I Love It When An Explosion Comes Together
The plan started off just as the cool evening approached to allow better gripping for Altair since weary sweaty hands did nothing for an assassin on the move and Malik needed all his strength to take out the front lines. Also, the gathering cloud cover would allow for their shadows to be concealed when defeating Templars while clearing out the busy hours of the day in the village. Vivian's job came at drawing the attention of the weaker Templars there to drive them towards her companions who would be ready to kick the crap out of them from their hiding spots. Altaїr knew her hesitance to fight could cause a problem which is exactly why he was using her as a decoy for nabbing attention because nothing screamed helpless like Vivian. Of course, he didn't tell her this for fear that she'd double cross him and have him hanged by the Templars. . .that or the most likely result, having an unwelcome animal thrown into his tent at night. Nonetheless, he drew her in by convincing her that she was crucial in the decoy plan and he needed her to do this- it wasn't very hard to persuade her when he promised he'd buy her treats. It was hard not to imagine Vivian as his little lapdog in the making but he wouldn't demean both of them in that manner, no matter how hilarious it would be.
They needed direct access into the administration building to eliminate the Templars while keeping civilians completely outside, practically barricading them form entering. Malik would take care of that problem once Altaїr was inside but he needed Vivian to gain access first by heading into the lion's den. Vivian approached the nearest Templar group huddled at the left side of the building, certain that they were consolidating their evil power for malicious Templar stuff. . .or simply guarding but whatever. She was flawless when it came to grabbing attention at the most inopportune time, clumsily knocking over a few barrels as she'd been preparing to clap, and improvised by calling out to the Templars with a witty smirk, "Oh look, a scumbag convention! It's painfully obvious that you Templars fail at disguise, a blind baboon with neon fur could do better."
The rabble it caused put Frankenstein's pitchfork and torches crowd to shame as the Templars became enraged and chased after her with brandished weapons to strike the infidel down. Like the cartoonish Roadrunner, she smirked evilly to attracting them like flies to a carnivorous plant and ran with all the speed her muscles could muster, dodging bales of hay and hitting nearby crates to knock them over to hurt a few Templars that didn't watch their step. It worked for a few that hadn't expected it but most were sharp and agile enough to know better, keeping up the chase against the woman. She wasn't about to be prematurely impaled or killed this early in life and hoped Altaїr was nearby to rescue her like a clichéd damsel in distress. Although he'd taught her a few basic defense tactics, it wasn't helpful in her current scenario since an exposed back could bring about an easy downfall with any hurled weapon. Shouts that demanded she halt were disregarded entirely because she knew damn well that they wouldn't treat her fairly if so.
As she reached the first checkpoint, she jumped into a nearby bale of hay (conveniently placed by her companions) with the same fluidity as Altaїr and was proud of herself as she blended in flawlessly . . . but held her nose to the awful smell. That was something she'd never adapt to anytime soon. Shadows flew by her little mound of hay as the first group charged forward to find her cornered on the same path and. . .
They stumbled right into a large pit of fresh mud that was temporarily free of farm pigs.
The men fell on their backs, face first, and on their sides as they lost their balance and slid into the soft fresh mud to be completely slathered by it. Vivian's ears were very pleased to the disgusted noises emitting from the pig pen since she'd fallen in mud more times in the AC world than in real life, a cheshire grin growing on her lips for succeeding with her task. Although it had been a simple run that anyone could do, she was thankful that she hadn't been caught or struck dead with an arrow so she put that imminent fear on the back shelf for now. Altaїr wasted no time jumping out from another bale of hay across from hers but he was the offense of the decoy team. He used his crossbow to aim at the temporarily incapacitated enemies to eliminate them one by one, piercing their bodies efficiently with each shot to deal a critical blow. The silent noise of the arrows took care of their enemies subtly and the mud reduced the creation of echoing noise to alert anybody nearby that would care enough to investigate.
Vivian took the lack of noise as the all clear signal to leave her hidden spot and she smiled brightly at seeing Malik nonchalantly spreading loose hay over the dead bodies to cover up their work. With the settlement being small, they needed creative ways of disposing the bodies temporarily until the job was finished. Altaїr took this time to reload extra arrows into his crossbow, casually glancing over at Vivian as she approached them slowly. Her hands grasped nearby hay from the dirt floor to add her own contribution by covering a booted foot and couldn't believe she was now officially an accessory to murder. Helping an assassin murder was not on her life's 'to-do' list but she'd only been defending herself, right? Oh, and helping save humanity by ridding the world of one evil Templar at a time.
Thankfully, Altaїr's direct attitude broke her away from the moral dilemma.
"Go distract the Templars inside the entrance and be careful" Altaїr ordered quietly but firmly to make sure she understood him clearly because there were no stops in his plan. Once she cleared the next checkpoint, they would move into position and there was no room for mistake as they depended on her. Wiping her hands clean of hay, she took a deep breath and chastised her brain to hurry up in sending adrenaline to her system because she'd need it once she entered the lion's den.
Trying to maintain her upbeat attitude, she piped up confidently with a peppy grin, "Careful's my middle-"
"Go!" he commanded sharply to cut her short and she gave him a military salute, obeying him quietly as she left the area with deliberate steps to leave the irritated eagle. Despite the danger surrounding the area, she mimicked his bossy order with her lips as she broke into a leisure run to find her next target and kept a careful eye around the entire area. While she headed towards the next checkpoint of her objective, Malik and Altaїr would take care of any wandering Templars to be rid of them once the real fight occurred. Villagers were going on in their everyday lives as they hid their presence very well so far but with her being known as a temporary visitor, she played her role as a simple woman heading to the market.
That is, if the market was in the main area of the village and a sharp right corner turn brought her directly to the village's equivalent of city hall. She needed to gain access into the building and knowing her craftiness at being outrageous, she was going to make this good enough to the point that she'd have landed herself in a YouTube video back in her own time.
A sandy beige limestone building of two stories high was located in the center of the small village as all business was conducted inside and just as Amil had assured, it was under heavy occupation by the Templars. Altaїr had studied it carefully like a hawk from an open window on the highest level of Amil's family barn to study their movements and their hand drawn sketches had helped figure out how to infiltrate the building. There were rarely any civilians from the village scurrying in, most went out at top speed, but it was pretty obvious on who held control of the settlement. The Templars had been smart in using remote locations to gather intel about the large cities before striking or sending their information along but Vivian hoped Altaїr could put an end to it- or impede their progress if he couldn't. Civilians weren't warriors but somebody needed to stand up to them for the common good. There were two men guarding the only available entrance as all the others were sealed by their enemies which played a huge disadvantage for the Templars as the assassins would eliminate guards posted outside, barricading the sealed exits on the outside with crates for added insurance.
Straightening her posture and puffing out her chest to display the asserting dominance of a male peacock, Vivian strolled forward with a confident gait until the Templars were forced to pay her attention. Women weren't seen as much during this era, a wooden footstool had more rights, and Vivian's normal independence fit for women in twenty-first century America would send them into an uproar. It had already caused several clashes with the conservatively stoic Altaїr and they were on the same side so she could only imagine what the Templars would do. With a big smile plastered on her oval face, she greeted cheerfully with a loud voice, "Hello there, is this where I sign up to be a brainwashing Templar?"
The second the last word flew out of her mouth, she was seized roughly 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 that could do no wrong but cause infinite mayhem with her mouth alone, looking to each of her captors as they pinned her arms behind her back. Their attitude practically pinned her with the unofficial title of a criminal as they tried to act like law enforcement but she wouldn't buy any of their lip for a second. Of course, the logical part of her mind just had to add in an innocent jab against the Templars for their insensitive treatment of an innocent civilian and she 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. Seriously, how did they expect people to believe they were out to find the common good through order when they treated human beings like crap on a sidewalk? Truly, it baffled her. They must've invented an efficient lobotomizing technique to convince average people that their way was best. So far, Altaїr had treated her far better during their weeks of travel and he practically despised her mere essence around him.
"Hey, I want to be part of your group" she insisted with an innocently gentle voice but she was thrown to the floor callously, her butt impacting sharply on the limestone floor which caused her to bite back a painful groan. She wouldn't give them any gloating power by admitting her pain but rubbed her lower back in case the jerks had somehow managed to hurt her tailbone. If so, she'd raise hell and kick in a few bucket heads- after Altaїr knocked them out, of course. She'd be lying if she said it was comfortable being in the center spotlight of the dangerous group, dwarfed by the walking trash compactors that threatened the free will of mankind, but she kept her composure because she trusted Altaїr (despite he didn't share the sentiment). The natural defensive fear that rabidly stabbed at her mind to stop luring them into a dangerous zone was disregarded as her duty to the cause came first and she smiled brightly to admit, "I even made a theme song about it. Ahem. . ."
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
Who keeps Peter IV of Bulgaria a Tsar?
Who makes Gilbert Horal a star?
We do, we do
Who cheats enemies with conspiracies?
And then brings in the authorities?
We do, we do!
Who rigs every election night?
Who blames the assassins on world blights?"
We do, we do-o-o-o-o!
Da da da da dah!
Vivian added a little flair at the end by using jazz hands and grinned with zest when she managed to sway one of the Templars in the ominous crowd. Who'd a thought? She was almost tempted to start another catchy song but thought better of it because being impaled by multiple weapons at once wasn't very appealing, which brought her to simply gauge their reactions to predict the next action. The gray robed man clapped to her upbeat song about evil world domination, completely missing the fact that nobody else was doing the same, and blurted excitedly to his fellow evildoers, "Let's make her a recruit!"
The other Templars turned to the random man immediately with breakneck speed to his outlandish suggestion and Vivian knew that under their bucket heads, they were either shooting scathing glares or deadpanning to the exclamation. The poor bloke, she almost felt sorry for his choosing of the crappiest profession in the Middle Ages. Vivian managed to figure out who the leader was rather quickly as his ominous black armor distinguished him among the others and she shook her head mentally for the chosen color scheme- what do-gooder of the people wore black? Well, Batman was an exception due to him being dubbed the 'dark knight' but that wasn't the point here! Vivian snapped out of her geeky ramblings of the mind and visually stamped him as priority target number one for assassination, especially if he tried anything funny. The man in charge smacked the perkier Templar across the head to silence the foolish suggestions and stated bluntly with a rough voice, "Nobody is being made a recruit!"
"Aw, fiddlesticks" Vivian pouted to feign disappointment as she crossed her arms, her face crestfallen to failing her only chance in life to join the Templar order (they had awful health insurance anyway). She had to do everything in her power to keep their full attention fixated on her as Altaїr snuck in from the outside with his arsenal of many skills and handy weapons. The assassin was craftier than a fox in real life so she was absolutely certain he was aware of what was transpiring inside the building so it fell on her shoulders to buy him time. It only took a second to careen an entire plan out of control and she wouldn't allow it after promising Amil that they'd try their best. . .she also couldn't lie to puppy-eyed children. Maintaining her bubbly persona to keep the show rolling, she clapped her hands loudly to snap their undivided attention back to her before they burst into arguments about the best method to maim her with and piped up cheerfully, "How about another song?"
"No!," was their unison shout of dismay and they raised their hands to shield themselves from the horrible sound. Vivian tried not to take offense to their protest as it was familiar to Altaїr's own reaction to her traveling tunes, using the feedback to turn it into an optimistic weapon of choice to irritate her foes.
I can be the normal everyday Black Canary from DC comics, sans the hero outfit and cartoon gorgeousness, Vivian thought dreamily about putting her weakest and most abhorred skill (by others, anyway) to some good use. Altaїr would not be allowed to complain as she sent enemies scouring for safety with her screechy cries and. . .well, that's all she could come up with for her fictional hero dossier.
"Come now, I'm here to impress the fearsome Templar order with my awesomeness" she objected with a madman grin that she knew would grind their nerves or frighten masses because it certainly bordered on manic. Their order was crazy anyway so she decided to shift gears into a routine resembling the Mad Hatter because that would either have them cowering, accepting, or kicking her half across Africa. Laughing wildly with glee towards nothing, she raised her hand in the air and struck the limestone floor as she tried to perform a karate chop.
"Hiyah!"
Needless to say, it wasn't the best idea out of her 'how to make Templars crazy' manual and she held her bruised hand to her chest immediate as it throbbed painfully. The side of her hand turned tomato red from the sharp impact as her pink stung sharply and she rocked herself back and forth in self-comfort while sniffling with true woe, "Ouchies!"
The dark armored Templar grasped Vivian by the scruff of her neck to drag her elsewhere within the building and she hoped it wasn't a dark dungeon that was dank with the smell of death. That and nasty fat rats carrying disease. She'd read enough horror stories to know that would be the end of her time traveling adventure and that was a huge negative for the historian in the making; she'd kick ass, Nathan Drake style! The back of the building was shrouded in dim lighting which hindered her vision to detect if anymore enemies were lying in wait and she wriggled instantly to free herself. Her captor growled with frustration to her defiance to venture into the back and she hissed brazenly with a loud voice, "Unhand me, you rude oaf. How dare you squash a woman's lifelong dream to wreak mayhem in the world?"
The Templar stopped short and Vivian was ready to unleash a taunt or scream, whether he'd had a change of heart or wanted to execute her then and there. Instead, her expectations were blown away as she turned to see an arrow lodged through the man's neck, her eyes widening in shock to the silently effective attack but she had to remember she was dealing with an assassin in her midst. Her exposure to death was nonexistent and the image of seeing the tip of an arrowhead poking out of the throat of a man was enough to shake her own foundations on mortality. She pulled herself out of the dying man's grasp (part of her was struck with a shred of guilt since the man was a human being) and all the Templars turned hostile when their leader collapsed onto the floor dead, their covered eyes pinning her with the blame immediately. Vivian could only scoot back slowly from the dead body, avoiding the growing pool of crimson blood and waved her hands in the air to show she was completely unarmed. The angry mob stared her down with immediate conviction and she squeaked nervously with fear lacing into her tone, "After careful consideration, I respectfully decline to join your order. Thank you for your time!"
Immediately, she scrambled to find cover and anything useful to beat up Templars as arrows littered the air from Altaїr's position within the shadows in the back and angry voices shouted from the enemy's side. The assassin had used stacks of wooden barrels to conceal his position during Vivian's entertainment and it added further precision to shoot his deadly bolts but left the area when he was discovered. The shadows could only work to his advantage for so long and he ditched the safety of the barrels to lead them away from the unarmed Vivian, who'd scrambled to find a safe spot for the next part of the plan. Yep, that was her handy role while her companion was about to fight men to the death; it sunk her worthiness into the dark abyss of the negative zone.
Altaїr found the stairway leading to the second level on the right side of the building, bringing the angry rabble of Templars with him as he moved into position. Unsheathing his knife, he stabbed it between the wooden door and the rock doorway to create a blockade against the second level door that would keep his enemies on the top level at bay until he finished. It wouldn't be a permanent solution but the knife would remain wedged for a suitable time and he didn't hesitate to start hacking away at his enemies with his sharp sword. Meanwhile, Vivian hurried to find a way to the main entrance by carefully crawling through wooden barrels stationed against the wall since her next task was ticking away.
As Altaїr fought multiple enemies in a tight space that clearly gave him a disadvantage, Vivian made her way to the closed doors and sucked in a deep breath. She was doing this crazy mission for the great of humanity and with that uplifting goal in mind, leapt to open the main entrance to lure in the rest of the Templars. Her hands grasped the wooden board keeping the two doors closed, lifting the heavy piece over the two metal hooks to pull it onto the floor in one strong yank. Wasting no time, she used the metal attachments on the doors to pry them open to their fullest and exposed herself to the outside. Expecting to be skewered at any second, she grabbed a nearby scroll of parchment lying on top of a barrel to beat the nearest Templar over the head when he rushed inside to investigate. As another took notice of her intrusion and the offensive scroll, she jabbed one end at him to order him to stay back like a lion tamer while backing away toward the barrels. They spelled safety for her now that she'd unleashed hell within the administration building and darted her eyes all over the place in case anyone tried to sneak up on her to deal a killing blow.
Malik popped in to save the day with his dashing skills as he stabbed one Templar through the center of his back in one clean strike, dealing a critical blow as he kicked another behind the knee to cripple him momentarily. If any fan girls would've been present in Vivian's current topsy-turvy universe, they would've swooned to the courageous man coming to his friends rescue. Vivian took advantage of his arrival to help her friend by striking the man across the face with the wooden end of the scroll to knock him out cold. She felt a little pride in managing to help out in the tiniest amount since her strength was nil compared to the assassins and probably matched the inept mushroom people from Mario. As the dai focused his attention on demolishing the first floor forces, Vivian locked the entrance with the wooden beam once more (not that the thing was light, mind you) to make sure no civilians accidentally entered the scuffle since all Templars were now trapped inside.
The dai threw Vivian's walking stick in her direction and she caught it with a gleeful smile of rejoice, grateful that she wouldn't be fighting barehanded. Anything was better than her weak fists! She kept Malik's back guarded as best she could but the ex-assassin didn't need any help despite his lack of an arm as his reflexes were as fast as ever, efficiently dodging and finding the enemy's weak spot to deal a finishing blow. Hmm, she seriously wondered why Ubisoft never brought him back as of yet. . .darn Ezio fans (yet she was one of them). If she had popcorn and a chair, she would've sat down to watch the show with a gleeful smile but this was her true reality now and she had to deal with it. Whenever a Templar dared to approach Malik's left side, he aimed a well-rounded kick to strike the enemy on the stomach to knock them aside and perfectly showed them that his vulnerable side definitely wasn't unprotected. All in all, Vivian was tempted to replace Malik in Altaїr's awesomeness slot.
The two managed to slice their way to Altaїr's position as the man held the Templars back with a sword in one hand and throwing knives in the other, bathing the staircase in crimson blood as he fought fiercely for survival. Malik kicked a nearby table towards the Templars on his own end to throw them back, incapacitating them for the moment as he fought two to balance out the forces outnumbering them. Vivian quickly made her way to the fallen Templars before they could stand and struck them over the head with her walking stick, hitting the men over their temples with the force Altaїr had shown her to knock them unconscious. . .or dead. Assassins really didn't like leaving their enemies alive, after all.
"Help would be very welcome!" Altaїr yelled over in beckoning as he stabbed a man in the neck with a throwing knife, asphyxiating the Templar with his own blood and kicked another down the stairs to land in a heap next to Malik. The dai made quick work of him with a stab in the center of the chest, slanting his angle to the left to target the heart for an immediate death. If there was ever a chosen way to pass onto the next life, it was either painlessly instant or an old man in bed for Malik. Metal clashed loudly at the top of the stairs as Altaїr tried his best to keep them back and to prevent the door from opening behind him, loudly cursing the wretched order with frustration, "Don't you people ever stop multiplying? You're like rabbits!"
Vivian pushed Malik towards the stairway to lend aid to their companion (who wasn't hesitant to keep voicing it) as he needed it the most and told him with a halfhearted smile, "Go, I'll play decoy."
Try my best at it, anyway, she finished in her mind since her humble civilian lifestyle had never prepared her to fight for her life in 12th century Egypt. Who, in the 21st century (apart from military personnel), was ever ready to fight armored men in swords? Whatever force sent her into Jerusalem really screwed up on sending the adequate person to help Altaїr on his quest. Why not a decorated soldier? A prominent citizen of society? A scientist? I'm a history student, not a museum curator!
She didn't mind running around like a chicken with its head cut off because a lone target made an easier and alluring kill for the Templars. Thankfully, they bit onto the bait without a second thought and she would gladly play the role of the innocent worm until Malik was free to return. Luckily, the first floor was the village's trade area that regulated business with the other cities to maintain their rural economy and materials for transporting goods were scattered around the room. There were sufficient empty burlap sacks to spare as flying projectiles and she threw them at her enemies to momentarily blind them while using the barrels nearby for safety. It wasn't the most brilliant of ideas but it was the best she could produce while fighting back the fear that bit her mind that at any given moment, it could be the end of her existence. Crawling through the little maze of barrels wasn't a tough feat for Vivian after years of finding the craziest of places to play hide-and-seek with her youngest sister. For the first time, Penelope's games came in handy for her big sister.
Everything worked fine and dandy for her until swords began impaling the wooden barrels to flush her out of hiding which put Vivian on high alert to dodge the sharp metal. Wooden splinters struck her cheek from glinting blade mere inches away from her nose and she crawled back as the weapon receded back to its awaiting owner. A swing into the next barrel to her right would surely puncture a limb or internal organ which sent her neurons firing an escape plan for self-preservation. Escaping from her discovered hiding spot by standing up, she called out to the enemies on the other side to halt their actions and beseeched, "C'mon, I sang you a song!"
"It was atrocious!"
"Hey, now that's just rude" she scolded with offense to her singing voice (although they we right on the money) since a song about Templars did not please any audience with an ounce of kindness in their hearts. Given her own dimension's history, the French certainly showed no appreciation for them. Lifting one of the lids off a wooden barrel, she chucked it at the armored Templar that had hurled the insult to gain comeuppance for her bruised pride and knock down a few IQ points. Unfortunately, it missed hitting him as another Templar knocked it aside by blocking the throw with his sword but the attempt was totally worth it.
From the stairwell, Malik and Altaїr made quick work of the last Templar with their swords as their armored enemies lacked speed in the small passageway. Assassins may not have worn heavy armor to deflect most attacks but it gave them a substantial advantage in stealth and agility, especially when entrapped in small spaces. Catching their breath since it had been weeks since a real fight, Malik wiped his sword on the nearest body and took pride in knowing he could handle a few Templars on his own. His confidence had waned slightly after losing his arm but as he continuously honed his other skills, he was discovering that a little handicap wouldn't hinder his efforts to take down enemies alongside Altaїr. Wiping his hands free of blood on another dead Templar, he admitted confidently with a reserved smile, "I haven't had a good fight in quite a while."
Altaїr managed a chuckle from his dry throat as he quickly retrieved his knives from the dead bodies slumped over the stairs and found himself amused to Malik's light humor. He couldn't remember the last time they joked after a fight since he'd been rather arrogant in his manner of leadership, demanding silence after briefing comrades or students. His eyes had been opened quite clearly and if he had the ability to travel into the past like Vivian, he would've kicked the past version of himself down the stairs of Masyaf until he landed at the wooden gates of the village with a purple ass (and that was no short trip). The two men were snapped out of their small moment of peace when they heard Vivian singing downstairs with her awful voice, "Everybody was kung fu fighting- ha ha, die Templar!"
Altaїr sighed to his eccentric companion because singing would be the last action in his mind to deter enemies. . .but she did have a pretty lousy voice to start with. He didn't want the woman to prematurely perish (especially when she knew more about his life than she cared to admit) and told Malik, "Go help her, I'm heading into the second level."
"Careful, brother" Malik warned and descended the steps quickly to help their civilian companion.
Altaїr wrenched his knife free from the doorway to allow access between floors once more, stepping over a few Templar bodies decorating the bottom of the door that served their purpose as a blockade. He noticed a few blades piercing the door in an attempt to pry it open but his knife had been wedged pretty tightly against the door's latch. Taking advantage of the embedded weapons, he pulled the door open in one swoop and stabbed anything with a body that ran his way as the Templars guarding it were caught unprepared with their weapons currently jammed in the door. His unsuspecting enemies fell onto the sharp edge of his sword and his hidden blade pierced anyone who treaded too closely. He hoped the number they faced on the second level was less and once he saw a clear opening within the group that was yelling for his immediate death, he took it.
Pushing through the heavy enraged Templars, he gracefully jumped onto a row of barrels aligned against the wall and kicked the nearest one like a soccer ball to throw it into the group. It managed to take down two Templars and his peripheral vision noticed wooden beams running along the ceiling which could be used as a vantage point for shooting (as long as they held no bows). Using a bloody knife, he threw it at a man's chest since their covered face would simply deflect the weapon and sheathed his bloodied sword as he jumped onto the nearest grooves embedded in the limestone wall to climb upwards. The small building coincidentally held great climbing items as he used natural grooves, metal hooks, and made quick use of dangling ropes hanging from the ceiling to climb onto the beams while efficiently dodging any weapons flung his way. As a master assassin, Altaїr could climb just about anything with his skilled hands but a small room increased his chances of being struck by enemies and decreased his success at reaching the beams. However, he was adamant on achieving his best vantage point by using all of his finesse and triumphed with a crafty precision jump from the wall towards the beam.
Landing safely on the wooden beam with his two feet firmly planted, he ducked behind the support beams erected vertically into the ceiling to shield himself from his enraged enemies. He almost smirked at knowing how furious they must be with their troop leader dead and allowing him to climb a wall so efficiently. . .but he was Altaїr Ibn-La'Ahad, they picked the wrong man to cross. Grabbing the wooden crossbow off his back, he unleashed a barrage of arrows to strike the critical points of the human body: the neck, chest, lower spine, and thighs. He managed to bring down two men as the others kept shouting to kill the assassin and from his hiding spot, Altaїr demanded curtly, "Why are you in Egypt?"
This resulted in hurled daggers and knives in his direction as Altaїr hid behind a vertical support beam and dodged any that came from the other side. As he tried to add a few more minutes to his life, he noticed the barrels he'd previously knocked over contained oil (either for food or work, he didn't know) but the fact that there were lit lanterns within the room gave him a great idea. However, for his plan to work, he needed some of the fallen barrels to be opened to be sure of their contents and a perfect shot from his end to tie everything together. With his current perch on the beams, he was going to depend on Vivian and Malik.
His two companions didn't leave him alone for very long as Malik didn't hesitate to slash anyone in his way when he entered with his sword hacking everything within a one foot radius. Vivian, on the other hand, simply strived to keep living and protected his back because as much as she tried to help- she was a civilian without experience. Her handy walking stick wasn't a suitable weapon but she tried her best as adrenaline pumped through her bloodstream to give her the surge of courage she demanded.
"Open the oil barrels!" Altaїr directed his group since signaling with whistles and hand signals flew out the window now that their presence was discovered. Malik heard the order through the rabble of fighting voices and quickly opened the top lid of one lying on its side by hacking it open with his sword, kicking aside one who tried to stop him. Vivian simply tripped another with her handy stick before ducking behind a barrel, ripping off the lid after two forceful tugs and chucking it into the crowd. Striking one Templar on the head, she cheered for succeeding in her throwing accuracy but when two charged at her like mad bulls, she found refuge between a stack of barrels. It was a good thing the lids were easy to pry off because having to ask her companions for help would've immediately doomed the mission faster than throwing digital Altaїr into the water in Acre.
Crawling around the tiny spaces behind the barrels, she kept still as a frightened mouse when they approached because a woman with a walking stick stood no chance against armed men. She felt like a cockroach hiding from the overlarge bottle of Raid ready to spray her dead and wished she could camouflage herself against the floor. Oh, how she wished to own Reptile's invisibility skill (from Mortal Kombat) or Harry Potter's cloak of invisibility at that very moment! The Templars knocked the wooden barrels apart to reveal Vivian's hiding spot until she was all alone in the center and tried not to let her body become overcome by quivering fear. Her hand tightened around her staff as one of the men raised his sword to cut her down but she raised her other hand to yell sharply, "If you strike me down, I will become more powerful than you can imagine. . .think about it."
It wasn't the best idea her neurons farted out but Star Wars never steered you wrong. The Templar paused for a moment to her false threat but another from behind him called her bluff and ordered coldly, "Kill her."
That's when Vivian remembered Ben Kenobi was killed immediately after those famous words.
"Damn" she hissed miserably to her stroke of luck and raised her walking stick to protect herself as the glinting metal sword came down. Altaїr was ready to jump off the wooden beams when he saw he'd left the weakest member of the group entirely unprotected but halted as what he witnessed next astonished him. Vivian also expected the same as the grand master, to be brutally murdered and bleed profusely, but her blinking eyes full of perplexity saw something entirely different.
The sharp sword had cut into the wood, becoming jammed halfway through the stick and saving Vivian's life as she stared in disbelief to her good fortune. Glad to be alive and kicking for the gift she'd been granted, she kicked the Templar between the legs in attempt to push him away and grinned impishly when he stumbled back in pain. Served him right. Spotting Altaїr in the rafters, she jumped aside towards safety as his arrow flew to impale the Templar holding his abused crotch. Vivian almost felt bad for the poor man but then remembered that he did just try to kill her so that eased her conscience somewhat. Using the extra time granted to her, she ripped off the lids of the barrels around her and avoided smearing oil onto her robes. She'd just avoided death narrowly and wasn't looking to meet the reaper anytime soon with Altaїr's secret plan. Dodging the second Templar that escaped Altaїr's first arrow, she struck him across the face with the end of her stick and ran out of harm's way toward the open doorway. She didn't hesitate to trip another Templar that had been trying to stab Malik in the shoulder, lending a helping hand to the dai as he grinned to the sudden gain in momentum.
Altaїr saw his opening and aiming at the nearest lantern sitting on a desk over the oil that she'd spilled during the scuffle, he released an arrow to strike the burning lantern. The arrow cleanly pierced the glass, breaking open the protective casing and the force was enough to tip it over the edge and onto the floor to shatter completely. The burning flame from the white candle touched the oil that was spread heavily over the floor and in an instant, fire lit up the room.
The flame automatically spread over the oil of the tipped barrels and engulfed the area in a blaze, prompting Vivian to run away as Templars caught fire from the bath of oil or were struck by the flurry of arrows from the assassin. Her ears yearned to block out the screams inside and the smell of smoking flesh entered her noise, flipping her stomach to the awful smell as she leaned against the wall of the staircase. She couldn't close her eyes without losing her vigilance, fixating her gaze on the limestone wall, but the crackling of burning wood and clothing was enough to have her avoid looking into the room. Battle was not beautiful, it was about raw survival and Vivian had to learn to adapt to the turbulent times she was stranded in.
Her worry over for her friends conquered the fear and she turned away from the stairs to see through the growing fire, hoping to catch the outline of the assassins but the movement was too chaotic. She couldn't retrace her steps as the oil had quickly spread through the room, bathing the entire room in its hot inferno, but Altaїr's voice rang clear through the sizzling flames as he shouted, "Get out, Vivian!"
She didn't argue this time.
Running for the only exit in sight, she shot down the stairs to find the entrance. Dark smoke billowed into the lower level in slow tendrils as she stepped over the dead bodies of their enemies, making her way to lift the wooden beam holding the entrance doors shut. It was the only thing she could do to help at this point and hoped her companions weren't far behind. Prying the doors open with haste, she ran into the fresh night air as the clash of swords and the flash of fire had gathered the attention of the village. Thankfully, the assassins were dangerously efficient in eliminating their enemies and no Templar remnants were outside waiting to spear her. Coughing to clear her lungs from any smoke inhalation and wiping her sweaty brow, she breathed heavily to tell the villagers to stay back while keeping a worried eye on the entrance.
The fire kept growing within the building, filling the starry night with an ominous orange glow and Vivian fought her survival instincts to flee as she wandered toward the entrance. She was growing tired of waiting like a useless person, the seconds prolonging into agonizing minutes as she wringed her grimy hands together over the skirt of her day robe. The lower room had quickly become thick with smoke as the oil further increased its potency and Vivian hated the low visibility (no more than a meter), wishing she could head inside to help but it would only lead to self-injuries or suffocation. When Malik emerged through the black smoke with soot on his face, she leapt forward to embrace the dai happily with a relieved sigh as she realized how attached she'd grown to them within weeks.
"Are you all right?" she asked worriedly as she checked him for any fires on his clothing, her eyes studying him like a mother bear. He and Altaїr were no longer the digital copies she commented or held one-sided conversations with (only when regarding Altaїr's tendency to hug walls) at home, turning into flesh and blood individuals who held unique consciousness just as she did. It was rather hard not to become emotionally involved as she spent every waking hour with them and learned the quirks of their personalities. Malik coughed loudly to clear his lungs of smoke and nodded hastily to show he was in fine condition, grasping her by the wrist to lead her away from the burning building. It was pitch black inside and he'd had a hard enough time finding the only escape route by following the rabble of noise from the villagers. Otherwise, he would've been inside bumping into objects and passed out from the smoke inhalation.
Vivian, however, refused to budge more than a few inches until the cranky eagle of an assassin showed himself but Malik informed her sharply, "You can't stay here. Come along!"
His strength overpowered hers and she was pulled away from the burning building, her free hand outstretching towards the open entrance in the hopes that Altaїr would emerge. She didn't want to abandon him but what could she do? The most that she could contribute was to reach the bottom of the stairs before suffocating in the smoke; needless to say, that wouldn't help anyone. Either way, she didn't want to leave him up there all alone in case he'd become trapped and needed their aid. He'd kept her safe throughout the mission and she'd promised herself to return the same loyalty; otherwise, Desmond would be screwed big time.
Malik calmed down the watchful bystanders with an uncomfortably scratchy voice, assuring them that everything would be fine as he informed them that the Templars had no interests in Egypt except for conquering the lands by lies of peace. He instructed them carefully on never allowing them near the village and sending messengers for aid if they ever did return since their team would be heading south. While he spoke to the nervous villagers and a happy Amil hiding behind his family, who was ecstatic to see the jerks gone, Vivian kept her eyes locked on the burning building and called out Altaїr's name every five seconds. If it worked for players during a Marco Polo game, it could help the assassin find his way back to them through the heavy smoke.
She was ready to grab a bucket of water and douse the flames in an attempt to find her way inside or make a clean route for him to escape but when a white blur leapt from one of the second story windows, she sent the ideas packing. Uttering a nervous squeak in fear that he'd break an ankle, she found herself stunned when he landed neatly on his feet and blinked with dismay that he acted exactly as his daring digital copy. Seriously, were the man's bones made of steel? The assassin stood up to casually wipe his lower face with the back of his hand and coughed quietly to breathe in fresh air, wiping gray blotches off his shoulders as if he was out on a normal nightly stroll. Truly, he didn't hesitate to astonish her. Vivian couldn't believe a mere human being had practically soared out of a building, safe and sound, and she didn't know whether to thank Ubisoft for making him impervious to damage that would kill a normal human being or faint at his true awesomeness.
Seeing him in front of her, alive and kicking, brought her immense relief and she didn't hold herself back from running forward to embrace him tightly. Altaїr didn't have time to react to the woman's unearthly speed and exclaimed in rare surprise to the sudden brown blob that had suddenly wrapped itself around him. He was tempted to shake it off immediately but once he realized it was Vivian mumbling inaudible gibberish against his chest, he calmed down since she wasn't the enemy (lethal wise, anyway). He'd never had anyone breach his personal space without his consent and he grabbed the back of her robes in the hopes of freeing her from his person. He found himself surprised to her iron grip as she clung on like a stubborn barnacle, prompting the assassin to keep yanking on the collar of her robe while Vivian sighed with happy relief, "You're okay. I thought. . .that you. . .you. . ."
Altaїr wasn't one for sappy reunions and although she wasn't screeching with earsplitting joy, he wanted to pry her off by any means necessary. Whatever force existed in the universe gave him the freebie when Vivian struck him on the shoulder the next second and snapped to reprimand, "Don't ever do that. When we escape, we leave together."
"I'm leader, I'm meant to protect both of you" he argued in return for the unexpected strike but didn't hold malice towards her as he could easily perceive that she was speaking out of her emotions rather than logic. They might clash heads like two rams with territoriality issues but he wouldn't leave an innocent civilian at the hands of the Templars. Malik's nagging somehow managed to sink into his brain as Altaїr remembered that they were all she had until she found her way home. He'd had his own cases of homesickness during his first missions as a new assassin but Vivian's case was special as she'd been flung across centuries. Lightly nudging her shoulder with his hand to return his own casual comeback for the strike, he turned to leave and ordered quietly, "Let's go, Vivian."
Her stern expression faded back to her soft features as she assured herself that he wouldn't accidentally impale himself somewhere anytime soon and clearly pointed out that this was Altaїr. The man was obstinate to die and resilient in all dangerous scenarios so her worry could be placed on the topmost shelf in a bookcase for now. Nonetheless, she obeyed him quietly and asked softly, "Are you hurt?"
"No, just a few scratches, I was looking for paperwork about their activities but nothing" he replied simply with distaste on his tongue as he'd risked his life to search through pockets and desks for any suitable information. The desks had burned thoroughly and he couldn't pry drawers open without risking third degree burns and the dead hardly carried anything of use on them. The dead leader would've been his prime choice to search but with the second level aflame and blocking the route down the stairs with falling debris, his only option had been to jump out the nearest window.
He didn't like leaving empty-handed but Vivian tried to lift his spirit by pointing out that the Templars were in Giza and opportunity would come to them in time. Pessimism and impulsiveness were two traits he was purging from his old life but sometimes, he couldn't help but feel discouraged when his trail ran cold. Vivian noticed the frown on his lips underneath his concealing hood and placed her hand on his upper left arm, squeezing it lightly as she reaffirmed, "It'll be okay, Altaїr. We're all prone to resignations but patience gives us hope to keep persevering."
His halfhearted grunt told her that her words would be considered.
They rejoined Malik as he conversed with the townspeople, apologizing for the destroyed building but it was inevitable once the Templars refused to give up. The villagers gratefully thanked the trio for the help, mostly Altaїr when they spotted the height defying man, and he allowed himself a small moment of glory. People that he'd rescued over the years simply offered a quick appreciative thanks since he was running off for safety to keep hidden from guards. The last thing he wanted was for humble civilians to serve as footstools or live in fear of the Templars which meant sacrificing one floor of a building was sometimes necessary for the good of mankind. He didn't have money to compensate for the destruction but he'd try his hardest to avoid it next time. . .or make Vivian do some chores around the village on his behalf- she seemed to like it. Malik nodded to his friend with approval on his soot covered face and remarked privately in a low voice, "We did pretty good, didn't we?"
Altaїr didn't get to answer as the town's government building exploded into the air, sending the frightened villagers scrambling for safety as smoldering debris flew everywhere. The three amigos took refuge behind a wagon as the heavy smell of smoke struck their noses and the falling debris created a shower of burning rain around them, leading Vivian to slap anything in sight before it burst into flame. The sound of wood splintering in a crackling fire echoed through the silent night as the building collapsed in on itself and before Malik could ask what had just happened, Altaїr mumbled under his breath, "So that's what that powder was."
"Powder?" both Malik and Vivian exclaimed in unison, the latter due to a certain volatile power of the past that could cause mayhem. They'd missed Altaїr's brief investigation of the burning second floor as he'd dug through Templar pockets for links to their whereabouts (although he found spare coins) and had spotted the peculiar barrel in the farthest corner of the room. The fire had not yet reached it but his curiosity was not worth the risk of his life so he'd fled to regroup with his companions. If he'd known it was dangerous, he would've brought it along with him.
"A small open barrel containing black powder, it didn't appear hazardous to me" the assassin answered simply as the other two gaped in horrified surprise to what he'd inadvertently caused.
Vivian blanched with shock since Egypt and Syria had claims of owning gunpowder at the end of the twelfth century despite history stated that the Mongols allowed its expansion as they conquered lands during the 13th century. There were many theories on how the spread throughout the Middle East and westward occurred so she had a hard time believing which concept was more plausible. Also, she truly had to wonder if AC history would match her own dimension perfectly since the assassins stated that history was tweaked or misinterpreted for safekeeping purposes. Ugh, she might need to buy another codex to write a separate journal entailing the true facts of history regarding AC land. Who knows, she might even make a future archaeologist famous one day when she leaves the realm and hides it somewhere safe. Nonetheless, there had been black powder owned by Templars which had blown the building sky high and they were inadvertently to blame.
Malik shook his head to the new predicament they'd landed in, trying to block out the noise from frightened (and angered) residents to hiss sharply, "You didn't think about checking?"
"I thought it was soot! Oh, and the rampaging Templars on fire trying to kill me stole most of my focus" he justified briskly because he'd made an honest mistake with a substance that he didn't know could be used as weaponry. Was he supposed to know all of the volatile substances of the world? Apparently, the Templars had somehow managed to get their grubby hands on foreign technology and weren't hesitant to use it. His grim thoughts were disrupted by the residents scurrying to put out the blaze with buckets of water and Altaїr was more than ready to lend a helping hand of aid like the gentleman he was. . .until he heard them demand where his group was. A few curses aimed towards their 'meddling ways' had Altaїr changing his mind immediately and he turned to his partners with a nonchalant tone that betrayed urgency, "Are we all in agreement that we should leave? Preferably before they mob us?"
Vivian nodded hastily in agreement as she pressed against the wooden wheel of the wagon, huddled against Altaїr as she hoped they weren't discovered and dragged to a dungeon (did villages have dungeons?). Malik got the worst end of the deal as he was wedged against a bale of hay as they hid from the villagers and she pointed out, "Yes, we don't know what their foreign policy is against people who blow up public property and we might get executed without trial for possible manslaughter. We're not exactly law enforcement here."
"At least any leftover Templars that could lay blame on us were incinerated" Malik stated dryly with a deadpan glance of emphasis toward his friend and Altaїr nudged the dai in his left side to bury him further into the bale of hay. He kicked the grand master in the kneecap in retaliation as only his lower half was visible now but Vivian grasped Altaїr by the forearm before the two began roughhousing like children in the middle of a village looking for them. Malik spit out the yellow straw with distaste, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as he glared at the smirking Altaїr and asked the two flatly, "So, Giza?"
"Giza" both Altaїr and Vivian agreed with hushed whispers to their new destination.
The three amigos disappeared into the shadows in hasty escape to wander into the night to find safety at another campsite, glad that they'd left their packs hidden in the temporary campsite before leaving. All in all, it had been a productive day by slaying Templars. . .somewhat. Each felt a sliver of shame for leaving the settlement to its own devices but they weren't keen of being executed for destroying property either. Altaїr guided his companions through the dark forest by the use of his eagle vision as his surroundings were highlighted for easier navigation and bit back a growl when Vivian grasped the back of his robes. He was ready to order that he was not her handheld candle in the dark until he saw Vivian's blue-white outline leading Malik's solid blue figure through the darkness.
Oh.
"Let's find camp soon because the temperature is dropping quite fast" Malik advised with a small shiver as the interior of the forest would grow colder throughout the night and a fire needed to be made to prevent them from freezing halfway through their tent set-up. They had been up rather late today so the best way to save time would be to share one tent and cuddle up like baby bears in hibernation (obviously, Malik would play brother bear to the other two).
Vivian wasn't keen of the cold wind blowing in under her skirt and would fight tooth and nail to sleep beside the assassins tonight because social norms were not a cause to endure hypothermia for. She respected the men's personal ideals and wouldn't be ethnocentric towards their ways but when a woman needed warmth, nothing beat body heat.
She tried to keep optimistic about their nightly hike by piping up cheerfully, "So, how long do you think it'll take to get to Giza?"
"You're not sleeping next to me" Altaїr stated bluntly without hesitation and she balked to his ability to read right through her innocent chit-chatter. She'd underestimated his long-term memory for insignificant moments since the first time she managed to sleep beside the trio had been at a stop outside Ramla (via the Via Maris trade route) and casual ramblings had been his downfall. While he'd been extinguishing the fire in camp, she'd jabbered on with sly intent and snuck inside the shared tent with Malik when he wasn't looking to curl up like a lazy fat cat. Rather than waste the last reserves of his energy, he'd kicked her on the butt and called it a night as he settled in beside her.
Vivian could only sputter like a dying car engine before gritting her teeth to reprimand humorously, "How dare you read my mind? Only I have that right!"
"It's not very hard to deduce what you're thinking, you're becoming crafty" Altaїr explained with no amusement in his voice to her humor, pushing through thick bushes as he kept following the trail of marked trees. Once they made their way back to their entry point of trees at the village's west side, it was rather easy to find his way using his sixth sense. Vivian's fingertips clutched the back of his robes tighter as she hoped to score pity points and he dissuaded her with a lecturing tone, "You're not swaying my opinion. . .but I will allow it for tonight only because I really don't feel like burying your frozen carcass early tomorrow morning."
She took that as a win in her book, despite his morbid words, but Malik muffled back laughter behind chattering teeth (he wasn't fond of the cold) to chide humorously, "You're the perfect sketch of a generous man, aren't you?"
A/N: This chapter definitely came out longer than the last but action packed with humor can lighten any dark situation. Like any innocent civilian, I couldn't have Vivian going gung-ho in their situation or otherwise, a woman going from zero experience to a full blown fighter would flow down the path to Mary Sue-dom ville. In the next chapter, we will have a blowout between Altaїr and Vivian because it's been a long way coming since the two met on that Jerusalem rooftop.
Thank you for reading my story and I appreciate each new fav/alerts from a reader which fuels my writing giddiness. As always, virtual hugs to my reviewers because I consider all feedback useful to my writing:
Diamond1502: Oh, I don't mind answering your questions. For Vivian and me personally, the gaming gods are basically the AI's in a game because we all get angry when we're trying the hardest levels. I decided to use it after playing Mass Effect 2 where my Shepard wouldn't crouch for me and she was killed by a geth colossus, figuring Vivian would be the same with her geeky nature. As for the moving pictures, I borrowed it from Harry Potter and Bleach since they're adjoined dimensions similar yet different from normal humans (one's for magic, the other for an Edo period afterlife). However, your question brought up the point to me that Altaїr has absolutely no idea what a photograph is so I'll be switching my use of movies to 'moving paintings/drawings'. I hope that clears up your questions and if you have any more, feel free to ask and thanks for enjoying my story.
Linda Chicana: Yep, Altaїr is a work in progress himself as Vivian doodles for fun while Malik has the most experience. He made his codex for the order and its future descendants so I thought, 'hey, why not let Malik and Vivian take a crack at helping him at it?'. They'll be teaching him a thing or two to make him a master artist. As for Revelations, I like the storyline (especially the ending relating to the first civilization) but I just love seeing Altaїr once more. I absolutely hate the fact that they made Maria look nothing like her former self and changed Desmond's facial features too. Oh, Altaїr's accent now carries the Middle Eastern edge in comparison to the first game. I actually like Sofia, Ezio's love interest, because she's spot on to what I wanted Vivian to be when I first started the story due to her love for books so yay for Vivian matching up to a canon character.
Marli-chan Tuchanka: Thanks so much for loving this story, I'm so glad to hear it in your review. Yes, they changed Desmond's face- I hate it, I liked his Brotherhood features better. They also made Maria look horrible, I was almost happy to see her get offed by Abbas because she ruined the original Maria. The graphics are still wonderful, however, and I like the storyline far better than the previous game (for Altaїr goodness- especially when he jumps out a glass window).
KrnYong: I have a tendency to make kids either adoringly cute or humorously bratty. Altaїr's not a fathering type so having his pockets ransacked will have him furious. On the other hand, I could see him lecturing his kids about weapons being no-no's for kids and only for stabbing Templars.
AnimeWolfAlienRaptor4: Thanks for noticing, Masyaf is always a tricky one when I'm typing fast. And yes, go Malik because he's awesome and deserves more love than Ubisoft gives. lol
Foreverafter: No problem, I got the gist of it so don't worry. I was writing the hay bale and thought 'how could I make this funnier?' and a guy peeing next to Malik popped out as the answer. He just doesn't like hay and now, he added another reason why.
Blue Fire Lady: Thanks for loving the fanfic, I appreciate it greatly. Yep, Vivian brings laughter through an arduous adventure as she tries her best to fit in and cheer people up. . .but her inexperience in the AC world leaves her open to hilarious mistakes. I try to create as many quirky and parody songs as I can for her and they seem to work so I'm definitely glad for that.
Next Time:
Vivian's original optimism about their journey was flushed down the toilet when Malik informed them that Amil had told him Giza was a two day journey from the village so that sent the trio downstream to the north. . .again. This time, Altaїr had been adamant about landing at the exact coordinates and commandeered the rowing with direct orders every five seconds. By the time they reached shore, Vivian had become conditioned to following his blunt orders but a few shakes of the head and a whack from Malik threw out the brainwashing technique right out of her ears. Altaïr had decided to transform into a turtle as he carried their canoe over his head as they treaded westward.
Altaïr wasn't in the best of moods after having a building explode behind him and running off into the darkness to hide like a cowardly Templar. Speaking of the metal devils, he gained no new information from them! Also, walking through a humid forested area didn't help him unwind since his travel schedule would be pushed back by almost a day. He was an unrelenting walking machine as he carried the canoe all on his own while keeping the lead despite Vivian offered to help. She was eager to lend a hand just to see his hidden rage simmer a bit and even missed his sarcastic wit as he bathed them all with the silent treatment. Of course, he used the reason that she lacked upper body strength to accept her help and carried on with his new life as a turtle. She'd stuck around Malik at the front so they wouldn't worsen Altaїr's terrible mood and recited Tolkien's first book of the lord of the rings.
She had reached the part where the ill-omened Balrog awakened within Khazad-dûm and had shaped her hands into claws to mimic the dangerous beast as Malik stared with enthralled amusement. The history student could be quite the storyteller on the road and despite her reciting words weren't exactly knowledge, they were interesting nonetheless. Altaїr chose this time to interrupt her tale with a flat tone from behind, "Put Dumbledore Skywalker's tale aside-"
"Those are two different tales entirely, Altaїr" she stated sharply because they were two important tales of her generation and wondered if he'd said it just to spite her. He'd cried blasphemy and witchcraft to Rowling's story, breaking the wooden stick she'd made to imitate a wand and had asked nonstop questions throughout the Phantom Menace. By the end of it all, Altaїr was the phantom menace. She turned around to walk backwards carefully, wagging a reprimanding finger to reiterate her previous campfire tales, "Harry Potter and Star Wars are totally separate tales. One about magic and another about the heavens-"
"I don't care about your tales, I'm living my own nightmare" he interjected tightly with a brusque tone because stories were the last thing on his mind at the moment.