Freedom Fighters

Late noon had brought the wandering trio deep into the lush wild of Giza's outskirts in the search to find civilization, whether it was a quaint village or the bustling city itself. It wasn't as easy to find as Cairo, where the city had practically waved to them from afar in welcome, and Altaїr had the nagging suspicion that they landed a little south of the location. It was confirmed that very morning when Vivian checked the compass after they hid their canoe in a safe place not too far from their concealed campsite before walking onwards to find people. Frankly, Vivian didn't know if they'd find the same area of their concealed camp since tying a red sash around the trunk of a tree and placing a fallen log near shore didn't exactly give them the pinpointing precision of a GPS navigator on a marked location.

The empty lush jungle landscape twittered with buzzing insects and singing birds but the sound of grass crunching under heavy feet from the trio joined the melody. Malik was already drenched in sweat from the high humidity in the area while Altaїr swatted insects that wanted to land on his face as he kept hiking with the unrelenting determination fit for a Terminator. Vivian could only scuttle on behind the men, sometimes forcing herself to waddle to manage balancing her large pack since Altaїr decided to fill all of her canteens and made her carry them. She assumed this was his way of payback for what occurred between them yesterday night when she kicked his face in. It was a miracle handed down by the gaming gods that he didn't unleash his wrath upon the poor woman but Vivian wouldn't complain.

"Oh, I come from a land, from a faraway place
Where the caravan camels roam
Where it's flat and immense
And the heat is intense
It's barbaric, but hey, it's home

When the wind's from the east
And the sun's from the west
And the sand in the glass is right
Come on down
Stop on by
Hop a carpet and fly
To another Arabian night. . ."

Vivian's arms spread wide as she kept singing the rest of the Disney melody with cheer,

"Arabian nights
Like Arabian days
More often than not
Are hotter than hot
In a lot of good ways

Arabian nights
'Neath Arabian moons-"

"What are you singing now? I'm rather fond of my hearing, Vivian" Altaїr sighed exasperatedly to her annoyingly constant out of the blue tunes. The humidity in the air covered him in a blanket of endless heat that had now drenched his face with perspiration and he had no tolerance for her screechy voice this early in the day. His homeland had a tendency to be hot throughout the early day but Egypt brought it to a new level with the Nile's close proximity and the land around it was lush with green vegetation for added humidity. The grand master would write about this to warn future assassins to travel light when venturing into the new land and would look into altering their garb for easier maneuverability as different environments required minute changes.

Vivian was too hot to shoot him a glare and abandoned any retort, her tongue lolling out of her mouth in similarity to a dog in the summer heat to see if it would help with temperature regulation. Of course, her attempt was in vain as her skin yearned to feel the soothing cold tendrils of an air conditioner. Giving up, she trudged along after the duo and answered with a heavy pant, "It's a song about a moving picture using sketched characters that tell the story of a peasant man trying to impress a sultan's daughter by using a jinn to make him a fake prince and become beloved by the people."

"Sounds interesting" Malik commented politely since her stories of fantasy were interesting to hear around the campfire when Altaїr's combat strategies became tedious. Her stories of varying genres of literature were a welcome time around nighttime because hearing how to cut an enemy's throat open without spilling blood didn't take Malik's mind away from his profession.

An assassin's life was filled with danger and adventure but everybody needed a pause from such a hectic life as they were flesh and blood like any human being. People often gazed at them with awe and fear but Malik had wants like a common man to relax in a green pasture overlooking a cliff and draw images of the world to his heart's content while worrying about nothing- especially the demands of the order. His little brother always spoke about traveling the Mediterranean and searching for legendary Greek mermaids for fun but Malik tried to protect him by keeping him in a safe environment where he could always keep watch. Kadar was no longer among the living and to honor his memory, he devoted his time to experiencing another life outside the Order where he could indulge in being an average man. . .and who knew, he might take that trip to search for the fabled mermaids.

Altaїr, on the other hand, was a tireless machine that breathed their creed but nobody knew that he was at peace sitting in a library and improving his knowledge. As a child born into the order, he learned only what was required of him (physical fitness, weapons handling, simple arithmetic for expenses, etc.) but he wasn't about to be an ignorant man when the opportunity to learn presented itself during his travels so he always picked up a few spare books to read and build his personal library. So far, only a single shelf was filled but by the end of his lifetime, it would grow to be an entire chamber dedicated to his experiences. Whoever tried to insult his fancy for the written word would be sprawled and broken on all fours in the courtyard as he instilled that education was a worthy skill to have. Al Mualim never taught them anything relating to the fields of science, arts, philosophy, or languages, but Altaїr would try to change that bit by bit.

"First of all, lying is not the way to impress a woman to court you" the master assassin stated derisively with a scoff towards the absurdity of such a story, especially if it was aimed towards children. If he ever had children (not that he was eager), he'd ban such horrible stories because he'd tell them to carve their own path with honesty and hard work. Wiping sweat from his brow, he wagged a reprimanding finger towards the woman without glancing back and continued matter-of-factly, "Second of all, jinn's are not nice beings to begin with."

"Oh, and you're the perfect man to give advice when you leave women on rooftops after bedding them" she shot back sarcastically since she wasn't the creator of Aladdin and Malik covered his mouth to laugh at the bold claim. Altaїr hadn't been vocal about his interactions with the ex-Templar but Vivian was privy to information Malik wouldn't have imagined and couldn't muffle his laughs when Altaїr shot her a murderous glare. Apparently, she'd been right on target. Vivian caught the furious scowl but didn't appear affected by it, simply trudging through the grassy fields with her small careful steps as she smiled innocently with hidden mischief, "We have a word for that in my world: Jerks with intimacy issues."

Altaїr's hand shot out to grasp her by the neck but the sweat gathered on the nape allowed her to slide through with ease before he could begin to choke her. Vivian deemed herself extremely lucky when she wriggled free and Malik laughed to her resemblance to an eel in water as she escaped his friend. She cackled triumphantly like the Roadrunner, running off ahead towards safety with her overly large pack (she looked like a miniature tortoise to the dai at this point) and heard the clanking of cooking pots as they dangled off the sides. Hadn't he told her to pack them inside along the cloth of the knapsack in order to fend off enemy weapons? Malik simply shook his head to the lively entertainment Vivian brought with her behavior alone and uncorked his canteen to take a sip of the cold water, turning to his friend to ask, "Do you find it eerie that she knows almost everything about you?"

"A bit but at the moment, I wish she could read my mind so she could see what I want to do to her" he stated grimly and contemplated knocking her out but the area was too hot for him to carry her, especially without being near their location. He would have to endure her crazy gibberish as the ongoing humidity drove a strong bargain. . .but he could still fantasize about knocking her out cold. He could add a kick or two to her rear end as nothing was impossible in the land of make believe- there were times when he truly thought her mind dwelled there.

Vivian swiped at the hot air driving her insane, hoping to drive away her invisible nemesis, but was felled as she exhausted her energy reserves. She panted heavily as she wiped her damp forehead with the back of her hands, exclaiming with aggravation, "Damn, it's like being Naked Snake in the jungle of Metal Gear 3 all over again mixed in with the lush Amazon. Ugh, throw in a bunch of Helghast and we have Vekta in Killzone 1."

Malik stared blankly with baffled confusion to what she'd just rambled but Altaїr shook his head with a 'don't' clearly evident on his face. It was best to let her unfathomable babbles be rather than risk paralyzing confusion at her hands by asking about it.

Vivian adjusted the heavy pack over her shoulders as rotten luck kept her water canteen out of reach behind her waist and groaned miserably, "If you give me a Helghast shock trooper- Killzone 2 version, not 1- to keep and Garrus Vakarian, I'll stay here without complaint. Heck, I'll lick Altaїr's boot and call it candy!"

This grabbed the assassin's attention immediately and he grasped Malik by the shoulders before the other could dodge, his black eyes blinking with unease when Altaїr demanded hastily, "Quickly, what are those things?"

The other man could only shrug since he honestly didn't know what her chatter was about (asking only worsened his logic) and Altaїr growled with irritation to accuse, "You're the only one who cares to listen to her prattle."

Malik shot him a dry expression for the subtle insult but Altaїr missed the offended glance as his attention was caught by another of Vivian's tunes,

"Adventure time,
C'mon, grab your friends
We'll go to very distant lands
With Altaїr the assassin
Malik the dai
And Vivian the gamer
The fun will never end
It's adventure time!

We'll help the needy
and beat the greedy
Kill a few Templars
And hide among the scholars
We're traveling from the Nile
All the way to the Canary Islands
Exploration that's worthwhile
Forever forming merry bonds
We'll be great partners in crime

C'mon, it's adventure time!"

Altaїr shook his hooded head miserably and thought distastefully, Dear heavens, she can't even rhyme!

A dark shadow shot out from the bushes to her left and Vivian automatically grabbed a hand full of her pocket sand, effectively throwing it into the assailant's eyes. Her defense worked and the stranger fell to the ground to wipe at their blinded eyes as Vivian quickly scrambled back to her two friends as they'd caught the commotion. Altaїr was about to warn her to never turn her back on an enemy but stopped himself from unleashing the lecture when she bounded up to them safe and sound with her clanking pans. Smiling triumphantly to her first successful defense, she pointed to the fallen person and told them with an exuberantly proud face, "Look, I got one! I got one!"

"Vivian, act your age" Altaїr lectured listlessly after he'd learned women of her era didn't share the same milestones in life or mindset of his since her culture raised her to be independent. The woman behaved similarly to an adolescent in his era and at that age, young women were usually preparing for marriage but the woman traveling with him had scoffed to the idea at her age of twenty-one. Her exact words during that specific conversation at camp had been 'you try to put a baby in my belly and an imprisonment band on my finger and I'll kick you all the way to Antarctica to sleep with penguins'. Needless to say, he ended the conversation when he'd become lost in the translation.

The newcomer was a modestly dressed adolescent, barely past 13 years of age, and she smacked the blinded boy's lower leg with her handy walking stick to scold matter-of-factly, "Don't you know better than to sneak up on people ranting about awesome aliens? The indignity!"

Altaїr shoved her out of the way without a care, ignoring her indignant protest of 'hey', and grabbed the boy by the back of his brown linen shirt to lift him onto his feet in one movement. Vivian sighed in dismay as he turned into the unrelenting 'terminator-interrogator' mode as she called it and he leaned down to meet the boy's eye level to demand sharply, "Where you following us?"

The boy was frightened instantly by the intimidating man as he kept wiping his eyes free of sand and Vivian decided to give the kid the benefit of the doubt since little ragamuffin thieves were common as they tried to survive. That, and being interrogated by the assassin was not a joyful experience to remember- she knew that firsthand. Altaїr, however, was relentless in his glaring power and an Egyptian accented voice left the boy's lips as he replied fearfully, "No, I heard her song about saving people. . .so I thought she could help me."

Vivian had been ready to smack Altair's butt with the end of her stick for being thrown carelessly aside but changed her mind, stepping up to both with a silly grin to preen, "See, I told you my songs would entertain and help people. We're practically the new A-Team."

"We're not here to help people, we have priorities" the other man growled stiffly to her interruption since he was leader of their trio and wouldn't allow her idiotic suggestions to sway the journey. Their priority was to enter Giza and stop the Templars before they discovered the piece of Eden which meant they would forgo lesser matters as they sought a more important goal. He wouldn't have minded helping those in need but times were becoming incredibly dangerous as the Templars were quietly regrouping and receiving new orders which kept Altaїr tense on his feet. It's not that he wanted to abandon civilians but had to make the hard decisions that would benefit humanity as a whole rather than a small group.

"Then what kind of an order are you?" she snapped harshly to his answer and swatted him away, hurling the two into a heated argument of morals vs objectivity. She understood the necessity to hasten their travel but they couldn't abandon the helpless who sought them with a 'sorry pal, you're on your own because we have more important things going on'. She could barely do that to fake characters in video games, much less real people! When her mother was alive, she stressed about the gift of volunteering and helping others as Vivian had happily followed in her footsteps. She continued the work throughout her life and it gave her that thirst for history as she met numerous people and places with diverse pasts, guiding her path as an adult. Her background conflicted greatly with Altaїr's orders but she had no leverage against him since her survival depended on him and if she left him she wouldn't last two days on her own. Either way, her mother didn't raise her to be a quitter so she'd argue until her last point was refuted.

As the two ensued in argument, Malik took control of the situation by putting himself between the boy and his friends. The newcomer was dressed like any child of a farming family, humble but simple, but there was fear in the boy's brown eyes which told the dai that something was wrong (aside from watching two people fight like cats). He grabbed a cloth from his robe's pocket and dampened it with water from his canteen, handing it over to the boy so he could wipe his eyes free of Vivian's 'pocket sand' as he asked smoothly, "So, tell me what troubles you, um. . .?"

Malik motioned with his hand for a name and the boy replied, "I am Amil."

"My village has seen the arrival of masked men who claim to be under Saladin's orders to head to Giza but they are unlike any I've seen" the boy explained worriedly as he told his story and Malik nodded for him to continue, blocking the feuding duo in the background before the boy had second thoughts. If they continued on this path, nobody would take them seriously and Malik contemplated undergoing surveillance on his own since it worked perfectly in Cairo. It was strange that his two friends worked splendidly during investigations, keeping levelheaded throughout its entirety but outside a tense environment, they were ripping into each other like wild tigers. Altaїr, who had Vivian by the hair while she had him by the nose, released her from his grip to go listen to the interesting tale as 'masked men' caught his intrigue.

Vivian scuttled after him to join the investigation but he blocked her path completely, mimicking her steps to keep her in the dark and out of his way. Her weak fists striking his back did nothing to move the granite wall that was Altaїr and she was forced to peek over his shoulder as he blocked her from joining his side (it took strong willpower to keep a smirk from surfacing on his lips). Jiggling his leather belt did nothing for Vivian and she groaned miserably, forced to hear Amil's story from behind all of them, "They demand answers about the city's pyramids further inland but they should know about them if they truly are Egyptian born. Everybody knows where they are. They have the village under lock until they have their answers and control the trade route so we cannot seek help without alerting them. It has been very hard for us as we depend on traveling to the city to trade our harvests and sell."

"So how did you escape?" Altaїr questioned suspiciously as he'd been trained to analyze every piece of information until nothing was left and the boy recoiled from fear at the intensity of the imposing man. Malik made a mental note to speak to him about his interrogations with children as they needed a lighter and charismatic hand, two qualities the assassin lacked.

Vivian swatted him aside when she managed to squeeze under his arm before he could push her back and he grit his teeth when she popped in with the annoyance of a starving gopher. He wasn't about to make room for the continuous thorn in his side but she beat him to the punch line when she warned with a small frown, "Nice job on scaring him, pal. Let a woman handle this."

"Well, when you see one, inform me" the assassin shot back smugly since things were done his way and wouldn't hesitate to put the woman in her place by using all verbal ammunition available to him. Her green eyes narrowed into tiny slits for having her femininity mocked again, boiling with hidden rage in her spot and Altaїr smirked cockily at knowing she couldn't cause a dent in him. The woman held no real physical power in her strikes whenever she retaliated to his verbal jabs and he took full advantage of it to squish her tiny powerless ego under his own formidable thumb. He wanted to make her docile like an old fat cat that only obeyed its master and sneered smugly as he dealt the knockout punch, "Look at you, all bark and no bite."

Altaїr didn't see Vivian's index finger until it poked him straight in the right eye.

"OW! What the- you stabbed my eye!"

The master assassin protected his eyes instantly with both hands as he hoped the shrew hadn't blinded him with her bony finger and Vivian merely watched him howl with mild interest. Inwardly, her ego was leading a conga line for finally having the courage to do something against his rudeness as he swiped his eye like a wounded alpha wolf. Nonetheless, she found it hilarious because she'd barely touched his eye to begin with as she'd focused on his upper eyelid but Altaїr tended to be a little dramatic sometimes in order to get Malik on his side. Amil paused his tale as he stared with bewilderment at the two but Malik coughed into his hand with emphasis that he ignore his insane companions and continue.

"I took one of their horses while the man peed in the bushes" the boy answered with a meek smile that had Vivian laughing to his craftiness as it sounded exactly like something she'd do. Malik nodded silently as he agreed that the kid was courageous enough to face danger despite dire consequences while Altaїr. . .well, all he wanted was his full sight back in his right eye.

Vivian grinned slyly and rubbed her hands together like a pesky imp, looking to Malik as she complimented, "Oh, I like him."

Amil looked to them with hope in his tired eyes, seeking their help despite he had nothing to offer in payment and pleaded softly, "All I want is for them to leave us alone, we don't want any trouble. I can't pay you anything but I'm sure my father can spare loaves of bread or cheese if you are short on food supplies," he rubbed one eye sloppily as tears threatened to spill and added in, "Any help on your part would be appreciated because I have nowhere else to go, my life has always been bound to my village."

Malik and Vivian were swayed to help a village plagued with possible Templars since the details were interesting enough to warrant an investigation. Both their gazes turned to Altaїr with a sympathetic twinkle since he was the team leader and with his new democratic way of approaching decisions, knew he was officially screwed.

"All right, we'll help you but you must have your village leader spread the news that they are truly Richard's men sent here to infiltrate and conquer your lands under disguise" Altaїr finally agreed with a gruff tone in his voice as this new venture was not in his route and took the lead by finding a quick stop where they could begin planning their new journey.

"So, everyone understands the infiltration plan?"

A nod from all members satisfied him and he left to prepare his strategy for all outcomes during battle because mistakes were bound to happen. Assassins were usually solitary workers due to the precise calculations made that depended solely on him but Altaїr was now working with a group and had to make sure everyone made it out safely. The last group he was in charge of was at Solomon's temple and Kadar's life had been the cost; this time, he would not lose another team member due to his own egotistical blindness.

So far, Vivian would approach the main route to the village with the boy to gain entrance since she could use her female charms (Altaїr hoped the Templars were stupid enough to fall for them since she was pretty much awful). He and Malik would sneak inside from the western border as the small village would warrant most of the attention to the front with Vivian's sudden arrival. Once his companion was safely inside with the guise of being an innocent traveler, they would meet in Amil's barn to begin planning for the takeover since the buildings and roads had to be studied firsthand in order to lead a successful attack. Altaїr hoped he hadn't become too rusty with his lack of decent battles as water travel was all he'd done but keeping his body fit was entirely different from maintaining the sharpness of his skills.

A poke to his back by Vivian's stick tore him away from his ruminations and he narrowed his eyes to her intrusive behavior. Couldn't she simply have called his name rather than jabbing him like a dead animal carcass? He didn't have time to read her confounding mind and guess what psychological damage she wanted to inflict his brain with, his teeth baring in the sunlight as he demanded brusquely, "What do you want? And put that stick away before I snap it!"

She jumped back from his gruff tone, her eyes widening slightly for a moment as she was taken aback by his attitude but recovered quickly. If he wanted to keep acting in such a rude manner, she would part ways with him on neutral terms until he behaved more civilly and simply answered aloofly, "I just wanted to thank you for choosing to help the village. That's all."

Vivian scampered off by using the boy's brown horse to block her route and found refuge against the trunk of a small tree, leaning against it for support as her legs suddenly felt weak. The idea of going into battle was not appealing in her mind as the thought of taking someone's life or having someone take hers frightened her. She wasn't a soldier of her time that could lend the assassins a pretty good hand in a fight to gain the upper hand but a historian in training. What could she do, whack a Templar with her walking stick or hurl journals at them? The new situation she was walking straight into wasn't to be taken lightly and carried grave consequences if she didn't act fast enough.

Malik had been observing her cold feet for the mission with a keen eye since the start of their planning phase and left the young boy to tend to the stolen horse as he casually strolled over to Altaїr. The dai needed to find a bridge of coexistence between them as they refused to find common ground and having the experienced assassin teach her how to survive a battle was a good start. His friend was in deep thought as he stood in the center of the clearing, gazing at the clear blue sky as a form of quick meditation and Malik's calm voice didn't bother Altaїr when he spoke up, "I want you to keep this between us: Vivian is definitely afraid of facing Templars."

"She should be, that little-" Altaїr retorted quickly to the petite spitfire of a woman but Malik shot him a glance that ordered him to cool his hotheadedness. Why did he have to mellow out his anger when she had a free pass for full reign? The thought of the dark-haired woman broke him away from his calm state of mind and cursed the green eyed vixen that had been bound to him during his travels.

"You must remember that she is a civilian so I'm asking you as a friend to help her through this" Malik requested simply to halt an oncoming rant as he watched the woman strike the air with her walking stick in an attempt to push away an invisible foe. He didn't know what armor or strength in numbers their enemies would have so they would need Vivian to stay sharp for both her safety and theirs. She was a child in their world, adapting to their customs as quickly as she could to avoid becoming a burden and throwing her into battle was not the way to achieve that. When he watched the stick fall as her hand outstretched too far and reaching for it caused her to fall forward onto the grass a second later, the side of Malik's lips threatened to grimace to the sight and he added in hastily, "Correction: Do this as a favor."

Altaїr muffled a disgruntled groan in his throat for what he was being asked to do since watching Vivian brush off grass from her robes and reach for her useless stick didn't interest him in the slightest. If anything, it would irritate him to a whole new level that had been previously undiscovered. The master assassin had better tasks to take care of, more of a strategic nature, and crossed his arms to question miserably with demand, "Why me? Why can't you-"

"You're awful with children and I'd fear you'd tear that child in half if he disobeyed" Malik stated wittily with a small smirk towards his recent attitude with the boy as his social skills needed a little tweaking. So he wasn't the best person with children, did that mean he'd fare better with Vivian? The little spitfire woman had the energy of three combined children and speaking to her only drove him mad for freedom from her jabber.

"I keep telling you that I'm working on it" Altaїr defended stiffly as he didn't like having his unfavorable traits pointed out and rubbed his hands over his face to reenergize himself. Working with Vivian took a lot of effort already and he didn't want to accidentally stab her during a lesson because then, Malik would yell at him for all eternity. She was a little irking stain on his robes that didn't wash off regardless of what he tried and kept increasing in diameter with each scrub. Cracking his knuckles to prepare himself, he turned to Malik with a firm expression but wryly stated with eerie calm, "All right, but if she dies, I will not be blamed nor will I help to dig her shallow grave. She is your pet-"

"Friend-"

"So you will carry that responsibility" Altaїr finished evenly without pause as he assumed the caretaker role for his group while Malik would be the owner of the little wombat known as Vivian. Of course, if she did happen to die, he would be kind enough to bury the poor woman but at the moment, irritated emotions won over his voice.

Malik was about to cuss his head off for practically being called a slave owner but Altaїr made a speedy escape towards safety- if he could even call it that- as the lesser of two evils laid with Vivian. The time traveling woman continued jabbing at the air with her utterly useless stick in the hopes of becoming better at wielding and Altaїr was certain that he could've broken it with a mere twist of his hand. His silent footsteps failed to catch her attention as he approached and lazily watched her sloppy movements to critique each one, failing her in all areas without hesitation. He stood behind her without uttering a single word about her atrocious skills until she twisted to the side, bringing her walking stick in a downward arc on his left shoulder and. . .

He wrenched it free of her grasp with one sharp tug and stated listlessly with dull honey eyes that contrasted against his firm expression, "Your foolishness knows no bounds if you think this will do anything."

"You might not know this but in my time, killing someone has you jailed for life" she pointed out nervously with the laws of her time and nibbled on her bottom lip to pent out the queasiness filling her stomach. As a modern day civilian, Vivian experienced no violence in her life nor did she partake in such behaviors which brought a moral dilemma to her in this new situation. Her unofficial boss had a full time job of assassinating people without hesitation which didn't comfort her since explaining her futuristic life would have him turning a deaf ear. Altaїr wasn't the type to stay and listen to ramblings, opting for the more direct and no nonsense route that Vivian had yet to grasp in order to gain his full attention. Nonetheless, she poked the ground with her stick with a sheepish expression on her face and admitted meekly, "I'm not much of a fighter, you just about saw the best I could do and half of the time I almost knocked myself out."

She shook her head slowly as the idea of charging into battle frightened her and she sighed with both dread and embarrassment flooding her, "I don't know if I have it in me to kill somebody. Yes, I played your game and annihilated people but it was different- totally fake and all of the pain going to you."

His eyes narrowed into slits for her small slip of admission because he wasn't keen (or very accepting) of the fact that his life was a form of entertainment for others since he risked his life every day. Vivian saw the burning fire in his gaze as he towered over her and she withered in her spot for being one of his many fans, hugging her walking stick in case she'd need it as a sudden shield. She flashed him a sweetly innocent smile, which he didn't buy for a second, as she tried to add minutes to her meager little life and corrected herself quickly by rambling, "Not that it was intentional, you would hug the wall rather than climb and- forget it, this isn't about your failure to listen to my controller. I guess what I'm trying to say is. . .I'm scared about this."

Vivian abhorred herself for having the appearance of a tiny chipmunk with an injured ankle as she pleaded with the living weapon that was Altaїr. She expected to be slapped upside the head for lacking fearless valor since the man literally leapt from towering buildings without a second thought about his own mortality and fixed her gaze to the ground with shame for being weak. It wasn't something that could be helped, her lifestyle lacked the necessity of skewering enemies that threatened her survival until this point in her life. The idea of having fresh crimson blood on her fingers from either enemies or herself wasn't appealing because in the most probably outcome, she'd be the one bleeding to death without a doctor nearby. Instead of being chastised, Altaїr offered simple words of comfort to ease her fears, "Have faith."

He wasn't a man of big words and since they weren't on the friendliest of terms, this was the most he could offer.

"That's it? I don't think having those words written on my forehead will magically change their minds from brutally murdering me" she blurted sarcastically to his little piece of advice and glanced down at her stick with skepticism because she knew the thing wouldn't help her out of a jam instantaneously. He curled his upper lip for having his words thrown aside by the petite woman and counted the ways he could embarrass her inside the unknown village for revenge; nobody said being a laughing stock wouldn't gain the Templars attention. Vivian was lost to the madman glint in his eyes that was hidden under his hood as she unknowingly poked the sleeping bear and stabbed the dirt with the flat end of her walking stick to contemplate flatly, "And I highly doubt this will do anything. At the most, it will probably break on them and they'll jam the jagged end into my torso. . .and then I can tell you 'I told you so' when I'm bleeding to death."

"You finally realize that you need a weapon?" he questioned wryly since traveling civilians never wandered without a weapon for protection against thieves or wild animals. It was essential that she learn to defend herself since events would arise that could call both he and Malik away while leaving her vulnerable against dangers. Since Malik had now grown attached to the little critter known as Vivian, it fell on Altaїr's shoulders to keep her alive despite his innermost desire was to sew her mouth shut. Of course, that would be downright inhumane so he resolved to use a frigid glare to impose his authority and bypass the innocent glitter in her eyes that sought a sympathy vote and lectured her firmly, "Holding one in your hands will eventually bring bloodshed. A weapon is neither a toy nor decorative, it's an instrument of battle to hold the key between life and death. It can either be used to protect you or against you if you lack decent skill."

Vivian shuffled her feet nervously as she fidgeted with the bloodshed idea because having her blood pressure drop at the mere sight of it and fainting would not impress the assassin. If anything, he'd add in a kick to her fallen body himself before jabbing her with his sharp fingers to wake up. Gnawing on her bottom lip, her nervous gaze flickered between his stern face and the ground as she admitted softly about her passive nature, "I don't want to kill, just knock them out for hours."

"We don't spare Templars" he hissed detestably about their greatest enemy since he'd throw them all off from the world's highest cliff if he could. She gave him a knowing look about a certain Templar he'd encountered multiple times and his visit to Cyprus, her lightly arched brows wagging in sly emphasis. Altaїr immediately hated the fact that she knew too much about his life, public and private, than he would've liked and prayed that she kept her mouth shut to prolong longevity. The furious scowl he sent didn't deter her cheeky insinuations as she leaned on the walking stick with an impish smile, observing each minute reaction, and he growled heatedly, "That's different."

"Who knows? I might change their minds to see the light side of the Force with a few whacks to the head or by showing my pretty little leg" she suggested with a noncommittal shrug but the subtle witty smile remained on her lips as it served the purpose of a defense mechanism. She'd already outraged him when she showed her legs innocently within the canoe and if she could stir the same reaction from their enemies, it could give her time to escape to safety like a crafty mouse. If she could trade a sharp weapon fit for death with a silly little jig bearing a naked leg, Vivian would take it in a millisecond.

He didn't find her proposal appealing, not even bothering to acknowledge her foolish utterings as he pointed across the field to command simply, "I'm going to teach you a few defensive maneuvers so you don't end up speared before we arrive. Don't test my patience or I will throw you at the Templars myself."

She frowned with offense to his threat as she found herself stuck with the lesser of two evils and briefly wondered if poking out his other eye would have him showing her a miniscule speck of respect. He stood impassively with his arms crossed as his menacing aura practically ordered her to move her butt to said location and she mumbled sarcastically with a frown, "Wow, I can feel the compassionate love just radiating through you. You sure it wasn't Maria that left you on that rooftop after she realized that your only facial expression in life was that blood-freezing stare?"

Malik could only sigh dismally from his spot in camp when he spotted Altaїr chasing Vivian with his hidden blade unsheathed, watching his friend run with the ferocity of a wolf while she scrambled like a frightened rabbit. This was not what the dai had implied when he sent Altaїr to help and rubbed his forehead in irritation as he became a spectator to the peculiar hunt between predator and prey. He'd never seen his friend chase down his ally target with such motivation, not even the students at Masyaf, and admonished loudly to bring an immediate halt to it, "You're supposed to show her defensive moves, not assault her!"

"These are my teaching methods" Altaїr called back gruffly as Vivian ran past Malik with a frightened squeak and the assassin followed in close quarter as they circled the clearing. Altaїr dodged Malik's grasp when he zoomed past with the speed of a white blur and added in breathlessly as his voice began to fade with the growing distance, "Take it or leave it!"

Malik really should've taken that solitary boat trip across the Mediterranean Sea.

A/N: The update was late this time due to a nasty cold I gained after enduring cold rain and a frigid classroom with no heat so I had to get better in order to bring on good hilarity (pack-rat/human turtle Vivian did the trick for me). The three companions will confront Templars in the next chapter as the small area should give our favorite assassin a good warm-up fight while Vivian tries to figure out how to survive.

Flyingcrispi: Yeah, despite the comedy, Vivian's still a human being with fears while Altaїr remains an undaunted robot that wants to fling her into a nearby lake. The idea of having Altaїr run back and forth like a madman for her came from having Ezio run that way every time I saw a thief because I was piss poor in the beginning and needed all the money possible to buy stuff.

Bearybeary: Nope, whatever's old or new for Vivian will be entirely new to the duo for their enjoyment.

Water-Sirene: Very true, Altaїr is still human despite his gravity defying awesomeness.

Linda Chicana: He will stumble upon her diary because we all know he's the best at investigation so we have a little detective Altaїr on our hands. As for understanding him, she'll have to be in his little circle of trust before he starts giving out information to sunnier sides of his personality. It'll be worth the wait for our clumsy Vivian.

janit3443: Thanks so much for the lovely review, I'm glad you can relate to our crazy Vivian as she wanders her new world with Altaїr and Malik. I've loved history since junior high ages ago and my first year in college years ago but would love to take another class if my current major would let it. There's so much individual history relating to ancestors as well as humankind itself which is why I put Vivian into the major because she'd fit flawlessly with Altaїr who's trying to find his own place in the world and what his own path in life will be.

Lizzy1809: Thanks for liking the story.

Foreverafter: Sweet, I'm a heroine in writing. Thanks for loving the 'kicked in the face' bit but Altaїr was still seething about it the next morning as we could see. But really, popping in without an announcement? That crazy assassin. As for Malik, his babysitter hours are from morning till dinner and then he clocks out of work until the next morning. . .completely disregarding whatever the two will get into between those off-hours.

Next Time:

Straightening her posture and puffing out her chest to display dominance, she strolled forward with a confident gait until the Templars were forced to pay her attention. Women weren't seen as much during this era and Vivian's normal independence fit for women in twenty-first century America would send them into an uproar.

With a big smile plastered on her oval face, she greeted cheerfully, "Hello there, is this where I sign up to be a Templar?"

The second the word flew out of her mouth, she was seized by the arms and dragged inside the dimly lit main room but she didn't struggle for a second. She was there to play a sweet ditsy persona, looking to each of her captors as they pinned her arms behind her back and piped up excitedly, "Awesome, I'm being abducted and I'm totally okay with it because it shows just how much you love your fellow man."

"Quiet, wench," ordered buffoon number one at her left and she resisted from stomping his booted foot with her own to make him eat his words.

"Hey, I want to be part of your group" she insisted with an innocently gentle voice but she was thrown on the floor callously, her butt impacting on the limestone floor which caused her to bite back a painful groan. She wouldn't give them any gloating power by admitting pain but rubbed the small of her back as she found herself in the center of the group, dwarfed by the walking trash compactors. The normal fear that bit at her mind to stop luring them into a dangerous zone was disregarded as she smiled brightly to admit, "I even made a theme song about it."

Altaїr sent his best weapon into the hideout when Vivian unleashed her off-key singing,

"Who controls the British crown?
Who keeps the Assassin's Order down?
We do, we do
Who keeps Atlantis off the maps?
Who keeps the artifacts under wraps?
We do, we do
Who holds back the horse-drawn carriage?
Who's the team that wins with damn best courage?
We do, we do