Author's Note~!
Helloooo Stonehenge! Oh wait…wrong TV show. Never mind.
Here's the next chappie. I hope you like it! Oh, and Merry Christmas!
Chapter 5: Riding to Masy-Wait a Minute, Guards?
The units of guards at the crossroads weren't expecting any sort of group or party to be offensively based, considering their status and who they were. They had loosened their alertness to a ridiculous degree due to the fact that not many travelers were defiant of the guards, and they know it clearly. Intimidating citizens and bullying them into submission was just one form of entertainment. So when the group of 27 saw a small group of 7 heading their way, six of them children, they thought that it'd be a good idea to have some fun with the kids and teach them to respect guards early. The captain of the group, a young cocky bloke from Damascus named Mafid was delighted to finally have something to do, even if it was making kids beg for mercy. He looked to his lieutenant.
"There are more women than men in this group. Go and roughen them up a bit, but don't harm them. Yet." His lieutenant nodded, called for his nine man unit and marched off to confront the group, confident that the best that the group could handle is a few shoves, providing some relief of boredom for his men.
Mafid was feeling great. His lieutenant had just stopped the group and was now asking the only adult exactly where they were going.
"We are simply going to Masyaf, to visit a relative," Mafid heard the man say quietly. "Really?" asked a guard, "then who is this?" he flipped Bree's hood. "Surely, this woman is an exotic beauty!" Jo's hands curled into fists. Altair glanced at him, then shook his head lightly. Jo relaxed, but only slightly. The rest of the group tensed up. Jo cared for the whole group. Seeing him relaxed wasn't a good sign. The guard blundered on, unaware of the danger that he had suddenly put his unit in.
"I want to borrow her for an hour," he said, grabbing her arm. This time, Jo simply reached to his left and gripped the guard's arm in a grip of iron. "Release her," he said. "Or what?" the guard scoffed, refusing to let go, "What is she to you anyway?" he bellowed. Jo's stare suddenly turned ice cold.
"She is my sister. Now let her go," said Jo quietly. Joyce tensed and placed her hand lightly over her foil, fearing that she might need to use it soon. Altair wasn't amused, but he did not object. For a grown man to do this was wrong. He observed the other guards as well. All of them had a strange look in their eyes, as if hungering for what they think will happen. These guards were not chivalrous nor bravely kind, but were instead lustful and useless; they don't deserve to live. He looked at Jo.
"Son…" he said, indicating for his attention. Jo turned his ice cold glare towards Altair, the glare cold enough to unsettle the Eagle himself. He nodded imperceptibly, and Jo's eyes softened. He let go of the guard's arm. The guard laughed, thinking that the boy had given up.
"Do you realize who I am now?" he bellowed into the boy's hooded face, spraying spittle everywhere. "Do you realize that I am a guard in service to the king himself?" He shoved the boy down onto the ground. Jo lay there, still silent. At this point, the rest of the group was wondering just what the heck was going on. Jo was hot headed. It was in his and his sister's blood.
There was no way he would stand down to a direct attack like that. As the guard prepared for yet another verbal assault, the boy slowly got up. His white cloak now stained by the golden sand and dust. The rest of the group now got off their horses as well. He looked up to the guard under his cloak. "You stained my cloak," he said, a grin creeping onto his face, "and you struck first, just remember that." And then Mafid's day turned into a nightmare.
Jo tensed into an Aikido stance and gave a battle cry, surprising the guard. He then quickly kicked the guard's solar plexus, then, as the guard was doubled over in pain he twisted his neck. A savage crack resounded through the area as the guard's neck broke and he fell to the floor, dead, unmoving. The rest of the unit was shocked into immobility. At this point, Altair, who had been climbing the nearby lookout, unleashed half a dozen throwing knives towards the unit, downing half their men before they could move.
With only three men left, Jo simply stood there as they charged at him, yelling curses that would otherwise be unprintable. He dodged the first one, then buried his right hand with hidden blade deep in his back. He blocked the strike of the second with his left gauntlet, then drew his katana with his right hand and cut the guard clean in two. The third guard hesitated, and then was pierced from behind when Joyce skewered him onto her foil. "Bit better than practice with dummies, this," she said, pulling the now bloodied sword out of her victim and sheathing it. At this time, the siblings looked back at the group, with puzzled expressions due to the fact that no comment was heard.
The rest of the group was in bad shape. Camille was standing, frozen in shock that her friend would do something so barbaric. Max was just plain terrified, while Melissa was the only one to keep her head, and was with Bree to check if she was alright. A clamor erupted behind Jo and he looked around, an inquisitive look on his face. The rest of the guards finally snapped out of their stupor, rushing towards their group. Jo looked closer.
There were only about 18 guards left, plus the lieutenant and the captain. 18 professionally trained guards armed to the teeth with weapons and armor? That's just too much…for my sister, that is, he thought, grin tightening as he tossed the sword towards Melissa. "Mel! Catch! Use it if you have to!" He yelled, and then charged towards the guards. The first nine arrived and surrounded him. Another six split off of the main group and went after Joyce and the students. Jo's eyes darted around, searching for a weakness in the soldiers. I can't do anything, but they've never seen what I do before, he thought.
The captain strode towards him, accompanied by his lieutenant and the remaining three guards. "Give up, and we won't kill you," he said, unsheathing his sword. Yeah, right, thought Jo.
"Alright," he said, raising his hands in a surrendering gesture. The guards breathed a sigh of relief, a sigh too soon, as Jo extended his hidden blades and decapitated two of his captors at once, spraying blood all over the immediate vicinity except for Jo himself. High above the battle, Altair's eyes widened once again. "This child is…" Altair went speechless again as Jo did a combo attack using the hidden blades and throwing knives, taking down 5 guards in as many seconds.
Blood stained the golden sand dull brown as the clamor died down. There were only 7 out of the original 18 left, and three were at the students, who were holding their own quite well. Joyce furiously dueled with one, swords clashing, while Melissa took one down on her own, burying her hidden blade up to the wrist in his brains. She turned, only to find that Joyce had peppered her assailant with painful stab wounds and cuts before finishing him off. Meanwhile, Bree and Max confronted the guard. Max simply tackled the guard to the ground and Bree stabbed him through the throat with her blade.
"Jo! Here's your sword back!" she yelled towards the boy, who caught the katana without turning. He alone advanced towards the captain and his last vestiges of order, inexorably and with the ice cold glare. He continued, until Altair dropped from a nearby building and put an arm in front of him. He stopped, knowing full well that it was best for the assassin to do what was right.
"Here," Jo said, flipping his sword and offering the hilt to Altair, "You might just like it!" he said with a grin. Altair, curiosity piqued once again, took the blade and tried swinging with it. It was perfectly balanced, razor sharp and deadly in any circumstance. Altair walked towards the guards, closely followed by Jo. The rest of the group gathered the horses and slowly brought up the rear. Jo cut down two of the guards with his last remaining throwing knives, while stabbing the last remaining guard with his hidden blade.
Altair, meanwhile, cut down the lieutenant with one strike, splitting the man clean in two. The Assassin and Jo now stepped to the captain, at which point Jo promptly turned tail and headed back to the group. He checked each member for their health.
"Although we're in a game, since we're now in it, you can get hurt and you can die." They were alright, apart from the fact that they were all a bit shaken. Bree, especially, was trembling and staring straight at the guard she snuffed out.
"I…killed someone…" she mumbled. Jo put a hand on her shoulder.
"It's a virtual AI program, and don't you ever forget it. You don't ever seem to mind when you do it as Ezio, so why are you nervous now?" Jo said.
"Because…I'm not Ezio..I'm not an assassin…I shouldn't kill…" Bree replied. Jo rolled his eyes and sighed with a grin on his face. He pulled Bree into a hug, instantly bringing her out of her trance. She wriggled out of his grasp, then attempted to thump his head. Jo actually laughed. "There's our timorous beastie right there!" Bree and Melissa got the joke and laughed as well. At this point, Altair rejoined the group and got onto his horse.
"What's so funny?" he asked, a small smirk on his face. The trio laughed harder at his jibe and when they'd finally started on their way to Masyaf again. Everyone was in a good mood.
Mafid struggled against his bonds until he realized exactly where he was. Dangling 50 feet above the ground tied to the lookout that Altair used earlier, he wisely decided not to move and instead await rescue. Unfortunately, Altair had also thought to slit his wrists, leaving the man slowly bleeding to death. I hope they get here soon, he thought.