Thalia's Tale (A Team Crafted Spinoff)

Forty-Two: The Assassin on the Hill

Sick Bay, unlike Fort Savannah, had a surplus of water. It even had some green grass here and there, and a cute little well in the center of town. Vern led the group there and told them to wait while he entered a long white building that could have been the town lab.
    Thalia sat on the edge of the well while Clancy and Logan stood a few feet away. "It's funny." Logan said, looking at the scientist. "If you're the team leader, why is he leading the mission?"
    "Yes, the answer to that is simple." Clancy replied. "I'm a moron."
    Thalia snorted. "Well you're a smart moron."
    "Well, team leaders have to be." Clancy looked at Thalia and smiled mischievously. The three fell silent for a moment and Clancy seemed to think of something. He looked at the building, where Vern had gone. "...He does have feelings, you know." He said.
    "I would have never guessed." Logan said sarcastically.
    "I wouldn't have either." Clancy said, and looked away. "But you know... He's an Aquarius. They tend to hide their feelings, huh?"
    "Hang on, that doesn't add up." Thalia said. "I'm an Aquarius, I think, you don't see me hiding my feelings."
    Logan cleared his throat awkwardly. Thalia looked at him. "What?"
    "...You kinda do a little."
    "What - no I don't!" Thalia said. "Name one time I've hidden my feelings!"
    "Well there was the thing with the eyes." Logan said. "You tried to hide that from me."
    "I didn't like you then." Thalia said calmly.
    "And when we were on the ship, and you made the order to ram the kraken." Clancy raised an eyebrow and watched the two in amusement. "You didn't let anybody know how scared you were."
    "That's because I wasn't scared." Thalia said.
    "Yes you were."
    "No I wasn't, I had everything completely under control."
    "That doesn't mean you weren't scared." Logan said. "You were drumming your fingers against the side of your leg."
    "...So?"
    "So you always do that when you're scared."
    Thalia froze and Clancy smirked a little, silently wishing he had popcorn on him. Then Thalia's eyes narrowed.
    "Why were you looking at my leg?!"
    Clancy snorted with laughter.
    Logan blinked. "What - no, that's not the point! Besides, you're not even an Aquarius. You're Aries."
    "Oh, yeah, I'm sure!" Thalia said.
    "...Was that sarcasm?"
    "No, not at all!"
    "...Was that sarcasm also?"
    Thalia whacked the back of his head and sat down next to Clancy on the edge of the well. "What are you laughing at?" She snapped.
    He coughed and calmed himself forcefully. "Nothing." He wheezed.
    "What did I miss?" Vern as he approached them. Clancy hopped up, rushing over to him.
    "Whoa, is that it?" He asked. "It's so small!"
    He was right. The red diamond was no bigger than a Ping Pong ball, hovering in the center of a glass case that wasn't much bigger than Vern's palm.
    "Yes, I must admit, it's smaller than I expected." Vern said. "But that doesn't mean it won't be just as powerful."
    "Yeah, trust me, I know." Clancy said. He took it into his own hands, smiling wide as he glanced up at Thalia and Logan. "I do believe the worst is behind u-Hey!"
    Clancy yelped as a gunshot split the air, striking the well behind him. Thalia gasped, standing up and stepping in front of Logan instinctually. She looked up and, sure enough, the assassin from the train was there, standing on the roof of the lab.
    "Damnit, what the hell does he want?!" Thalia snapped. She ducked as another gunshot spilt the air and grabbed Logan's arm and dragged him into the lab. Clancy and Vern quickly followed.
    As soon as they were inside, Thalia slammed the glass door shut and locked it, stepping out of the line of fire. The scientists inside looked up curiously, but none said anything right away.
    "Maybe he's after the diamond." Clancy said.
    "I really don't think he is." Logan replied.
    "No, that makes sense." Thalia said. "If the squids found out about this mission, they wouldn't want us to have that kind of energy. So it seems entirely likely that they would get someone to stop it from happening."
    "That's very true." Vern said. "That might be it."
    "I really don't agree." Logan said.
    "So what do you think it is?" Thalia asked, looking at him.
    Logan just stared at her, saying nothing in reply.
    All four jumped as a bullet crashed through the glass door, and several scientists screamed.
    Thalia pulled out her own gun and shot the ceiling to get their attention. "Book it!" She ordered. "Get out of here, run! Now!" She waited for the building to clear out before she herself led the way to the door.
    She started to hold the door, but Logan grabbed it from her. "Go on, go!" He urged.
    Thalia started to protest, but Vern grabbed her wrist and dragged her out of the lab as the assassin crashed through the glass door, rolling to break his fall. Logan yelped and slammed the wooden door shut.
    "Okay, let's get back to the - WHOA!"
    Everything that happened next was little more than a blur. Logan ran out of the lab, looking ahead with only enough time to skid to a halt. Below was perhaps a twenty-foot fall, the sand of the desert suddenly falling away into a sheer, nearly vertical drop.
    Logan stopped himself as quickly as he could, but still ran into Clancy. Clancy yelped and fell back, nearly going over the edge. Vern grabbed his collar and dragged him back; however, not before he lost his grip on the red diamond. Clancy turned his head back in alarm and shouted out, but he knew he could do nothing as it sailed over the edge.
    Then Thalia followed it.
    "Thalia!" Logan started to run to the edge but Vern grabbed his shoulder, holding him back.
    "Wait, you imbecile!" He hissed. But there was no sound of breaking glass; no nuclear explosion. Just the dull thud of a body hitting the sand below.
    Logan didn't wait any longer. He ran down to a less steep area and slid down, then ran over to where Thalia was laying face up. Clancy and Vern followed, but knelt beside her while Logan stayed standing.
    "Is she alive?" Logan asked, his voice hoarse.
    "Yeah, still breathing." Clancy said. "But the way she fell, that fall wouldn't have killed her anyway."
    Vern gently took the glass cube out of Thalia's hands. "Kept it from blowing everything up. Didn't let the glass shatter."
    Clancy looked up at Logan. "You okay?"
    Logan nodded, his expression, for once, solemn. He knelt down where he stood and took off his pack, beginning to sort through it. Clancy and Vern exchanged glances. "Logan, what are-"
    "Don't say my name."
    "Huh?"
    Clancy seemed confused, but Vern remained seemingly emotionless as he understood. "I see..." He said.
    "When she wakes up, give her this." Logan handed Vern the paper that the assassin dropped in the jungle.
    Vern nodded. "I can handle it."
    Clancy looked at him. "What's happening, what's going on?"
    Logan didn't have time to explain as the assassin appeared at the top of the cliff and pointed one of his two revolvers down at them. "Put your weapons on the ground." He ordered. His voice was low, mildly deep for his presumed age.
    Logan set down his staff as he stood back up, leaving his pack on the sand. "Leave them alone." Vern figured his almost uncanny impression of Thalia was due to two things; how well he knew her and his ability to act. Finally, the ginger could use his talent to protect others, just like he wanted. "It's me you want."
    The assassin raised an eyebrow. "Thalia?" He asked, sounding genuinely surprised. "What's with the...?"
    Logan smirked a bit. "You of all people should know I have a thing for gingers."
    Vern snorted and Clancy stood up. "Loga-" Vern grabbed him, clapping a hand over his mouth. "Thalia, don't!" He called, and Logan had to admire his acting ability; probably after being used to reciting prewritten speeches in front of a lot of people. It really wasn't too different than acting out monologues, only minus the actions.
    "Just let them be." Logan said.
    "If you're really her, tell me something only she would know."
    Vern blinked. That was a two-sided question. In order to know Logan was telling the truth, he had to know Thalia just as well. So this guy must know Thalia... And Logan is aware of that.
    Logan hesitated a moment, then he nodded, as though he were reassuring himself, his gaze never wavering from the assassin on the hill. "I resent my dad." He said. "Because he's always on Skylord missions."
    Clancy looked at Vern. "Her dad's a Skylord?!" He hissed.
    Vern shrugged in response.
    Suddenly, Thalia stirred. "What's going on...?" She asked softly.
    "Fair enough..." The assassin nodded and walked down the same way the boys went. "Come with me, Kal, and nobody gets hurt."
    Thalia opened her eyes. "What's happening." She started to sit up, but Vern pushed her down.
    "Stay still." He ordered.
    "Where?" Logan demanded.
    The assassin held no emotion under his green hood. "To Skyhold."
    And then he grabbed Logan's wrist and chucked an ender pearl. Just before he disappeared, Logan shot a glance behind him at Thalia, who realized what was happening just too late. "Logan!" She sat up and stood as they disappeared, but stumbled forward and fell on her face.
    "Hold still, you hit your head." Vern said calmly, sitting still.
    Clancy, however, ran to her side and helped her up again. "Take it slow." He said. "Logan-"
    "What's going on?!" Thalia demanded.
    Vern didn't reply. He simply held out the piece of paper that Logan had given it. Thalia took it roughly and read it while Clancy read it over her shoulder. He, being a faster reader, finished before her and winced.
    'Your assignment is simple. Get Thalia Kal and bring her to Skyhold before Friday. She'll be on a train to Fort Savannah. Do not fail.'
    Thalia blinked. "I-I don't understand..."
    "Logan took your place." Vern explained. He looked up at her. "He may not have died before, but I think he has a ten percent chance of survival now."
    Thalia froze.
    "Vern!" Clancy snapped scoldingly.
    "What?" Vern replied defensively. "It's the truth."
    Thalia turned and walked away up the short sand dune as the two argued, neither of them noticing her.
    "You can't just do that to people, remember that time you made a girl cry?"
    "Tears are a natural response to bad news."
    "Yeah but you couldn't sugar coat it a little?!"
    "What's the point?! That's just lying to them, they have to find out eventually and - you can't just do that." Vern turned around, looking at Thalia as she climbed onto her horse.
    She blinked in surprise, thinking he hadn't noticed her, then her eyes narrowed. "And why not?"
    "Because we have to return to the base." Vern said. "Somebody has to tell them what's happened here today."
    "You two go to the base." Thalia said. "I'm going after him."
    "No, you'll be killed." Clancy said. "As soon as they know it's you, they'll take you. You have to come back with us so we can figure this out at home." He kept his gaze steady. "Come home. Get your team together. Then go after him with help."
    Thalia glared at him. "I don't have a team."
    "Yeah," Clancy said, sarcasm in his tone. "and neither do I."
    Vern snorted. "Says the guy who showed up late to his own Coronation."
    "I slept in!"
    "So what?"
    Thalia sighed. "Alright... Fine..." She said.
    It took three days to get back to the base, but the time passed faster than Thalia expected, considering her best friend had been taken captive. But when they got home, Thalia stopped. She pulled in her reigns, Vern and Clancy stopping not far ahead.
    "What are you doing?" Clancy asked, looking back at her. "We're almost home!"
    Thalia just stared up at the airship that had docked itself to the roof of the base. "It's the Omega..." Thalia said, and couldn't help but smile a little. "My dad's here."