Let it be remembered that curiosity killed the cat. Desmond Miles, of course, forgot this very important saying.

The New York City streets were crowded, noisy, cold yet somehow suffocating to the point where the numerous layers worn outside were just too much. All around him were the passive faces of people he didn't know and didn't care to be around. He passed food vendors, giant pigeons standing too close to the pedestrians, and alleyway after alleyway when he heard it.

Whimpering.

He glanced around, but no one else seemed to notice anything different from the average day. They all kept walking, but not Desmond. He took a few steps back and peeked around the corner into the dark, narrow passage, yet he couldn't see anything. He shifted, moving just a few inches into the alley. An uneasy feeling washed over him, yet he brushed it off. Nothing would happen to him in the middle of the day, right next to a busy street. Besides, he was trained to fight by his older brothers from a very young age, and not to be arrogant, but he could safely say he could beat anyone, the exception being his oldest brother Altair. That man was just good at everything, and he knew it.

Desmond shook his head. He was getting distracted.

Ahead of him, the whimpering ceased and was instead replaced by what sounded almost like a muffled scream. That was when Desmond's curiosity was replaced with panic, and he ran forward without thinking. He came to a sudden halt only a few feet in, frozen in fear. Just in front of him stood two men.

One was a few feet in the air, being held in place by a black… wire? No, it was pulsing, tightening its grip on the man's neck, and it wasn't hanging from any window or ledge. Instead, it was coming from the second man in the alley. He was staring at the other, scowling. In his arm was a large blade… But no. Desmond realized that much like the tendril, the blade was a part of him.

He didn't see what happened next, it all went too fast. All he knew was that in one moment, the number of people in the alley had dropped, and only one man stood in front of him.

Still unable to move, Desmond watched as the only other person in that too small space turned around, brought an arm up to wipe away a drop of blood that had landed on his cheek, and stopped. He took one look at Desmond and smirked, cold and icy blue eyes filled with amusement. Slowly, he made his way over, changing the blade into an arm, leaving no evidence that it had ever been there in the first place. When he got close enough, he leaned down and stared directly into wide and fearful orbs.

"What did you see?" The low, rough, voice broke the short silence. Desmond didn't answer, still in shock over what he had witnessed, and had instead chosen to look down at his feet. He stared long enough to notice that there was a small splatter of blood on the stranger's shoes before he heard a growl above him. A pale hand roughly took hold of his chin, forcing him to look at the other. "I will not repeat myself."

With a hushed and shaky voice, he answered the man back. "I-I didn't see anything."

He smirked once more at Desmond's distress, released his chin and pat him on the head before walking out towards the sidewalk. Desmond stood there, staring at a brick wall, letting the minutes pass him by. He finally snapped out of his stupor when his phone gave a short buzz, alerting him that he had to get home soon and feed his dog. He happily took the opportunity to forget the events he had witnessed, though he was still a little numb from the shock of it all. As he walked out of the alley and started again heading in the direction of his apartment, he failed to notice a shadowed figure following his every move.

When Desmond got home, he thought he would start crying tears of joy. That is until he dug his hand through his pocket in search of his keys, only to find them missing. Inside he heard his dog stir and run in the direction of the front door, scratching at it and giving short warning huffs before barking as loud as he could. He tried shushing him from the outside, not wanting to get in trouble with the landlady again, but the dog wouldn't listen. Just as he thought about breaking into his own apartment through the window, a hand tapped his shoulder.

He turned and gave a short, definitely manly, scream when he saw the hooded figure from the alley standing right behind him. At this, the dog inside the apartment was going crazy, barking louder than before and running back and forth through the living space. Desmond winced when he thought he heard a lamp crash to the floor.

The man gave a short snort before holding up his hand. "You dropped these," he simply stated. Three keys sat neatly in his palm, one in the shape of a sword, one a gun, and one a grenade. Desmond stared at the other, wondering if he had followed him there because he wanted to make sure he stayed silent. He hoped not, but the fact was the other now knew where he lived. He suddenly thought of moving away and changing his identity, because going to the police wouldn't help. He might have to give up his dog too just to keep him safe and out of harm's way. He scowled a little at the thought. But who would take a giant cane corso on such short notice-

"Fucking shut your dog up!"

He had been staring for so long, lost in his thoughts, that he had forgot his pet was barking up a storm and that the neighbors could hear it from the deepest parts of their own apartments. He quickly took the keys out of the other's hand and unlocked his door. His dog quieted and backed up, waiting for him to walk inside and hoping he brought food with him.

Instead of walking into the apartment, he turned around and timidly looked up at the man who still stood right beside him. He didn't know what to do… The other silently stared right back at him. The only thing Desmond could think of in such a stressful moment when his brain had finally given up for the day, was to invite the man inside. His lips twitched, but other than that, he said nothing. Instead, he patted Desmond on the head once more and walked away, down the stairs and away from the complex.

Desmond walked inside a moment later, gave a quiet greeting to his dog, and collapsed on the sofa. He'd feed him in a few minutes, but at that moment, he just needed to rest his mind and hopefully forget everything that day had happened.

Author's Note: Finally after two years I decided I didn't like what I did with this story and changed it. All previous chapters have been deleted, and future ones are being rewritten.

I was think of the keys looking like these: . /photos/2011/11/110711_stat_key_designer_keys_ and .a/6a00d8341c6d1d53ef0120a7c0b0aa970b-300wi The Sword for Altair's house, Gun for Ezio's, and Grenade for Desmond's. Unfortunately I couldn't find one for Connor, so let's just say he doesn't really want his brothers coming in and out of his house whenever they please.

Let me know what you guys think :)