The two men stood back-to-back with their weapons at the ready, though this ring of nine men surrounding them mean they were outnumbered and possibly out skilled for Eugene. For a moment, the Templars waited to see who would make the first move, their eyes searching their targets for a weak spot like a pack of lions searching for a weakling among a prey of wildebeest. Above, Al Mualim watched intently, waiting for the battle to begin and see his former student and his friend killed. Rapunzel and Pascal next to him watched with utmost terror in their eyes, praying that something would happen to ensure the survival of their friends.
All of a sudden, Tamir made the first move. He charged towards Altair and swung his sword at him, but Altair retaliated quicker than he anticipated and ducked, doing a kind of turn at the same time. Then just as Tamir's sword had cut through where Altair had been standing, the assassin swung his own sword up and drove it through Tamir's torso. However, instead of blood being spilled, Tamir just disappeared in a flash of orange light. Eugene only had a moment for his mind to process this, but it was clear.
Well, that's one down he mentally said to himself. Just another eight to go
"Eugene, behind you!" He suddenly heard Rapunzel shout down to him.
Snapping back into reality, he looked over his shoulder and ducked as William swung his sword at him, only just narrowly missing him by a few inches. Altair went to intervene but was stopped by Robert de Sable, who forced his sword against his and began using his superior strength and size to push Altair back.
"You will pay for what you had done to me, boy!" he hissed at him.
Altair grunted as he tried to push back with his own strength, but it was useless and he found himself being forced up against a wall. Majd and Garnier followed closed behind Robert, their weapons drawn.
"Robert, stop!" Altair pleaded, trying to make him see sense. "Al Mualim said he had betrayed us. You told me this yourself!"
"That never happened!" he snapped angrily. "Al Mualim has completed our task and now we shall free the Holy Lands from this God nonsense and your filthy assassins, starting with you!"
Robert used his free hand to punch Altair in the stomach, winding him and causing him to lean forward in pain. Luckily, though, Altair was able to hold enough strength to dive away from Robert as he swung his sword at him, which ended up hitting the wall, and get up and block an attack from Garnier
Meanwhile, Eugene was having difficulty fighting the rest and was now being forced towards the pile of crates behind him at the side of the courtyard. He swung the dagger at Sibrand, who was standing in front of him, but he simply dodged the attack and knocked the dagger out of his hand, it clattering to the ground.
Sibrand chuckled in a kind of dark manner as he and the others neared him. "Now you shall die!" he said with eagerness in his voice.
Eugene gulped and backed away from them. Great, now he was completely defenceless, outnumbered and out-skilled by these guys. He looked over at Altair but saw him engaged in a fight with Majd so he was not going to be getting any help from him. His heart began to race madly as if he was running a marathon. It looked like he was dead.
"Eugene!" he heard Rapunzel shout to him, drawing the heads from him and the Templars in front of him. "Jump onto the crates!"
He opened his mouth to shout something back, but was stopped when Sibrand swung his weapon at him again, though thankfully he ducked and kicked him in the knee, causing the German Templar to cry out and swear loudly. Deciding it was no time to argue with Rapunzel, Eugene climbed up the crates towards the top, though the Templars were quick to follow.
Al Mualim watched him do so with a sort of amusement in his eyes. It was as if he was watching some sporting contest or fight and was enjoying an argument that had broken out among those participating. He then chuckled as Eugene reached the top of the pile of crates and found himself trapped at the top with Sibrand, William and Nuqoud climbing up to get him and turned his head to look at Rapunzel.
"Not very wise advice to give to your friend there was it?" he said sarcastically to her.
Rapunzel and Pascal glared at him, but their expressions quickly changed back to fear as they looked down at him. He was trapped and with a group of Templars surrounding him and Altair caught up in his own fight, there was no way he could get out of this one. Even climbing over the wall was not an option because there was a sheer drop of about fifty feet on the other side. He really was stuck this time.
C'mon, Eugene Rapunzel thought desperately. Please don't get killed!
That was something he was really trying not to do right now, but it was proving to be almost impossible. He had to find something to defend himself with quickly or he was as good as dead and if that happened, then Altair would be overwhelmed by the amount of enemies.
Sibrand chuckled as he climbed up the pile of boxes, his sword at the ready and eager to thrust it into Eugene to kill him.
"Your time has come, boy!" he said in a voice dripping with pleasure. He was going to enjoy this.
Eugene gulped and took another step back, hoping to try and get as far from Sibrand and the others as possible, but the wall stopped him, leaving him on top of a slightly open crate that was bound to be covered with his own blood in a few moments. Sweat began to drip down his forehead as fear rose within him, but it was then one drop fell down into the small gap by the crate's top and the sound of water hitting something metal emanated out from it. Eugene, hearing the noise, looked down and saw the open crate. Maybe there was something in there he could use!
He reached down and pulled off the top of the crate and his eyes lit up like stars. Finally, he had a weapon.
"Get up and face me!" Sibrand barked, wanting to get on with ending Eugene's life. "I want to see how your face emanates pain,"
He began to climb up the last few crates to Eugene, but when he was about to strike at him, his target suddenly shot up and held out a weapon to him. Upon seeing it, though, Sibrand burst out laughing, as did William, Nuqoud and the others Templars around the pile of crates. Even Al Mualim chuckled to himself when he saw what Eugene had in his hand.
It was a frying pan.
"Vhat are you going to do with that?" Sibrand asked Eugene mockingly, trying to control his laughter. "Are you going to make my dinner?"
"Why don't you come at me and I'll show you," Eugene retorted.
Sibrand humphed. "Very well," he replied and swung his sword at Eugene, only for him to block it with frying pan.
For a moment, the two were locked in a kind of pushing action to overcome the other's strength before Eugene sent a powerful kick that struck Sibrand in the stomach and sent him tumbling down the pile of crates to the bottom with a yell, dropping his sword next to him. Eugene quickly reached into the crate and grabbed another frying pan. One was good enough, but two would be better.
William growled. "You vill pay for zat!" he shouted angrily and jumped up the last few crates and began swinging madly at Eugene with his sword, each time being blocked by the frying pans.
Eventually, after ducking to avoid another swing, Eugene swung his leg at William, who saw what he had tried to do and jumped up, raising his sword above him and bringing it down with all his might. Eugene raised both frying pans, forming a kind of cross above his head, and halted it just centimetres above his nose. Nuqoud began to slowly climb up the crates with Talal and Jubair following close behind him.
"You fail to realize zat your time her is up!" William hissed at Eugene.
"Not…yet, It's not!" Eugene said through gritted teeth, only making William push down even harder with his sword.
Holding William at bay, Eugene's eyes looked left to see Nuqoud just a few crates down, despite his huge size, and was coming at them quickly with Talal and Jubair close behind him. Oh God, if they got to him, then he was a goner. He had to get rid of William quickly!
Pushing up with all his strength, Eugene managed to lift William's sword from his face a few inches before driving his leg into Williams', causing him to yell out in pain and drop his sword, which enabled Eugene to strike him in the face with one of his frying pans. William tumbled down the pile of crates to the ground, almost knocking Nuqoud off if he had not dived out of the way and only just missing Talal on his way down. Fortunately, Sibrand, who was lifting his head up from the ground and groaning, happened to be in the way and he landed on top of him with a thud. Both men groaned in pain. That was really going to hurt. Eugene got up. That was two of them out of the way.
Just then, a sword slashed through the crates beneath him. Eugene waved his arms about as if trying to fly up in the air, but lost his balance and fell down onto the remains of the crates, landing on his side, one of his frying pans landing next to him, the other falling to the ground. Groaning, he raised his head and saw a large shape approaching him. Looking up, he saw it was Nuqoud.
"Prepare to die!" he said in his deep, booming voice, raising his sword. Eugene went wide-eyed. He had to think of something, and fast!
In an instant, he grabbed his frying pan and rolled over as Nuqoud brought his sword down, cutting through the wood of the crates his enemy had been laying on top of just milliseconds before. Eugene got up and grabbed a piece of wood that had been part of the side of one of the crates he had landed on, which he used to block another swing from Nuqoud. Talal charged up the pile of crates to Eugene's side, raising his sword and thrusting it at him. Eugene ducked and swung his frying pan upwards, striking Talal in the chin and sending him down to the ground where he landed head first. As soon as he hit the stone at the bottom of the pile of crates, his body lit up a bright orange colour and disappeared in a flash.
High above on the balcony, Rapunzel cheered loudly and Pascal squeaked with happiness. "Nice one, Eugene!" she shouted down to him. That was two down, but another seven to go.
"Silence, you stupid girl!" Al Mualim growled at her, holding up the treasure and causing her to gasp in pain and clench her fists tightly as a searing pain to sweep through her as if she had been set on fire.
Al Mualim, however, could not help but feel annoyed by this. Two of them were gone so far, but he was hoping that the other seven would deal with the two quickly. He looked back down into the courtyard, watching the fight as it continued to unroll in front of him.
A roar brought Eugene's attention back to Nuqoud and he only just managed to prevent himself from being cut in two from another swing of his sword, which he stopped by raising the piece of wood in his hand. Though it stopped the sword, it also broke in two as the metal cut through almost as if it were paper. Nuqoud then swung his sword at him again, only for it to collide with the frying pan and causing the two to try and push each other down with all their strength.
Nearby, Altair ducked as he avoided another swipe from Garnier, who was swing madly at him with his weapon. Altair could see that his eyes held the same madness he had when they battled each other in Acre, only this time it was kind of a resurrected madness rather than a madness one would normally find in a living person.
"Stand still so I can cut you open!" Garnier growled at him as Altair jumped backwards, narrowly avoiding having his chest cut open.
"You won't be cutting anyone open, madman!" Altair barked at him, swing his sword at him, knocking Garnier's aside and striking diagonally from the hip up across the chest to his right shoulder. As usual, no blood was spilled and, with a yell, Garnier fell to the ground and disappeared in a flash of orange light. Three down, six to go.
A grunt from behind caused the assassin to look over his shoulder and see Nuqoud and Eugene trying to overpower the other. At the moment, despite Eugene's healthier build, his strength was unable to beat Nuqoud, who was forcing him down onto his knees with a wicked grin on his face. Oh no! If he knocked Eugene's frying pan aside, Nuqoud would kill him. Altair had to do something.
Just then, a roar from in front of him drew his attention and he saw Robert charging towards him, sword raised a look of utmost fury on his face, probably having been caused from when Altair kicked him in the head and knocked him to the ground moment ago. Altair brought his sword up, stopping Robert's where it was, and drove his hand with hidden blade into his chest and pulled it out. Robert gasped and collapsed to the ground before disappearing in the flash of orange light. Almost instantly afterwards, Altair spun round and launched a hidden blade at Nuqoud, striking him in the back. The man roared in pain and Eugene, seeing his chance, swung his frying pan into his head, hitting him in the face. Nuqoud was knocked backwards down the pile towards the ground and two unfortunate people.
William groaned and lifted his head up from the ground, lying sprawled out over Sibrand's torso. Sibrand lifted his head up and rubbed the back of it. Then, as if someone had flicked a switch, he pushed William off him and grabbed his sword, the single thought of hatred of: I am going to kill him! running through his head.
A loud crash caused him and William to look up and see Nuqoud bounce off another crate like a ball and fall towards them.
"Oh no!" the two groaned in unison.
A second later, a loud thud filled the air as Nuqoud landed on top of William and Sibrand. Eugene winced as he hit them, knowing that having a man as large as Nuqoud was going to hurt, a lot. The flash of orange light followed almost as simultaneously as Nuqoud hit the ground and all three disappeared in an instant.
"Nicely done, Eugene!" Altair commented positively.
He nodded in reply, but went wide-eyed. "Altair, behind you!" he warned, pointing behind him.
Majd had been running at him with his sword raised, hoping to kill Altair whilst his guard was down. Luckily, Altair saw the coming threat quickly enough and ducked, doing a kind of spin, and raised his sword, pointing it at Majd and stepped cautiously near him, waiting for him to make the next move.
Just then, Eugene noticed Jubair throw his sword up to him and he ducked and rolled forward down the pile of crates, slamming into Jubair and sending him face first into a crate of fruit. When Eugene hit the ground, he shot up onto his feet, frying pan at the ready.
Rapunzel's face lit up like a star and she sneered at Al Mualim. "You friends are doing very well are they?" she said to him in a mocking, sarcastic voice, to which Pascal rubbed in the insult by sticking his tongue out at him.
Al Mualim growled and glared down at the last two men in the courtyard, which were Majd and Jubair.
"You two had better win!" he muttered threateningly under his breath.
Majd grunted as he was knocked aside by a punch from Altair. Seething with anger, he lunged at him again, only to be knocked aside with a kick to the arm.
"ARGH!" he roared as he straightened himself up again. "I should have killed you that day in Jerusalem!" he shouted to Altair.
"But you didn't, and you shall not succeed here!" he retorted.
Glaring furiously, looking as if he was about to explode, Majd lunged at Altair, but was stopped when Altair dodged his attack by spinning around him and swinging his sword into his side. As soon as the weapon left his body, and Majd had fallen to the ground, he disappeared in the flash of light. That was eight down, one more to go.
"AH!"
Unfortunately, Eugene was not faring as well. Jubair had regained his sword, but was now throwing pieces of fruit at him. An apple hit Eugene in the head, but it felt like a rock and he stumbled backwards towards the edge of the centre of the courtyard just above where the drop to the small pond was, dropping his frying pan next to one of the apples in the process. Groaning as he sat up, he saw Jubair approaching him, having dropped the last few grapes he had, his sword shaking in his hand as he was now raring to kill Eugene. His glare of pure hatred and anger was enough to tell him that. Eugene saw him coming and went to grab his frying pan, but Jubair slammed one foot onto his hand, making him cry out in pain, and used the other to kick the object aside.
"Ah, ah, ah!" Jubair said to Eugene as if he was a parent telling a child not to do something naughty. He raised his sword, the point aiming down at Eugene's body. "Not this time, boy!" he added, pleasure at the prospect of killing Eugene filling his voice. "Goodbye,"
Eugene went wide-eyed as Jubair brought the sword down. He slammed his eyes shut tightly, waiting for the sword to cut into him. Hopefully, it would be quick and painless.
Suddenly, a cry of "OW!" and the lifting of Jubair's foot at the same time caused Eugene to open his eyes and see his foe staggering sideways, rubbing the back of his head. Seeing an opportunity, Eugene whipped up his frying pan and an apple, which he tossed as Jubair, striking him in the face, causing him to swear loudly as it hit him in the nose. Eugene then rushed over and swung the frying pan, hitting him on the top of his head, knocking him out and sending him to the floor.
"Quickly!" Altair said as he rushed over and began to push him towards the side of the main part of the courtyard; Eugene doing the same.
They rolled Jubair off the side of the courtyard and he fell to the pond, landing with a loud splash. Breathing a sigh of relief, Eugene stood up straight again.
"Not bad there, Eugene," Altair said positively to him.
He smiled and nodded. "Thanks," he replied.
Suddenly, searing pain swept through them again and, their bodies lighting up a bright orange colour, both were turned around against their own will so they were facing the castle and pulled forward forcefully as if some invisible person had tied ropes to them and was trying to pull them to the ground. Both slammed into the stone face down in the centre of the sun engraved into the courtyard. Looking up, the two saw Al Mualim walking down the steps from the entrance to the courtyard, having gotten there in a matter of seconds. Rapunzel, who had Pascal on her shoulder, was hovering behind him, a look of utmost fear on her face.
It was not over yet.