February 1246, Alamut Castle, Persia(modern day Iran)

 Uqab woke up in his bed. His head still hurts from the impact. After a while of sitting on his bed, Uqab got up and left his bedroom. Outside, his friend, Altair ibn Mahmood, 'celebrated' him. Uqab stared at him confused.

 "What's the event, dustam(my friend)?" Altair shook his hand, smiling,"You finally woke up after two days!" The number of days felt short when you were sleeping. For Uqab, it felt only like a short nap.

 Altair ran down the stairs, signalling Uqab to follow. Even though it's hard for him to move, Uqab still followed his friend. Their mentor, Imam 'Ala ad-Din Muhammad was waiting downstairs. His face looked mad, like he did not even care about Uqab's injury. When Uqab wanted to shake his hand, he pushed him away.

"Are you done wasting my time? I expect you to be back on the field today!" Imam Muhammad walked out furiously, slamming the door. Uqab looked at Altair, and Altair shrugged. But instructions are still instructions. Uqab grabbed his sword and daggers beside the door before leaving his dorm.

 He ran to the gathering area to hear some briefing. But his path was blocked by a little girl. Luckily Uqab managed to stop right before he bumped into the girl. Uqab talked to her half panting, "Azareen! Watch where you're going next time!"

 Azareen, who was eating, started to cry. She dropped her food on the ground. Uqab panicked, not knowing what to do. He pats her back and did many other stuff to stop her from crying. Finally she stopped crying, because she saw her mother coming. "I'm so sorry. Thank you for not leaving her alone, Uqab." He nods as a 'you're welcome' before started running again.

 When he arrived at the gathering area, the briefing was over. Everyone looked at Uqab. Imam Muhammad approached him with his stick in his hand, and beat him up. The area was filled with laughter and murmuring. Imam Muhammad looked to the crowd, and they shut. But he continued to beat Uqab. The ground was soaked with blood.

 Uqab rose while wiping off the blood on his face. His eyes were locked on Imam Muhammad. The other guys who saw that started to cheer for him. Imam Muhammad turned around, his eyes met with Uqab's. "No one can intimidate Imam 'Ala ad-Din Muhammad. Especially a 16 year old boy like you." Uqab stepped closer, "I'll make sure your death will be so painful, you'll forget you name."

 Some brave assassin cheered again, silently. Instead of giving Uqab more beating, Imam Muhammad just walked away. Uqab walked to his horse and climbed it. The convoy leader shouted before leading the attack. Location; the same area like last time.

 Again, Uqab's horse galloped faster than the others'. There was only one target, the only crusader that got away before this. His partners was caught and slaughtered by the Assassins. But this one, needed to be left alive.

 After few hours of looking for the crusader, they finally found him at an oasis. The crusader was shocked, leaving all his weapons behind. The assassins pursued him with a formation. With Uqab was at the most front. Lucky for them, the crusader's horse was worn out. It started to slow down.

 Uqab speeds up even more, closing in to the crusader. Before making his move, Uqab gazed at the other older assassins. He took a deep breath while speeding up. Once he was close enough, he took out his sword and jumped onto the crusader's horse. Without hesitation he stabbed the crusader at the back.

 The guy fell from the horse. Uqab pulled the reins of the horse and jumped off. The crusader crawled with one hand pressing the wound. "Please don't send me to the khagan..." The guy begged for mercy. He knew that captured crusaders will be given to Genghis Khan as a tribute. And everyone knew how evil Genghis Khan is.

 Uqab crouched down without breaking eye contact. "I'm sorry sir, just doing my job." His eyes did not agree with his mouth. He actually looked happy because he caught the crusader. But his happiness was not long. The other assassins were terrified. One guy ran to the crusader with medicines. "What have you done?" Uqab just smiled,"He survived."

 But the smile on his face disappeared after seeing Imam Muhammad on a horse. He did not know that the Imam would come together with them. Imam Muhammad got off his horse, holding the same stick again. He grabbed Uqab's hand and swing the stick at him.

Uqab: Go on. Show these people your madness.

Imam: You don't know my true self yet, kid.

Uqab: Oh? I think I've seen enough.

Imam: Let me show you some more.

 He stabbed Uqab with his hidden blade in the stomach. Blood spurted out instantly. Uqab tried to stop the bleeding but it kept on coming out. Imam Muhammad then kicked his knee, he dropped. Next, the Imam threw his dagger at Uqab's chest. He gave an ending kick to the head.

 Once more, Uqab fainted in a mission. "Lock him in the cell." An assassin dragged Uqab's body through the blood and placed it on his horse. Imam Muhammad tied the crusader to his horse himself. The convoy then left for Alamut castle.

 There, Uqab and the crusader was put into cells next to each other. The day turned into night. The sun surrendered its reign, and the moon took over.

 Uqab woke up, this time inside a cell. He looked around, he can only see the crusader. "I'm sorry for what I've did." The guy, looking insane by now, was looking around the cell. He ignored Uqab to continue looking around the room. Uqab sighed and wiped his face. But after a while, the man finally talks.

 "Palayesh." Surprised, Uqab crawled nearer to the guy. "Sorry?" The guy looked at Uqab and repeated,"The guards, they said something about 'palayesh'." Uqab smacked the ground, hard. He wiped his face with both hands now. 

 The guy talked again,"You know what that means?" Uqab looked at the man one last time, and said,"Yeah, it means purge."

---

 Everything is back as it was before. Elena's first experience of using the Animus went okay. "You're strong. Most people usually faint after their first session." Dr. Kim removes all the locks and wires. She steps down from the machine, and sits on the table. Dr.Kim's assistant hands her a burger. She snatches it right away.

Dr. Kim: This machine must have drained all those energy from you.

Elena: I was just a bit hungry.

Dr. Kim: Sure. Whatever you wants

 He then hands her a drink, she snatches it again. Elena finishes the whole cup in one sip. "Why did you remove the locks?" "I know that you're too tired to fight. Besides, this building is filled with highly-trained guards." He gives Elena a key before leaving the lab. Elena take a look at the key chain connected to the key. Room 17 is the only thing written on it.

 "An address would actually be useful." But Elena just go with the flow. She rouse out from all the dizziness and sleepiness. She stands up, leaving the lab too.

 Every feature of the building is modern. From the low-energy lamps, hidden cameras to the marble and glass, heat detecting floor. Safety issues are taken heavily, especially blocking any assassin to enter or maybe, leave. Elena then notices a button labelled 'Press for Help'. She presses the button lightly. A holographic figure comes out from the button.

 "Greeting Miss Dorian. I cannot reveal any secrets to you, but I can tell you about the building. Do you wish to continue?" Elena takes a look around before saying, "Where is Dr. Kim Hong's room?" The machine takes a while to respond.

 "I'm sorry, I can't tell you that. But I can tell you about the floors. Do you wish to continue?" Elena murmured sure. "There are more than 40 levels in this building. The real amount is classified. You can access 17 different levels, including the sky garden and research lab. Your room is right around the corner. Walk on and turn left there."

 The figure points at the junction. Elena walks there, the hologram turns off by itself. She turns left and looks at all the signboards. Finally she reaches the sign Room 17. She unlocks the door with her key. Slowly, she pushes the door.

 The design is absolutely stunning. It is a mixture of modern and classic. Paintings of Templar are everywhere. But as she pushes the door fully, she can see a man inside. She mouthed, "No, no way!" The man stands up, holding the same stick that belong to Imam Muhammad. "Yes, way."