A/N: Okay. This story was written in one go. I was being angry, and a sad story was asking to be written when I got bored playing Guitar Hero III. While I was writing, I had the song Mad World by Gary Jules playing on loop. (I listened to it so many times, it worked its way about halfway up my top 25 most played list on iTunes.) Although I think that the lyrics in the song don't connect very well to the story, that's my opinion, as lyrics can be interpreted in many different ways. The musical part of the song, and the general tone of it, however, caught my attention. I find the song sad, and I find my story sad. Maybe that's enough of a connection, though? Whatever it was, that song -and my previous mood- put me in the right frame of mind to write this. Another important note is Vidic. Now, the Vidic in my story is verrry cruel. I don't know if that's how his character will play out in canon, but I think he definietly has the potential. Anyways, enjoy!
Don't Be a Hero
"And it would appear that this is the end, Mr. Miles." Warren Vidic looked down upon Desmond Miles with a triumphant smile. "You fought hard- and well, I can assure you. I knew from the beginning, however, that we would be successful. We are simply too strong, too powerful, for your little Creed." His eyes swept over Lucy, who was staring at him with a fearful expression, her eyes wide with horror. His gaze travelled past Rebecca and Shaun, Shaun's face having hardened into a grim mask, and Rebecca's ever present sparkle of mischief having disappeared from her eyes. Vidic's gaze completed a full circle, and he finally brought his eyes back to Desmond's.
A gentle breeze blew through the city. It was warm on Desmond's face.
"Ms. Stillman," Warren addressed Lucy, and Desmond subtly stepped in front of her, shielding her with his body. Vidic smirked, noting the movement. "This is your last chance. Apart from these last month's… excursions; you have been a model employee. Abstergo would be pleased to have you back, and this little charade will be forgotten." Vidic said, indicating Desmond.
The city was tinted brown from the amounts of dirt and debris that had been kicked up lately, and the sewage and pollution that had been realised, due to the destruction of the factories.
"And Ms. Crane and Mr. Hastings!" Vidic exclaimed, not forgetting about Shaun and Rebecca, who were a few feet away from Desmond and Lucy, and even further away from Vidic. "Abstergo is always looking for new members of the family! Ms. Crane, your version of the Animus was astounding! You put all of our current scientists to shame! Mr. Hastings, you have a fabulous talent- aside from your researching skills, I mean. We know about your certain, ahem, talent, of course, and would love to put it use. What do you think? Join the winning team." And with that statement, Vidic swept his arm in a grandiose gesture, indicating the charred city behind him. One building, however, remained unharmed, and it was the one they were convened in front of. Abstergo's logo shone out from the dust and debris in the sky, casting an even darker shadow over the group below it.
"What are our choices here, Vidic? Join you now, or resist and be forced to join you later with the help of the Piece of Eden?" Shaun started forward with malicious intentions, only to be grabbed by Rebecca.
"Don't, Shaun." She pleaded, her dark eyes brimming with tears. "You're committing suicide by going near him."
"We're all going to die anyway, Rebecca. Christ, everyone else is already dead for fuck's sake! We have nothing left to lose!"
"It's not going to change anything, Shaun. Don't be a hero, because you won't."
"Yes!" Vidic cried out, interrupting their conversation. "Passion! That is what is going to get us somewhere! It would be such a pity to lose your talents to such a fate as death, would it not? We won't have to even talk of such things if you'd all just agree to band together."
"Warren!" Lucy cried, gathering her courage. The doctor turned to Lucy, somewhat surprised she had spoken. "I'll join you."
"Lucy!" Desmond hissed, shock rendering him incapable of any other sentiment.
"Are you fucking insane?" Shaun shouted from behind her.
"I'm sorry," Lucy whispered, gently pushing past Desmond and the protection he had tried to offer her since they had fled Abstergo together. Had it only been a few months ago? Immediately, he was examining everything Lucy had ever said. Had she always planned to go back to Vidic? Or was this a last ditch attempt to save her own life? He thought of all Lucy had done for him, for the betterment of their cause. And she was going to give it all up? After all everyone had done?
As she walked away from him, Desmond felt his arm extend, even though he had given no conscious command for it to do so. The farther she walked, however, the closer his arm came back to its original place by his side. She came to her spot where she was when this had all started. Standing beside Vidic while Desmond looked on in revulsion. When Desmond had not known of the Templars, or Abstergo, or Pieces of Eden, or even Altaïr and Ezio. How ironic. At the beginning, when Desmond had woken up in the Animus for the first time, he had thought that he was surly dead, that the two people in that room with him had nothing but murder on their minds. But, he had ended up in the unlikeliest of alliances with Lucy, finding solace and friendship in her. She had instilled in him a spark of hope, and every day that he talked to her, that spark was becoming a small fire, burning inside of him, telling him not to give up. After she had broken them out of Abstergo, that small fire had turned into a full-blown flame, igniting the fervour to end this war, once and for all.
And yet, today, Desmond had woken up surrounded by allies, whom he was sure would fight to the death with him. However, there had been one person in that room who was not willing to die for the cause they had all worked so hard for.
Desmond was staring the irony in the face, and couldn't see anything else.
Meanwhile, Lucy had taken her position by Vidic, tears falling onto the wooden platform they stood on. You could tell which path Lucy had taken, for her tears had left stains in the dirt.
Desmond's palms were pushing against his eyes, and he could feel nothing but the poison of Lucy's betrayal.
"Welcome back, Ms. Stillman." Desmond heard Vidic say with evident pleasure in his voice. "Ms. Stillman has made an excellent example of herself, Ms. Crane and Mr. Hastings. Are you positive of your decisions?"
Neither Shaun nor Rebecca replied. They were both staring at Lucy.
"Very well." Vidic mumbled, obviously disappointed. He held the piece of Eden in his palm, focused, and Shaun and Rebecca were suddenly dragged up to the platform, leaving Desmond the only one below.
With a sickening crack, Vidic slammed Shaun and Rebecca onto the platform. They were out cold. Shaun's arm hung at an odd angle, and blood was seeping from a laceration on Rebecca's scalp.
"Be careful, Warren!" Lucy warned him. "Don't kill them, or they will be of no use to us."
"Yes, yes." Vidic waved a hand, dismissing her. "They won't even remember it when we have them under our control."
Desmond was shaking, his fists balling up. He was going to die. The Templars didn't need him anymore. In his whole lifetime, Desmond had not contemplated religion. He was too busy trying to figure out this world, let alone figure out the one beyond this. Would he go to heaven? Would he merely decompose with only worms for company?
"Would you like to do the honours?" Vidic asked, pulling Desmond out of his reverie. Vidic was holding out the Apple towards Lucy. "We need to take care of Mr. Miles soon. I hadn't meant to drag it out so long."
Desmond saw Lucy look at him, and watched in horror as she nodded solemnly. She was reaching out towards it, about to touch it, and her face changed. She was looking at Vidic with a victorious expression, and even turned to share it with Desmond. Before she touched it, however, she was rendered immobile, just like Altaïr had been at the hands of Al Mualim.
"You conniving bitch!" Vidic snarled at her. "You ignorant child! The Apple does more than alter minds! It opens them! I saw your ridiculous plan the moment it formed in your head! You will not pull one over on me!" Suddenly, Lucy was flung into a concrete pillar. She cried out, and Desmond saw with horror that a bone in Lucy's arm was poking through the skin.
Through Vidic's angry cries, and Lucy's quiet moans of pain, Desmond saw Lucy's plan. She had tried to get the Apple from Vidic. She had risked an agonizing punishment-as Desmond knew that Vidic would not physically kill her- to try and save Desmond and the others.
A staggering wave of emotions crashed over Desmond, and he chocked on the majority of them. Only one thought was forefront in his mind, though. Save Lucy.
With an almost primal cry, Desmond launched himself at Vidic, ignoring Lucy's sudden shouts of protest. He was too slow. Or maybe the Apple was too fast.
Whatever the case, Desmond was soon entangled in the same web of immobility as Lucy.
"You fools!" Vidic shouted, almost deranged. "You cannot win! I have the Apple. Your fates are to be determined by me!"
"You bastard!" Desmond shouted, struggling to no avail. "Look what you did to Lucy!"
Vidic composed himself and chuckled darkly.
"You were not so eager to come to her rescue when you thought she had betrayed you."
"I didn't think she needed rescuing!" Desmond snarled. Lucy's forearm was now bright red.
"But it raises an interesting question, does it not, Mr. Miles? Had I done this to Ms. Stillman for my own amusement, would you have reacted as you just did? Keep in mind, of course, that she would still have been on my side."
Desmond wouldn't listen to him. "Fuck you, Vidic."
What Desmond did do, was look at Lucy, who was watching him.
"I'm so sorry," He said quietly, wanting to kill Vidic.
"For… what, Desmond?" Lucy asked breathily, not even being able to cradle her broken arm.
"For doubting you."
"It's okay. That means it was believable," She said, even managing a slight laugh.
Vidic, who didn't like being made a fool of, and disliked it even more when it was brought up again, slammed Lucy against the same pillar, making sure her broken arm was facing it. She screamed out, and a red stain was left on the concrete.
"Vidic!" Desmond yelled, struggling even more against the unbreakable restraints. "I'm going to kill you!"
Vidic smiled cruelly.
"No, Mr. Miles. The proper sentence is; I'm going to kill her." He turned to Lucy and said, "You heard your friend, Ms. Crane, I'm sure, Ms. Stillman. Don't be the hero." Catching a nearby plank of wood in the grips of the Apple, Vidic started making it hit Lucy across the face, speaking between each hit. "And." Hit. "We." Hit. "All." Hit. "Know." Hit. "You." Hit. "Aren't," Hit. "A hero."
Blood was flying everywhere, and Lucy's once blond hair was dyed red. The whole front of her shirt was drenched in blood, and yet somehow, Vidic had managed to stay completely pristine throughout the whole affair.
Desmond was completely beside himself, tears rolling down his face.
"Lucy!" He shouted through the tears, repeating her name over and over again. "Lucy! Answer me!"
Subconsciously, Desmond hadn't truly expected an answer after the brutal beating Vidic had bestowed upon her, which explained why he was so shocked when she did reply, however faintly.
Her bloodied and battered face was held up only by the power of the Apple, and she whispered only, "Desmond…" Before the force holding her against her will disappeared and she fell with a sickening thud onto the platform.
"Lucy!" Desmond screamed, the tears blurring his vision.
Vidic tsked, and clucked his tongue.
"It's too bad she was so disobedient," He muttered, kicking her unmoving body. "She really was a valuable member of our team."
"Let me down, you coward." Desmond spoke, enunciating each word precisely. "Fight me like a real man." A new darkness underlined Desmond's speech. As Lucy's lifeless body had crumpled to the ground, Desmond hadn't realized how scared he had been previously to that moment of losing his life. Now, he truly didn't care. He had lost it all, and the only thing he could gain was Vidic's fate in his hands.
"Nice try, Mr. Miles," Vidic said, smirking. "We found your sessions in the Animus 2.0. We know that your ancestor, Ezio, tried the exact same scheme with Rodrigo Borgia. In his case, it worked. Either you are dumber than Ezio, to think that trick will work again, or I am smarter than Rodrigo Borgia. Personally, I prefer a little bit of both."
Desmond grit his teeth. He was speaking in a completely monotone voice now. "Then kill me. Get it over with."
Vidic smiled.
"It would be my pleasure, Mr. Miles."
***
The city appeared desolate. Smoke was hanging heavily over the destroyed buildings, and under the cover of night, the sky was an ugly shade of brown. There were small fires throughout, although nobody was around to feel the heat scald their skin.
The only untouched thing that could be seen for miles was a tall, silver building on the outskirts of the city. An unnatural glow emanated from the logo at the top, as the building must have had its own generator.
At the base of the building, was a wooden platform that seemed hastily built. Two bodies lay side by side. The once-pretty woman had dried blood all over her face, and her blond hair was matted to her cool skin. A bone stuck out of her left forearm, and for the amount of blood that was on her hand, she could have been wearing a red glove if you were looking from afar. The body beside her was of a young man. He had no apparent injuries on his front, but turn him over, and it would be like looking into a shell. His back had a huge hole in it, and his body had been entirely cleaned out, his internal organs lying in a pile a little ways away.
The only sign of life in the whole city was that of a singly man in the last building standing. He was at the window on one of the top floors, surveying the city that would soon be rebuilt under his command.
He was ecstatic.
A/N: I had a hard time coming up with a finishing line for this story, and I hope what I did write was sufficient. I hope you enjoyed reading this, even though it's a tragedy! :)