Disclaimer: I don't own Assassin's Creed or any of it's characters.

Altair couldn't remember the last he had had a good rest. Where he had actually slept, uninterrupted by a sudden mission or nightmare. Where another brother hadn't woken him in the middle of the night for some reason or another. He had actually confused when he finally woke. The sun was peaking in between the drawn curtains it had been night when Ezio was left to complete the assassination.

Remembering the novice, Altair sat up. His muscles burned in protested, the stitches pulled with a small twinge of pain. He groaned and closed his eyes as his head swam for a moment. When he opened them, the young boy was standing at the side of the bed. Altair hid his shock at the sudden appearance behind a neutral mask.

"How did it go?" Altair finally spoke, clearing his throat.

Ezio handed him a glass, filled with wine, Altair rolled his eyes but drowned the drink.

"I slew Francesco easy enough but Jacopo de' Pazzi and several others were able to escape the city." Ezio removed his hood and sat down on the end of the bed. He had a bruise blossoming along his jaw and there were a few cuts along his arms but Altair couldn't see anything that would raise concern. Overall he could see the boy improve each time he went out.

"We will have to look for the others ourselves." Altair swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. He rotated his shoulders, feeling the stiffness leaving his body. His entire torso was wrapped tightly, making his movement limited. "If the Brotherhood was still here, we would have already caught them." He said.

The mention of the Brotherhood made Altair solemn. All his brothers who had returned to Masyaf except for him, the Italian assassins had scattered to the wind. Altair, as the new Grand Master, kept every few tabs on any of them. They were all experienced enough to handle themselves that he didn't need to coddle them.

"Once we know the names of the other Templars, I'll put the word out."

The elder assassin pulled on his robes, mindful of the bandages.

"The Brotherhood? I know you and my uncle both mentioned but I still don't understand, why did everyone leave when…." Ezio didn't finished his sentence but Altair knew what he was going to say.

"The third tenet of the our Creed; never compromise the Brotherhood. When your family… … it compromised the Brotherhood. The Templars knew we were here and we had to scatter to protect ourselves. The Templars have hunters they could send after us."

Ezio perked up in interest. Altair could practically feel it even if he wasn't looking at the boy.

"Hunters?" The novice could have at least tried to hide the excitement in his voice. Altair swore he was bipolar. One second he was paralyzed in fear, the next he was ready to jump head first into something.

"Yes." Altair turned to the novice and frowned in disappointment. "They aren't people to be taken lightly. They were once our brothers Ezio, trained until the rank of Assassin and then turned on us by the Templars."

That seemed to damper his elation and now he became serious.

"What?" He stood up to full address his mentor. "Who? Do we know, we should hunt them down first."

Altair didn't think the idea was all that bad, in fact he had already sent three Assassins after the rogue but each had died before completing their mission. If Giovanni had still lived, it would have been Altair in their place and it wasn't sure he would have been any more successful.

"Right now I only know of one rogue and he was trained among the best. Do not let him worry you just let. Without your family behind you, you don't raise much of a threat. If we are lucky, he will think you have died among you brothers and father."

Altair, however, was a threat to the rogue and he knew he had a large target painted on his back. Information from Paola had confirmed it. He was going to have to send Ezio on more solo missions while he contacted more Assassins, ones who would actually stand a chance against the rogue.

"Enough of this subject, it is below your rank." Ezio glowered at him and Altair didn't even try to hide the smirk and he walked towards the exit. Messing with those curly locks of his novice. "Go find Lorenzo, he might have the names or a guess as to who the other Templars are."

While Ezio left to see the old Auditore friend, Altair sought out Paola and thanked her for her hospitality.

"We protect our own Altair, think nothing of it." She waved away his thanks with an ever-present smile that would have melted a lesser man's heart. It didn't work on him, never did, not since he had met Maria. "You miss her?"

Altair nodded but didn't say anything else on the subject. No doubt Paola didn't know anymore on Maria's whereabouts than Altair did. But she might know of another's.

"Tell what you know of this rogue, is it who I suspect?"

Paola gave a discrete tilt of the head to him and pulled him further into the shadow, the female Assassin was nothing if not cautious.

"Si. Shay Cormac from the Colonial branch of the Brotherhood, when Edward made port in Forli, he confirmed it." The mention of the pirate-assassin, so far from the West Indies raised more questions. He had learned from Mario that he taken on his grandson's training as well.

"Edward, here in Italy? Now that's a sight I just have to see for myself." Altair joked and Paola cracked a real smile.

"Yes, it is strange, but he is being cautious, Altair. As you may know he took his grandson with him. After his own son was reportedly seen with the rogue."

It had been no secret among the Assassins that the Pirate-Assassin's son had turned to the Templars. It was a sore spot with Edward and no one who valued their life mentioned it.

"If he is trying to seek refuge here, he will have better luck out in the open sea or back in the West Indies."

Paola nodded and most likely already told Edward this, and the news of the lost of the Grand Master Giovanni.

"I suspect he is looking for strength in numbers. The Colonial branch had been all but wiped out by Shay."

Altair sighed, it seemed the Templars were getting further and further in their goal to wipe out the Assassins once and for all.

"The Colonial branch is gone, the Assassins of the West Indies have suffered a great lost in numbers, the Levantine Assassins are struggling with the lose of a leader and the Assassins here are scattered to the wind and dying."

Altair's shoulders fell under all the weight he felt. He had to stay in Italy long enough for Ezio to be an able Assassin on his own and still somehow make it back to Masyaf to help Malik establish a new leadership. The few letters he had received from his friend hadn't held much hope.

Paola placed a hand on his back, rubbing soothing circles that loosen some of his tense muscles.

"No one said being the leader was easy Altair, but you don't have to shoulder the burden alone."

The words hardly brought comfort to Altair but for the sake of his sanity, he would pretend to believe them.

A/N: I figured since I threw in the Kenways early on, I would bring in Shay. I haven't played much of rogue yet so it will be some time before he actually becomes apart of the story but I do plan on having him and the Kenways be part of the story.

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