frowned, instantly on guard. Shaun scowled at him, facing him completely.

"I just don't like the idea of him running around, is all. His presence might complicate things."

Desmond and Shaun faced off, gritting their teeth at each other. Off to the side, Lucy groaned and covered her eyes with her hand. 'This… is not a good start.' Rebecca on the other hand had decided to ignore them.

"Hello. I'm Rebecca." Rebecca spoke slowly at Kadar, placing her hand on her chest. "Rebecca."

"… Rebecca. Kadar," Kadar said, indicating to himself in a similar manner. He blinked when the girl seemed oddly giddy at his response.

"Okay, seriously guys, testosterone battle ends now. You'll be working together for quite awhile, so get used to each other," Lucy barked out, her voice breaking the two out of their staring contest. "What are you, 5?" Desmond instantly blushed, while Shaun simply shrugged.

"You going to explain what the hell he's doing here anyway," Shaun muttered, deflecting the abrasive accusation. Desmond snuck a glare at him, only to spot his own blush beneath his glasses.

'Not so tough after all, huh? Dick.'

"We don't know how he got here, but we do know that we can use all the help we can get. Lucky for us, Mr. Al-Sayf has offered up his services to train Desmond," Lucy said. "Shaun, I was wondering if maybe you can grab a language program for him to use while Desmond worked in the ANIMUS. It'd be helpful if he could speak English."

"Yeah, yeah… I can do that," Shaun said, immediately retreating back to his computer. Desmond sighed, relaxing his stance. He missed the sight of Kadar relaxing his stance as well, though Rebecca saw it. She hummed pensively, then headed back to her seat by the ANIMUS.

"Oh, Rebecca, before I forget…" Lucy pulled something out of her pocket.

"The memory core! Oh man! Lucy this is…" Desmond immediately blanked on the techno jargon that flowed from her mouth. "It'll take me a few minutes to install this…" She was already absorbed in her work, muttering to herself while she busily tapped the keys.

Kadar blinked, perplexed by the activity. He recognized the machine as being similar to the one in the place they just left. The new technology unnerved him, but he felt compelled to learn how it worked. Kadar moved behind Rebecca, watching. He felt eyes follow him around the room. Again he was reminded that this was a room of assassins, however strange. 'No, I suppose that in this world, I am the one that is strange…' Rebecca turned to him, her eyes questioning.

"Um… I am only interested. It is such a strange object, and I do not know what it is for, or how it works. What do all these squares mean? Are they letters of your language? I've never seen it before…" Kadar abruptly stopped, seeing the blank look the girl was giving him. He gave an aggravated sigh and stepped back. Rebecca jumped a bit at the noise. None of them trusted him yet, that much was clear.

"Easy. He's just curious, and I think the language barrier is frustrating him a bit," Desmond said, trying to placate the pair with his hands. Rebecca nodded. "I can help explain to him. Do you have an extra computer I can use?"

"Yeah, spare laptop over there. It doesn't have internet though. Too easy to trace. We have a secure line, but that's only for brief use, and pretty much only for Shaun and Lucy," Rebecca pointed to back behind a desk. Desmond nodded and went to retrieve it.

"Kadar, I'll show you and answer any questions you have, if that's alright. Shaun is going to get some materials to try and help teach you English," Desmond said, picking up the spare laptop and walking over to the couches. He looked down at the seats, then back up at Kadar. "Sit with me?"

"… Very well. I will learn your language as fast as I can, and I wish to know more about this world. Tell me all that has changed," Kadar said, stalking over to the couches before sitting down. Desmond felt his mood dampen a bit at the man's attitude. It was clear he wasn't taking adjustment well, but he was keeping his emotions tightly reined.

"Well, I'm not much of a history person… I barely learned the proper history of my own country-"

"I can help, though it would be easier if you learned English first. I am, for the most part, a historian," Shaun called out, his halting Arabic still managing to convey his haughty tone. Desmond grunted in response, but Kadar nodded.

"Thank you, I would appreciate it," Kadar called back. Shaun nodded, not turning away from his screen once. Kadar paused briefly, then revealed a wry smile. "Your friend reminds me of the rafiqs," he whispered. Desmond turned at the odd tone in the man's voice. He blinked at the look on Kadar's face before quickly averting his gaze, but the look of pain, of suffering in Kadar's eyes stayed with him.

"… I'm sorry… I don't know how you must feel…" There was a moment of silence. Desmond felt awkward and wished he hadn't said anything. After a few minutes, Kadar shook his head as if to dispel his thoughts.

"Nevermind how I feel… Now's not the time for it. Teach me what you have here, and I will teach you all that I know. Who knows; we might make an assassin out of you yet, Novice," Kadar smiled widely at that, having never been able to use the title against someone before. Desmond looked about ready to retort before he thought the better of it and settled for a defeated sigh.

They spent the next hour talking about the laptop. Desmond explained the functions of the keys and the touchpad, as well as the meaning of many features on the computer. Kadar practiced using the keyboard and touchpad with some difficulty. The keyboard made no sense to him, but Desmond had the idea of changing the language to Arabic. It was still difficult, but Kadar was beginning to grasp the function of the machine.

"Desmond, we're all set here if you want to get in. Just so you know, my Baby is a huge improvement over the ones at Abstergo. You'll be able to stay in there for a lot longer, with less chances of side-effects too," Rebecca called out, grinning with what Desmond was beginning to realize must be her default expression.

"Side effects?"

"Erm, yeah," Rebecca said, averting her eyes. At Desmond's frown, she began listing a lot of symptoms that did nothing to relieve Desmond's worries.

"… Great. Kadar, I'm going into the machine again. I don't know when I'll be out," Desmond said as he got up and walked over to the ANIMUS. Kadar nodded. He watched, perplexed as Desmond sat in the machine. This one was clearly different, but apparently it served the same function. Then, he watched in shock as Rebecca put something into Desmond's skin. Kadar jumped up as Desmond began to move and blink sluggishly and he sprinted to the man's side when his head lolled back.

"What happened? Did you poison him?" Kadar yelled. Rebecca flinched back, her hands raised high. Lucy had gotten up as well, her hand reaching under her desk. Kadar looked down at Desmond worriedly. He did not wake.

"Kadar? You need to calm down. Desmond is fine, this is normal…" Shaun had gotten up and was walking towards him. "Desmond is going through old memories now. He'll be awake again in a couple of hours, I swear." Kadar looked doubtfully at him. Shaun sighed. "Rebecca, can you bring that idiot out for a moment? Kadar thinks we've poisoned 'im, like that would be worth the poison."

Rebecca huffed, then quickly sat down and jabbed at a few keys angrily.

"Desmond, can you hear me? Kadar is having a hissy fit, so I'm bringing you out. Three, two…" Rebecca pressed a button, and instantly Desmond, groaned, sitting up in his chair. Kadar let out a visible sigh of relief.

"… erm… Kadar, is everything all right?"

"I told you, didn't I," Shaun grumbled. "Just fine, not a hair harmed on his dainty little head." This earned him a glare from both men. Shaun shrugged. "It's true."

"I'm sorry, Desmond. Out of all the people here, only you have given me any reason to trust you," Kadar began to explain. Desmond held up his hand.

"I trust these people to bring me through this. At this point, what options do we have?" Desmond said. Kadar crossed his arms, and after a few moments nodded.

"You are right," Kadar assented. Desmond smiled. Kadar stared at him, before turning sharply away.

"Alright, disaster averted. Send me back into the Matrix," Desmond quipped. Rebecca snorted, typed in a few lines of commands, and Desmond was gone once more. Shaun grumbled away, muttering about 'crazy, ancient assassins' and their 'damn trigger-happy instincts.' Both comments earned him a glare from the two women, but he ignored them. Shaun instead grabbed the spare laptop, connected it to his desktop, and began madly typing away on it. Kadar looked around at the group. He was acutely aware that he'd made no friends with his actions. Sighing, he decided to try to make amends, as well as get a feel for the group.

'Best to start with the one I can actually talk with,' he thought.

"Peace, Shaun."

"Yeah?"

"I have questions, if you would not mind answering them."

"I can certainly try," Shaun answered, never once looking up from his computer. Kadar bit back his sigh.

"Are you an assassin?"

"Now that is a big question, isn't it," Shaun asked brightly. Immediately, Kadar bristled at his tone. Shaun spared him a perfunctory glance, and relented. "I wasn't, not originally. I was a normal person, too curious for his own good. The assassins here found me before the templars did, and I was given the choice to join them or spend the rest of my days running from templars," Shaun began. He paused his typing to turn and look at Kadar. "I enjoy this job though, so it's not always so bad. Kind of fun at times, when I'm not fighting for my life." Kadar's eyes narrowed slightly.

"… Fun? Are all of the people of this time so laid-back? Do you not know the cause you fight for?" Shaun's face darkened. Kadar sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair. "To rid the world of the templars, to bring peace in all things… the order's creed… these are noble goals that we must uphold and represent-," Kadar stopped short, looking at Shaun's decidedly upset face.

"Those goals are actually part of an archaic mindset. The modern day assassins' goal has been first and foremost to stop the templars. All else is secondary," Shaun muttered. "What we're doing here, we do to protect the free minds of all human beings. It's a huge responsibility. I don't know what kind of impression Desmond has made on you, but we all take our duty very seriously, and we all play our parts, but some of us, me for instance, only joined this life recently. Excuse me for getting some joy out of it." Shaun spun his chair sharply, turning away from Kadar as he finished his typing. Kadar sighed, unsure what to do. He gave a brief glance towards Desmond, but knew it would be a long time before he came out of the machine.

'It would be so much easier to just begin training him, something that I know how to do…'

"Here."

Kadar jumped a bit at the man's voice. He saw the strange machine being handed to him.

"This is called a laptop," Shaun explained. "I noticed Desmond didn't know the word, probably because it was not a word in your time."

"Laptop…?"

"Yeah. I know he showed you how to use it," Shaun jerked his chin at Desmond. Kadar nodded. "I put on a program that will teach you English. It's already on, so go over there and work on it," Shaun waved a hand towards the couches they had been at earlier. Kadar sighed and began to walk over. Shaun watched him walking away, then sighed. "Wait, before you get settled, let's see if we can find you something else to wear. Lucy?" Shaun glanced at the other woman. She was engrossed in something on her computer screen, occasionally typing and muttering to herself.

"Uh… yeah?" She sounded distracted. 'Good,' Shaun thought.

"Going to get Kadar some new clothes, be right back," Shaun called as he took the laptop, set it down, and then indicated to Kadar to follow him out.

"Yeah, sure. Come back soon."

Rebecca's smothered laughter followed him out.

Desmond groaned. His mind felt full and tired, although his body felt completely energized. Desmond sat still for a moment, trying to get his eyes, his real eyes to focus on anything. It was a moment before he could remember how to move correctly. His heart felt heavy, he felt heavy… like he'd lived a lifetime, and in a way he had.

"… Desmond… how do you feel?" It was Rebecca. Her face appeared over his own, a critical gaze taking in his every move.

'Like I watched my family get murdered in front of me, and now I'm a vigilante avenging their deaths?'

"Fine, fine… just a little overwhelmed. That was a lot more… intense than the ANIMUS at Abstergo," Desmond croaked out, coughing to clear his throat. Rebecca grinned at his response.

"Yeah, my Baby is way more powerful than anything those guys can make."

"More comfortable too," Desmond smiled. Rebecca's smile only broadened, and she made a sweeping arc with her arm.

"I live to please!" Desmond laughed at that, pulling himself upright and swinging his legs out of the chair.

"You look unwell, Desmond."Desmond turned to see Kadar standing by Lucy. He did a double take. Kadar was dressed in modern clothes. Desmond took in the dark blue jeans, the brown sweater with the white shirt underneath just barely showing. He was wearing a pair of comfortable looking sneakers, though he fidgeted. Desmond met his eyes and quickly turned his away. Kadar cleaned up a little too well.

"Well. This is new," Desmond said.

"Shaun snuck out and bought him a full set of clothes. He's grounded," Lucy said distractedly. Shaun scowled but made no comment. Desmond couldn't help but snort at that.

"I'm fine, just tired. What have you been doing this entire time," Desmond asked. Kadar shrugged.

"I am learning English," he answered. Desmond blinked, surprised.

"Wow." Desmond nodded contemplatively, as did Kadar. Neither of them said anything.

Lucy looked up at the sudden silence.

"Hm. Well, why don't we test your skill retention? Come on, Desmond. Kadar can come too, if he'd like," Lucy suggested, standing up and beginning to walk out of the room.

"Um, I guess we're doing some sort of training? Want to come?" Desmond jogged to follow after Lucy, hearing Kadar murmur an affirmative and follow at a more subdued pace. They walked back down through the building into the warehouse like room. Lucy led them to a wide open area.

"Alright, let's see how well you retained the skills of Ezio. Around this room there are several switches to turn on our defenses. Go turn them on." Desmond gave her a pout.

"Any hints?"

"Open your eyes, Desmond," Lucy grinned. Desmond sighed and began running across the room. He spotted a red light on the second floor, and quickly devised a route to it. Taking a deep breath, he began to climb up the stacked boxes. It was surprisingly easy. He scaled the boxes quickly, pressing the button before finding the next across the room. He jumped onto the bars, using several handholds to swing to his destination.

On ground level, Kadar and Lucy appraised his actions, Lucy with some degree of shock and Kadar analyzing Desmond's weaknesses and strengths.

'Favors right arm and leg, though he seems to be fairly proficient in both. Probably needs to work on using both more regularly. Stance is mostly solid, but needs some work- Shit,' Kadar jerked forward as he saw Desmond miss a handhold and drop. Desmond hit the ground rolling and got up, shaking off the fall easily. He didn't seem too worried… and suddenly he looked like he had seen a ghost.

"Uh… Lucy? I'm seeing things!" Desmond's voice was only slightly worried, a far cry from his inner freaking out. In the middle of the warehouse, Kadar watched Lucy's face tinge with worry.

"Are the hallucinations lasting longer than thirty seconds?"

Desmond blinked at the air.

"N-no…"

"Then it's nothing to worry about. How're you finding those buttons?"

Desmond grumbled, restarting his climb up. The remainders of the buttons were located with only a few more hallucinations. Desmond found the last one and swung down to the bottom level, trying to ignore the phantom guards he'd knocked over in the process.

Kadar watched with increasing confusion as Desmond flinched from empty air, or took a sharp step to the side as if to avoid something. He was growing more and more convinced that his new novice was likely insane.

"What ails you, Desmond?" Desmond looked up and groaned, unwilling to go into the specifics of what he was going through.

"Some side effects of the machine I was in. Don't worry about it," Desmond responded, waving off the question. "Alright Lucy, got them all. I think I'll stay down here and do some training with Kadar." Lucy blinked in surprise.

"Well, okay. Take it easy though, and you probably want to turn in early. See you, Desmond." With that, Lucy left. Desmond rolled his shoulders and faced Kadar.

"I'm ready to learn, Kadar," Desmond said, grinning. Kadar nodded and couldn't help the small smile that played over his face as well.

'Finally, something I am familiar with,' he thought.

"We shall begin with the very basics and see what you already know," Kadar said, sitting on the ground and indicating for Desmond to sit opposite of him. They spent a good hour talking about theory, technique, and breathing before doing anything. Kadar imposed a regiment of exercises to work up Desmond's fitness to an acceptable level. By the time they were done, Desmond had worked up a good sweat and was getting tired. To Kadar's great surprise and pleasure, Desmond never once raised a complaint or asked to stop. He was completely trusting of Kadar to know what he was doing.

"Let's finish up for the day. Stretch out thoroughly so your muscles do not cramp." Desmond nodded and did as he was told. After a few stretches, he decided he was done and grabbed his discarded sweater and shirt.

"I'm ready to turn in. Thanks for the lesson, Kadar." Desmond was smiling genuinely at him. Kadar could only nod in response. They began walking in silence towards the exit. "Oh, as far as weapons go, I was wo-…"

Kadar paused and turned to look at Desmond.

"What's wrong? Desmond? You don't look well…" Kadar laid a hand on the other man's shoulder, but Desmond did not acknowledge it. His face had gone somewhat pale, his eyes intensely focused on something Kadar could not see. Up close, Kadar realized that Desmond was mumbling to himself beneath his breath.

"Wait, who is that… come ba-!" Suddenly, Desmond's eyes rolled up and his body dropped. Kadar cried at as he lunged forward to catch Desmond. Quickly, he checked the man's eyes and pulse, listening close for breathing.

"Desmond! Desmond!"

AN: Thanks for your patience! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. :)