After what happened with Minerva, nothing had been the same for Desmond Miles. The event was only a week ago and his life had been flipped upside-down again. He'd been tagged a traitor by Shaun and Rebecca, for they weren't able to see Minerva. All they knew was that Desmond had a bloodied knife and Lucy was now dead. Rebecca had been so broken after the event, but she couldn't weep for the loss of her friend, because she knew that there was something more important to do.
They still had to go find the Apple and keep it safe from the Templars, though they couldn't use Desmond anymore to help. He was just a piece of trash to them. It took no time at all for Shaun and Rebecca to pack as much as they could into the truck, leaving behind only a few simple things. An older, half-broken version of Baby, a dusty computer, a few lights and... A half-built machine that was tucked away in the back of the sanctuary near Altair's statue. Desmond had no idea what the machine was for, it having been built over time while he was in the Animus. At least, that's what he assumed.
The machine was made of silver metals, standing tall and cylindrical. It was nothing more than a skeleton, able to see right through the metallic frame. The real use behind it was almost that of an atomizer, of sorts. Rebecca was always one with a big mind to try new things, and with Shaun's help, they thought they had achieved the ability to transport things. So using Desmond's memories, they would go through one where Ezio was handling the Apple. Then, with the flip of a switch, they would pluck it right from his hands and have it in their own. Of course, they imagined that it would have actually come from its hiding spot in this time, as opposed to Ezio's literal hand.
But this machine hadn't been tested just yet. Rather, It wasn't even done. It had never been turned on, never spoken about to Desmond, it was just... There. That, and the blueprints that had accidentally been left behind in the move, Shaun's handwriting all over it. It seemed that he was the one that wrote out the plans and ideas, seeing as how he had the smoother handwriting. Rebecca would be the right person to go to if you wanted to forge a doctor's signature.
Desmond sat in the old Animus, unsure of how to do this. Rebecca and Shaun wouldn't have left him alive if they didn't have faith that he could keep himself away from Vidic and Abstergo. But they left him with just these few things. How did they think that he would manage? Brown orbs peered up from where he was sitting since he had been staring at the floor, looking around. His eyebrows furrowed, a strained expression on his face. He was lost in a world he'd only just been introduced to, abandoned for doing something against his will, and he felt powerless.
But... He wasn't truly alone. He could hear them every now and then talking on and on in a mix of English and Italian. Those apparitions that came from seemingly nowhere were always so noisy and so aggravating. It seemed that their favorite time to bother him was during times when he was trying to think critically, or relax and maybe even sleep. That was why he was a new-found insomniac. The wary male moved to stand and wandered over to the blueprints that he'd laid out on the desk where the computer sat, looking over it for the hundredth time. He didn't understand what most of it mean, most of it just techno-babble. What he'd understood was that if he opened a command terminal on the computer, simply typed Run Porter,and hit enter, the machine would start up.
The only problem was, was that he would have to be in the Animus when the program started. It would pull him in automatically if he wasn't already inside of the Animus program. Desmond, again, had no idea what the point of this machine was, but if Shaun and Rebecca were building it, then there had to be a reason as to why. It must have been useful in some shape, right...?
With that hope in mind, the novice Assassin shifted to reach for the computer that he was standing next to, reaching to run the command terminal that every computer owned. He typed in two words though didn't press Enter, turning to look around on the floor of the Sanctuary. He... Didn't have much time left to stay here without getting caught by Abstergo. And he needed something to help do something. This wasn't his world. Assassin's and Templars didn't exist until a few years ago, so now, he was utterly lost.
Soon, the male found a stone that was laying listlessly upon the ground, it having fallen from a piece of the statue that he stood before. It... Was that of Altair's. He sighed quietly, holding it in hand as he wandered over to the Animus and sat down. Desmond gave one last sweeping glance of the Sanctuary, unsure of what would happen to him. With his eyebrows furrowing once more, he moved to lay down, looking towards the computer intently for a moment. He had to get this shot right, or else he'd gave to get up and do it over.
He raised his right hand which held the stone, giving a quick flick of his wrist. It was like trying to peg a guard in the heart with a throwing knife when he was Ezio. He heard the computer beep with a noise, starting to make sounds as if it were reading the hard disk. Desmond felt the Animus beneath him starting to try and tug at him, relaxing against the machine and closing his eyes.
All he could see around him was nothing more than the white, never-ending lobby of the Animus, the male giving a sigh as nothing seemed to be happening. It was only now that he was worried. What if he was stuck in here for forever? What if the machine didn't work in the end? What if it messed up his head? He scowled a bit, frowning as he realized that he didn't try to think about this before bothering to let himself be pulled into this white hell.
It was off in the distance that something had begun to form. It was laying on the 'floor' of sorts, but he was unsure of what it was. Desmond starting walking towards whatever it was, seeing a blend of colors. White, red, brown.. It was hard to tell what he was looking at, which truly was bothering him. But just as Desmond felt that he was starting to get closer, he could hear the voice of the Animus speaking.
"Upload: 99% complete. Extraction process has begun."
It was then that the mess of colors began to fizzle out, Desmond seething a bit as he felt himself being pulled out of the Animus forcibly. Slowly he sat up, panting gently rubbing the side of his head. He didn't know why, but he felt as if he'd been hit by a truck all of a sudden. Just what the hell happened back there? His eyes sharpened though as he heard... A groan come from somewhere in the room, turning quickly to gaze around. When he went into the Animus, he was alone.
That was when his eyes landed upon the machine. That same clump of color from the Animus sat in there, moving ever-so-slowly. Slowly, ignoring his own throbbing head, he made his way out of the Animus seat and slowly started over, hesitant. He wasn't sure what had happened, or what he would see and that concerned him. Through the metal frame though, he finally saw just what, or rather, who was sitting there, rolling faintly against the metal frame of the machine.
That was the face of a pained Ezio Auditore De Firenze.