Expedition To Egypt

Hello dear readers, the fanfiction world is severly lacking fanfictions about Arno and Napoleon, so I have decided to write one. I hope you enjoy.

Summary: Arno is send along with Napoleon's expedition to Egypt in order to find out the true political motivations of the young general. Once in Egypt however, things turn complicated when a piece of Eden shows up. Napoleon gets dragged into the assassin's world as he allies himself with Arno to stop the Templars from obtaining the object.

Chapter 1

It was a pleasant night in May when Arno was summoned to the council of master assassins right in the heart of Paris. Several years have passed since the revolution struck the city, throwing down a curtain of blood through the streets. Four years since that night in the temple where Elise lost her life. Oh how Arno fervently wished to turn back time, to just have been there before tragedy struck.

But no, there is no way back anymore. He had moved on, even though with a black hole in his heart. His work for the creed had slowed down significantly since 1794. He had been busy setting up networks all throughout Europe, new assassins had to be trained and guided. This work was more satisfactory for Arno than taking lives. The only reason why he started to kill, was in order to avenge the death of Elise's father. But since it became no longer a need to avenge, Arno lost most of his appetite to kill. No, training and guiding new assassins suited him much better.

Arno moved up the cold marble stairways inside the order's hideout, a magnificent underground space hidden underneath a local tavern, also owned by the assassins, and walked towards the chamber where the meeting would be held. The floor in the hallway was covered with an elaborate carpet which reminded Arno of the many palaces he broke into as a young adult. He opened the door and entered the richly furbished room, already occupied by the elder assassins, and took a seat on the chair nearest to the door. He never felt fully at ease in the company of these master assassins. Especially not since he was once banned from the creed and even murdered one of the elders, his own mentor nonetheless, it didn't make him very popular amongst his fellow assassins.

"Bonsoir, madame et messieurs" Arno greeted them politely.

"Ah, it's good to see you again Arno," a female assassin replied. "We know you have been busy with training our latest recruits but we need your skills, and more importantly, your knowledge for this particular matter as soon as possible."

Arno frowned, "I wasn't under the impression you would consider me more knowledgeable on certain matters besides handling a blade. Weren't you the one who acussed me of not being able to use my brain properly?"

The elder assassin chuckled softly before continuing. "Oh I remember very well Arno but it has come to my attention that you are familiar with a certain person who is at this moment gaining an incredible amount of popularity amongst the general public. His recent campaign in Italy has, quite frankly, concerned us for the future of France. The directory itself is greatly troubled, certain members are deeply worried that a coup is imminent. These members are closely involved in our creed and movements, so we have no choice but to take an action. "

"Wait, you are talking about Général Napoleon Bonaparte aren't you?. Yes I have met him several times in the past few years, he was actually quite helpful in aiding the order by locating some of my targets. I know he's very confident about himself and his abilities but how could he possibly be a threat to our creed?"

"Yes, we have heard that he provided you with aid. And we've also heard you aided him in several matters in return yes? This makes you the perfect person for this task. He most likely trusts you so that is already half of the task done."

"Why does this matter at all?" Arno asked in confusion. "What is it exactly that you want me to do?"

"Well his recent popularity leads us to believe that he will play an important role in the near future of France. We do not know his intentions, neither do we know who he is affiliated with. For all we know, he could be in the pocket of the Templars, he might be an influential templar himself! Leaked reports from the directory suggest that the général will go on an expedition to Egypt very soon."

"Oh really? Arno replied rather sarcastic. "Are you asking me to kill him before he leaves? You think I am best suited for this task because I know him?" Arno's voice increased in volume as his anger starts to rise. "So it will be easier to get close and stick a blade between his ribs? Is that how we are dealing with anyone with just a bit of popularity? I thought the paranoia ended with Robbespiere's reign!"

The elder sighed and started to look quite irritated. "Arno you have always been a thorn in our side since the day you joined our order. Always disobeying our orders, acting out of your own will rather than to follow our instructions, it has already cost the lives of several close to you. I know life hasn't been exactly kind to you these past few years but I want you to listen to me now. No, we do not want this général Bonaparte dead but we want you to join his expedition to Egypt in order to find out what his exact true intentions are. We want to know why he wants to go to Egypt so suddenly.

To be honest with you here Arno, there are suspicions that Egypt holds several ancient artifacts. You know from experience that these must definitely not fall into the wrong hands. Imagine a templar wielding the power of the ancients! We want to be completely sure that this Bonaparte has no connections to the Templar order so you are going to accompany him on his excursion and keep an eye on him. If you come by any of these mysterious artifacts, I want you to collect them and bring them back here for examination. And if you discover that he is indeed a templar, I hope you can still use that wrist blade of yours."

Arno chuckled. "You want me to have a nice long vacation in a exotic country in order to shadow a general in the desert, while collecting incredibly powerful artifacts to satisfy your own curiousity?"

"Is there a problem with the mission we've just assigned you with Arno?" another elder assassin inside the chamber replied.

"Oh no not at all, I would love to go and explore Egypt, go play around in the sand." Arno replied with even more sarcasm in his voice.

"Very well, then it is settled. We have already arranged a place for you on his expedition as an assistant to his own personal security. This way you have no trouble staying close to him and find out what his intentions exactly are. We do not exactly know the date of departure so I suggest you quickly visit him, you do not want to miss your spot on this expedition."

Arno got up from his chair and turned towards the door. "I do hope this creed still knows what it is doing." With that he left through the door and made his way back to the streets. I can't believe the creed is making me travel to Egypt, he thought to himself. In any case it is a nice opportunity to get better acquainted with the général. It has been three years after all since he last saw him, before he was assigned the campaign in Italy. Three years don't seem like much but a lot can happen in that time span.

Arno could still clearly remember the last time he saw Napoleon, still a Lieutenant. Polite but ferm with his actions, it isn't hard to understand why people adore him so. Not only does he know how to charm the ones around him, he is also a gifted military man who can turn almost any battle to his advantage. He wasn't however very experienced dealing with women. Arno helped Napoleon with his fiance Désirée, but that ended in a disaster for the young Lieutenant. Apparently she had fallen for his assistant, captain Bernadotte. The whole scandal caused quite a ruckus and that was the last time Arno spoke with him.