Quill had no idea what had transpired in the moments while she relived the distant past, or how long it might have been that she was actually absent, but they were no longer alone on the mountain top and things had digressed considerably. She recognized the roar in from the vision she had just had – and looking to the sky she saw Alduin and Paarthurnax in a great word-battle.

"Dovahkiin," Paarthurnax rumbled, as he saw her returned. "Use the Thu'um if the opportunity presents itself!"

But Quill was still too shell-shocked. Her blurry vision made it even more difficult to make sense of the unexpected scene.

Altaïr was a small distance from her, fighting off several heavily armed soldiers; many already lay slain at his feet, and she realized he was hindering them from getting to her. So she had been right, they were looking for her all along. A group of Thalmor agents had joined the battle, and Quill was about to do likewise, when she felt cold steel against her throat.

"Enough!" a man yelled from behind her. She caught a glimpse of black material with intricate red patterns as the wind tugged on the man's robes.

Altaïr froze, looking to where she was. He had already felled majority of the attackers, but a few remained. She had never really had opportunity to just watch him fight – and she had never seen anyone moving so fluidly. Had the situation been different, she would have liked to continue watching; sure she could learn quite a bit. Quill remained dead still, her expression fiercely focused.

Somehow the Templar had managed to even get the attention of Alduin, who bellowed at the insolent little man in fury. "Speak creature – you do not have long!" he demanded.

"I offer you two worlds mighty dragon – where you now have one to gain dominion over," he said. "The people here was able to banish you to a different time, if given the right motivation," here he gave a pointed look towards Altaïr and bringing the blade closer to Quill's throat, "I think this one might be able to take you to my world."

"Why should I care for your world?"

"It is one without magic – there will be no resistance to your rule," he replied smugly. Quill wondered whether the man really was an idiot. With a nod to his few remaining men, they sprang into action, grabbing hold of Altaïr, even as his attention remained firmly focussed on the Templar in black and red.

"Resistance? This mere mortal will not hinder my path!" Alduin laughed. Quill could almost feel the man's disappointment.

"And you are supposed to be the one to blend into the crowds, Assassin?" the man said to Altaïr with a sneer, and renewed determination. The Templars had apparently adopted the clothing style of Skyrim, and indeed looked a lot more like they belonged there than Altaïr did in his assassin's robes, although his cloak did help a bit.

"Change the shout," the man hissed in Quills ear. "Or your Assassin friend dies."

Quill looked at Altaïr, she though he might be shaking his head ever so slightly. She closed her eyes, and drew her breath, and used Dragon Rend - unchanged.

"I'm sorry, Altaïr," she thought. She could not – would not – unleash the dragon on a world so wholly unprepared for it.

Alduin roared in rage as he floundered to the ground, Paarthurnax renewing his attack as well.

When she opened her eyes again, Quill saw the remaining soldiers staring over the edge of the cliff, Altaïr nowhere to be seen, and she lost the last little hold on her composure.

"Altaïr! No!" she screamed the "o" turning into a growl as she let the beast form take over.

. . .

Altaïr knew he had one shot at this, and with a quick look over the edge of the cliff, he spotted an area he really hoped was thickly packed snow. While the Templar and Thalmor lackeys were focused on Quill's shout – he hoped she had the sense not to comply with their demands – he took a leap of faith.

He heard Quill scream his name as he fell, the mist soon obscuring the view of the confused men he saw staring over the cliff after him. Hopefully they would not see him survive the fall – if he did. Fortune was is his favor tough, and he landed quite safely in a snow bank.

Taking care, he climbed back up the sheer rock face. He now had the advantage - his presence would be unknown until he desired otherwise.

About half way up, one of the Thalmor men passed him in a swift downward direction. The man's eyes stared unblinking ahead, his chest ripped open. Altaïr increased his climbing speed.

. . .

Quill had given the beast free-reign.

She had not done that since the very first night she had changed. After that night she hated the feeling of not being in control, and she was honestly afraid that the wolf would do something that she would regret. But the wolf was much more powerful when not curbed, and letting all control go, she could feel the beast relishing in the anguish it was inflicting. In between the meteors called forth by Alduin, raining death on many of the terrified people from Altaïr's world, her single-minded focus was to hunt down every last Templar and Thalmor on the mountain.

She ripped one Thalmor's heart out and threw him over the edge of the mountain. The second received her entire bulk crashing into him, as she leapt on the man, tearing his throat out. The third and fourth tried to run, but she crushed their heads into one another, letting them fall in a bloody heap at her feet.

She sniffed the air, and was confused to pick up Altaïr's scent on the wind. She turned to see him climb up the edge, his eyes wide as he saw her.

Altaïr found it a most disturbing vision - and tried to remind himself that the creature before him was a person. One he had come to know quite well, no less. She stood slightly taller than she normally would, her shoulders were broader, and her whole body more muscular, her face had changed into that of a wolf – a thick coat of black fur covered her body, which was drenched in the gore of the men she had killed. But her eyes – they were still her eyes – he though he saw a momentary flicker of surprised joy when she saw him.

Quill didn't know how he did it, but she was very relieved to see him, even though he looked quite shocked. She lifted her muzzle to the sky and gave a short bark, before running towards the last two fleeing soldiers. She broke the one's neck, and wrapped her strong paws around the throat of the other – her immediate bloodlust sated.

The last man was however not going without one last struggle, and from somewhere in his clothing he extracted a short dagger, driving it into her side. Unfortunately for him, the wolf didn't feel pain like she did, it merely growled at the man before snapping his neck too.

Altaïr didn't waste too much time staring at the werewolf, but instead faced the Master Templar. The man was also staring, frozen in horror, at the creature ripping his men apart and only snapped out of it once he saw Altaïr approach him with his sword drawn.

"You can't tell me you don't feel it too," he said, with a wild laugh as he circled Altaïr. "This place! The power it can give you! I have lost the little I could do when I first arrived here, but even that little bit… to have that power in our world!"

"You are insane," Altaïr spat out. "This power would destroy our world – but you would gladly do that had you the Pieces of Eden at your disposal!" He had little desire to speak with the man, and swung at the Templar.

Quill felt the bloodlust and power of the beast drain from her. Bones began to realign themselves, claws retracted into nails, and she felt the pain in her side more sharply as she pulled the dagger out. The problem with changing was when you changed back – you were buck naked.

With difficult movements amidst changing back, she staggered to the Word Wall, taking the partial shelter she could, while struggling to get her armor out as quickly as she could. Once or twice a stream of fire heated the wall behind her, Alduin's attacks relentless.

Quill gave a nauseated shudder as she pulled the armor over her blood covered body – that was the other downside.

Seeing Altaïr more than capable of finishing off the last Templar, she turned her focus to Alduin – thinking more clearly now, she should perhaps have done that from the beginning.

"JOOR ZAH FRUL!" she screamed, Alduin roared in fury.

The Templar made the fatal mistake to take his eyes momentarily from his opponent as the dragon landed close to them. Altaïr drove his blade through the man's chest as his expression turned to dismay.

Quill made sure to stay out of the line of fire – literally. And while Paarthurnax continued his own relentless attack on his brother, Altaïr and Quill did what they could from the ground.

Alduin bellowed in annoyance, and leapt into the sky again, his voice shaking the very ground under their feet.

Quill used Dragon Rend again, and again the black dragon was powerless to deny the sudden pull of gravity.

This continued several times, the shout pulling Alduin to the ground, with him taking to the sky the moment the effect wore off. All the while biting, slashing and shouting destruction out onto the world below him.

At length the dragon stopped attacking them, merely lifting himself into the air, apparently fatigued by the battle.

"I have misjudged you, but Dovahkiin, hin kah fen kos bonaar!" he roared. "Ah, but I forget, you do not even know our tongue, do you? Such arrogance, to dare take for yourself the name of Dovah!"

"I was not my decision, but I will stop you!" Quill said fiercely.

"Weak mortal, do not think you have won. The Elder Scroll did not defeat me! I have killed your kind and now their souls will feed my power!" And with this, the mighty dragon was gone.

Paarthurnax retook his position on the wall.

"How will I ever truly defeat him?" Quill asked more to herself, as she and Altaïr stood looking into the direction Alduin had taken.

"You need to discern where he is, and how to get to him. Alduin will return with great wrath."

"Yes, I know – but can we just, not talk about it right now? I just want to catch my breath at least!" she said, bending forward and resting her hands on her knees.

The dragon regarded her silently.

"At least you didn't let the Templars do greater harm to both worlds – I am glad you were not tempted into doing their bidding," Altaïr said.

"Honestly I don't know if I would have been able to change the shout in any case. And I knew they would kill you regardless of what I did. But I also knew you would have done the same," she replied smiling slightly.

He returned her smile.

"He did say he under-estimated you."

"Ha, I guess. How did you get back up here? I thought you had plummeted to your death…" she asked curiously.

"Oh a little trick I learned back home. How on earth can you stand becoming such a terrifying creature yourself?" he asked, without judgment.

"That's why I don't do it all that often. I am stronger, faster, and more resilient, but it is also a lot harder to think straight."

"I am very glad I didn't see that earlier on in our acquaintance. I don't think I would have taken it so well…" he said, not sounding too comfortable with the idea even then.

"Yep, like I say, I don't do it too often," she replied with a toothy grin, but suddenly noticed a golden glow from his pocket.

"What's it doing?" she asked, pointing it out to him.

Altaïr removed the Apple, and examined the object.

He wasn't sure, but he thought the glow appeared to be swirling around the orb, as if it was moved by an unfelt breeze. The glow increased to an almost blinding brightness before dissipating and disappearing back into the orb.

"I don't know," he replied, looking up to find himself not looking at the pale blue eyes he would have thought, instead being regarded mutely by several wide-eyed Assassins, and Malik frozen mid-sentence.

"Altaïr?"

"Malik?" he asked, almost unbelievingly.

Looking around him slightly bewildered, he saw the huge window in his study, his desk a mess of paperwork, and a rapidly melting patch of snow at his feet. The thick white cloak around his shoulders suddenly felt stifling hot.

. . .

"Altaïr?" Quill asked the empty air in front of her, which still glowed slightly gold.

She stood momentarily confounded, and she could have sworn she felt a warm breeze in her face.

After a long while she pulled her hood up, obscuring her features, and left with a deep sigh.