Chapter Three

Yinsen bit his lip worriedly as he and Tony played chess, waiting for Brian to return from his latest stint with their captors. The young blond had already been gone for over six hours, which was longer than any of Tony's sessions and his own.

In front of him, Tony let out a worried grunt, one hand idly tapping the newly built arc reactor they'd implanted in his chest earlier that week to replace the electromagnet and the car battery. His hazel eyes were narrowed slightly, as if he were concentrating on the game but the doctor could tell that all his focus was on their young friend, who had been drawing away from them since the implanting of the new arc reactor. He sighed and decided to try to distract the man from his worrying for a bit.

"Do you have anyone at home waiting for you?" He asked and the genius blinked at him, brow furrowed.

"You mean like a girlfriend or something?"

Yinsen nodded and Tony smiled slowly. "Well there's Jarvis."

"Jarvis?"

The genius' smile took on a sad edge. "He's my AI. He runs my home in Malibu."

Yinsen gave a sad smile of his own. "Ah. No wife, or family?"

He shook his head.

"I see. So you are a man that has everything...yet has nothing."

Tony frowned deeply and fell silent for a moment. The he tilted his head.

"What about you? Any family?"

Yinsen nodded, ignoring the pang of sadness in his chest and the images, memories lingering on the edge of his conscious.

"Yes. I will be seeing them when I leave here."

His friend smiled. "And if I told you I had a plan?"

The doctor raised an eyebrow and Tony stood, leading him over to his workstation where the missile blueprints lay scattered. The genius gathered the three sheets and placed them on top of each other before smoothing them to reveal blueprint for a large suit of armor. Yinsen gasped, amazed by the inner working of the man's brain and the extent of his genius.

"This- this is amazing." He breathed and the younger man grinned.

"Thanks. Brian helped me with them last night. He even agreed to make a few blades for the gauntlets."

"Well then, lets get to work."

Tony nodded and they began to work on the project. They worked for hours, their worry for their youngest continuing to grow as time passed. Finally after what seemed like eternity the familiar sound of footsteps sounded outside their cell. Tony separated the sheets so that they looked like the missile plans then they both stood, awaiting their captors entrance. Only a moment later the door to their cell flew open and Brian was thrown into the room, his shirt and hair soaking wet as he lay on the floor trembling. The door closed behind him with a loud bang and the two elder men rushed to his side.

"Dear Allah. Brian are you alright?" Yinsen whispered pulling his shaking friend into his arms. The blond didn't respond, blue eyes dull and lifeless as he stared into space, full pink lips moving soundlessly in a pattern that the doctor had become increasingly familiar with over the course of his captivity. It was a pattern the blond's mouth formed whenever he was close to the precipice of madness and needed to come back from the edge. Tony bit his lips, wringing his fingers in such an uncertain way that Yinsen would've laughed if the situation weren't so dire. Instead, he stood with the limp blond in his arms and moved toward his cot.

"Come. He'll be this way for a while. Just let him know you're there."

"What's he saying?"

The doctor shrugged. "From my understanding it is a catechism of sorts. He says it every morning when he wakes, never in the english and never in a language I nor our captors can understand. He told me once that he uses it to get through his sessions."

Tony nodded, stroking his friends wet blond locks. "Just a little longer, Kid. I promise you, when we get outta here, your life is gonna change for the better." He murmured and Yinsen smiled, a soft sad smile.

"I'm holding you to that, Stark." He replied almost silently. "That boy deserves all the good you can give him."

"Altair has yet to return." Silili stated softly as she entered her husband/leader's office.

The man sighed and pulled his worried wife into his arms. Although he and Altair often argued like cats and dogs, he still loved his brother with all his heart and he would never wish any harm upon him. Still he couldn't deny it any longer, especially not after two years of nothing from the man.

"It's been two years." He rumbled and she sniffled, he grip on him tightening as she realized just what he was saying, still he forced himself to continue. "Perhaps...perhaps he is dead."

She whimpered and a tear slid down her cheek. "We must tell the Brotherhood."

He nodded, a tear of his own escaping. "I know...are you going to tell your brother and his gang."

She shivered thinking of Dom's reaction, or worse Roman's reaction.

"I have to."

He nodded. "I'll announce it tomorrow evening, this way you can return to your family."

She gave a soft noise of agreement and buried her face in his chest, swallowing thickly as his fingers ran through her hair. "Sh, grieve now, my love. Grieve now so that you can remain strong later."

Silili whimpered then with a shuddering breath she sagged in her husband's arms and let go.

It was finally finished.

After a long tedious month of working day and night, snide threats and hours of torture, the suit was finally finished. Brian grinned slightly as Yinsen helped Tony into the suit while he planted bombs on the door that were rigged to go off as soon as the door opened. Once he finished he walked over to the two, both of whom smiled at him.

"Brian, can you start the power up?" He nodded and did as he was bid, listening as Yinsen and Tony went over the plan one more time. A few moments later the bombs on the door went off and he cursed checking the grid.

Charging...89%

He let out a low snarl of frustration and Yinsen sighed.

"I'm gonna go buy us some time." He shook his head and reached out to grab the doctor, who dodged and ran out of the room shooting one of the dead captors guns.

"Yinsen! No! Damnit, get back here! Stick to the plan!" Tony yelled but the man was gone. Brian growled frustrated by his own inability to save his friend and glanced back at the computer.

Charging...97%

Damnit!

Turning back to Tony, he gave a sad sigh. "The suit will be full loaded in less that a minute. I need to go retrieve my weapons so that we can meet up with Yinsen."

With a hesitant nod the billionaire sighed and watched him go, ignoring the dread pooling in his stomach. Once he left the room, Brian turned on his eagle vision and stealthily made his way down the hall into the ammunition room. There he found his cloak, his armor and his weapons. He quickly donned all of it then left to assist his friends. When he arrived he found Tony tending to a dying Yinsen, who smiled as their eyes met.

"Yin," He whispered and the man's smile softened.

"Sh, I want this...I want this." He breathed before turning to Tony. "Don't...waste... your life, Stark. Take...care...of...him..." He trailed off, falling limp. Tony let out an enraged snarl, turning to Brian whose expression was eerily blank.

"Get behind me." He ordered and the assassin did so silently pulling up his hood and Tony stepped into the opening of the cave. Their captor stood in front of them and some faltered back at the sight of the monstrous suit of armor. On an unspoken command they began to fire and Brian stood stoically through it all, not even flinching as some of the shrapnel from the shattering bullets cut into his skin.

They shot until they ran out of ammo and the assassin could almost see the predatory glint that lit his friend's eye. He smirked emptily, ice blue hues seemingly glowing under his cowl.

"Our turn." They intoned and he disappeared only to reappear covered in blood slaughtering anyone close enough to fall under his daggers. Tony followed torching everyone and everything around them, turning the caves that had been their hell into a raging inferno. Soon the entire camp was in flames and Tony was flying away with Brian clinging to his back.

They got just above the desert before the suit sputtered and sent them crashing to the ground. The duo laid in the hot sand for a moment as the day's events finally caught up with them. Then it finally sunk in; They were free. Sharing a look, they broke into peals of laughter, neither acknowledging the hysteria edging the sound and the few sobs that were intertwined within it.

Colonel Rhodes couldn't even begin to describe the relief he felt as he pulled his missing best friend into his arms. The billionaire had been missing for over three months leaving everyone in a massive uproar. Tony hugged him back tightly and his heart clenched painfully in his chest when he heard the nearly inaudible sobs leaving the younger man's chapped lips. A monotonous voice broke up their reunion.

"Who are you?"

The airman's gaze moved to the white robed figure hovering protectively behind his friend, the man's face hidden by his cowl. At his waist was a red sash with a strange symbol on it.

"Who are you?" He retorted sharply and Tony snorted in his arms, stumbling as they stood.

"Brian, Rhodey's a good guy. He's the rescue party."

The man, Brian nodded then kneeled beside him. "I must notify my brothers. I will be in Malibu when you arrive. Do stay safe, Tony."

Tony gazed sadly at the man, obviously holding himself back from saying anything. "You'll come back?"

"Always. I promise." The man replied softly grasping the billionaire's forearm in a fraternal gesture before he vanished.

Malik tensed as he felt a presence appear in his office. He had been preparing to go meet Tony Stark and debrief him about his captivity in Afghanistan when his senses alerted him to the fact that he was no longer alone. A familiar chuckled sounded from behind him, one he had thought he'd never hear again, and he spun around to find the brother he'd presumed dead only a month prior, reclining in his chair with a smirk on his weary features.

"Altair." He whispered and the younger man nodded.

"I have missed you, brother." The Master assassin's eyes watered and he moved to stand in front of the blond, pulling him into a heartfelt embrace.

"We thought you dead! Silili was devastated when we announced it to the Brotherhood. Where were you?"

A sigh left Altair's lips, his ice blue eyes full of fatigue.

"The templars captured me after I killed their leader. They tried to extract information about the brotherhood and what bases we had knowledge about and were targeting. A year ago, I was joined in my captivity by a doctor from Gulmira then three months ago I was joined by Tony Stark."

Malik nodded. "I see."

He took in the haggardness marring the other man's otherwise beautiful features, the weariness and roughness edging the soft lines and curves of his entire being.

"Go rest, Brian. The brotherhood will be dealt with."

Altair gave a exhausted but grateful smile. "Thank you, Phil."

Malik nodded. "No problem. I will contact you for the next meeting. Call Silili, she missed you."

"Will do. Welcome home, Brother."

"Its good to be back."

TBC...