Chapter 3- Adjustments

When Dana realized her brother had brought Altair back, she was VERY amused and had a hard time not laughing in Alex's face; despite Altair voluntary leaving out into the big wide and very modern world, her brother had decided to drag him back here despite his insistence he wanted Altiar gone which was a contradiction in itself really, sometimes what Alex DID and what he said were two completely different things.

"Ahem Nice to see you again Altair,did you have a nice walk?" She said as she forced herself not to grin like an idiot; Altair had only been gone an hour, two tops before Alex had decided to bring him back.

"You don't need to look so smug" Alex grumbled to himself as he sat down on the dark sofa on the far side of the room; his arms over his chest; if he wasn't a full grown man and the Blacklight virus, he;d probably pout; just a bit. He didn't want Altiar around he never had, but apparently, he was from the past he had a cache of weapons on his person, he couldn't trust Altiar to not draw attention to himself; assassin he may be but his cloths are NOT going to blend into modern society.

"I'm not smug! I'm just right, I knew you;d bring him back" She said with a soft chuckle" Okay Altair: First things first; We need to now CHANGE your cloths; You probably noticed one out there you don't fit in at all so I actually picked out some of my friends cloths for you to wear so you can blend in- oh and take the weapons off in the house, if your going to stay that's one of the rules okay?"

"...Your talking all this rather well" He said to her as he reluctantly; granted she did not know that he had travelled forward in time yet but she didn't seem disturbed by all the weapons; sighing he began handing her his sword, dagger and other weapons.

"I have Alex for a brother I'm used to the weird and wonderful" She replied dryly before she raised an eyebrow "And the hidden blades" she said making a 'gimmie' notion with her hands.

"..." Altiar sighed and obeyed, unstrapping it from his wrist and handing the gauntlet over to her; he didn't know why he was obeying, maybe because if it wasn't for her and Alex he'd be lost in a city he didn't know or understand; he didn't have a plan or a place to stay so he had no choice but to comply with her wishes.

Dana looked a the bundle of weapons (Which were heavier than they looked; how the heck could he carry all this around!) and smiled a tiny bit "Okay I'll store these somewhere" She said before he left the room probably to keep them in a place not easily found yet easily acssessable in case the Military or hunters turn up.

Again, this meant leaving Altiar and Alex, alone; the two of them were silent, which grew more and more awkward as time passed. "...Thank you" Altiar said slowly after a rather long pause; he supposed he should be grateful Alex let him stay at all.

"Don;t thank me its not going to be a permanent thing, under stood?" the older man said softly with a soft grunt "it's temporary until you get used to the modern world or you go back to wherever you came from, I don't really care which one happens first" He grunted; okay that wasn't the whole truth; he was curious about the other but that didn't mean he had to CARE about him.

Altiar regarded him for a moment before he sat down on the other side if the couch his hands laced together his head down, as he slid into thought about the man next to him; anything but the fact he didn't feel safe; he was so used to having his weapons with him it was alien to have them taken away willingly "...Why do you not trust people?" He asked quietly; attempting to make a conversation; Alex Mercer was a mystery, he hoped he could get some sort of insight into why Alex was the way he was.

"Because I'm hunted" Alex responded quietly; he wasn't about to give the other much more of an answer than that; even that might be too much information.

"Hmm, I...understand, how that feels" He said softly a faint smile twitching at his mouth; he remembered all the times the Templars has chased him off the rooftops of Jerusalem and done leap of faiths into the hay to hide; he sort of missed that, the rush of adrenaline the feeling of the wind whipping past his cloths as he fell... "To be hunted for what you are...I ...understand that" He said softly as he looked to Alex, who just looked passive and stony as he had before, before he broke off softly as he looked back down at the floor.

Dana returned looking pleased with herself "Okay that's done, I suppose if your staying I should show you around once you've gotten changed..." She said as she led Altiar to the spare bedroom for him to change; the whole process took a lot longer than a few minutes because Dana had to explain to the poor man what boxers were and what a zipper was and what it's function; Altiar wasn't used to modern clothing at all and it just felt alien and uncomfortable on him; it made him feel antsy. "..."

"Are you done Altair?" Dana asked; the assassin didn't answer her at first as he tugged on the sleeves; no matter what he did it didn't feel right; the comfortable weight where his hidden blade rested on his arm felt light and strange; this world was going to take a lot of getting used to.

"Almost" he said; Dana had picked out his cloths and seemed to have guessed his size because the dark blue Jeans she had gotten him to war were loose on him and hung low on his hips; the boxers he wore felt restricting as hell (He made a mental note to never wear them again); the only thing that seemed to fit was the hoodie; which was a pale grey with some sort of logo on the back he didn't recognize; at least with his face hidden he felt a little more comfortable; it wasn't much, but it was something.

The assassin sighed; he supposed he would have to adapt to this new environment, to this future he'd been thrust into, and he would have to cope with the cloths, maybe over time he;d get used to them, but honestly more than anything Altair wanted to go home; he missed it, he missed the hot days and the cool nights, the meetings at Maysaf, his fellow assassins, eating together in the academy, talking and laughing together, his bickering with Malik, and his missions...Altiar sat on the bed and rubbed at his face as a sense of homesickness washed over him; he never thought he would miss his homeland so much...

"Altair?" Dana peeked inside and saw him rubbing his face "...are you alright?" she asked concerned; she sorta guessed Altiar wasn't from this time period from when she first got a good look at him, but it was confirmed when talked with Alex a moment ago, who just flat out said that Altiar was apparently from the 12th century; Alex might have found it hard to believe but Dana believed it, she didn't know why she was quick to believe Altair's story but she did and she felt sorry for him; having such a time jump and being thrust into a world so much different to his own must have been hard.

She wondered if she should sit with him, try to comfort him some how but she didn't move; Altair and Alex seemed to have a few things in common; one of them being they liked their own space, even in times of turmoil; they did things their own way even if it got them into trouble...she was sure it was better just to wait for him to respond.

I want to go home He whispered to himself; he knew Dana and Alex couldn't understand him; no one in this odd country did! "..." He looked up to see if Dana had left; to his surprise she was still there leaning against the doorway watching him a mixture of confusion and sympathy in her eyes.

"...I'm fine" He said softly; he was a lie but it made him feel better; he needed to keep focus in order to find a way home. He stood up slowly and followed her into the living room where Alex almost had to do a double take as he stared at the other; wow he almost looked normal! His eyes looked Altair; up and down and he felt something ripple under his skin; the virus was acting odd bit Alex ignored it it was probably nothing.

"...So...what do we do now?" he said as he looked around the room there was so much in this room he did NOT understand. At all.

Dana chuckled "Oh boy we have a LOT to teach you..." She said softly.

Dana (Grudgingly followed by Alex) led Altair around the apartment showing him the modern day conveyances of the 21st century, a lot of it Altair was freaked out by though he kept his anxiety mostly well hidden; he freaked out the most about the TV which he thought was made out of magic and the microwave; every time Altiar was surprised by something his left hand twitched as if willing for a hidden blade to flick out that he didn't have.

Needless to say Dana was glad she'd hidden his weapons or half of the utilities in the house would be broken she was sure.

"Amazing" Altiar whispered as he turned the tap in the bathroom on and off again a few times in awe; running water in the 12th century just didn't exist; it was get water from the well or cactus juice (Which Altair hated, but it was better than dying when travelling long distances)

The new technology in the future both awed and frightened him; technology and science had moved so fast and far in 800 years! Despite his homesickness he was amazed at all the things he had seen so far and that was just inside the apartment; he memories everything he could; perhaps he could take his knowledge from the future back home with him, discuss it with Malik who was by far the brightest man he had ever known.

"Its just running water" Alex grumbled but Dana nudged him to keep him quiet; it wasn't the younger man's fault that he hadn't seen anything like this before; to her and Alex is was common, something you didn't even think about let alone get amazed over, but to Altair, she was sure it was a big thing.

"How...does it work?" He asked turning to them.

"Well there's pipes under ground that feed water through the taps, the water gets filtered before it come through the taps which is why its so clear" She said with a soft smile Altiar pondered this before he nodded at that as he turned the water off again; yes defiantly something to tell Malik when he got home.

Dana felt amused by all of Altair's questions; he was an intelligent man despite his difficulties with English, quiet and thoughtful after each question, always planning out what to ask next; he was quiet, reserved, a lot like Alex only it seemed he was not as withdrawn as the other nor did he have the same sociopathic tendencies.

All in all it was safe to say she was warming to the assassin; the same could not be said for her brother it seemed who had been quiet and sullen all evening. Dana coughed softly "Uhm well its getting late I'm sure your hungry uhm I'm not sure what to make you"

"Anything, is fine" Altair said as he looked at her; he wasn't a picky eater especially when he had to leave off humus and grain most of the time; he hoped that the food here was better than at home (One thing he wouldn't miss: Malik's cooking, he swore the man made it bad on purpose sometimes)

"Alright then, Alex-"

"I'm not Hungry...I'm going out" He said softly; Dana fully knew what that meant, he was going back out into the red zone, back into the infected areas, no doubt to try and track down Greene and stop her for good, to fix his own mistake of letting her free in the first place.

"But-" Too late, Alex turned and left the bathroom and by the time Altair and Dana followed him he was gone the only thing that indicted where he'd gone was them opened window he;d left open the curtain blowing gently in the breeze. "Alex..." Dana sighed softly; she guessed something would never change, walking over she closed the window but left it unlocked having no doubt that if Alex didn't climb in through the window he'd come down from the roof; Alex tried not to use doors if he could help it.

"He...does that a lot?" He asked softly; he could tell, just by the way the dark haired women's shoulders sagged a bit hoe disheartening it was to see her brother run off like that, Dana turned to him and nodded a sad smile on her face "He's...trying to right wrongs...and remember who he is" she said.

"...he...can not...remember?" He asked surprised

Dana nodded "Yes...its a long story but...my big brother...he...he isn't human any more...its very hard to explain...

"Dana...I, have all the time, in the world...tell me, about your brother" he said softly; he didn't know why he wanted to know so much about Alex Mercer, all he knew that his curiosity and thirst for knowledge compelled him to ask about Dana's brother.

The dark haired women smiled softly ""I will, but dinner comes first!" She said with a soft smile feeling cheered up already as she went to make dinner, nothing fancy just some spaghetti bolognase when they sat down together to eat on the small work surface that was used as a table as well as a work surface; it was nice, for Dana to be able to sit and eat with someone, to talk with them and not be worried for 15 minutes, about whether Gentek was around the corner to snatch her brother away.

As promised she told Altiar all she knew, she didn't delve much into their child hood (1); in fact she barely brushed in the subject; it was a sensitive topic for her and probably even more so for Alex, who barely remembered who he was. She skipped to the part where Alex became a scientist, an expert in genetics (She explained genes were what made up a person, what they looked like hoe tall they were etc, it was what made human being human) she said that she worked for a company called Gentek and he became head of a top secret project called Blacklight ("My Brother has always been paranoid; its one of his many bad habits? She had said) and then at some point Alex had died and been reborn with the virus, though he couldn't remember how or why he got a hold of it.

"-and when he woke up, it was in a morgue- you know a place where they examine dead people? Anyway the military have been after him ever since" She said softly; she had tried to give Altiar a shortened version of what had happened to Alex but even that had taken at least an hour, considering Altair knew very little of science, or the world in general.

"So...He is...not human any more he is this...virus?" He said trying to wrap his mind around what Dana had told him; it wasn't as if he feared Alex nor was he disturbed by what he was told; he just found it hard to believe Alex was not a human being because he hadn't seen any of his powers yet, however Dana was not a lair and he knew she was telling the truth.

Altiar's mouth twitched into a smile; he wasn't exactly fully human either...eagle vision was not a human trait after all. "When...will he be back?"

"Who knows? Sometimes he can be gone for days on end" Dana said softly as she picked at her food "He doesn't eat and he never sleeps, it's not that he don't need to, its more that he cant, he told me that he...can consume people take in their identities...it disturbed me, it scared me but, I know that he's still my brother...but he has headaches...i can hear him mumbling to himself; he says he can hear vices, and they stop him from sleeping"

"He...is haunted by demons..." Altiar said softly; he almost shivered a bit as he remembered the nine spirits of the Templars that he had killed, the ones Al Maulim made to appear, and had forced him to fight them by using the piece of Eden "..." He fell into thought for a moment before he went back to eating.

The rest of the meal was spent mostly in silence the two of them both had a lot on their minds, Dana was mostly thinking about her brother, while Altiar was thinking about his home.

One the meal was over Dana excused herself and retreated to her bedroom trusting Altair to be fine on his own, Altiar; walked around; he felt restless, and uneasy in the apartment; his eyes wandered over to the kitchen and tot he coffee machine...Dana had mentioned coffee before, she had been drinking it this morning; such a strange beverage piqued his curiosity and decided to try and make a cup.

And hour later and he still didn't know what to do; he didn't want to ask Dana in case she was busy so he sighed in frustration; why wasn't this thing working?

"...have you put the coffee in?" a voice behind him asked he half turned; sure enough there was Alex; he didn't seem any worse for wear as he leaned on the doorway, and he actually sounded amused by Altair's frustration "..." He just blinked at Alex not sure what he was talking about.

Alex sighed before he stepped forward he opened the cupboard bringing out a small bag full of ground coffee, the younger male watched Alex pull out a section of the machine and put the coffee in it before he put it back before he fiddled with it a bit then pressed the button.

Almost instantly the machine let out a muffled frothing sound as it started to work and a steaming black liquid that smelled odd to him, but it wasn't unpleasant. Once the machine stopped working Alex handed him the cup "You want milk with that?"

"...I don't know" He said honestly he had never had coffee before, he pulled the cup up to his lips and took a tentative sip; the hot bitter liquid slid down his throat and he blinked in surprise; while bitter it wasn't bad it was rather nice, smooth and rich with that bitter tang lingering on his tongue "Maybe I shall try it with milk" He said as Alex handed the carton over (Which perplexed Altair but he managed to open it without help) he poured some into the cup and tried it again; he smiled a little that tasted much better. "Not bad" He said as he leant against the counter and sipped it "...where did you go?" He asked he doubted that Alex would tell him given his nature but it was worth a try.

As he suspected the amused almost-smile on Alex;s face slipped and his eyes gre hard and cold "Its none of your business" He said before he turned and left the kitchen, leaving the assassin alone with his coffee.

Altiar; let out a soft sight; ah well, at least Alex helped him with this dark stuff...what did Alex call it? Coffee? At least he helped him with that, maybe they would eventually get along the more Alex got used to him.

Altiar smirked a little; he couldn't wait to find out; after all he was probably going to be here a lot longer than Alex expected.

Okay Im done! ^^ Hope you guys enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

If anyone cared to actually look up Alex's past on the prototype Wiki, it says he spent the first 10 years of his childhood in care, then the rest of this time with his mother and baby Dana, though he claims he preferred being in care and was a borderline sociopath by the time he was in university doing a degree in genetics.