Desmond Sycamore had woken up with the feeling that something was terribly wrong, and it wasn't long before that feeling was confirmed. His eyes, still bleary from sleep, had trouble focusing on the paper that lay atop his desk, but the corner of his brain that was functioning already knew that what was written wasn't the issue. The problem was the fact that the Azran tablet he had left in that exact spot was nowhere to be seen. He rubbed his tired eyes and read the address scrawled on the white page, along with a cryptic "We'll be waiting." He suppressed a groan—his wife and daughter were still in bed—and scribbled a quick note of his own before darting out the door to go to the address he was given, which he could only assume was Targent's headquarters.

=^w^=

"Our leader will see you now."

The words were barely out of the uniformed man's mouth before the archaeologist was pushing open the heavy door at the top of the tower… And he stopped abruptly, eyes widening in shock. He hadn't seen that man in many years, and he had admittedly aged quite a bit since then, but he would recognize him anywhere.

"Hello, Hershel. Long time, no see."

He had thought his parents were probably both dead by now. Instead, Leon Bronev was leading the very organization that ripped their family apart. While Desmond was lost for words, Bronev offered him a choice. "Now, let's make this quick. Join Targent, or else…"

"Or else what? You'll kill me?" Desmond didn't believe for an instant that his father would have him killed. He couldn't be that far gone. Could he?

"No, you're too valuable to kill. However, they… are not." And Desmond's wife and daughter appeared on the screen.

"What- what do you intend to do to them?" Desmond's breath caught in his throat. Surely he wouldn't….?

"Nothing… As long as you join us." Bronev was confident he wouldn't have to hurt them. The threat would be all that was needed.

"You're bluffing." Desmond regained his composure. They wouldn't dare hurt his family, not if they wanted his help. At least, he hoped so. He would never help anyone who so harmed so much a hair on either of their heads.

"Am I?" Bronev was not happy that his bluff had been called. If his son knew he was bluffing, then he would have to carry out his threat to prove he wasn't. He couldn't have people finding out that he did in fact have reservations about killing.

"They're your family, too." Surely he wouldn't harm his granddaughter, at least, not a precious child like her?

"If you're certain…then you may leave." An unspoken "but do you want to risk it?" hang in the air. "Or you could join us. We both want the same thing."

"Like hell I'd join you!" Desmond turned to storm out.

"Hershel." Bronev couldn't let his son walk away, not now. Not when he was so close. Desmond froze at that softly-spoken word, and Bronev took that as an invitation to continue. "We could be a family again, Hershel. You, me, and Theodore. Your wife and daughter, too."

"That isn't my name anymore," Desmond hissed. His resolve was weakening… He had wished for so long that their family could be back together, and now he had a chance…! But he couldn't take it, he couldn't. Not if it meant joining the group that tore his family apart in the first place. He had to get out of there before he changed his mind. The door slammed shut behind him, sharply punctuating his angry departure. He wouldn't realize until later that he had entirely forgotten the Azran tablet that had been his entire purpose for being there at all.

Bronev watched him go, genuinely upset, although he didn't show it. He gave only two words to his second-in-command:

"Kill them."

After all, no one could be allowed to simply walk away from Targent without consequences.

A/N: This was not originally intended to be a fanfiction. Several weeks ago, I saw a Tumblr post where someone wondered how it went when Desmond was asked to join Targent, so I reblogged it with my little theory, and then I looked back at it and thought, "Huh, that's practically a fanfic." So I modified it a little and this is the end result! Thanks for reading! (Incidentally, if anyone's on Tumblr, I'm superwholock-demon and I mainly post SPN stuff but also some stuff from PL and other fandoms.)

Also, a special thanks to guest reviewer wander, who gave me really thoughtful, sweet reviews on not one, not two, but five of my fics! Those really made my day, and I really appreciate the feedback! My only problem is that you're a guest reviewer so I can't properly thank you for each one or even guarantee that you see this…

Hey, so who's excited for Lady Layton? :D I swear, if we get to see Desmond being Katrielle's slightly-overprotective but well-meaning uncle I will cry actual tears of joy. And Desmond being concerned about Hershel's disappearance and helping Katrielle try to find out what happened to him. I… Want quite a lot from this game, actually. I'm probably going to end up being disappointed. :"D But of course I won't find out until next year.

Seeing as it's almost 3 AM now… Goodnight, and ciao for now!