Thank you everyone for your patience and your support! I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! Now we enter the territory of Assassin's Creed II! So fun news~! I now have a 3DS and Pokemon Y! Feel free to request/send me friend codes! But more importantly, I HAVE A PS4~! It is my precious. Of course that means I've been making my way through Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag slowly but surely.
Also, I have a tumblr account! I try to post updates and such there, and I plan to post little extra things story-wise for my fan-fictions. The address is .com.

I always look forward to everyone's reviews!

A large thank you to my wonderfully supportive, and extremely helpful, beta/editor There She Goes And Shes Comin!

This is a fan-fiction, all themes and characters belong to Ubisoft. No copy-infringement intended.


Escape

"Are you mad?!" Shaun asked. Desmond gave him an annoyed look. "No, seriously. Are. You. Mad?"

"Yes. Apparently I'm crazy, now shut up and help me with this thing!" Desmond replied as he began moving a pallet of supplies. Shaun shook his head as he moved over to Desmond to help him with the pallet jack.

"So, what? You plan to stroll in there and go 'Hello! I'm here to volunteer for your super-secret project that no one knows about!'? Yeah, I'm sure that'll go over well. If you don't get shot after walking through the door." Shaun remarked.

Desmond rolled his eyes. "Look, Lucy says that the Templars are getting close to finding the location of a P.O.E. And it's safe to say they're going to try and find someone, anyone who has a strong enough connection to those who had a run-in with them."

"In other words, anyone who's a descendant, even remotely, of Altaïr, or Ezio, or any other assassin, is a prime candidate." Shaun grumbled.

"Yup. Think of it this way, Shaun. I've already got all the training I need, and Lucy is going to need help disappearing whether I'm there or not. Together, we'll be able to get what we need and slip out."

"So you already got an escape plan lined up? Brilliant! I'll just tell Rebecca to gather the party supplies." Was Shaun's sarcastic reply. Desmond gave him another annoyed look. "Oh, don't tell me –!"

He looked away, a little sheep-ish, "No escape plan yet. Just a plan to get in. I figure I'm gonna have to be inside to really work out an escape plan. I may be able to gather some good intel while I'm there." He explained. Shaun was quiet for a good couple of minutes.

"Alright, alright. I'll back you on this and I'm sure Rebecca will be all over this, even with the lack of an escape plan. You know, with the chance to get full access to Abstergo tech and all."

Desmond gave a small sigh of relief and a small smile, "Thanks man."

"But I'm not explaining this to your father. That will be all you, my idiotic friend." Shaun let out a chuckle as Desmond frowned.

"Do you think we can get away with not telling him?" Desmond asked hopefully. He loved his father, he really did, but sometimes the old man fought against Desmond taking any high-risk assignments and such. Desmond had to push and fight for months to become Lucy's support and back-up. In the end, his mother had a 'talk' (her words, not anyone else's) with his father and Desmond made his way to Italy. Even still, William Miles always seemed to panic when Desmond didn't send a report 'on time'.

Shaun rolled his eyes. "You really want to push your luck, don't you? Because letting yourself get captured by a bunch of Templars, who would love to use you against your family and kill you, and then trying to break out of a Templar strong hold isn't enough! Not telling your father is sure way of getting others involved!"

"Ha-ha. Fine. I'll drop him a note or something. Let him know I won't be able to contact him for awhile. But can we agree on keeping him in the dark for most of this? The last thing I need is for him to deciding that I need rescuing and sending a shit-ton of people here. That'll just get all of us killed." Desmond said and was thankful when Shaun nodded in agreement. "And you know, I like living. Don't you?" Shaun laughed as they finished up sorting pallets of supplies.

"You're going to at least give Lucy a bit of a warning, aren't you?" Shaun asked later on that night during dinner.

"Yeah, don't wanna freak her out too much when you suddenly show up in the Lion's Den." Rebecca added before shoving a forkful of salad.

Desmond thought about it for a moment. He had been debating it for quite some time. Should he really be telling Lucy about this plan? He had spotted a suspicious person coming to the bar every couple of days for the last few weeks. He didn't doubt it was a scout, either seeing if it was possible to nab him or keeping a set of eyes on Lucy. Whether it was the former or the latter, it was probably not the best idea to try and keep Lucy in the loop. Less of a chance of something going wrong. Less of a chance of them being overheard.

"I don't think so. Less people in the loop, the less chance of us falling under immediate suspicion." He sighed, the other two reluctantly agreeing. "So we're all in agreement. In approximately two weeks, I'll get a proper motorcycle license, make myself a nice prime target, and get myself caught by the Templars."

"And from there, you'll gather intel and send it to us and we'll help find a way to get Lucy and yourself out of there." Shaun continued.

"And don't forget to send me glorious access to Abstergo's giant database! All the access!" Rebecca cried. Both men chuckled before returning to their dinner, "But you're still telling your dad."


Lucy glared at the digital display of the elevator, her foot nervously tapping. The damned machine didn't seem to be moving fast enough. She pulled out the Zippo lighter that she had received n the mail that morning. The letter that had come with it was even more cryptic message then the one that Desmond had sent her earlier in the week. A sigh past her lips as the elevator finally arrived to her floor; whether that sigh was that of relief or her holding her breath for too long. Quickly she went to the main Animus room, trying to keep her nerves under control. She was worried about that the Templars had already made their move. That they already begun their quest to retrieve any and all Pieces of Eden they could find. Worried, excited, and terrified at what Desmond could possibly have planned for their escape. She paused outside of the door, her hand hovering over the key-pad. Lucy pulled out the slip of paper that had come with the lighter.

What sent Alice into Wonderland?

She sighed and stuffed the note back into her pocket and keyed in her pass code. Something told her that Shaun wrote that one; most likely because whatever Desmond had planned reminded the historical expert of something he had read. After-all, the man had read nearly all the classics. The door opened and the smell of alcohol assaulted her nose.

"What on earth -?"

Lucy barely had time to fully register what was going on when suddenly someone grabbed her from behind. A strong hand wrapped around her throat and a strong arm trapped her arms against her sides. She couldn't stop herself from letting out a scream before the hand around her throat clapped over her mouth.

"Don't worry," Desmond whispered in her ear, "its all part of the plan. I've got what we need. Did you bring what was sent?"

She gave a quick, shallow nod, glancing down at her right side. Quickly, Desmond reached into her right pocket and pulled out the lighter. Without warning he released his hold on her and grabbed her arm tightly, all but dragging her towards the center of the room. The canvas bag, which Lucy had left behind, filled with various alcohol and mixers, was atop the Animus; the mixers had been tossed aside and many of the vodkas, tequilas, and rums opened and emptied. He was quick to grab another bottle and Lucy, in her confused and panicked line of thought, wondered if she had really bought that much alcohol. She watched him pour a large bottle of vodka around the Animus. It was then she realized that the Animus was on and was making a noise that it shouldn't be making.

"Here, before I forget." Desmond tossed her the Animus's memory core. She stared at it for a moment before hurriedly shoving it in her pocket. Lucy jumped when the Animus made a high-pitched whine.

"Desmond…?" she kept looking between him and the violently humming machine. She found herself inching away from the machine, the industrial carpet squelching beneath her feet. The door she had used just moments ago burst opened and a number of guards rushed into the room.

"Hands up! Miss Stillman! Step away from Subject 17!" one of them yelled, all of them guns raised.

Lucy was frozen to the spot. She felt herself pale and her legs felt like they weren't a part of her body anymore. What the hell was she supposed to do? What was she suppose to say? Thankfully, Desmond saved her from having to do anything. She jumped when she heard glass shattering and he grabbed hold of her again. This time, the broken end of the bottle pointed at her throat, his grip around her waist and arms painful. He didn't have to tell her anything; automatically she grabbed hold of his arm as best as she could, trying to reach the arm holding the makeshift weapon. The guards were shouting at him to drop the weapon and let her go. Vaguely she noticed a guard radioing for backup. She wondered if she should be worried about more guards showing, but Lucy was more worried about the Animus. The machine was getting louder and she could swear that she could feel the heat coming off the machine.

She felt Desmond let go of her waist and it didn't click until he held out the Zippo lighter, the small flame standing proudly. Her eyes widened and she started shaking her head.

"D-Desmond-! Y-You don't h-have to do this!" Lucy didn't have to act terrified. She was genuinely questioning her partner's sanity at the moment, wondering what on Earth had possessed him to do something this stupid and dangerous. She pulled on the arm holding the bottle, trying to get the object as from her neck as possible, trying to be prepared for what was undoubtedly to come next. Lucy could practically see the smirk on Desmond's face.

"Enjoy your trip to Wonderland, boys." He said. And then he tossed the lighter towards the Animus, where it landed on the alcohol soaked carpet, and within seconds lit the room on fire. The chaos seemed to happen in slow motion for Lucy. The fire started to spread across the carpet, followed by the few furnishings, and then the Animus started to spark, encouraging the flames to spread further and higher. Lucy began to wonder why the sprinkler system wasn't kicking in, but Desmond had no intentions to stay.

He tossed the bottle at a guard, hitting the poor soul directly in the face. Desmond grabbed her arm again and they ran into the conference room. This room too reeked of alcohol. A lighter was on the table and Desmond was quick to set fire to the floor and a number of chairs. The main fire started to find its' way into the smaller room, smoke piling in. Lucy was the one to force the door to the fire escape open. It only took them a few flight of stairs to discover nearly every employee was in a panic and trying to flee the building as well. They ran down the steps with the others. Templars and unallied were too busy trying to save their own lives to notice the two assassins. Lucy could have sworn she saw smoke coming from the doors of different fire escapes. Soon they were outside, crowed with dozens of other employees in an alleyway. Many had stopped moving, gawking at the smoke billowing out of the upper windows. Lucy was out of breath as she and Desmond reached the edge of the crowd. She found herself staring at the smoke. Knowing what had caused it, unsure what the next step was.

"C'mon! No time to waste. The cops are almost here!" Desmond whispered urgently in her ear, tugging on her arm. She turned to look at him, surprised to see his hood up. "Let your hair down."

She stared at him blankly for a moment before nodding and following his instructions. They jogged down an adjoining alleyway, the tell-tale sounds of sirens approaching the now burning headquarters of the Italian branch of Abstergo. Both assassins kept looking behind them, hoping that no one had noticed them. Lucy had almost run into Desmond when he stopped suddenly.

"So… I'm going to assume this is part of Step Two?" Lucy asked quietly as they caught their breath. He nodded, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards. It took her breath away for a moment and settled her fears. She knew that seemingly cocky grin well. Lucy had missed it, wondering if she would ever see it again. "Want to tell me what the whole 'Wonderland' thing was about?"

Desmond let out a laugh. "Old-ish PC game that takes kind of a dark spin on Alice in Wonderland. The Alice in it finds Wonderland after a fire burns down her home and kills her parents."

Lucy just gave a slight nod, before glancing around. She could still hear sirens wailing not too far in the distance. They had to get out of here. "Please tell me you have some way of getting us out of here."

He smirked and nodded. The rumbling sound of a motorcycle filled her ears, drowning out the sirens. Lucy glanced back at Desmond. He looked as happy as child on Christmas; eyes shining with eagerness and almost bouncing on his heels with excitement. The motorcycle rounded the corner sharply and stopped directly in front of them. The rider, a young woman, quickly and gracefully got off the bike. Briskly she walked over to them, pulling off her helmet.

"Sir, Ma'am." She nodded respectfully in their direction before handing Desmond a large messenger bag and an extra helmet. "Everything's set and they're waiting for the two of you."

Desmond nodded and began pulling a pair of jackets out of the bag. "Thanks for everything. Make sure your team is out of here before the first hour of tomorrow. Got it?"

The young woman nodded. She handed the helmet to Lucy. "Welcome back to the field." She whispered to Lucy.

She looked at the young woman who was giving her a shy smile. Lucy returned it, thanking her for the helmet. It was a little obvious that this was the young woman's first mission in the field. The hopeful look on her face reminded Lucy of herself when she was younger, just at the beginning of her training. . Eager to show her worth and how she could be an asset to the Brotherhood. God… that was such a long time ago.

"One more thing." Desmond suddenly said, drawing the attention of both women. "I need you to take this to your superior. Tell them to pass this on to the Mentor and be on high alert." He instructed, handing the young assassin a flash drive. He zipped up the leather jacket. Lucy recognized it from their many meet ups at Bad Weather, to deliver data on raids. He tossed Lucy the extra leather jacket. Lucy glanced over at the motorcycle and suppressed a groan. Reluctantly she pulled on the jacket, mentally preparing herself for the ride. Another glance at Desmond revealed that he was already on the motorcycle. Even though he had his helmet on, she certain that there was a huge grin on his face.

"C'mon, Lucy! Time to get moving." Desmond called out. He patted the seat behind him and Lucy groaned. She pulled on the helmet, taking the seat.

"Whenever you're ready." She sighed, wrapping her arms around his waist. Lucy couldn't contain her cry of surprise when Desmond started the bike and zoomed off, leaving the young assassin behind.


Desmond knew he was smiling. Grinning like a madman, no doubt, but who could blame him? After a whole week being trapped in the same set of rooms, with the same people (even if he did like one of them), it felt more than amazing to be out of that building and being free to ride again. He felt Lucy's grip tighten on his waist and he chuckled. He briefly increased his speed and laughed as she tightened her grip even further. She was probably scared that he would collide into something and kill them both.

'Not an unreasonable fear. Your speed will draw attention from city guards, novice!'

Desmond just rolled his eyes, ignoring the phantom voice of Altaïr. It was probably bad enough that he was acknowledging the voice with responses every now and then. But he found some humor in the slight panic in Altaïr's voice. Desmond felt Lucy's fingers dig into his sides. Okay, so maybe Altaïr was right about the speed. Desmond decreased his speed, hoping that Lucy would loosen her death grip just a smidge. She didn't. Thank god he was almost to the hideout. As much as he was enjoying the ride, it wasn't as much when the other person wasn't enjoying themselves. Eventually he pulled into the hideout and as soon he turned off the bike, he felt Lucy relax.

"And we're here." Desmond announced after pulling off his helmet. He watched her over his shoulder as she pulled off her own protective headgear. It felt like a weight was being lifted off his shoulders as he saw her expression soften and a gentle smile spread across her face as she looked around.

"Welcome back, Lucy." He said softly.

"It's good to be home." She replied in a similar, soft tone. Awkwardly, she got off the motorcycle and Desmond bit back a chuckle. He followed her across the floor, the pair making their way to the second floor. "So what's next? We can't stay here forever, especially after that stunt you pulled."

Desmond let out a sigh. He had been hoping that Lucy would let herself not worry about Templars and Assassins. Then again, he shouldn't have expected so much. But right now, he was a little insulted that she called his wonderfully planned escape a stunt.

"That was an awesome escape plan and you know it." She gave him a skeptical look. "Oh, c'mon! It was! One for the history books! And you'll get to be a part of it, too."

"Despite the fact I was completely out of the loop until you started using me as a human shield. Oh, and let's not forget the part where you soaked the room in alcohol and set it on fire!" Lucy said, rolling her eyes, her voice filled with sarcasm.

He laughed, shaking his head. "It worked! Give it that, at least."

"Oh, it worked alright. Worked on scaring me to death." She scoffed. "You know that could have killed us, right?"

"Nothing we couldn't handle."

Lucy sighed, "But that whole plan was riding on luck! We could've been seen, captured! Who knows what could have happen then."

"Then we would have improvised and fought our way out."

"Great." She said dryly, "Just great."

Desmond let out another laugh and they continued up the stairs. He kept looking around, smiling at all the familiar sight of stacked crates and pallet jacks, the moving truck that was ready to go at a moment's notice. He had missed this. And he was certain that Lucy had as well. Desmond quickened his pace as they reached the second floor, excited to see friendly faces again. He paused though when he noticed that the only footsteps he heard were his. He turned around to see Lucy at the end of the hallway, staring at the double doors at the other end.

"Lucy?" he walked back towards her. She seemed to barely register that he was in front of her. "Hey, everything okay in there?"

Her gaze shot up to him. "Everything's fine…"

"But…?" Desmond watched her as her gaze fell back to the doors, waiting patiently for her answer.

"It's… it's been so long. I know it's irrational, but I keep expecting to walk into that damned room. To see Vidic standing there." She paused for a moment, composing herself. "I just… I don't…"

He shifted awkwardly, unsure how to respond. Though he understood. For seven long years, Lucy had to be someone else; she had be on guard nearly every day, every moment she had to be ready for something to go wrong. Worried that she would be discovered, worried for the unfortunate people who ended up being test subjects. Desmond couldn't begin to imagine what that must have felt like. He had been able to be himself, more or less, with his work at the Pen & Ink. Even when he had his little side-missions, when he had to have his mind fully on the job, there was still plenty of moments to unwind. Plenty of moments to forget that he was a soldier in a centuries old battle. He stood there for a moment longer before gently embracing her, feeling her stiffen.

"We'll be able to figure it out. You're not alone anymore. You've got more people this time, and you don't have to spend your money to see me whenever you want." Desmond said, hoping that it gave her some form of comfort. He felt himself relax as Lucy wrapped her arms around him.

"Thank you, Desmond." Lucy let out a soft sigh, her head resting against his chest, her arms wrapped firmly around him.

Even though he still felt a little awkward (Desmond was more use to giving words of comfort and encouragement), he was glad that Lucy appeared to feel better now. No tears was always a good sign. He pulled her a little closer, happy to finally have her in a safe place. Desmond remembered her telling him how the Templars kept her there, and once again he felt a mixture of emotions. Anger at himself and the Templars who had terrorized her, regret for not being there... At least now she was safe and among friends. He pulled away and gave her a small smile.

"Come on. We got a surprise for ya." Lucy let out a groan. "What? It's a good surprise!" He laughed and started leading the way again, Lucy walked by his side instead of following him.

"Yeah, well forgive me for being a little skeptical. Your last surprise nearly killed us." She said dryly.

"Pfft! I had everything under control! And you know it." He opened the door and stepped aside. "Ladies first."

Lucy rolled her eyes and calmly walked into the room with him close on her heels. He smiled as Shaun and Rebecca rushed over to greet them. Well, Lucy really. Rebecca was quick to give the blonde woman a tight hug.

"Lucy! It's been forever!" Rebecca cried, squeezing Lucy tight.

"My goodness, Rebecca. Let her breathe!" Shaun said, poking at one of the tech girl's arms, Desmond laughing the whole time.

"No way! I haven't seen my buddy for seven years!" she said defiantly.

Lucy glanced over at Desmond and Shaun for a little help, but they only smiled at her.

"Any trouble?" Shaun asked quietly, letting out a sigh of relief when Desmond shook his head. "That's good. We won't have to worry about your father sending more people."

"Everything set up for her?" Desmond asked. Shaun nodded.

"Oh! We got something extra to celebrate!" Rebecca cried. She let go of Lucy and ran to the mini-fridge, pulling out a white cake box. She quickly set it on the small coffee table and opened it, waving everyone over.

"You didn't have to do anything." Lucy said with a chuckle.

Rebecca laughed, "Are you kidding? You've been working for seven years! It's time for your day off."

"Not a vacation?"

"Not quite yet, Lucy. But you'll get it." Desmond promised. Lucy smiled at him before they both turned their attention back to the cake.

Congrats! You can now watch porn whenever you want!

Desmond laughed while Shaun and Lucy stared at it with a mix of disbelief and confusion. Rebecca grinned like a mad woman and began cutting into the cake.

"C'mon guys! Party time!" Rebecca cheered.

"Seriously? Don't we have –" Lucy began.

"No! No talk of work! Not tonight!" the other woman cried, interrupting Lucy. "Desmond! There's booze in the mini-fridge! Set everyone up, why don't ya?"

He chuckled and shook his head as he headed to said appliance, pulling out the various alcohols within. They drank till they were all pleasantly buzzed and ate the cake down to its crumbs. Shaun and Rebecca were the first to leave. Shaun, being the light weight that he was, need help back to his room. It was entertaining to watch a slightly drunk Rebecca guide a very drunk Shaun out of the room. The sight left both Desmond and Lucy in a fit of laughter. Their laughter died down into comfortable silence. It reminded Desmond of their meetings while he worked at the Pen & Ink. He mixed her another drink.

"Are you sure we can't talk about the next step?" Lucy asked, a breathless laugh leaving her.

"You know, this is your night to relax." He commented, getting up to grab a hard cider. "Your night not to worry about anything Templar or Assassin."

Lucy sighed and Desmond glanced over at her, a touch worried. She had had more to drink than usual. She mostly had mixed drinks, which hardly got anyone drunk. But Desmond had never seen her at her limit. Not once. So Desmond really didn't see the harm of letting Lucy having at least two more drinks. "Lucy?"

"Well, if you want me to relax, I'm going to need a few more drinks. Something stronger than a cocktail." She finished off her fruity drink. "And I think I'll start with one of those."

She smirked at him and Desmond couldn't help but laugh. He slid the opened bottle to her, getting himself another one. He could hear Altaïr's voice chiding him. Telling him that it was foolish for them to become so intoxicated. And in a Templar controlled city, no less. But Desmond ignored it; after tonight, it was probably going to be a long time till they could have another night like this. So he would enjoy this, and hope that Lucy was enjoying herself as well.

"So how on earth did you come up with that plan?" Lucy asked, "I'm pretty sure that starting a fire is not taught as option number one for escaping."

He laughed, "Well, I had to do something!"

She laughed along with him, "Seriously! What on Earth possessed you to set the whole room on fire?"

His laughter gently died down as he thought back to that decision. "I was originally going to use you as a hostage. Then Shaun and Rebecca sent me a lay out of the floor plans with the guards patrol schedules and such. And after taking a look at it, I realized that there was no way we were getting out that way. So I thought about, trying to figure what would send everyone in the building out at the same time as us."

"A fire." Lucy finished.

"The biggest one I could make. With a little help, of course." Desmond watched as she made the connections.

"Me bringing flammable alcohol…"

"And having the backup deliver some interesting packages."

"You had people deliver explosives to a Templar headquarters?" Lucy asked in disbelief.

"Nothing big. Just some packages that would get over looked." He took a sip of his drink as Lucy continued to look at him in disbelief. "They were out of town."

Lucy searched for words, and he wondered if maybe he shouldn't have told her about the packages. He took another quick sip, hoping he didn't look as awkward as he suddenly felt. And then she laughed. She tried to stop it, but it only caused her giggle. Desmond smiled, relaxing. It was good to see her smile. Her natural smile. He had seen it a number of times during the past five years, but it was rarely a smile that truly lit up her face. He hoped that he would see more of those smiles, like the one she had now.

"Well… You were right." She finally said, "It was an escape plan for the history books."

Desmond laughed, almost spilling his cider. "Good to know you agree!"

She chuckled, "You're probably going to be very bad influence on the younger generations." Lucy teased.

"Or encourage them to do something crazy when the situation calls for it." Desmond added with a laugh of his own.

Lucy raised her glass and Desmond followed suit.

"A toast!" She began, "To the younger generations! May they make smarter decisions than us."

"Any may their risky decisions be rewarded greatly!"

They finished their toast, and proceeded to drink more and more. Lucy's face became rosier and rosier, much to Desmond's amusement. It was fun to learn that Lucy was an overly friendly drunk. Her words only slurred in the slightest, and she seemed to smile readily. At some point, Lucy had abandoned her seat across the table for the chair next to him. Every now and then she would hug him, telling him that he was her best friend and he was the greatest bartender in the world. When she nearly fell out of her chair, he decided it was time to call it quits. Even he was on the tipsy side.

So with very little coaxing, Desmond helped Lucy to her room. Thankfully, she was easy to guide, even with her suddenly becoming a bit clingy. Her exhaustion started to show and he was happy to arrive to her room.

"Here we are. Hope you find everything to your liking." Desmond said, turning on the lights. He watched her as she took everything in, nervous for reasons he couldn't quite pin down. "I asked for some of the back up to grab a few things form your old place today. Well, I asked Shaun and Rebecca to put in the request."

"You remembered my quilt." She said quietly, almost like she was in awe.

"Huh?" he automatically regretted it. A sniffle reached his ears and he hurried over to her side. "Lucy?"

She was almost in tears. Desmond wasn't sure if they were happy tears or not. She suddenly threw her arms around his waist and he could feel tears starting falling onto his shirt.

"You remembered my quilt. You remembered my mother's quilt." She said with a serious of sniffles. "I thought I'd never see it again!"

Desmond sighed in relief as he realized that Lucy's tears were happy tears. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, a hand gently patting one of her arms. She was blubbering mess, but a happy blubbering mess. He smiled softly as Lucy slowly calmed down and finally went to bed.

'Hopefully her hangover won't be too bad tomorrow.'

He yawned and headed to his own room. Knowing his luck, he would be making hangover tonics for everyone tomorrow morning.