Hey all! Thanks again soo soo much for your continued support! I'm writing this to keep us all happy, so I'm glad I'm not alone in thinking the ending of ACIII was unsatisfactory, (yes it was sad, but in a way I suppose, necessary).

Enjoy the next chapter, the next one after this will be longer, I promise!

Stay lovely, (and brush up on your ancient Roman mythology)

juno57

Desmond padded softly behind Hephaestus, the earthen dust on the Temple's floor left imprints of his tread behind. As they continued, Hephaestus' path seemed oblivious to the structural decay around him. Where he climbed a solitary flight of stairs, in the current setting Desmond's free running came into play. In order to keep pace with him, Desmond scrambled, leaping across deep chasms and large gaps hastily.

"Where's the fire?" he panted after several minutes.

"I had forgotten– you cannot walk as I do… my apologies."

"Shit lot of good that'll do me when my legs give out." He mumbled.

Desmond continued scrambling up the fragments of a staircase. His legs burned both from lack of use, and from the marathon climb. He stood for a moment to let his breath return to normal. The erratic heaving of his chest alerted his concern.

"You sure I should be doing this kind of stuff?"

Why do I feel so out of shape?

"Your body was dormant for several days. While the mind repaired, the muscles did not."

Desmond's eyes widened.

"Take heart– they will in time."

"When?"

"That is a question which you can answer. Reflect upon it, and you shall see."

"Alright, I've had just about enough of your damn people telling me things in fucking riddles. Just spit it out for god's sake."

"We have fatigued you, this is certain. However, our methods are not yours. In time, I thought, you would come to realize this."

"Well, apparently I haven't." He stopped, and glanced around him, "What did you mean by reflect upon it?"

"Your gifts Desmond, have been restored. What your people refer to as… Eagle vision… you now have other gifts. Time, being one of them."

"I'm going out on a limb here, but I'm guessing I can't alter time in any way, can I?"

Hephaestus smiled weakly, "Time is more durable than we'd like to think. He is extremely stubborn and unyielding. But there is one piece that can affect him. This is where we will go. To them."

"The team?"

"We will need their help, all of them, if we are to snatch the piece out from under her. She will not let anything get in her way until she has done it."

Desmond raised an eyebrow, "I swear you people leave out information on purpose."

He stood for a moment longer, his hands steadying himself against the rock wall. Closing his eyes as Hephaestus indicated, he felt a cool presence flood behind his eyes once again. He saw his father standing with the others outside the van, their expressions grim and downcast. They hurried from their position to a vine covered, crumbled pipe, and disappeared within it. A moment of darkness continued before his vision zoomed out, distorted, as it did before he was ejected from the Animus. The unmistakeable skyline of buildings triggered his memory.

His eyes opened quickly, "Kingston? They're still in New York." His brow furrowed as Hephaestus looked on knowingly.

"What else have you seen?"

"Uh, some sort of tunnel, I think. It was really dark." He gripped tighter against the rock ledge as he felt his vision flutter. "How am I seeing this? Is it a vision?"

"Not a vision, but connection. You share a link as we do with the pieces. They are yours to command if you can reach them. As of now, you see through the Apple. It is your eyes. Your ears. As long as they have it, it is yours to use as you see fit. Let it's knowledge guide your journey."

Weakened, Desmond's knees gave out under him, and his arms scrambled to find purchase on the rocks. His eyes rolled back, and he felt tremors run along his spine. He breathed raggedly for a few seconds; the adrenaline and whatever else his brain had been exposed to seeped through his veins coldly.

"Patience, Desmond. Your body will need to adjust–"

"No shit, Sherlock." He stood slowly, his arms and legs quivered slightly as he did so. His grip on the rocks never faltered, and his knuckles turned white against the contrast of his tanned skin.

After a moment, he raised his head, and cleared his throat, "So, Kingston– I've got to get to Kingston." He paused, his curiosity getting the better of him, "Are you able to leave this place? Like Juno did?"

A forlorn glint in his eyes revealed the sadness behind his smile, " Not in the same sense. My spirit, as you would say, resides here. Until now, I have seen it as my prison. My cage. Now, I am free to move among the machines, to experience that which you do. Come, I will show you the piece you must take."

The cool metal-esque material weighed heavily in Desmond's hand. Unlike all other pieces, this one in particular felt different in his hands; majestic and resplendent.

Not your run of the mill piece of Eden.

He turned the hammer over, glancing at its intricacies. A series of meticulous spirals and curves ran regulated over its handle, sweeping into the peak of the long forked head. Instead of a large chunk of cumbersome metal, an elegant stilettoed tip crested a smooth line across it.

"I've never seen one like this before." He glanced up, brow furrowed. The expression on Hephaestus' face almost seemed… proud, "Did you… make these?"

Hephaestus shifted his weight, leaning against his tall staff, "I was gifted with many abilities. However, my mother did not see this until it fitted her purposes."

Bitterness had seeped into his last words, and Desmond nodded slowly at the silence that followed.

"You're not like them– your mother, even the others. You know… you're more… I dunno… human?"

Hephaestus snorted quietly, "I suppose you mean that as a compliment." He shifted his weight again, almost wincing as his bad foot took the brunt of the load.

"We should probably get, er, I should get going. I've got a long way to go, considering I have no transportation."

Hephaestus nodded solemnly, "Yes, enough lamentation." Outstretching his arm, his fingers hovered above the piece, its handle rippled with a glow, "Use this when you need me – reflect within yourself, and I will answer. Like Minerva, Juno, Tinia; you too share the power to speak. Not across time– no, but distance. Explore its powers with the others. They too will want to know, to understand its workings."

Hephaestus stepped back, "And now, I leave you, Desmond, for I too have preparations to make. My labourers need instruction, just as I need give it."

"So, it was you then– your plan stopped the crisis?"

"The towers could not save us, we had not the time. My imprisonment allowed for little other pursuits, and so I strove to save your kind. The towers rest here, awakened from their slumber. My labourers have seen to every detail's completion, and they have served their purpose. Now we must start another. Perhaps I will be as successful with this one, as with the last. We must hope it is so."

Desmond watched as yet another ancient phantom gradually faded from view. He shook his head in mild amusement before turning his back on the Grand Temple, the faint fingers of lingering daylight guided him out into the world.

A/N

As I said before, this one was really short

But hey, at least I updated :P