Fear has always been seen as a powerful emotion by many because of the impact it has on everyday life. However, there are few times when it can almost overwhelm people to the point of passing out, tears etc., and right now, Eugene was sweating from his forehead, it being almost like a waterfall, and his heart was literally smashing against his ribs. He was pretty sure they were cracked, or would be cracked by it.

Around him stood the four Crusaders and the captain and he was kneeling on the ground next to the small river that flowed through this part of the forest. One of the Crusaders took out his sword and stood behind Eugene, who gulped deeply, knowing that his death was just moments away. The captain walked in front of Eugene and knelt in front of him.

"I've decided to be kind on your last moments, Rider," he said to him. "Any last words?"

Eugene just looked up at him blankly. "What's the point?" he replied. "I'm already going to die,"

The captain stifled a laugh. "Very true. Is that all?" he received no reply from Eugene so he just shrugged. "Alright then," and he stood up and walked past him, but stopped next to Eugene. "Oh, and don't worry Rider, we'll tie you to a rock and throw your body into the river. It'll be gone within seconds and you along with it," he laughed and stepped away from him.

High up in the tree, Altair watched from atop a branch as the captain stopped next to the Crusader standing to the left of Eugene and said: "Alright, put him out of his misery," and the Crusader behind him nodded and stepped towards him, his sword raised. Altair went wide-eyed when he saw this. He had to do something quickly or Eugene would die! He reached into his belt and took out the last of his throwing knives.

"I hope this works," he muttered to himself as he took aim.

Eugene's breathing began to become quicker as he watched the shadow of the sword be raised into the air. In just another second or two, it would come crashing down through his body and put an end to his life. His forehead began to sweat more and more and his heartbeat began to go faster and faster as if trying to escape from the coming fate of the owner of the body it was part of. His mind went back to his friends, the king and queen, but most of all, to Rapunzel. She would be devastated to learn of this execution and he could only imagine what pain she would go through, or in fact what they all go through, when news reached them of him being killed.

He took a deep breath and looked up at the river, imagining himself being thrown into it as he would be in just a few moments time.

"Goodbye, you criminal bastard!" the Crusader behind him said and brought down the sword. Eugene shut his eyes tightly and waited for it to all be over.

"AAAAHHHHH!"

All of a sudden, he found himself looking behind him at the Crusader who had been about to execute him. Just as he did, the soldier fell to the floor and did not rise again.

"WHAT THE…?" one of the Crusaders roared, both out of fright and anger, whipping out his sword. "What happened?"

"Who did that?" another of the Crusaders shouted, also drawing his sword.

"I think I know who's responsible," the captain exclaimed as he took out his sword, his eyes frantically scanning the tree tops around him for the one he believed was here with them.

"And how right you are, captain!" an all too familiar voice shouted from somewhere.

Suddenly, the Crusader next to him was knocked aside by a white blur. The captain shot round but was kicked to the ground. It was Altair. He had jumped from the branch and knocked aside the Crusader next to the captain.

"Altair!" Eugene exclaimed.

Altair rushed over to him and drew out his hidden blade and cut the ropes behind him, freeing him from the shield.

"Thanks," he said as he got up. "Look out!" he shouted, suddenly pulling Altair aside when one of the other two Crusaders charged at them and swung his sword, only just missing them.

Altair whipped out his sword, ready to fight the Crusaders, who were trying to form a circle around the two so they could corner them.

"Eugene, get out of here!" Altair said to him.

"No, I'm not leaving you here," Eugene told him. "You can't beat them on your own," but Altair was not having any of it.

"Trust me, I've fought more. Just go, n-"

Suddenly, one of the Crusaders charged towards them and swung his sword. Altair swung his sword up; hitting that of the Crusader's and quickly launched a lightning kick at his stomach, sending him to the ground. Another of the Crusaders charged towards him and swung his sword sideways to try and surprise him, but Altair dodged the attack by ducking and swinging his leg into the Crusader's, sending him crashing to the ground with a yell.

"You idiots!" the captain shouted at them, rushing forward to fight.

As Altair, got up, along with the two Crusaders he had knocked over, he felt his smaller blade be taken out of his pocket and he looked behind him to see it was Eugene. Looks like he really meant that he did not want to leave Altair to face this alone.

"How did you get here?" Eugene asked them as the two began to back away as the captain and the Crusaders closed in on them.

"Maximus," he replied.

"Where is he?"

"Somewhere in the tree over there," Altair pointed in the direction he meant. "Why?"

"I'll show you, keep 'em distracted," and before Altair could ask anything else, Eugene rushed off away from him into the forest.

"After him!" the captain ordered. The three Crusaders ran after Eugene, all of them quickly disappearing into the forest. The captain stared at Altair with anger and death lingering in his eyes, the want to kill Altair boiling over like a bubbling cauldron. "It's time for you to die, assassin!" he hissed.

"No, It's your turn, Templar," Altair replied, his voice remaining defiant.

The captain gritted his teeth together and his eyes set on concentration, ready to fight Altair. He had been taught how to fight assassins before by Robert but he had never actually fought one himself. Well, now was the time to prove himself.

With a yell, he charged forward towards Altair, hitting his sword with his own and quickly swinging a punch at him, but Altair jumped backwards and retaliated with a swing of his sword at the captain, who dodged by jumping aside, narrowly missing the deadly blade.

Meanwhile, a few tens of feet away from them, Eugene pushed his way through the undergrowth of the forest, hearing it being violently thrown aside by the Crusaders pursuing him. Adrenaline was flooding through his body and he gripped the smaller blade in his hand tighter. Even though he was able to fight the Crusaders, there was no way he could win for there were three of them and only one of him. Plus, they were better skilled in blade fighting than he was. He could even hear them shouting and their footfalls behind him, making him panic even more in the prospect of what they do to him if they got to him. If they caught up with him, he would be killed on the spot. He had to find Maximus, and fast!

"You can run all you want, criminal!" he heard one of the Crusaders shout. Eugene looked over his shoulder to see them catching up to him. "We'll get you eventually! You can run forever!"

Damn it, they're right! Eugene mentally growled to himself as he jumped over a fallen tree trunk and began frantically searching the forest around him with his eyes. Where are you, Maximus?

A snort from nearby suddenly stopped him in his track and he looked over to see a large grey horse tied to a tree, looking directly at him. It neighed loudly as if to say: "Over here!" Hope filled Eugene.

"Maximus!" he exclaimed and rushed over to his horse friend as quickly as he could. Maximus neighed happily when he saw him. "Yeah, I'm glad to see you to, buddy," Eugene told him and cut the rope that was tying him to the tree. As soon as he did this, Maximus snorted and motioned his body back in the direction of Corona, wanting Eugene to follow him, but he did not.

"No, Max, we can't go," Eugene said, grabbing the reins. "We have to help Altair beat the Crusaders and the captain,"

Maximus looked at him questionably. What? They had to help him? Maximus had only come here so to help free Eugene! That was done now, but why did he want to aid someone who had tried to kill them days ago?

"Maximus, I know Altair was against but we have to help him. He's on our side now, I promise you on that," Eugene reassured him.

Maximus gave him an annoyed look but sighed and nodded as if to say: "Alright, fine, we'll help," Eugene smiled.

"Thanks, Max," he said. "Y'know it really is good to have a horse friend like you. You understand and you don't hold a grudge and-" he stopped when he saw Maximus giving him a look as if to say: "Don't push it," and Eugene nodded. "Yeah, your right, let's go,"

"Go where?" a voice behind him said and he looked to see the three Crusaders standing there, their weapons at the ready and looks of glee on their faces, ready to kill these two. "The only place you're going to is a graveyard,"

Eugene gulped and stepped back a pace, but was stopped when Maximus stepped next to him, an angry look on his face, snorting in an aggressive manner. Upon seeing this, though, the Crusaders laughed.

"HA! What can that thing do?" one of them laughed.

"Throw hay at us probably!" another said, making his buddies burst out laughing.

It was a big mistake.

Maximus charged towards them as fast as he could go. The Crusaders stopped laughing when they saw him and their looks of laughter on their faces were quickly replaced with fear. The urge to get out of the way quickly overtook them, but before any of them could even move…

WHAM! Maximus ploughed right into them, knocking them over. One of the Crusaders was knocked out instantly, landing on the ground with a thud. The other two were knocked aside but quickly got back up and pulled out their weapons, madness flowing through them. They had been humiliated by an animal! Oh, it was time for revenge!

Maximus skidded to a halt and turned to face them. Just in time as well because one of them charged towards him with his sword raised and swung it at him. Maximus ducked, narrowly avoiding having his head taken off, and launched a hard kick into the soldier's stomach, winding him and sending him to the floor, out cold. The other Crusader, upon seeing his friend be knocked down by Maximus, looked up at him, dropped his sword and ran off as quickly as his legs would carry him. Eugene watched him go and looked back at Maximus, who trotted over happily with a smile on his face.

"Nice one, Max," he said and climbed onto the saddle. "Alright, let's go help Altair,"

Maximus nodded and rode off in the direction of the river. Eugene hoped that they would get there in time and hoped that Altair was still alive.

At the river, the fight between the captain and Altair was still going on, but not so well for Altair. He had tried to attack the captain but his adversary's reaction had been quicker than he anticipated and he had pushed him to the ground, grabbed him and forced him up against a tree, pushing him hard against the bark with one hand on his head and the other holding Altair's hands tightly.

"You seem to forget, Altair!" he hissed at him. "I've been trained to fight like you assassins, thanks to Robert!"

Altair grunted and tried to struggle out of his grip but it was useless. "W-what do you mean?" he said.

"I mean, Robert knew how to fight you just like I do," the captain explained. "He had taught by a member of your Creed about your weaknesses and how you fight and he had just passed that onto me," he gave a slight laugh. "And It's been useful, I will admit. I thought it would be a waste of time and talent,"

Altair growled and tried shaking him off but the captain kicked him in the side, making Altair grit his teeth as the pain flared through him. He even came close to falling onto his knees, but he managed to hold himself up. He had been hurt just as bad, but they had been few and far between and, quite frankly, this one did hurt a lot more than he thought it would.

"You may as well give up, Altair," he said to him. "Give up and I'll make your death quick!"

Altair growled. "Go to Hell!" he replied.

The captain chuckled. "Very well then, if that's your choice,"

"ALTAIR!"

The captain and Altair looked over towards the trees and saw a grey horse charging towards them, a man with a small blade in his hand riding the animal. The captain yelled out and jumped out of the way, doing an amazing role and quickly getting to his feet, his weapon at the ready. Altair grabbed his sword, which had been thrown onto the ground when the captain pushed him up against the tree, and stood next to the horse, who, along with Eugene, stood at the ready.

"Three against one, captain," Altair said to him. "Now you may as well give up,"

The captain stifled a laugh. "It'll have to take more than that to make me give up, assassin," he replied, his voice not quivering the slightest.

All of a sudden, Maximus charged towards him, surprising both Eugene and Altair. The captain quickly jumped out of the way but, as soon as Maximus' front had passed him, grabbed Eugene and pulled him off the horse, making him yell out as he landed on the ground with a thud. Maximus gave a surprised neigh at what happened and looked over his shoulder. Big mistake.

WHAM! He ran headfirst into a tree and fell onto his side onto the ground and did not rise again, having knocked himself out cold.

"Max!" Eugene exclaimed in worry, but it was quickly replaced with anger as he glared up at the captain. "Why you…" he hissed and lunged at the captain, taking him by surprise and pinning him to the ground, making him drop his sword, and slamming his head into the grass.

"Eugene, keep him down!" Altair called as he rushed over towards them, drawing out his hidden blade.

However, the captain reacted too quickly for them. He punched Eugene in the side of the head and threw him off him and quickly got to his feet. Just as he did, Altair lunged at him with his hand with the hidden blade thrust out in front of him. The captain grabbed his arms and yanked him forward, lowering his helmeted head, which slammed into Altair's forehead with such force that he was thankful he was not knocked out, though he did yell out and stagger backwards, his mind trying to process the shock of the blow.

With two out of the way, the captain looked back down at Eugene, fury filling him. Enough was enough! If the Crusaders could not kill him, then hewould! He picked up the small blade, walked over to Eugene and launched another punch into his stomach, winding him and making him cry out. He then grabbed him by the chest of his clothes and pulled him to his feet, staring dangerously into his eyes that were filled with pain and exhaustion.

"Now It's your turn to die, Rider!" he whispered to him in a dangerous voice. He raised the blade above Eugene, who saw it and was re-filled with panic. He had to do something! He glanced over at Altair, but saw he was only just being able to stand. He glanced over at Maximus, only to see he was still on the ground. Or at least that was what the captain knew.

"MAX!" Eugene yelled. The captain looked over at the horse, expecting to see him charging over to them, but was shocked, at first, to see that he was not, then furious to see that he had been tricked.

"Why you-AAAHHHH!" he was suddenly winded and felt a sharp pain rise through him from the stomach and he dropped Eugene onto the ground, crying out in pain as he wrapped his arms around his stomach. Eugene breathed a mental sigh of relief. He had punched the captain in the stomach, winding him and causing him to drop him, but not defeating him yet. He took the initiative and drove one of his legs into the captain's, sending him crashing to the ground on his back.

"Altair, now!" Eugene shouted to his friend, who had just regained control of himself.

Seeing the opportunity, Altair rushed forward towards the captain, jumped onto him to pin him to the ground and raised his arm with the hidden blade whilst holding down the captain's head with his other hand. Eugene looked away with closed eyes as he heard the captain gasp sharply for a split second before being reduced to minimal breaths. He looked back and saw a small stain of blood on the hidden blade's steel.

It was done. They had defeated him.

Altair moved off the captain's body and knelt down beside him, looking up at Eugene. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Eugene nodded. "Yeah, thanks," he replied.

A snort from near the tree drew their attention and the two looked to see Maximus on his feet. He shook his head and began to trot back over to them.

"Glad he's okay," Eugene muttered to himself.

Shallow breaths drew his and Altair's attention to the captain. Where Altair had struck him was just below the neck collar of his uniform, where a small trail of blood was beginning to seep out of. Even though it was not in sight of anyone looking at it now, it did not take a fool to realise that Altair had struck him in a vital place and now his life was slowly slipping away.

Gently, Altair placed a hand on the back of the captain's head and lifted it up from the ground.

"It's done," Altair said to him calmly as if trying to ease his passing. "Your schemes are at an end,"

The captain coughed and looked up into his eagle eyes with his slowly dying ones. "I…I…C-can't…b-believe it!" he croaked. "Beaten…beaten by an assassin!" he took a deep breath. "Y-you've made a big mistake, boy!"

"I have made no mistake!" Altair told him in a calm, but firm voice. "You and your Templar allies hoped to take the treasure from Solomon's Temple for yourselves so you could control the Holy Lands and bring about war and destruction,"

The captain nodded a little. "T-that is true!" he gasped, stopping with another cough.

"But now I can put an end to it," Altair continued. "But before I do the same for you, you have something I need to know,"

"A-and w-w-what is…that?" the captain asked, his voice croaking even more.

"Robert de Sable, your old master, said that ten Templars found the treasure in Solomon's Temple and that you knew who this last one was. Who is he?"

The captain chuckled, only to stop because of the pain from the wound and the weakness of his body to even breathe.

"You…already…know him, boy!" he said. "I di-id not think…I would n-need t-t-to t-t-ell you!"

"Who is he?" Altair's voice began to grow more demanding now and he began to clutch down on the captain's hair from under his helmet.

"It i-is y-y-your…l-leader, Al…Mualim!"

Upon hearing those words, Altair felt his heart stop. What! This tenth Templar was Al Mualim, his master and head of the Assassin's Creed? No! No, he was lying! This was some sort of trickery!

"You're lying!" Altair hissed. "Tell me what his real name is,"

The captain chuckled again despite the pain and that his body was growing weaker with every passing second.

"Oh…a-am I?" he asked sarcastically. "Think…of it, boy! Y-your master! E-explain h-h-ow he knew…knew so much! How he…knew where all…of…us were! How he knew…where…I…was!"

From what the captain was telling him, Altair did begin to think of something that had been bugging hi, for the last few weeks. He had been suspicious about how Al Mualim knew so much about the Templars and where they were and what their roles were, but that he just believed was the result of hunches. B-but now, thinking of all those missions and this one…the captain was beginning to sound correct. That…that shocked Altair to the core of his body. No! No, this could not be true!

But it was. With everything managing to fit into place, the missions, how his master knew everything etc. All of it was going into place and now he realised something he had been told by his master years ago.

"A man who is serving a just cause in the eyes of some is serving an unjust cause in the eyes of others," Those words his master told him years ago were ringing in his mind now.

"No!" Altair whispered in disbelief.

"Yes!" the captain said weakly. "T-think of it, A-Altair! I said that…Robert…had been taught…h-h-how to fight you assa…assassins by a m-member of your Creed and now I-I have told you that…A-Al Mua…lim is the t-tenth Tempar!"

"But how? If he is a Templar, then why did he kill all of his allies?" Altair asked.

"Because…because he did not…w-want to share, Altair! W-what he holds…is something far g-greater than you…could hope to…i-imagine!" he took a deep breath. "And that is why…R-Robert had to keep you safe!"

"Keep me safe?"

The captain nodded lightly. "Yes! The only rea-reason he spared y-you at the Temple w-w-was because he knew y-you could get close to…Al Mualim and p-possibly kill him! I took on t-that responsib-i-lity when he died, but now…" his breaths began to grow weaker. "Now that you've taken…my life…it will be the…end for…for...all of us!"

He head cocked backward, his eyes closed and he moved no more. He was dead.

Altair and Eugene looked back up at each other with wide-eyes. Both had heard everything and they were completely shocked, though Altair more. All this time he had been serving a man who had gone against his own allies and used him to kill them when he should have been seeking their help! He shook his head a little as he looked down at the captain's body. He could not believe it. He had made a huge mistake, but…but it was too late to reverse it now.

"We have to tell the others this," Eugene said to him.

Altair nodded slightly, then froze for a moment and looked up at Eugene, though this time his eyes were as wide as dinner plates and filled with absolute fear and his mouth was hanging open slightly as if realising something but was too shocked to say it.

"What is it?" Eugene asked him.

"My master Al Mualim is at Corona," he replied.

Eugene went wide-eyed as well. "You mean?" he asked and Altair nodded.

Moments later, the two were riding Maximus back towards Corona as fast as he could go, now on a race against time to save the kingdom before it was too late.

Though time may not be on their side.