Note ~ Kind of a shorty. This chappie's full of important hints and amazing plot milestones! Not really...But it is pretty important. I'm not sure how frequent updates will be here lately, as my recent progress has shown. The school year's almost up and I gotta focus on tying up loose assignments and all that jazz. Bleh...Thanks again for reading! And thanks for the reviews! :D

Edit: Okie dokie, so yeah I reread this and realized that it is pretty confusing. But please place your trust in me to make everything happy-dandy-makes-sense-smiles as more chapters come along! :) This plot is pretty complicated and I'm trying to eeeaase everything in...Fail much? Probably. But I promise I'm trying super hard. Bear with me?

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"That's enough!"

The posse of Templars surrounding Altair slowed their abuse of his frame as the commander held up an armored hand.

"Have we found it yet, Assassin?" he sneered. "Your breaking point?"

Altair spurted blood from his mouth and crumpled in pain on the ground, fifteen knights looming over him. But his throat remained still; silent despite his screaming wounds.

"You thought you could run from us?" the commander pressed on. "You, a pathetic tool of your Creed? Tell us where your friends went and I promise to make it stop."

"Why would you 'aste your time…on a few measly A-Assassins?" Altair choked out, defiance flaring in his eyes.

One of the Templars delivered a brutal kick to his ribs in response. Altair clamped his jaw down as the familiar pang of fire attacked his muscles.

"Templars!" a female voice called.

All of the knights followed to voice to the flat lips of the old Assassin who had occupied the village well. She glared at the troupe of men and smiled maliciously.

"What is it you want, hag?" the commander growled.

"I am here to help," she protested, holding up her hands.

Altair squinted warily in an attempt to make out her figure in the blinding sunlight of dawn. But he already knew who it was. He knew her voice. What puzzled him was how she planned on helping the Templars. He gritted his teeth hotly as he waited for her to continue.

"That man," she smiled, pointing her only arm at Altair. "That man knows much more than he's letting on."

The commander glanced back at Altair and frowned. "Does he, now? And who are you?"

"I used to live with the Assassins. They exiled me for collaborating with Templars."

"Hmm…How interesting. You may continue."

The woman nodded wickedly. "That Assassin you have there knows many things. However, he cannot tell you where his friends went. That he does not know."

Altair eyed her suspiciously. He couldn't tell if she was on the Templars' side or his.

"So what good is he to me, then?" the commander questioned.

"Ah, but you have struck it rich, my friend. That particular man was Al Mualim's star pupil. He knows the secrets of the Templar treasure. He knows where it is hidden. He knows all the Assassin stronghold inside and out. He can tell you when and how to strike. He can tell you who guards the treasure with his life, and he can tell you the significance of the girl who traveled in his company."

"The girl? She is significant? How?"

"I cannot say," the woman frowned. "It is locked away in that skull of his, not mine."

The commander thought for a moment. "Very well." He turned to his men. "Tie him up, and take this hag as well."

Altair blinked heavily as all sound died save the blood rushing through his ears. It was over. It was all over. Because of her Sarah would never make it out alive.

Or maybe…Maybe it was all part of the plan.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"How could we not see this before?"

"We had no reason to look for it. He was doing everything perfectly. His thoughts were in perfect sync with the program. He did his research."

"But to have so much discipline! It seems inhuman!"

"Until he broke, it did."

"Well it's not like we can close down all of our systems. We'd lose her if we tried."

"Whoever's doing this does not have the technology we do. He has to be degenerating at a much quicker pace than Sarah."

"But by the time he goes critical it could be too late."

"What do you think they even want?"

"Information, probably. They could be some silly reporters trying to get a good story."

"No way. These guys are pros. What if…"

"What? What if what?"

"…Nothing. It's a stupid idea. How do you think we can stop it?"

"I don't know yet. I'm going to set her monitors to the absolute minimum. The implant will keep her stable while we try to tap into his frequencies. We might be able to transfer a virus."

"And do what? Kill him? That's insane!"

"Is it? I think we've already crossed your precious border or morality. Besides, when this is all over, no one will care about our methods."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Faruq…" I begged for the umpteenth time. My voice had deteriorated to little more than a quiet rasp.

"He told me to abandon him, Shabah. It was the only way."

"There's always another way!" I breathed, slamming my fist into his pauldron.

"Not always..." Faruq murmured.

I immediately retracted at the tone of his voice. He was thinking about Laleh. How could I be so stupid? If there had been another way to save her…Maybe he was right. What if there isn't always another way? What is fate twists our paths in strange directions for a reason? Reasons that we cannot comprehend but must follow in blind faith.

Faith is what makes Assassins breathe. It makes them move. It is their blood and their blade, their savior and their destroyer. And it is faith that they cling to when there seems to be no other way. That is why Faruq was able to let go of Laleh. He had faith that she had died for a reason. He had faith that I had been spared for a reason…

And here I was throwing his faith to the wind, telling him that Laleh's death could have been avoided. It could have. I didn't have to live, and yet Faruq believed that I did. He trusted that my presence was significant; that his love had sacrificed herself for something greater.

"I'm sorry, Faruq," I whispered.

"He told me to trust him, Shabah. So that's what I'm going to do."

"So…What do we do now?"

"We train."

"What?" I choked.

"The Templars have taken Altair."

"What makes you so sure they didn't just kill him?"

"He's smart, Shabah. He'll make them think they need him for a while."

"So where did they take him, then?"

"Acre, most likely. I am not sure, though. We will have to gather some information."

I breathed in and out with deliberate sluggardness as I considered Faruq's implications. Was he thinking of a rescue mission?

"So why exactly to we need to train?"

"So that you and I can go back for him. That's why."

I smiled inwardly and dipped my head in the shadow of his back. "But you heard what he said. All I care about is getting back to where I belong. What makes you think I'd want to come with you? And why is it just us?"

"A large operation would attract too much attention. And please, Shabah. It is quite obvious that you need Altair to get to wherever it is you need to be."

"Well I-"

"But I have a suspicion that he needs you as well…"

"Huh?"

"Altair has never been one to verbalize his thoughts, but he has been acting rather…distracted, has he not?"

I thought back to the village when he had left to go speak with the strange woman. "Yeah, I guess he has…"

"He did not decide to help you out of good will alone, little one."

You have no idea.

"Altair has his own agenda."

An agenda? That one had never occurred to me. I leaned back on the saddle and considered it. Everything he had done for me seemed to originate from a sense of responsibility towards his time, nothing more. I was under the impression that he just wanted to keep my technology away from the Templars and get me home. But what if that's just what he wanted me to think? What if there was more to it than that?

"Faruq…I never-"

"It matters little now," he broke in. "We need to focus on getting to Masyaf to train and recover. It's high time you learned how to wield a blade."

There was a long pause, leaving only the sound of hooves and swaying palm leaves in our company. The breeze brought sand to our eyes and the sun left its mark on our skin, what little of it was exposed. I was growing sick of the desert and its 'charms'.

"Do you think he's going to last long enough?" I finally asked.

"Have a little faith, Shabah."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"So she got it? Are you absolutely sure?"

"Yes, but she doesn't know what to make of it right now."

"She will eventually…I just hope she does before our time runs out. How's Altair?"

"Coping. I bet they weren't counting on his strength. If they'd been smart, they would have chosen someone else as a template."

"Let's just be grateful that they weren't. He's the only one out of all of us who might be able to pull this off."

"And what of Sarah?"

"We're still refining the escape route. He should be able to slip in no problem, just as long as we always remain one step ahead."

"How fast can we disconnect for the transport?"

"Fast enough. Don't worry. We'll get her."