Author's Note~!
Hi there, ! Sorry for the new update, but I was personally busy with a costume. Don't ask. Anyway, new chapter up! Finally! Definitely more to come. Please review-and Merry Christmas, by the way!
Chapter 4: Bureaucratics
Altair led them through a maze of streets and alleys to a ladder which led to the Assassin's Bureau, manned alone by a disgruntled Malik.
"Ah, Altair, what plague have you brought me this time?" he said scornfully.
"I found these young ones fending off guards. They will rest here," said the Eagle.
"No. You know very well that this place is for assassins and only assassins. Why have you brought these young children to us? Yet another display of your insolent arrogance?" Malik asked. Altair's eyes narrowed.
"They seem to know a lot about us. Al Mualim must be informed." He turned to the group of youths. "Wait here," he said, and climbed off. The group heaved a collective sigh of relief. Malik gave them a glare and the group quietly moved out to the more open area outside.
"I can't leave you guys undefended like this," Jo said. He took off his trench coat, revealing his knife harness in full. He took a few items off the back.
"These are my equivalent of the hidden blades they use," Jo said, "except these were made by Kyocera, one of the most advanced blademasters around. These blades and vanguards are made of ultra-hard ceramic; only second to diamond. They're virtually unbreakable," he said, giving each member of the group a small package, carefully folded to conceal its true size. "Open and flick your hand backwards to activate them. There are also throwing knives hidden inside the vanguards." Camille inspected her blade.
"Where did you get these, Jo?" Jo strapped the blade on her right arm.
"Can't tell you that, or I'd have to kill you." Max looked at Jo.
"Where are yours?" Jo looked at him. He hit Max's head with the twin custom black and red vanguards he was wearing as part of his knife harness.
"Where've you been?" Jo said with a smirk. He then took what looked like a flashlight out of his belt and swept his trench coat with its ultraviolet beam. The trench coat gradually turned from brown to white, with a red stylized falcon on the back. He also ripped the collar of the coat, revealing that it was held there with Velcro. A hood emerged.
"Jo, is all your stuff designed to be easily weaponized?" asked Joyce.
"No, just this coat," answered her brother. Jo put the coat back on and put the hood up, then pressed a button on his knife harness. Red metallic limbs extended from the harness, strapping themselves around Jo's limbs. He moved experimentally.
"Well what do you know, they do work," he said. Bree prodded the red metal.
"What is this stuff?" she asked.
"It's an exo-suit," Jo answered. "It enhances my strength by a factor of 3," he said, picking Bree up, tossing her up into the air, catching her and putting her down.
"You hidden blades should have the function to do that too; press the assassin's symbol on it," he said, "though yours only raises your strength to a factor of 2." At this moment, Altair chose to drop in on the kids, only to find them being half enveloped with white metal. He blinked, shrugged, and then walked past them to deliver the feather with Mjad Addim's blood. He stepped outside under the woven roof afterwards to find the group staring at him.
"We've improved ourselves to suit this environment," Jo said. Altair nodded slowly. He noticed now that every single member of the group now wielded hidden blades, though they were white and pearly, and not steel like his own. He looked closer at the vanguards Jo was wearing. They were similar, except that his were pearly black and red, and did not require a sacrifice, whereas Altair's own was steel gray. The strange red filaments running up and down his body seemed to possess a life of its own, mechanically whirring and clicking with every movement.
"I understand. But come with me, Al Mualim must know of your presence here." He turned and climbed out of the Assassin's Bureau. This time, the group of friends easily caught up with him. Standing on the rooftop, Jo's glasses flickered to life, displaying a HUD similar to the one in the game.
"Yeah," he said, noticing the odd stares from his friends, "I put the in-game HUD on here." Awkward pausing followed. "What? It's a really good design!" Altair glanced at him, puzzled and intrigued, and then took a running jump towards the next building-and the exit. The group obediently followed, jumping easily from rooftop to rooftop using their newfound gear.
Jo looked down at the gate leading to outside the city. He examined the four guards surrounding the gate and grinned. He popped the hidden switch on his gauntlets and twin knives popped out of each one. He narrowed his eyes and took all four out easily. All nearby activity stopped as the citizens crowded around the dead bodies, causing distraction to the rest of the guards as well. This allowed the group to use wooden beams over the commotion to quietly escape. Once outside, Altair immediately sprinted for the stables to his horse.
He took a running start and easily leaped on. The youngsters, on the other hand, had slightly more trouble. Jo and Joyce had ridden before, and so knew how to control a horse. Jo picked out a palomino and climbed on, calming the horse while he did so. Joyce found a small Bay and easily jumped on. The others, on the other hand, had little or no riding experience. They simply sat on their chosen horses and looked to Altair for help. The Eagle glanced at their supposed leader.
"What?" Jo shrugged. "I don't know anything about them and horses!" He rode with ease towards them and stopped just short of them. "Since this world is virtual, I'm going to see if I could do that Matrix trick, okay? This might hurt a bit, but it will be well worth it," he said quietly.
"But Jo," said Camille in a deadpan tone, "you're in this world as well. How exactly are you going to hack it?" Jo blinked.
"Uh…I'll see," he said, his glasses flashing into a blur once again. "I've established a link to the server we're on, and located our spontaneously generated avatar files. Inserting necessary graphics, physics and motion patterns now," he muttered, his fingers typing in the air onto a keyboard only he could see. Suddenly, the rest of the group all experienced a sharp stab at their temples. Bree and Camille gasped in pain. Melissa and Max gritted their teeth, but showed no facial expression otherwise. Suddenly, they could handle their horses just fine. The stream of information came like they'd been riding all their lives.
Altair was amazed. One moment ago, the youngsters had trouble getting on a horse. Now, however, they could ride as well, if not better, than he could. Jo looked up again, with a smile on his face. "I also took the liberty of inserting fighting maneuvers into your avatar data. Now you can fight with the weapons you have," said he, smirking. The group of students looked on, openmouthed.
"You…entered us into the system?" asked Melissa.
"Yep," said Jo airily, trotting off towards Masyaf.
"But…isn't that sorta cheating?" said Joyce.
"No, not really, not now THAT WE'RE PART OF ESTABLISHED EVENTS AND WE'RE TECHNICALLY STUCK HERE, IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T NOTICED!" Jo yelled, losing his cool for the first time. Everybody stared, once again shocked. Altair, on the other hand, simply glared at the young teenager.
"You're attracting attention," he said flatly. Jo glared right back, but blinked and sighed.
"Well, there's absolutely nothing I can do about it now," he said quietly. Altair's expression softened.
"Perhaps Al Mualim can help you return home," he said, not without kindness.
"Yes, I suppose he could," said Jo, riding off again. Altair blinked.
"Is he always that solitary?" he asked Joyce.
"Not really," she said, "it's just that he's…concerned for our well-being." Jo stopped.
"Oh, and Bree? Please put your hood up for the time being. Your hair, as beautiful as it is, stands out too much where we are," he said, without turning, then trotted off at a steady pace, allowing the rest of the group to catch up.
This boy is more than he appears to be, thought Altair. Being level headed at such a young age is…extraordinary. He shrugged, then rode up to the group, bringing up the rear in amicable silence.