Alex Mercer had changed a lot since he'd first found himself at the Complex. Sometimes, when he looked in a mirror he wondered what he might look like now if mirrors could reflect what as person was like on the inside instead of just the outer layer. He also always found himself thinking what a ridiculously cheesy thought that was every time it popped into his head. But he wasn't looking in a mirror now, in fact, he wasn't even anywhere near a mirror, he was out on the small, not very well walked path in the wooded area near the strange apartment complex where he lived. It was early in the morning, the sun just starting to come up. The infected didn't need sleep and with spring starting the day was nice enough that he felt twitchy just staying inside. Besides, as early as the assassin usually woke Alex knew Desmond wouldn't wake for at least another hour and if he was lucky, by the time he got back Desmond would even have coffee made and have started breakfast. The virus made it so he didn't have to eat, in fact, eating even made him feel sick at times but roommate slash lover had a talent for cooking and the taste was irresistible.
Alex tugged at his jacket, pulling it a little closer to him; spring or not this early in the morning there was still a definite nip in the air. He sucked in a deep breath of the cool air, it smelled so much sweeter and cleaner then New York's air ever would. He closed his eyes a little and continued to walk the path letting everything stay clear from his mind for a little while. He stopped and checked his wristwatch it had been just about an hour since he'd left their apartment, Desmond would be up by now. Time to start heading back. He stretched his arms up into the air, his back popping once or thrice. He took a few steps before his pace sped up, deciding to run back, just for the hell of it… and the possibility of pancakes.
It took Alex about a minute to find which pocket he'd put the key to their room in and he made a mental not to always make sure he only put the key in the left front pocket of his jeans from now on. He frowned when he stepped into the apartment, he didn't smell pancakes cooking, which wasn't necessarily unusual, but he didn't even smell any coffee. And that was unusual; Desmond made coffee every morning. He checked his watch and the clocks on the stove and microwave. 8:30, even on their latest nights Desmond was up by now.
"Des?" Alex's frown deepened as he walked towards their bedroom. The door was wide open, and they never left it open. When he stepped in Alex noticed the bed was a mess, all the covers and several of the pillows were on the floor one of the lamps that was on one of the bedside tables was also on the floor, broken. Something in the pit of the infected man's stomach twisted. "Desmond!"
He looked around, trying to spot anything else that might give him some idea as to what happened. He noticed something on one of the few pillows that had remained on the bed. Something so small that any normal human wouldn't even have noticed it, a spec of blood, tiny, just a drop. Just a little drop of red that might have dripped from the prick of a needle, nothing more. Alex knew right away it was Desmond's, he could just sense it, but he could also sense something else, and he pressed his face to the pillow near the droplet of blood so he could better identify the scent. He bit his lip, a rush of anger and worry suddenly surging through his body. He recognized the scent as a powerful anesthesia. Someone had drugged and taken his Desmond. Whoever did this would pay.
Even with all the enhanced senses the virus gave him, there wasn't much of a trail for him to follow He relied mostly on his instincts, trying to remember what all Desmond had told him about his past, about Templers and the animus and all of that. Fortunately, Alex could well imagine the kinds of places that an organization that didn't necessarily have government sanctioning would need to house something like that. He also knew they'd want to make sure Desmond was secure, unable to escape or fight back, as soon as possible. Even if it wasn't their last stop, they would have a way station somewhere near by. Alex cursed to himself. He hadn't been able to tell when Desmond had been taken from that little drop of blood. It could have been minutes ago, or minutes after he'd left, but he hoped he'd be able to catch them while they were still close before they could do anything worse to Desmond.
Alex stopped, roughly in the center of the little town that had built up around the Complex and looked around, making note of the possible buildings Desmond could have been take to. The hospital, that might have been a good choice for a final destination, but not a way station, besides, it was too close, and had too much traffic coming in and out, so that was out. Devil May Cry and the little convince store were out too, as was the bar. The people who ran those lived at the complex and he knew them well enough, besides none of those buildings were of a scale where some form of van or such could be hidden without sticking out like one of those cleverly 'disguised' palm tree cell phone towers. The little fast food place was definitely out, since most of the walls were made up of large windows. A few small homes, but he knew those people since they were regular visitors to the complex, one of them might be an ex-nazi, but none of them had any templar connection. He'd looked into that a while ago. That left the storage units and the factory. Neither of which had much traffic since both were unused. The storage units had a coded gate though, that would be too much time consumed to get in and out. So that left the old factory. That whole thought process went through his head in the span of only about half a second and he took off running towards the factory. He slammed his foot into the door, kicking it in, knocking the steel doors almost completely off their hinges.
"Fuck!" He screamed the word, like that would somehow help, smashing his fist against the crumbling brick wall that had obviously been torn out to allow easy access into the factory from the road. There were tire tracks in the dust on the concrete floor and the smell of exhaust was still strong. He'd been just seconds too late. Who knows how long it might take to find him now. And just the thoughts of what might happen to Desmond made Alex feel physically sick to his stomach. He bit his lip, growling softly under his breath.
"Don't worry, Des… I'm coming to rescue you."
It was Desmond's churning stomach that woke him. He was on a cold, metal floor, it was dark but he could feel the sensation of movement. His head felt fuzzy but he could think just clear enough to guess that he was in the back of a truck or a van of some sort. He groaned softly and curled up into a tight ball for a second, and then struggled onto his knees. Which proved slightly difficult with his hands bound tightly behind his back as they were. He curled in on himself for a second before vomiting violently for several minutes. He flopped back over onto his side, panting, and he closed his eyes.
He fell into a sort of half-sleep for a few moments before opening his eyes again, his eyes had adjusted a little better to the pitch blackness and he could just sort of make out the dimensions of the, he guessed from the size, van. He tried to sort out his thoughts enough to figure out what had happened. He remembered waking up and just starting to get out of bed to make coffee when… Templers. He cursed a little; he couldn't believe he'd become so relaxed to let his guard down so much. He didn't know where they were taking him, but he knew what was coming. It was the last thing he needed right now.
Desmond bit his lip, he felt like crying, as much as he didn't want to admit it even to himself, he was scared, bordering on terrified. He found himself wishing for nothing more then to just curl up next to Alex. It had only been a few months since he hadn't even known the man existed, and now he felt like he couldn't live without him. He half laughed half sobbed at the thoughts going through his head.
"He must have noticed I'm gone by now… He'll know something's wrong, he'll come find me. He'll come to my rescue for sure." It was that word. 'Rescue' that had caused him to laugh. He, Desmond Miles, descendant of some of the greatest assassins in history, not only needing rescue, but also hoping for it. How pathetic was that? Altair and Ezio must be so disappointed in him. But he couldn't help it. This had happened before after all, and he knew what was coming, even if he tried to fight back he would, inevitably, end up back in the animus.
He suddenly became aware he was crying, from fear, from resignation and from disappointment. He couldn't help but to feel truly disappointed in himself for letting this happen, what would Alex think? He'd probably think he was weak, not for letting this happen, but for just giving up… for not fighting back. Desmond bit his lip a little harder; he tasted a slight tang of blood, resolving that he wouldn't just resign to his fate. For Alex, he'd fight back.
The powerful drugs in his system had taken their toll on him, and Desmond hadn't been able to keep himself awake any longer. It probably was for the better, he wouldn't be able to resist well while trying to fight off the effects of the anesthesia. The metallic clang of the doors on the van being slammed open roused Desmond from that deep sleep slightly and he was roused the rest of the way when he was shaken violently and yanked onto his feet. He closed his eyes and groaned at the bright light that had suddenly flooded over him. He blinked a few times, forcing himself to open his eyes and get used to the bright artificial lights. He took in the situation as fast as his still groggy mind could.
There was the man who was practically shoving him out of the van, two younger men who were probably about his age, being yelled at to clean up the mess. A little farther away an older man in a doctor's coat and on either side of him two men in police like uniforms, armed with handguns, billy clubs and tasers. It looked like they weren't going to take any chances with him escaping again. Desmond's stomach twisted and he felt like he was going to be sick again. He swallowed and tried to suppress the feeling. He couldn't let his fears take over, he had to fight back; he had to get back to Alex.
Desmond staggered a little when he was pushed out of the van, not having quite expected the half-foot drop. But that also gave him an opportunity; he saw it out of the corner of his eye, the door of the van. He spun out of the way and kicked the door of the van closed, only just managing to keep his balance without the use of his arms. The door slammed into the face of the man who had been pushing him forward, with enough force to break his nose and knock him flat on his back. He shouldered the other door, closing the three men into the van, just three more. Of course these three were in front of him instead of behind and they were armed.
The uniformed men were drawing weapons at the same time the doctor was yelling at them. Desmond dashed forward, but he couldn't match the speed of the men's trained trigger fingers. Hot burning pain hit twice, once in his arm and once in the shoulder he simultaneously felt two sharp pricks in his chest and in his abdomen. He choked on a scream as the high voltage of electricity shot through his body. He fell to the floor his body twitching. One of the men had reached for his gun, and the other for a taser, the combination had stopped him cold. He could feel himself losing consciousness again, but he did his best to fight it off. He could hear, the doctor he assumed, speaking to the other two.
"It looks like he's not going to be so easy this time. Don't put him in the Animus just yet. He needs some time to cool down."
Desmond felt light-headed when he finally woke up again. The room he was in was cold and clinical, bright artificial light illuminated every inch of the room. The walls were white, no windows. He could make out an outline of the door but there was no handle, no way to open it from the inside. There were cameras, also white except for the lens, in all four corners of the ceiling; no inch of the room was unwatched. The floor was polished concrete, easy to clean up. Desmond noted that his wounds had been treated, the templers didn't want him dead just yet, he also noted that his pajama pants had been removed and replaced with scrubs pants. His hands were still bound and he felt shackles cutting into his ankles, they were chained to each other and one was chained to the wall. The farthest he could get was about three and a half feet away. He guessed the trick with the kicking had lead to this.
He briefly wondered what time it was, for that matter, what day was it? He felt groggy and had the vague feeling that he'd been unconscious for days. The door suddenly slammed and he turned his head towards it, the doctor from when he'd first arrived stood there, his hands folded behind his back.
"Oh, good morning." He checked the watch he was wearing, "Or should I say afternoon. Well, Mr. Miles, I didn't expect you to be quite so… uncooperative as you proved to be." He took a few steps forward, hooking his finger under Desmond's chin and lifting it to look at him. Desmond yanked his chin away, growling a little. The doctor looked at him calmly for a moment and the smacked him hard across the face, leaving his lip and nose bleeding. He'd barely stopped the kinetic movement of his head and shoulders before he hit his head on the floor.
"You know, I don't mind disciplining you, you know." He suddenly grabbed Desmond by the hair, slamming his head against the concrete floor. It dazed him for a moment and in that moment the doctor had gone from sitting in front of him to straddling him, one hand still pressing his face to the floor the other had tugged down the pants he'd been given so they were around his knees. The doctor had grabbed his hips roughly, squeezing Desmond's manhood until he cried out in pain. It made the doctor just laugh, "In fact, I rather enjoy it."
Desmond's scream bounced around the concrete room for several minutes before subsiding and he bit his lip, trying very hard not to sob in pain, but a few did escape him. That only seemed to arouse the doctor and he started pounding into the young assassin, hard. Blood was trickling down Desmond's thighs. This wasn't anything like with Alex. No gentle touching and kissing, no sweet nothings being whispered, no loving teasing and careful preparation. And certainly there was no carefully pulling back when Desmond made even the slightest indication of pain. In fact it was the exact opposite and no matter how hard Desmond tried to hide his pain the doctor seemed to know and just pushed into him even harder, each push in making him bleed even more. His lip was bleeding too, from biting down on it so hard.
The whole situation lasted about twenty minutes. The doctor just continuing to pound him and squeeze him, Desmond trying his best to suppress those whimpers of pain and failing every time. Twenty minutes went by and another scream ripped from Desmond's throat as a hot stinging pain shot up into his body as the other man came inside his torn ass. Tears were rolling down his face and he was trying to suppress his sobs as best he could. At least the pain was subsiding just a little now that the man wasn't continuously pounding into him, even if he hadn't pulled out yet. He pressed the youth's head down against the floor a little harder, leaning over him so his face was close to his ear.
"So? Are you ready to be obedient yet?" The man's breath was hot and it smelled. Desmond just lay still for a moment, but then suddenly an image of Alex flashed through his mind and he could only think of how badly he wanted to just flee into his arms and despite his better judgment he started twisting to try and get free.
"Get off of me!" Desmond sobbed a little still trying to knock the other man off. The doctor grabbed his hair a little tighter, lifting his head off the floor and slamming it back down. Desmond's head cracked against the floor and he could feel the warmth of blood emerge from his skin.
"You are a surprisingly determined young man." The doctor chuckled, pulling out of the youth's burning and still bleeding ass only to push roughly back in a few seconds later. Desmond could see the look of pure ecstasy on the man's face as he failed to suppress another screech of pain.
This pattern continued for an hour, then another. Desmond's body was shaking and he was sobbing, unable to keep himself from doing so anymore. He couldn't move anymore, he couldn't fight. His head was bleeding and throbbing, his ass was bleeding and burning and the stitches in his arm and shoulder had ripped out and blood was oozing from there too. He was panting, but unable to catch his breath through his sobs.
The doctor was panting too, but not as much and he still had that sadistic grin on his face. He pulled Desmond's head up by the hair again, forcing him to look him in the eye.
"Well? Are you done trying to get away now?"
"Y-yes." Desmond nodded, blood and saliva dripping from his open mouth as he tried to breath through his half-screamed sobs. "Just please no more…"
"Good boy." The doctor smirked, finally pulling out for the last time. He let go of Desmond's head, which just dropped to the ground, he didn't have the energy to keep it up or even let it down slowly. The doctor stood, roughly yanking Desmond's bloodied pants up as he did so, causing one last cry of pain from the assassin. He gestured to one of the cameras, indicating to whoever was watching that the boy was ready to be taken to the animus and then zipped his own pants, walking calmly to the door and knocking on it twice indicating to the person on the other side that he was ready to be let out.
Alex silently thanked human stupidity that the people had taken Desmond had used a car. It made it so much easier for him to follow their trail. Even on the road he was able to follow the scent of petrol, they hadn't taken into account how absolutely empty the roads within about a hundred mile radius of the Complex were. The possibility that their trail would get mixed up with any other car was almost zero. It wasn't something he usually was, but at the moment as he was running, he was thankful for the virus that had mutated his body. Because of it he'd manage to close the gap between him and the van enough in thirty minutes to be able to easily see every turn they made and when they turned off the main highway. But despite running as fast as he could he couldn't close the gap any farther.
Wherever they were going, it was far, they kept going for most of the day and the sun was setting when the van turned onto a cement driveway that lead up to a garage attached to a large single story building. Although Alex could pretty much assume it would have at least one more level underground. He cursed quietly to himself as he scanned the building, taking note of the heavy security. He had no question that he would be able to take them all but… He also knew if he struck now things could go down hill for Desmond, fast. It wasn't much of a stretch to assume that the all the security was because of him after all. As much as it bothered him Alex new he'd have to wait until these Templers thought that they had Desmond well and truly secured and security was lightened a little. He punched the ground in frustration but stayed crouched down in the bushes, watching and waiting.
Alex was glad he didn't have to sleep, staying up all night to survey the building, he'd circled it a few times to see if there was any way he could rescue Desmond any sooner. Though much to his growing frustration and dismay there wasn't. It was a good twenty-four hours since their arrival before Alex noticed that the guards weren't as on-edge and were only lightly armed. He also observed that several groups of them had left. He bit his lip and tried to suppress a growl, on one hand it was good, he could make his move soon but on the other hand he knew they now had Desmond under their complete control. He absolutely hated that thought.
Just to be on the safe side for Desmond he waited another hour before slowly emerging from the bushes. There were only four people guarding the garage the van had gone into now, instead of the twelve or so when they first arrived. Alex had to move fast, he knew as soon as he made the first move the countdown would begin and he could only hope he would be fast enough to get to Desmond before they moved him again… or worse. He only hoped that the Templers were dependant enough on his ancestry that the second option wouldn't happen.
Alex leapt from his hiding place, sprinting towards the guards, noting with a slight feeling of dismay that at least one of them was well trained and fast enough to shout out an alarm into his radio, that meant a few less seconds he had to find Desmond. His fist slammed into one of the guards faces, hard enough to break his nose, sending shards of bone into his brain, killing him instantly. The other three were taken out not even seconds later when Alex sent sharp tendrils of biomass through their hearts. There was no way to open the garage door from the outside but that didn't slow the man down much he just pulled it apart like the pop-top cans. The look of shock on the faces of the men inside would have been amusing if Alex hadn't been so focused on his goal. As it was, he didn't even notice them before he'd dispatched them. He kicked down the door, only to be greeted by a barrage of gunfire. He turned to the side and managed to create a biomass shield before any could do any real damage. Not that it would bother him, but better safe then sorry.
He never thought he'd be acting like that; being with Desmond really had changed him. There were fewer bullets, several of the men had run out and needed to stop and reload, and Alex didn't hesitate to take the opportunity to take them down. His arm being changed and wrapped in biomass to create a large clawed hand and he simply swept them out of the way. He didn't even stop to check if they were alive or dead. Because even if they were still alive he was sure they wouldn't try and come after him after that display.
As he penetrated deeper into the building a sickening smell reached his nose. He knew right away it was the scent of Desmond's blood. His hackles rose even more as his rage grew. How dare they hurt him! Whoever did that would pay, Alex would make sure of that. Alex sniffed the air a little, tracking Desmond by the scent of his blood like an enraged german shepherd. Every man who tried to stop him was swatted down or impaled as Alex ran through the building. Even Alex was mildly surprised by the speed he had.
The scent of Desmond's blood lead him to an elevator and he just yanked the doors apart. Who says you're not supposed to use the elevator in emergencies. There was only one basement level; making his search much easier and he ripped those doors open as well. More security, more dead men, no one would keep him from Desmond. No one. He came to a door and kicked it in. No Desmond, just four white walls, security camera's and empty shackles and on the concrete floor… Alex let out a noise that was almost a roar of furry when he saw those red stains that no one had bothered to clean up yet. He turned away from the room, standing still for a few seconds, smelling the air. Desmond's scent didn't end there, he'd been moved and Alex dashed off again. He noticed that there were fewer and fewer guards, he'd taken out most of them he guessed.
He stopped suddenly; he was standing in front of a heavy metal door, at least several feet thick. He didn't even have to check. He knew that's where Desmond was. He kicked and ripped at the door annoyed that it took several minutes before it came loose on it's hinges and he grabbed it, pulling out and throwing it to the side. There were only three men in here, two more security guards who he dispatched just as quickly as the rest, and a man who was obviously a doctor. Alex could smell Desmond's blood on him and just behind him, half blocked by a curtain, he could see a form on some sort of computer-bed mix, the animus he assumed. But he couldn't suppress a shiver at how absolutely still Desmond was. His gaze turned back to the doctor who was trying to change their positions so Alex was not standing between him and the door. Alex's eyes narrowed and a soft growl escaped him and he took a few steps closer to the doctor.
"You hurt him…" Alex snarled, grabbing the man by the neck and slamming him into the wall, "You hurt Desmond."
The doctor swallowed and looked terrified by this… thing, threatening him. This thing that could only have come straight from hell it's self. But he shook himself out of his trance and as Alex lunged for him he managed to slide on the floor between his legs, rolling to his feet and took off running as fast as he could to get as far away as he could. Alex turned to go after him but as he did he noticed Desmond's still form again. He had more important things to do then go after the man right now.
Alex ripped the restraints on Desmond's wrists and ankles off and as he did he noticed the blood stains on his pants. And the pattern it was in. His rage surged again, but more then that he felt a lump in his throat. How dare someone do this to Desmond… How dare they. He carefully scooped the younger man up in his arms, shaking him gently.
"Desmond. Des, please, come on, wake up!" he bit his lip, worry making it hard for him to breathe. He gently lifted Desmond's head up, kissing his forehead gently. And then, for some reason, those fairy tale his sister liked as a child came into his mind. Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and all of those. A kiss always woke the sleeping princess. The thought of how stupid it was went through his head, but at the same time he found himself leaning over, kissing Desmond deeply, more so then he ever had in the past.
He pulled away and watched the youth for a few moments. And then he noticed Desmond's mouth twitching at the edges in a small frown and a few seconds later his eyes slowly opened a little.
"Des!" Alex smiled, relief flooding over him as the man he'd come to love woke.
"A-Alex…" A weak smile twitched at the corner of the assassin's lips, he looked like he was barely managing to stay conscious. "You came for me. You really came…"
The lump in Alex's throat tightened and those words were like the opening of a floodgate. And something that hadn't happened in years happened, Alex started crying, and he pulled Desmond close, burying his face into his hair.
"Of course I came for you, Desmond." He hugged the other man tight but with a gentle touch to avoid hurting him any more then he was, "I'll always come for you."