Disclaimer: I don't own it.
Just as a note, this is the first time I wrote anything with SLASH. And I have not played the game at all; I just watch videos and read up on wiki about some of these events happening... which means I know I will get blasted on for anything that goes wrong in this fic or any sort of inaccuracies or parts that you all will hate me for (please see the warning). So if you plan to flame me, please do the following and allow others to enjoy the story (and PM me about it instead; it's happened before).
So, the fact that some of the characters will be out of character is (and will be) an issue I'll see in a lot of your reviews. Sorry. Please enjoy this fic and see where it goes.
If anybody is willing to beta this story, I am more than happy to accept one.
Warning: An idea of mine that is divided into a lot of parts.
Spoilers are also ahead for the entire Assassin's Creed series (ah what the hell, this entire story will be filled with spoilers anyway).
And this is in an Alternative Universe. Meaning a couple of things: The Pieces of Eden are still relevant, the Animus 1.0 is the DNA hacking time memory machine, Juno, Minerva, Tinia, and Aita will be relevant (their motivations for doing their actions WILL be different) and the story remains... a bit same, EXCEPT these diffences: Lucy is alive and is not *coughcoughspoilers* (at least I plan to); Clay is alive and kicking; Conner and Clay are alive in 2012 and are Desmond's brothers; Connor is similar to the Connor/Ratohnhaké:ton of AC3 except he is reborn in modern times; Animus 2.0 is a time machine instead of a DNA hacking time book; AND the 2012 thing does not occur.
"italics" = Italian or Arabic or any other language
"bold" = over the mic
"normal" = English
Part 1: Chased
Desmond... was screwed.
As of now, he is stuck in the time period where the Renaissance was at its peak; people were enjoying life or arguing with politics, trying to make the city and their nation rich as it is. A flourish of the arts and reviving the values of the fallen Greek empire were still fresh in Italy.
With it came several feuds, betrayals, questioning morals, and deaths.
The Templars were also expanding (even after most of them were executed from the results of the ill-fated Crusades) bit by bit; with it, the Assassins began to expand throughout the nations in Europe, Asia, and other areas where the threat of Templars are.
Desmond was used to it; in fact, he was once a captive of the said Templars... except it wasn't at the time he was in right now. In fact, he sticks out like a sore thumb, even in a Venetian crowd. It would've helped if he have gotten the proper clothing on in time...
...if not for the two certain Assassins that were chasing him a while ago.
Thanks a lot, he mentally growls, glancing over in the empty room before he decides to grab the bag to put away his modern clothing so he can change to the more appropriate clothing time.
Thank God Leonardo da Vinci was willing to hide him for the time being.
He immediately takes off his hood, leaving him with his black shirt before rapidly taking off his sneakers and jeans. Finding the dark brown pants and boots the Italian painter left out for him (at least Leonardo had an idea that the time traveler was being chased when Desmond (rapidly in his semi-okay Italian) begged the painter to hide him from his enemies and to prepare the spare clothing before anything else happened.
Desmond hopes that they didn't follow him here.
As soon as he puts on the boots, he hears a knock before calling (again, in his broken Italian), "Come in!"
For once, he was happy to see the blonde painter open the door, "Leonardo, thank you again for your help."
"Ah, no problem, amico," Leonardo replies before handing Desmond his newly polished and sharpened weapon, "Don't mind me asking, but I thought you needed more time back at your... how do you say it... time?"
"I thought so too," Desmond grumbles back before seeing Leonardo's questioning look, "Something happened... that did not go too well."
"Did it involve what you were searching for?"
It was also a good thing Shaun told Desmond to get on the famous painter's good side before revealing his actual goal (time traveling is still a terrible idea...). Surprisingly, instead of anger, Desmond got lots of questioning- rather, it was a lot of curious inquiry- from Leonardo da Vinci himself. In return for all the knowledge Desmond gives him about the technology in his world, Leonardo allows his services to Desmond... as long as whatever Desmond mentions about the present time remains as a secret.
What he wasn't counting on (and why oh why did he forget about this stupid little fact) was that Leonardo da Vinci was a good friend to one Ezio Auditore da Firenze.
At the moment he realized that, he panicked and told Leonardo to never let his ancestor see him (to which Leonardo surprisingly agreed too).
...speaking of, now might be a good time to mention that.
"No, not yet," Desmond grimaces, "But... remember that favor I requested?"
Leonardo frowns, now speaking in English, "Are you talking about not meeting my good friend Ezio?"
The time traveler gapes in surprise, dumbfounded, "Wha- How-"
"I have some books that were from England," Leonardo smiles, "And I read your... journal, was it?"
Desmond is going to kill Shaun and Clay when he gets back.
"Do not worry, amico," Leonardo assures him, "I will not expose you for my own sake nor my friend's. I'm merely here to aid you on your journey."
"Thanks," Desmond mutters, standing up to place on his hidden blade and the dark grey coat before placing on the hood, "Thank you for the clothing... if anyone asks for me, 'Dominico' has left and will not return until notice."
Thanks for Clay for thinking up the alias... and from the way Leonardo is staring at him, Desmond knew his cover was blown.
Leonardo chuckles, hearing the ridiculous name, "No problem, Desmond. Make sure to say hello to your friends for me."
So much for the alias. He stares at Leonardo, who is stifling his laughter, "I will, don't worry," Desmond nods, leaving through the door and out through the window to the three-story jump. Once he lands on the deserted alleyway (his feet numbs on impact, but Desmond got used to it), he stands up and places his ear piece before hissing, "Hey, hey! Anyone there?" At this point, he finds one of the hats he sees most Venice men wear (it was plumed, no doubt), takes off his hood, and places it on to cover the ear piece.
"Desmond? Oh thank GOD!" It was Lucy. However, unlike before in the ancient city of Jerusalem, he can hear Lucy a little better, "Guys! It's Desmond! He's alive!"
"He's not dead? Oh good," His eye twitched when he hears Shaun, "We were just debating about sending Conner or Clay to where you are."
"Shut up," Desmond quietly mutters as he blends in with the crowd. Thank goodness most people don't care about what he wears, "Did you guys pinpoint where I am?"
"Unfortunately... no," Rebecca's voice comes in, "Not even the Animus can keep up with what happened earlier."
"Great," He groans, "...I'm in Ezio's time, in case you want to know."
"That's somewhat good."
"Somewhat... good? What the hell's good about being in Italy in all places?"
"The reception is a bit better than Jerusalem," Lucy again.
"Oh. ...And tell Clay and Shaun when I get back, they're dead."
"Wait, why?" Clay's voice comes in. Desmond can hear the British man sputtering, "What did I do?"
"Leonardo da Vinci knows English, thanks to you two," Desmond looks around to make sure he isn't being followed before focusing back on walking on the road through the marketplace, "And now I'm sure he's laughing at me speaking Italian!"
"Ah come on, Des! It's not our fault you only had two weeks to learn Italian!" It was an amused Clay, "And plus, Rebecca and I helped you on it!"
"With Shaun laughing in," Lucy was giggling; Desmond can hear Shaun and Clay laughing in the background.
"Shut up and help me get out of here!" Desmond resists the urge to scream out loud at his currently distracted comrades, but he knew better, "I need help!"
"Did you at least get what we need?" Connor's voice. Straight and cut to the point.
"The way to find the last Piece of Eden?" Desmond grimaces, recalling how he got his hands on it. It wasn't pretty, considering that he was forced to pickpocket one of the greatest Assassins and ancestor Altair Ibn-La'Ahad out of all people... (before he wound up being the chase), "Yeah, I have it. What's the hold up?"
"Like we said, we don't know," Rebecca again, and this time, she sounds irritated, "It looks like the Animus did something odd."
Already the time traveler doesn't like the sound of that.
Connor sighs heavily, "While you were being chased around in Jerusalem, the portal to Renaissance Italy opened when it wasn't supposed to be."
"What!" Desmond gapes, "I thought we patched that one up!"
"We did, but it opened anyway," Rebecca groans, "Looks like I have to fix Baby up..."
Rebecca's 'baby' being the Animus 2.0.
"But how?" Desmond was now sure he got weird looks from people, but he ignored it as he does another sweep to make sure he wasn't being followed... so why was there this creeping feeling on his neck?
"Rebecca has to look into the Animus system again, and it'll take her a while to fix it... even with all of our help," Shaun replies, irritation seeping in through, "It'll take about- how long was the last time we fixed it?"
"About fourty-eight hours," Clay mutters, "...non-stop."
"About two days?" Desmond hisses, horrified, "I don't know if I can last that long!"
"Why?" Connor asks... before his voice changed from being concerned to a slow building anger, "Desmond..."
...crap.
"What... the hell happened while you were in Jerusalem?"
Considering how much Connor doesn't swear, Desmond knew Connor is pissed off.
"Shit, let's see what happened..." Desmond's feeling of being watched was still there, so he decides to walk a bit faster, "I've been sent to Jerusalem to get the last map for that Piece of Eden before someone else takes it; when I got to that building, that map was gone, so I had to find it."
"And how did you find it, exactly?"
Connor better not kill me for this... "I found out that Altair had it, so I had to... um, pickpocket him while he was on his way home."
Silence.
"And then- well..." That feeling is getting closer... Desmond begins to walk faster, quickly maneuvering over the people that were incoming, "...somehow, he found out I had the map, I panicked when I saw him following me, and got into a fight with a couple of guards before running off!"
"I knew this was going to happen!" He hears Shaun groan.
"I'm not finished!" Desmond realizes he is being followed, but by who... he doesn't want to know, "Next thing I know, I was getting cornered by the guards when Altair cuts in, but I managed to get away towards a safer area before I saw the portal open-"
"You mean that glitch- hey, Des, you okay?" Clay interrupts, hearing Desmond's light breathing as the time traveler begins to run.
"Clay, shut it-to where I am now, out of all places," Desmond is now panicking as he clutches onto the hat that was threatening to blow away from his run, having familiar feeling of who the hell is trying to track him, "And Altair manages to trap me before I went through the portal!"
Now he can hear the Clay and Connor groaning while hearing Lucy, Rebecca, and Shaun trying to find a portal spot for Desmond to go through into his own time, "The next thing I know, I land on top of Ezio, out of all people, the guy tries to hit on me, I run away when I saw Altair coming towards where I was, I don't know if those two had a fight, I get to Leonardo's place, got changed, and for the love of God, hurry up with the portal so I can leave this place!"
"WHAT THE HELL'S HAPPENING OUT THERE, DESMOND!" Connor demands.
"I'm being hounded by someone and I don't want to get caught, Connor!"
He can hear Connor curse under his breath.
"Guys! Something's wrong with the Animus!" Rebecca exclaims, "I can't get a portal site ready!"
Oh no nonononono...
And to make Desmond's situation even worse, he sees some guards approaching him, wondering what the hell is going on.
...I'm fucked! He pales before rounding around towards an alleyway that leads towards the plaza. The guards yell at him to stop-
"What the hell! This never happened except when... hang on-" Shaun exclaims before yelling at Rebecca about-
"Hey you! STOP!" He can hear a guard before he can focus on his friends' conversation, which was now a flurry of yelling and some static. When he turns around, he sees a couple of guards with their weapons up... all of them with the hidden Templar symbol on their ensigna.
Ah crap.
"You better come with us, stranger!" One of the guards bark, "NOW!"
Desmond groans as he takes his earpiece off before placing it inside the bag, "Can my day get any better?" He slowly walks towards the guards... before rushing towards them, swiftly striking at a guard with his hidden blade.
Instantly, all the guards begin to attack Desmond, some of them missing as they strike their weapons towards him. Desmond, on the other hand, had some degree of experience (not just from experience of the memories, but thanks to the training he gets from his family) as he dodges from the guards' attacks and stabbing some of them with his blade.
In one fluid motion, he manages to disarm a guard before stabbing him, taking out a small dagger (thanks to Clay) before killing the next guard and grabbing his weapon, jabbing one end at another guard while striking the other before knocking them out with his hands. After looking around to see if anyone saw him (there was nobody, thank God), he shoves the killed guards inside a pile of nearby hay (that nobody was using) and gags the knocked out guards with their jackets. Sighing in relief, he takes out the hat he was wearing and placed it on one of the guards heads before placing his hood on.
"Now I've got to see how the other are-"
"Don't move!"
Desmond forgot a lone guard.
"Shit," he curses before-
A cloud of smoke hits the alleyway, assaulting their senses. The guard yells out something in panic; Desmond realizes very well who threw that smoke bomb as he covers his mouth and nose to prevent from breathing in the smoke with his right arm.
I've got to get out of here-! Desmond was about to bolt from the alleyway when he hits against something hard, "Owwwwwowowowowowowowow-"
-when someone grabs him and lowers the arm that was guarding his face.
"There's no use from running away, little sparrow," Desmond freezes, a certain Italian assassin purring at his ear before it turns into a soft whisper, "Forgive me, tesoro... for what happens next."
"Wha-MMPHF!" Desmond's eyes widen as he feels a cloth cover his face, a lightly sweet smell assaulting him... before his mind got cloudy. His body goes limp as he begins to collapse against a warm body. As Desmond struggles to keep his eyes open he sees Ezio Auditore da Firenze with a victory smirk (looking down at Desmond) before hearing another voice-
"Not bad, little fledgling. But you need to do better."
Desmond's eyes shifts to see Altair Ibn-La'Ahad withdraw his blade from the dead guard before his dark amber eyes shift towards him.
Desmond sluggishly mutters "Dammit... now what?" before feeling himself being shifted-
-into Ezio's arms, who is muttering something regarding his weight in Italian before facing Altair-
"Now?" It was Altair's Arabian accect, "You belong with us, habibi."
Desmond manages to strangle out a "I don't... belong to..." before falling unconscious.
At present day, Lucy, Clay, and Connor face each other, looking at each other in... was it confusion?
"Did I just hear..." Lucy was the first to say.
"Yeah," Clay nods in shock.
"And the other guy..."
"Yes... it's who I thought it was," Connor nods numbly.
"And they just..."
"Yup," Both Clay and Connor respond, still shocked.
They sat in silence until-
"Guys!" They didn't respond when they hear Shaun and Rebecca running towards them, with the needed item at hand.
"We got the... umm, are you guys okay?" Rebecca blinks, seeing the expressions on the three's faces.
Shaun frowns, clearing his throat, "Ahem! Earth to the numbskulls..."
"We can hear you," Lucy mutters, not in the mood for smacking the tech man, blinking in surprise, "It's just... what the hell..."
"What the hell what?" The British man is growing impatient, "Look, do we need to save Desmond's stupid ass or-"
Connor, Clay, and Lucy give each other a wary look before Connor speaks up.
"Desmond just got captured by Altair and Ezio."
End Part 1
What's next: The reason why time-traveling was thought to be better than going through the Animus torture. And Desmond wakes up from the knock-out agent to meet Altair and Ezio... in a more proper setting.