A/N: THIS IS IMPORTANT SO PLEASE READ:
This story was half written out before Brotherhood came out (I think even before I knew Brotherhood would have a single player campaign.) So that game really screwed up some of what I was going for.
That said, even before then this was considered AU(ish), meaning Alternate Universe, but only somewhat. There are a few things that make this story different from the game: It is set in 2014, but before Brotherhood and with the ending of AC2 somewhat skewed. Basically, it's like adding two years between those points in the games. Abstergo has not yet launched their satellite, and obviously the world has not ended. During this two year period Desmond, Lucy, Shaun, and Rebecca have continued on with missions and helping other Assassins to track down Templars, find out more about the artifacts and the Temples, etc. giving Desmond some more field experience as well. Abstergo has been doing much the same, but the Assassins and Templars went on a sort of hiatus with each other, with an approximately two year period of almost-peace while they each do their own thing.
The other major difference is that Those Who Came Before are not "dead." Rather, there are only a handful of them left and they are not what they used to be, at a much lower power and state. They basically separated themselves from the world after Adam and Eve did their thing and the wars and what not, and instead are watching from the outside while trying to conserve and build up their power again. They are still trying to keep history from repeating itself, (or so they claim) but now have lesser means to do so.
I think that's all the main differences. If you're confused, message me and I'll see if I can't explain it better. (not saying this isn't liable to change slightly as I smooth out the plot or get better ideas…)
.x.
Chapter One
If there was one thing Victoria learned in her month of residing in New York City, it would be that life was very, very strange, and people are even more so. She was used to residential or even rural areas when she was growing up, so the hustle and bustle and hobos were a change she slowly got used to. She became more aware of her surroundings – mostly to make sure her purse never got stolen and so she wouldn't get attacked.
But the passing people wearing odd make-up or outrageous outfits, or even the random group of college kids who would burst into a place with a boom box and dance around for five seconds, then leave – these were things she heard stories of and could have foreseen.
Victoria never would have guessed she would be abducted by aliens.
She had no clue where she was – she swore one second ago she was simply sleeping in her apartment – but now... The room was bright with indistinguishable blurs about that she assumed to be furniture. She was laying on a flat surface; not hard, but not soft, and it thrummed softly and had a warm feel to it like metal that had been out in the sun for a few minutes. A humming buzzed somewhere in her ears, or was she really hearing it?
She did hear something though: voices. Fuzzy at first, like coming up out from beneath water or out of the haze of a deep sleep. It must've been the latter, since she realized she couldn't move. She didn't feel anything holding her down, she just couldn't move anything except her neck, as if paralyzed.
Victoria had watched the Discovery Channel; she knew stories of alien abduction. She vaguely remembered the symptoms even. But she always figured the "abductees" were either insane or had too much booze before bed. Now, as figures started coming towards her with a shining orb, she knew she must be insane.
She looked down at her hands, trying to break free of whatever paralysis they put her in. No good: no matter how much she willed her arms to shake they just laid there, limp. Her eyes traveled back to the forms now on either side of her, and as much as she knew she should be panicking... hell, as much as she wanted to do something as normal as panic, she couldn't. She was completely content, as if she was simply sitting in her bed staring at the ceiling. The idea sent shivers down her spine.
The figures were talking to her, she realized, and the more she focused on them, the clearer they became. They were quite humanoid, actually basically human-looking except for outfits a cross between futuristic and ancient Greek, and an idealistic beauty about them. Plus the shine their skin seemed to have, but if they were really sparkle-pyres or just a glimmering reflection from the other light source, she wasn't sure. Either way, definitely nothing she saw in the movies.
"Can you hear me, Victoria?" The woman, or at least woman-looking one said in a silky voice. She had a pale, worn face and long red hair, and wore what looked like a metallic neck-brace and matching helmet. Victoria finally found the ability to nod. "Good," the woman nodded to the other figure, a man with a similar appearance but with dark, wavy locks. "We can start."
The man held up the shining gold orb, which grew brighter and brighter the closer it go to her face. The human part of her cowered and screamed, but she only felt the fear through a haze so simply watched in awe as he touched it to her forehead.
Her head spun. Eyes flickered. Mind twitched and reeled as images passed too quick to identify. It felt like her insides, physical and emotional, were being torn out from her and violently untangled. Finally it slowed in twitches; pausing, searching–a woman in Greecian garb– pausing, searching–a girl playing in the Nile–pausing, searching–a boy hunting–pausing, searching...
She laid in a soft bed, the fabric still unable to caress her as softly as his fingers. It was dark, but his gentle shimmer gave light to his strong face as he smiled at her. She knew this wasn't right – forbidden, most likely – but as he kissed her again her insides flared, ceasing all moral thought.
Eros, someone said sadly.
She leaned back as he held her face and kissed her neck, the heat of their bare bodies prompted them to rid themselves of the sheet covering them. She ran her fingers vigorously through his hair as he went lower, kissing her skin all the way.
Yes, she has It then. Bring her back.
She was drowning, her head spinning and breath lost. She clutched at the air only to find she couldn't. Her insides were about to burst.
She sucked in a deep breath, eyes shooting open. Her chest heaved violently up and down as her eyes shot to the figures hovering over her. "What the hell did you just do!" She finally shouted, her voice cracking and throat dry.
"Calm down," the woman said, and immediately she did, but she shook her head against the feeling.
"How are you doing that?" Victoria shouted, finding her fingers able to curl again. "What do you want with me?"
The figured leaned back as if she had just insulted their mothers, and they started speaking at jet-fighter speeds to each other. Something about stronger, and more power, and closer. The man shoved the orb into her face again and she felt dizzy. She shut her eyes and bit her lip, wondering if she bit it hard enough she could wake up.
"You are fine," the woman spoke again in an even tone. "We simply need information." At that, Victoria's forehead burned and she hissed as her head spun and stomach churned. More images flashed across her mind. Her life, memories, old houses, old schools. Then things she learned, things she knew. Books she read and knowledge she collected or even had thought she ignored. They all spun around in her head until they fell back into the depths of her mind again, leaving her with a pounding headache.
She took deep, slow breaths as her vision cleared up again, and she found the figures talking again, this time with more voices from somewhere else in the room. But she couldn't understand what they were saying, or even what language they were speaking or if it was just too fast for her to catch.
She curled her fingers again, then tried flexing her wrist and moving her toes. The two figures looked back at her and watched her for a moment. When they said nothing, Victoria moved her forearm up a few centimeters and they simply watched her curiously. "You can't keep me here you know," Victoria started with a cracked voice. "Humans have rights, the Earth is a fully recognized planet in the Galactic Federation, and this is kidnapping according to the Union Law 56. You'll be in big trouble when they find out about this." She spout out sci-fi mumbo jumbo in hopes it would dissuade them from further action. Unfortunately, they simply looked amused, if a little confused every time she moved. Oh, where was the Doctor when you needed him? (Right, off saving Rose probably.)
While the woman watched her, the man took out another gold device that looked like a small, short rod. He moved it towards her face and she yelped and tried to lean away. "Quit it, I don't need my head any more messed up–" she started when the woman yelled at him too.
"We do not have enough time to get more power; she'll have to be our last." He explained, not that it helped Victoria at all.
The woman's face hardened, lips pressed into a tight line, and she looked over where the other voices were. "And we still cannot contact them, Diana?"
"The signal will not work, their minds are too filled with the Pieces already. There's too much interference." A strong voice replied, sounding tense.
The woman looked back at Victoria with a clenched jaw. "Fine. She will have to carry it. Go on."
"Wait, carry what?" Victoria cried, moving away from the burning tip. "What are you going to do?"
"Hush child! Your personal understanding in not required." The woman hissed at her and Victoria winced, her head pounding and chest tight.
The man sighed. "She is too upset, you need to calm her."
"How about you let me go instead?"
The woman glared at her and Victoria yelped again and shut her mouth. The woman sighed. "We are simply going to store information in a closed off section of your memory, so others can access it once they find you."
"Information? Others? Find me?" Victoria cried, "I'm not liking the sounds of this."
"You will be fine, the message will not interfere with the rest of your mind."
"What about everything else you did to me? What was all that?"
She obviously wasn't fond of Victoria's questions but managed to answer in a soothing voice. "Nothing you need to worry about. As long as this message proceeds properly, you will be fine." Somehow Victoria did not completely believe her, but as she opened her mouth the woman added; "After this you will be returned to your home."
The pounding headache lessened, and she found breathing easier. "Okay," she mumbled, watching the man move the golden rod towards her again but the previous fear was veiled. "How will the message get through properly?"
"They will know when the time comes." Her voice became fuzzy and she found it hard to focus.
"They?" Victoria whispered, slowly blinking.
"Allies," the woman's voice swam in her head, and Victoria couldn't keep her eyes open even as she felt a burn to her temple and right palm. "They'll know you." As her eyes shut, flames flashed in her mind's eye before everything went black.
.x.
Victoria stumbled into the shower. She couldn't remember falling asleep, and hardly remembered waking up. All she knew was that she deathly wanted a shower. As the hot water pounded against her skin, the fog in the small bathroom mimicked the foggy state of her head. If she hadn't known any better, she would've sworn she had gotten drunk the night before. She felt nauseous and her head felt like it would explode if anyone made too loud a sound.
She tried to ignore it, and grabbed a shampoo bottle and poured a puddle of the foggy blue stuff into her palm. Suddenly she yelped, the plastic bottle clattering to the floor as she stared at her palm. She quickly held it up directly in the stream of water and scrubbed furiously at it, wincing at the raw skin. But it didn't go away.
On the right side of her palm, pressed into the fleshy skin around the thumb, bore dark lines that formed a tiny, incomplete triangle. It looked similar to the shape of open tweezers; an upside down V with tiny lines curving in at the end.
As much as she tried to suppress it, the memories came back. And she screamed.
Her roommate came bursting in, half awake, wielding a thick bat. "Who's in here? I'll kill him! We won't need no police!" When it finally registered that it was only they two, Lori put the bat down and stared at Victoria, now curled in the tub with her hands against her head, fingers entwined in her long, dark hair.
"You woke me up for nothing," Lori sighed. "What was it? A rat? A spider? You don't usually scare so..."
Victoria looked up at her desperately, eyes wide and burning. "Where was I last night? Where? Please tell me I was at a bar."
Lori stared at her, rubbing her head. "I don't know. I got in late – but you were here when I came in, passed out on your bed." She paused, as Victoria looked down again, mesmerized at the round ripples of the water. Lori leaned over and turned off the shower, handing her a towel. "Why? What happened?"
Victoria slowly took the towel, stared at it, then shook her head. It couldn't have happened; it was straight from the movies. Blinding lights, mysterious figures, cryptic messages – must've been one of those crazy dreams. Maybe she burned herself without realizing it when she slept.
She pressed her face into the towel. Yes, that must've been it. Because the other answer was way too crazy. "Nothing, just a rough night." She said softly, getting out of the tub and wrapping the towel around her.
"Rough night?" Lori raised her eyebrow, her lips quirking slightly but Victoria just gave her a hard stare and Lori quickly forgot the joke. "Fine, fine," Lori raised her hands, rolling her eyes. "I'm going back to bed." She left the bathroom, taking the bat with her.
Victoria slowly dried herself off and wiped the fog off the small mirror over the sink. Other than darker circles under her dulling grey eyes, she didn't look any different. Well, at least she could cross out "mutating" from abducting symptoms. She rubbed some neosporin into her palm in hopes the scar would disappear soon.
Despite the fact that it was a little after six in the morning, Victoria couldn't go back to sleep even if she wanted to. She went back to her room after she got dressed, while Lori tried to catch a few more minutes of sleep before she had to leave for work. Victoria ran her schedule over her head, having to look at her cell phone to double check the date. Saturday, thank God. She had no where to be today; her summer courses were only a few days during the work week, and since getting laid off from her job at a bookstore a few weeks ago, she hadn't found another job yet. She had enough money saved up and set aside so she had one less thing to stress about.
The next hour she spent staring at her ceiling, trying to read a book, flipping through uninteresting channels of the TV, and even staring blankly at her computer screen. Nothing helped. She couldn't focus, she couldn't sleep, she could only run through the things she saw.
When Lori was up and ready to leave, Victoria was looking out the window and down into the busy street, tracing the scar on her palm. "Hey, I'm heading out." Lori announced, checking through her wallet. "Hey," Lori repeated, looking up and walking over to her. "Hey!" She waved her hand in front of Victoria's face and the latter jumped.
"What!" Her voice cracked and she swallowed uneasily trying to salve her dry throat.
"I said I'm leaving, for work." Lori watched her, pushing back her short brown hair. "You gonna be okay?"
"Yeah," Victoria answered automatically, then with a little more confidence; "Yeah, of course. I'll just... hang out. See ya." Her voice softened and she stared out the window again, the golden light still in the back of her mind.
"Oookay," Lori gave her an odd look before slowly heading out. "See ya."
.x.
It was afternoon by the time Victoria left her apartment. She wore a thin, long sleeve shirt despite the warm temperature, the sleeves long enough to hide her hand. She walked down the street to a cafe on the corner, the short walk more stressful than she could've imagined. She watched everyone around her, flinching when they passed, grasping her purse to her like a lifeline. She screamed when someone brushed against her in passing, gaining enough odd and rude looks to make her slink into the store. She found a seat in the corner and huddled there, shaking.
She didn't know how long she sat there, fingers tapping against the table and her cup, staring wide-eyed at people and trying to sink into her seat at the sight of any red-head. But by the time she started back it was getting dark. She took a deep breath of the humid air, and stepped out of the doorway, clutching her purse. People passed, and she tried keeping her eyes to the ground, watching a variety of flip flops, sandals, and sneakers going past. The headlights bounced off the sidewalk and particularly shiny shoes, and she winced when one passed with those obnoxiously bright white lights. Her head throbbed and she rubbed between her eyes, wondering if a storm was coming. She always hated sinus pressure.
She looked up and screamed.
Everything around her was a blur; people faded into foggy black and white with the background, while others gleamed head-spinningly bright. Blues and reds and whites, as if the earth suddenly lost all color and now only these shining blues and reds were the last things alive.
A white blur passed next to her, and she spun around with wide eyes, only to spin again at another passing light–and another–and another–and––
Her head was going to explode. Her chest would burst any second. Her throat was raw and breath ragged. She blinked, shut her eyes painfully, rubbed them so hard they surely would fall out, but the colors–the colors.
"Hey!" Her world stopped spinning as hands grabbed her and brought her back to earth. There was a blur of blue before suddenly the colors disappeared. Her eyes shot around – greens, and yellows, and browns– the earth was back.
She turned her attention ahead to a man standing in front of her grasping just above her elbows. He looked young with a tan, clean-shaven face aside from some stubble above his lip. He wore a worn, white sweatshirt with its hood up which she found odd on the warm night – she glanced down at her long sleeve, realizing her palm was exposed. She flipped her hand over and closed her fingers, looking back up at the man nervously, but she knew it was too late. He'd seen it.
He stared at her, curious, eyes like a scientist, like the figures–
Victoria yanked away from his grasp. "Sorry, I didn't– didn't mean to–" Her head throbbed, and she clutched tighter to her purse, reminding herself that her bed was only one hundred feet and an elevator ride away.
"No problem." He gave an easy smile, and she just stared at him. Most people would've walked away by now, usually cursing her. "Just remember to focus on what's ahead for you."
"Uh... okay, thanks." She mumbled awkwardly, keeping an eye on him as she moved away. He turned away and walked into the crowd and in a blink– was gone. She scanned the crowd again, but the man had disappeared. She put her hand to her head and walked back to her apartment, wondering if twenty-one years was a normal amount of time for a very vivid imagination to kick in.
When she got back she threw her purse down, kicked her shoes off, and went to get more neosporin. She reached into her short's pockets to fish out change and dump it in Lori and her's extra-change jar they had for emergencies when she heard crunching. She pulled out a handful of pennies and nickels– and a rip of paper. She uncrumpled it and stared at the scrawly writing, hands shaking.
Watch your back
.x.
A/N: Anyway. Still working the kinks out of this story, but I figured finally getting it up will help me figure some things out. Me and chaptered fanfictions don't tend to get along. This, along with a disgusting amount of others, has been on my hard drive for a while, which is why I'm pissed because Brotherhood messed my plot up. Oh well.
And by the way, that thing at the beginning with people dancing around with a boom box? Yep, that happened to my brother. They were all wearing animal print spandex too.