Hey guys! Back with Chapter 6! I hope this one goes well. Still in third person from Altaïr's view by the way. So I hope you're happy! This chapter is kinda long, but good. So… Not much else to say except that I hope you enjoy it and please review! Thanks!

-Aena Firestar

Chapter 6

Of the Short Battle and Being Born Again

Altaïr raced back to Masyaf with all haste. He didn't want to bring the news, but he had to. He rode up to the stable quickly and a stable boy took the horse. Altaïr jumped off the horse and ran with all haste up to the fortress. He met Rauf, another assassin, on the way there. He told Altaïr where to find the master. He ran up the paths and to the fortress, but ran into another.

"Ah. He returns at last." Said the other assassin, blocking Altaïr's way.

"Abbas." Altaïr regarded him coldly.

"Where are the others? Did you ride ahead hoping to be the first one back? I know you are loath to share the glory." Altaïr gave him a deadly glare. "Silence is just another form of assent." Abbas said coolly.

"Have you nothing better to do?" said Altaïr.

"Well, I was originally looking for Alera. But it seems she has disappeared. It's too bad. I hope she shows up by tonight. I feel inclined to give her a special lesson. It seems as though she needs it. She seems like she's had things on her mind and has been distracted." He said. A wicked grin came up on his face. Altaïr slowly retracted his hidden blade.

"You might want to change the subject." He said roughly.

"I bring word from the master. He awaits you in the library. Best hurry… No doubt you're eager to put your tongue to his boot."

"Another word and I'll put my blade to your throat."

"There'll be plenty of time for that later 'brother'." Abbas stepped out of the way and Altaïr strode by him. He went into the tower and up the stairs to the library where his master was. Al Mualim was standing there, looking out of the window. He heard Altaïr come up and turned around. Al Mualim's face had more lines in it and his beard was longer and whiter. He had a scar running down his face, crossing over his left eye. He was blind in that eye and it was glazed over and had turned a light blue.

"Altaïr." He said.

"Master." Altaïr bowed.

"Come forward. Tell me of your mission. I trust you have recovered the Templar's treasure?" he said. He was ready for the success.

"There was some trouble, master. Robert de Sable was not alone." Said Altaïr quietly.

"When does our work ever go as expected? It's our ability to adapt that makes us who we are." Said Al Mualim wisely.

"This time it was not enough." Said Altaïr, his voice dropping low.

"What do you mean?"

"I have failed you."

"The treasure?"

"Lost to us."

"And Robert?"

"Escaped." Said Altaïr regretfully. He knew he was about to be chewed out. He braced himself for it. Silence for a minute, then it began.

"I send you, my best man, to complete a mission more important than any that has come before, and you return to me with nothing but apologies and excuses?" said Al Mualim. His voice raised in anger.

"I did…"

"Do not speak! Not another word! This is not what I expected." Al Mualim started to pace. "We need to mount another force. I knew I should have sent Alera in your place. She is far more wise and less arrogant!"

"I swear to you, I'll find him! I'll go!"

"No! You'll do nothing! You've done enough! I will send Alera this time. Where are Malik and Kadar?" Altaïr looked down.

"Dead." He said.

"No! Not dead!" came a voice. Malik limped over to them. His left arm was covered in blood. He was half alive.

"Malik!" said Al Mualim in total disbelief.

"I still live at least!" he breathed out. He was yelling and enraged.

"And your brother?"

"Gone. Because of you!" he yelled. He looked at Altaïr.

"Robert through me from the roof! There was no way back, nothing I could do." Protested Altaïr.

"Because you would not heed my warning or Alera's! All of this could have been avoided! And my brother… My brother would still be alive. Your arrogance nearly cost us victory today!" yelled Malik.

"Nearly?" repeated Al Mualim.

"I brought what your favorite failed to find. Here! Take it." Said Malik. Another assassin brought in the treasure carefully. It was some type of round golden object. "Though, it seems I have returned with more than just treasure." Just then, another assassin ran up.

"Master! We are under attack! Robert de Sable lays siege to Masyaf's village!"

"So he seeks a battle? Very well. I'll not deny him! Go. Inform the others. The fortress must be prepared. As for you, Altaïr, our discussion will have to wait. You must make for the village. Destroy these invaders. Drive them from our home!"

"It will be done." Altaïr said coolly.

The battle was over. Robert's men lay dead underneath huge logs that had been let loose to roll off the watchtower. Altaïr had done this, now they were all back at the fortress. Altaïr stood before Al Mualim. They were outside and they stood before the entrance into the fortress. All the assassins were gathered there after the battle.

"You did well to drive Robert form here. His force is broken. It should be a long while before he troubles us again." Al Mualim started to pace again. "Tell me, do you know why it is you are successful? You listened! Were it that you had listened in Solomon's Temple, Altaïr, All of this would have been avoided."

"I did as I was asked." said Altaïr.

"No, you did as you pleased! The others told me of the arrogance you displayed, your disregard for our ways!" he said loudly. Two assassins grabbed and held Altaïr.

"What are you doing?" he yelled.

"There are rules. We are nothing if we do not abide by the Assassiun's Creed. Three simple tenets, which you seem to forget." He looked at Altaïr and grabbed his chin, forcing him to look at him, and then let go. "First and foremost: Stay your blade-"

"From the flesh of an innocent. I know." Altaïr said, cutting Al Mualim off. The master slapped him across the face.

"And stay your tongue! Unless I give you leave to use it. If you are so familiar with this tenet, then why did you kill the old man inside the Temple? He was innocent! He did not need to die. Your insolence knows no bounds. Be mindful of your heart, child, or I swear I will tear it from you with my own hands. The second tenet is that which gives us strength: Hide in plain sight. Let the people mask you such that you become one with the crowd. Do you remember? Because as I hear it, you chose to expose yourself, drawing attention before you struck!" Altaïr had nothing to say.

"The third and final tenant…" Continued Al Mualim. "The worst of all your betrayals, never compromise the Brotherhood. It's meaning should be obvious. Your actions must never bring harm upon us, direct or indirect! Yet your selfish act beneath Jerusalem placed us all in danger! Worse still, you brought the enemy to our home! Every man we lost today was lost because of you!" Altaïr could do nothing but listen. Al Mualim withdrew a dagger from his belt. "I am sorry… I truly am. But I cannot abide a traitor." He said sadly.

"I am not a traitor!" yelled Altaïr. He struggled with the men holding him, but it was no use.

"Your actions indicate otherwise. And so you leave me no choice. Peace be upon you, Altaïr." Al Mualim slowly walked up to Altaïr, and then stabbed him in the stomach. The other assassin's let him go as he sunk down to his knees. He felt the ice grip of death on him… Then, blackness.

The blackness began to fade away. Altaïr woke up. He saw the sun shining through the window. He was in the library. He looked around and saw Al Mualim standing behind his desk. "I am… Alive. But I saw you stab me, felt death's embrace!" Altaïr said in total shock and disbelief.

"You saw what I wanted you to see, and then you slept the sleep of the dead, of the womb, that you might awake and be reborn."

"To what end?" Altaïr said curiously.

"Do you remember, Altaïr, what the assassins fight for?" asked Al Mualim.

"Peace, in all things." He said.

"Yes! In all things. It is not enough to end the violence one man commits upon another. It refers to peace within as well. We cannot have one without the other."

"So it is said."

"So it is! But you, my son, have not found inner peace. It manifests in ugly ways. You are arrogant and over-confident."

"I get that a lot from everyone, especially Alera. Were you not the one to say 'Nothing is true and everything is permitted'?"

"You do not understand the true meaning of the phrase, my child. It does not grant you the freedom to do as you wish; it is a knowledge meant to guide your senses. It expects a wisdom you clearly lack."

"Then what is to become of me?" Altaïr said quietly.

"I should kill you for the pain you came upon us. Malik thinks it only fair. Your life in exchange for his brother's, but this would be a waste of my time and your talents. You'll see that you've been stripped of your positions, your rank as well. You are a novice, a child once more, as you were on the day you first joined our order. I am offering you a chance at redemption. You'll earn your way back into the Brotherhood." Explained Al Mualim.

"I assume you have something planned?" said Altaïr.

"First, you must prove to me you remember how to be an Assassin."

"So you'd have me take a life?"

"No. Not yet, at least. For now you are to become a student once again."

"There is no need for this!" Altaïr argued.

"Others tracked your targets for you. No more. From today on you will track them yourself."

"If this is what you wish."

"It is."

"Then tell me what it is I must do."

"We have been betrayed. Someone was assisting Robert de Sable, one of our own. You must find him and bring him here for questioning."

"What can you tell me of the traitor?"

"Ah, but that's just it. I've given you all I will. The rest is up to you."

Altaïr did as he was asked. He used the physical and mental skills that he had to do his investigation. He eavesdropped, pick pocketed, and interrogated. He brought the trader back to Al Mualim. Altaïr held the man by his collar. He was down on his knees. "You stand accused of betraying our Brotherhood and opening the way for our enemies. How do you answer to these charges?" said Al Mualim.

"I deny nothing. I am proud of what I did! My only regret is that they failed." Said Masun, the traitor.

"I offer you a chance to repent, to renounce the evil in your heart." Said Al Mualim.

"It is not evil in my heart, but truth! I will not repent."

"Then you will die." Said Al Mualim. He drew a sword and stabbed him straight down in his neck, so that the blade was hidden somewhere in his body and the handle was sticking out of his neck. Al Mualim pulled the sword out. "You did well, Altaïr, and have earned the right to carry a blade once more." Altaïr gladly accepted the bloody sword. He sheathed it and looked back at Al Mualim.

"I've passed your test, then. What now?" said Altaïr.

"Oh my child, we've only just begun. I hold here a list. Nine names adorn it, nine men who need to die. They are plague-bringers, war-makers. Their power and influence corrupts the land and ensure the Crusades continue. You will find them. Kill them. In doing so, you sow the seeds of peace, both for the region and for yourself. In this way you might be redeemed."

"Nine lives in exchange for mine." Altaïr agreed.

"A most generous offer, I think. Have you any questions?" asked Al Mualim.

"Only where I need begin."

"Very well. Ride for Damascus. Seek out the black market merchant named Tamir. Let him be the first to fall." Al Mualim walked over to the birdcage and let loose a bird. "Be sure to visit the city's Assassin Bureau when you arrive. I'll dispatch a bird to inform the Rafiq of your arrival. Speak with him, you'll find he has much to offer." He let the bird go.

"If you think it best." Said Altaïr.

"I do. Besides, you cannot begin your mission without his consent. But, I'm afraid, you will have to do another task before you get to kill anyone." Said Al Mualim. This struck curiosity into Altaïr. "You must look for Alera." At the mention of her name and how his mission intertwined with her made him listen even more intently.

"What do you mean? Is she not here?" said Altaïr. He knew she was gone, but guessed that if he said anything, then he would be in more trouble for not telling. Plus, he wanted to know more of her secret mission, which was so important that she had to sneak away.

"No. One of our men in Damas' sent word to me. Asking if I had sent Alera on any specific quest and if so, why he did not receive a bird. I told him that I did not. It turns out, that Alera left in secret. No one knew she had left and no one knew where she was going, but I suspect why she left. She left to find and kill a man from her past. The same man who murdered her father. She is convinced that the man is from Damascus, because the robes and armor that he wore were those of the high guards in the city. I want you to find her. She will help you with your assassination of Tamir. Then you will both come back." Said Al Mualim.

"Very well, but I do not need her help, and I don't need his permission. It's a waste of time." Argued Altaïr.

"It's the price you've paid for the mistakes you've made. You'll answer not only to me, but all the Brotherhood as well now. As for Alera, it is not that I command her to help you, but that I give her permission. She will want to kill. She is just like you in the matter of bloodthirstiness. You and I both know she would want to kill anyways, with my consent or no. She breaks the rules like you as well, but keeps it within the boundaries of the Creed. You could learn something from her." He said.

Altaïr looked down, hiding a slight smirk. In any other woman, bloodthirstiness was just weird. But in Alera, she knew how to handle it. "She always looks good when she fights. As soon as she draws her blade, those eyes light up with a blue fire. She feeds off the bloodthirstiness and the thrill of sinking her blade into a man, knowing she holds his life in her hands. We are indeed, a lot alike, in one way." Altaïr thought. He also thought about the fight she would put up and that they would both get into when they meet. He flashed a sly smile under his hood, making sure the master did not see. He looked forward to it.

"I also know she will want to put up a good fight. She will kill with me, but it will be a lot more difficult for me to persuade her into coming back. She already holds me in distain." Said Altaïr.

"I will give you as many days as you need to persuade her. Just do not take too long. I still have a long list. You will both be doing killing. Tell her that she will get a chance to hunt for her father's murderer, but will also be carrying out this list of assassinations with you." Said Al Mualim. Altaïr said nothing, just stared and listened. "You will need her help in the end Altaïr. You might as well accept it now."

"Yes Master. But what if she needs more convincing than that?" he said. Al Mualim looked at Altaïr.

"Everyone has weaknesses. You are a man, Altaïr, and she is a beautiful young woman. If it comes down to that, I'm sure you will have no problem finding the weakness." Said Al Mualim. When Altaïr heard that, he found himself half hoping it would come to that. He snapped out of it and shook it off. "Now, take your equipment and go. Prove that both you and Alera are not yet lost to us."

Ahhh! Ok please review! I promise it will pick up and get more original after this chapter! Hope it was good for you guys!