THIS IS THE LONGEST FRIGGEN CHAPTER EVER, BUT YOU KNOW WHAT? YOU GUYS DESERVE IT. ENJOY.
Chapter X
The next morning, Desmond was already up and changed for his classes. He'd figured he should wake up early to change his clothes; with great care, he washed himself in the shower and got dressed, all within half an hour. The shower itself was difficult to do, for he struggled with not getting soap into his cuts. The struggle with the clothes wasn't as hard, but it was still tiring. He'd wished he had asked for a day of rest, but he didn't want to complain to Chairman Ezio after the argument they'd had the day before.
Speaking of the chairman, Desmond reached for his cellphone and turned it on to see a small message from Ezio. He snorted when he read that the chairman still wanted to "talk" about Alex's situation. He deleted the message and slipped his phone into his pocket, and then checked his wristwatch. He still had enough time to go grab something to munch on in the cafeteria before his classes started.
Desmond exited his dorm, making sure to lock it with his keycard before leaving. He pushed two earbuds into his ears and turned up his music high enough for him to feel comfortable, but not so high for it to be so obnoxious in the morning. He entered the elevators and prayed it wouldn't stop until it reached the ground floor. In his head, Desmond was having one of those "I hate every single one of you" days, where he has to tolerate his friends, and mug-shot everyone else. God, he thought to himself as he exited the elevator and out the Boy's Dorm. I wonder if this is what Alex feels like every day. He mulled over it for a while before pushing the thought out of his head. Why was he even thinking of him right now? Desmond forced himself to focus on the current song that was playing from his earbuds, beating his fingers against his thighs to catch the rhythm.
He pushed against the doors of the cafeteria and found it nearly empty; the few students who actually bothered to wake up early were either eating their breakfast lethargically, or rushing to finish homework that they should've finished last night. Or a mix of both. Desmond made his way over to one of the lunch ladies who worked at the snack cart and ordered a plain white bagel with some cream cheese. He felt a tap at his shoulder and jerked away from it. He turned around to glare at whoever wanted to bother him, but relaxed when he saw Lucy.
Her hair was let loose around her shoulders and she looked very comfortable in her large black hoodie and poofy sweats, which were pulled up beneath her knees. Her lips were a light pink instead of her regular red, and her face was a bit paler than usual.
"H-hey Lucy," Desmond let out a nervous laugh. He's never seen her dressed this way before. She was always prepped with make up with her hair in some kind of up-do and she always looked presentable with a buttoned up blouse or something.
"Hey. Are you alright Des? You looked pretty pissed there for a second," Lucy said with a worried face.
"Uh, yeah well..." Desmond tried to come up with an excuse. "I'm just cranky from not being able to get some sleep last night." He rubbed the back of his head casually, then lowered his voice to a whisper. "H-how've you been? How's your arm?" She gave him a somewhat apologetic face and pulled out her arm from her hoodie pocket, revealing a purple hard-covered cast. Desmond winced lightly at the sight, then sighed.
"Well, injuries can't be avoided I guess. I would know, I've had a few since I was a kid," he brought his fingertips up to his mouth and lightly brushed his scar. He shrugged as he opened his cream cheese and broke apart his bagel. He offered a piece to Lucy, but she shook her head politely. They made their way to their lunch table and took their seats next to each other. Desmond smiled at himself inwardly; he glad he was able to finally hang out alone with Lucy. It was days like these where Desmond was able to fully relax and feel as if things were back to normal between him and his childhood friend. He even felt comfortable enough to just sit with her and not need to initiate a conversation; you don't get a relationship like that with just anybody, and even if you do, it's not often.
Lucy lightly cleared her throat, and set her arms on the table. She took in a breath and let out a yawn. Desmond pursed his lips together, suppressing a smile. How cute, he thought.
"So Des," Lucy started. "How was everything? Yesterday, I mean." Desmond hurriedly swallowed the bit of bagel he had left in his mouth before replying.
"It went good-well! It went well!" He quickly spat out his answer. Desmond caught himself and lowered his voice. "Slipping into the building went smoothly, and getting intel went just a well. No major injuries or anything."
"Really? That's great," Lucy gave him a smile. She turned back to her hands without another word and played with her thumbs. Desmond watched her expression go from light, seemingly unsatisfied in a matter of seconds. He rubbed the back of his head while surveying his surroundings inside the cafeteria; one person had already left, and a second hurriedly gathered their things together and bustled out the door. Desmond let out a sigh and focused on his crumpled napkin ball in front of him. He crossed his arms and leaned on the tabletop, speaking with a hushed tone.
"There were a few weird things, though...but they're really small stuff and they didn't really interfere with the mission," Desmond began.
"Oh?" Lucy spun her attention back on the young man. "Like what?" Desmond took a breath and let out a smile, pleased that he got her attention back.
"Well, you know how Gentek is supposed to be guarded by Blackwatch and military and stuff at the base?"
"Yeah?"
"When I got there, there was literally no one there. I mean, there were there at first, but after that, it was completely empty."
"I don't understand, Des."
"The place was guarded when I initially got there, but they all seemed like they were on edge," he explained. "They were all huddled together in a circle and had their guns at ready for anything," he shook his head. "I knew Blackwatch was twisted already but...they actually turned against one of their own guys." Lucy's brows came together in confusion.
"But why? What was going on before you came?"
"I don't know. Your guess is as good as mine, really," Desmond scratched at his nose before speaking again. "They were screaming on about something called Zeus..." Lucy's confusion heightened as she watched Desmond's face.
"Zeus?" Her voice was barely audible. Desmond took a breath and gripped at his sleeves. He debated in his head on whether or not to tell Lucy about what he'd found out about Alex and who he really is.
"Desmond? What's wrong?" She tugged at his sleeve and watched him with a concerned face. Desmond pursed his lips and stared back at her before speaking.
"Lucy? Promise me something really quick." She slowly let go of his sleeve and nodded. He sighed and shook his head. "Be careful around the Mercer kids, okay? I don't really trust them..."
"What...? But why-"
"Especially Alex."
"But Des-"
"Promise me." Lucy watched his eyes for a moment, as he watched hers, waiting for a response from one another. Lucy was the first to speak after a while.
"May I ask for a reason...?" Desmond gave her an apologetic look before ruffling her hair. "Hey! Des!" She swiped away his hand and pouted as she rearranged her hair.
"Just stay safe, okay?"
They chatted for a little while more before Lucy ended up going back to her dorm room to get her bag before class started, and Desmond decided to do the same. They parted from the cafeteria, promising to meet each other in their next shared class.
Desmond slowly made his way back to the Boy's Dormitory and savored the cool morning air. He walked through the empty archways outside of the school buildings, listening to the echoes his footsteps made against the smooth concrete ground. His earbuds were mushed inside his ears and light jazz was emitted from them. Behind him he could hear light, quick steps hurriedly making their way toward him. Instinctively, he maneuvered out of the way and walked off the middle of the path. He was suddenly jerked back by his sleeve and was forcibly spun around. Irritated, he pulled out his earbuds and growled.
"Seriously, what the fuck was that for?" When he was faced with bright ice blue eyes, his senses were shocked cold at first, but relaxed he realized who it was.
"S-sorry..." Dana let go of his sleeve and moved away, gripping her arm. She avoided eye contact with Desmond and stared off at the ground with an uneasy expression. Desmond inwardly cursed at himself. Shit, he thought. That's the second time this morning I've scared someone... His eyes scanned over the younger Mercer sibling before shaking his head. Whatever. I don't feel like playing nice anyway. As always, Lucy was an exception to his sour behavior.
"What," his voice came out harsher and more monotone than he expected it to be. She visibly jumped as he slipped his hands in his pockets, waiting for an answer. He didn't glare at her; he had no reason to. Glaring insinuated that he'd hated her. And while he didn't exactly trust her or her brother, it didn't mean he hated Dana's guts. She tugged at the hem of her zipped jacket, uneasy with the heavy atmosphere. Moments passed before she finally squeaked out an answer.
"It's about my brother..."
Desmond spun around and started walking away from her, back in the direction he was headed in the beginning.
"Wait!" She grabbed at his sleeves again, stopping him in his tracks. "If you think he's bad or some kind of freak monster..." she released his sleeve. "...Then I won't stop you from thinking that way." Desmond stood with his back against her. "Almost everyone who knows about Alex thinks that way about him, so it won't matter in the end."
Then why are you still trying to talk to me? Desmond growled impatiently in his head.
"But at least...at least judge who he is after you hear his story." Silence passed between them before Desmond turned to face her and let out an irritated sigh.
"And why should I listen to it?" Dana's eyes darted to the side for a second, unsure with how to answer. She lowered her chin closer to her chest before looking back up at the young man.
"No one's forcing you to..."
He tapped his pencil against his desk from the beginning to the end of class, all while at the same time bouncing his leg. He didn't know why he felt so peeved, but he just did. It was only a few hours ago when he talked to Dana this morning, and the way the conversation ended has been poking at his mind ever since then. He stole glances at the ticking clock at the front of the class, and glances at the empty desk beside him.
Alex had been absent from all of their shared classes. Desmond hadn't even seen him during Break or Lunch, nor Dana. Guess they're off playing hooky, Desmond thought to himself. You'd think it would be impossible for students to skip class if they're in a boarding school... As the teacher's voice droned on at the front of the class, Desmond allowed his mind to wander off elsewhere.
"No one's forcing you to listen to my brother's story...like I said, most people just write him off as a monster and avoid him the rest of their lives. Call me crazy, but I feel like you're not that kind of person. You don't seem like the kind of guy to just judge right off the bat. So, if you want, come talk to me afterschool. I'll tell you about Alex." Desmond furrowed his eyebrows at the short-haired girl.
"What makes you think I'm nice enough to second guess him? And why are you coming to me about this? What do you care?" Dana shrugged in response.
"Like I said, I'm only going off of my limited knowledge of you, but I feel like you're not that kind of person. It's just how I feel." She slipped out a smirk-a characteristic that the siblings seem to share. "And I care because Alex is my brother, my family. That's more than enough to be a reason, right? Besides...he needs more friends in his life."
Desmond grumbled in his seat as he slouched back against his chair. So she thinks I'm his "friend," he thought to himself. I barely even know the kid. I barely even had a proper conversation with him, let alone know him! Shit, under normal circumstances it would've probably went like: "Hey my name's Desmond." "Hey my name is Alex." "I'll be showing you around school! Feel free to ask any questions about homework and you're more than welcome to come hang out with me and my friends at lunch." "Hey cool, thanks bro." But noooo the kid had to end up being borderline sociopath and a danger to us all in the school. Yeah great thinking, Ezio.
Desmond knocked his forehead against his desk and groaned inside his head. Great, now I'm having made-up conversations with him inside my head, he thought tiredly. He brought his forehead up and rested his chin against his hard desk as he stared at the ticking clock before him.
Get me out of here already.
Two long hours later, the students were released from their classes, and not long after did Desmond's cell phone ring. The screen notified that he'd gotten a text message from an unknown number. Suspicious, he unlocked his phone, and upon reading the text, he found out it was Dana. Apparently Rebecca had given her his number along with Shaun and Lucy's just yesterday.
"Hey Desmond, it's Dana. Don't freak on how I got your number, okay? Rebecca gave it to me the other day. Anyway, come down to the Junior Field Gazebo and we'll talk there if you still want to. I'll see you until then."
The school grounds were split into thirds for each of the buildings. From the front gate of the school, the West Wing associates with Senior Field. Within Senior Field, is the Boys Dormitory building and the tall willow tree Desmond always passed by every day. Further behind the willow is the school pond. The middle of the school associates with the Freshman and Sophomore Courtyard. The Courtyard is covered with a white tile mesh path up which lead up to the front entrance stairs for the school. In the center of the courtyard was a white marble fountain with the a large clock at the top of it that could be seen from all four sides. The East Wing of the academy associates with Junior Field. The Junior Field holds the Girls Dormitory building and a tall white Gazebo between the academy and the dorm. Surrounding the Gazebo is the school garden filled with various flowers and trees. At the very back of the school is the Sport's Field, which holds the Gym Building, Pool House, Baseball Field, Tennis/Basketball Courts, Track, and Football Turf.
Desmond sighed as he clicked the lock button for his phone and slipped it back in his pocket. Dana was right, for one thing. Travelling from his hometown to New York widened his perspective of others a bit, learning he could find gold-hearted people in places he'd never expect. Those kind of people had come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and personalities, lending him a helping hand when he had initially thought they would do otherwise. He'd met a homeless man who liked to go by the name "Jim" once when he passed by a burger joint in Illinois. Jim was sitting just outside of the property, wearing a run-down red flannel shirt and worn out olive drab cargo pants. He had a grizzly look going on with his spotted brown and white haired stubble and frizzled hair that scared away most of the women and children, and earned cold shoulders from the men. Acting on instinct, Desmond went inside the property and, with what little money he had, bought some lunch for him and the man. Initially Jim didn't bother to say a word when he hesitantly took the burger, but once the two were finished with their lunch, Jim had opened up and told his entire back story to Desmond, and Desmond told Jim...part of his (Jim didn't need to know that on top of the fact that he was running away from home to follow the girl he cared about, he was also being tracked down by a handful of trained assassin recruits). By the end of the day, Desmond had shared a conversation with a man whom he'd found ridiculously wise despite his appearance.
As Desmond made his way through the East Wing, he couldn't help but get more and more skittish as he kept walking. Why was he walking so quickly? If he wanted to, he could take his sweet time. Dana would still be there if he were half an hour late, right? If this was so important to her, he was pretty sure she would wait for as long as it would take. Hell, Desmond could just not go to the gazebo at all and just carry on with his merry life. And yet, his feet still brought him to the school garden in the Junior Field.
When Desmond walked up, Dana was sitting on the bench with her knees up to her neck and she was listening to some loud, up-beat music. She was drumming on the polished wooden circular table in front of her and stared off into space as she nodded her head to the beat of the sounds. Once she noticed she had company, she casually pulled out her earbuds and greeted Desmond as if it were another normal day.
"How were your classes?" She'd asked. Desmond shrugged indifferently and replied with a short "eh." Dana smiled at this and set one foot on the floor of the gazebo. After some silence, she leaned forward on her one knee and wrapped her arms around it.
"Let's see..." she whispered to herself. "Where do we begin..." Desmond slid on the bench and took his seat on the far left of her, leaning back against the walls of the gazebo with his arms crossed. Dana took a breath before she started speaking again.
"Well, first off, I don't know what you've seen what my brother has done or have heard about what he's done, but let me assure you, he wasn't like that in the beginning. He was just like you and me. He sort of still is, but..." she trailed off from her sentence, then sighed. "Anyway, when we were younger, we didn't really have a home. We were foster kids, to be exact. When I'd asked about our parents, Alex just straight out told me our biological mom was in prison. God knows where our biological dad is, or even if he's still alive," she shrugged shook her head. Desmond shifted in his seat and waited quietly for her to continue.
"Anyway, we were poor for a few years, and then, when Alex was about twelve and I was around nine, we were finally adopted," she spoke softly. "They were a small rich couple with a huge house... There weren't any other kids around except me and Alex because our adoptive mother was infertile. The couple...they were honestly gorgeous. The wife was slim and had really pretty wavy blonde hair with a sharp face. She always had the most amazing jewelry... The husband was tall with these dark eyes and had...such an angry looking face," she quickly laughed uncomfortably.
"They introduced us to the maids and the driver then basically just left us to do whatever we wanted. They may have adopted us, but the maids more or less took care of us... The maids were all nice. Two middle aged ladies and one older looking one with graying hair. They played with me when I was lonely and respectfully left Alex alone whenever he wanted. I'll have you know, even though Alex is genetically different from us right now, he always was sort of a loner. He stayed in that man's library and workroom for days on end and just kept himself entertained in there. Of course, he'd come play with me when I'd ask but for the most part, he liked to keep to himself.
"The couple was always working, working, working. I can count the number of times they'd actually spend time with me and Alex on one hand. I thought it was okay at first, because you know, they've got a big house, so they gotta make that money to pay for it. After a while, that excuse wore out. They were always going off early to work for meetings, and then coming home late at night, way after our bedtime. Even on their vacation days, they'd work at home, holing themselves up in their basement and just work, work, work... I remember trying to get them out of their basement and asked them to hang out with us but they just flat out said 'no' and closed the door in my face," Dana pulled out a bottle of water and took a sip from it before continuing.
"We didn't go to a public or a private school," she said after clearing her throat. "We were actually home schooled by a hired tutor. Well at least I was. You see, after a few days with the tutor, the couple discovered something about my brother..." Dana looked off at the floor while Desmond stared at her with furrowed brows. Dana smiled to herself. "The guy's a genius."
"What...?" It took Desmond a while to let out his breath. She can't be serious, he thought.
"Well you probably haven't paying any attention to him in your classes, but if you have, you would've noticed he doesn't really do anything. He doesn't take notes or anything. He doesn't even bother to open up his bag. He kind of just slouches there until the classes end." Desmond narrowed his eyes in confusion. Does he really? Desmond couldn't remember a time where he'd seen Alex acting that way in their classes.
"Even if he's presented with something he hasn't seen yet, he'll learn it quickly and memorize it forever. He's just that kind of person," Dana smiled. Desmond sighed as his head bobbed down toward his chest. He was hearing Dana talk about their childhood, okay, but how does this convince him that Alex is a good person? He shook his head but didn't bother to make a remark.
"Our adoptive parents found out about Alex and his intelligence, and a little while later they found out that my brother had an interest for the sciences," Dana shrugged and crossed her legs atop her seat. She looked down at her shoes as she spoke. "Yep. The couple worked as genetic scientists...PhDs and everything. Can you see where I'm going with this?" She slowly looked up at Desmond to get some kind of affirmation. When she received no such thing, she merely continued on with her story.
"They started taking him downstairs into their basement lab and taught him all this stuff that I had no clue about. And since Alex wasn't exactly as rowdy as I was when I was a kid, they knew he wouldn't mess around and break things. I've never actually seen how he acts in the lab, but my guess is that he just only spoke when he needed to clarify things and only participated when he was told to. Other than that, he probably made sure he wasn't a bother," she shrugged. "I didn't really mind that they took an interest in him. I'd already made friends with the maids."
"Fast forward three years, and the couple became associated with a special project at work. And since Alex was more or less professional about what he did already, he was more than welcome to participate in the project. Something called 'Blacklight,'" Dana took in a deep breath and carefully spoke her next words. "The project was meant to create a biological weapon for Blackwatch to use against foreign powers... Blacklight is a type of virus that, when released into the air, can infect its victim and recreate and distort the victim's cellular makeup. They end up becoming these inhumane mutants," Dana spat out these words as if she were being pushed down by pressure. Desmond's eyes widened.
"There's no fucking way that's true. None of it!"
"You haven't heard anything yet. This is all still the beginning of it all," Dana spoke with a heavy sigh. Desmond clenched his fists under the table.
"If this is supposed to convince me that your brother isn't some kind of terrorist, then you-"
"No! No, it's not like that! Look, he and all of the other people working on the Blacklight Project didn't even know they were creating a biological weapon," she said sternly. "Initially they were told that they were studying the virus to help fight against global diseases, like cancer. They didn't know anything!" The heavy air sunk around them in the gazebo as they sat in silence. Desmond slowly unclenched his fists, but didn't bother to lighten his glare. Dana reclined against the back of the bench.
"What makes it all worse is that Blackwatch was the one who requested the project..." Dana muttered under her breath. "And then, after polishing and refurbishing the virus, Blacklight became practically deadly and virulent. Would you believe me if I said it was Alex who perfected it?" Dana spoke with a sad smile. "Apparently he had a thing for altering genes...and without him, the project would've taken longer to complete." By now, Desmond remained silent. He spoke nothing, not even in his head as he intently listened to Dana.
"The people who participated in the project naturally became suspicious. What they were creating was the complete opposite of what their believed goal was. The animals they were testing the virus on practically killed all of them. Not only that, the government started breathing down their necks, and started keeping watch on Gentek as they constructed Blacklight. Then, it got worse.
"The government didn't know Blackwatch was trying to create a biological weapon. And because the team involved with the project we're becoming suspicious of their true goal, BW started to get paranoid of a potential information leak. So what did they do?" Dana gave Desmond a weak smile. Desmond shook his head, partly because he was unsure if his guess was correct, and also because he didn't want to believe it. Dana nodded in silence as she slowly brought up two fingers to her head, mimicking a gun.
"Pshh," she let out a sound as she pretended to shoot her head. "The people involved with the project started dropping out and disappearing, one by one." Desmond's eyes went wide and his mouth hung open, wanting to say something. Anything. But nothing came out.
"The scientists at first were unaware of what was happening and just continued on working despite their suspicions. Alex kept on testing on a few animals and, one of them actually showed a beneficial side effect from the virus. Its strength was increased far beyond than naturally possible. When Alex revealed this breakthrough to our guardians, they were ecstatic. They thought they went far beyond their initial goal. They studied the virus and the test subject with the positive effects for days on end...until it was their turn.
"Blackwatch stormed the house and brought all of us-the maids, the couple, me and Alex-out to the front of yard, on our knees with our hands up. While we waited there, shaking, they ransacked the house and the lab. They brought out all of Alex's research, equipment, and test subjects. When they brought out the positive test subject, they set the cage on the ground and questioned us what it was. After the woman explained the exceptional strength and health of the subject, one of the BW commanding officers got interested... They started asking on whether or not the same positive results would work on a human. Of course, we didn't know because we've never tried.
"Then, with a nod of his head, one of the soldiers grabbed one of the maids and dragged her out in front of us. He dropped a large square case full of vials of Blacklight in front of our so-called 'parents,' and, without so much as hint of sympathy, he ordered them to 'test it right now.' They didn't move at first, but the two scrambled to get syringe ready when the soldier brought his gun up and pointed it at them," Dana shook her head as her voice trembled. "They injected the virus into all three maids after each of them came back with negative results after a few minutes. BW just executed the rejects on the spot and dragged them off to be disposed of as if they didn't even exist a few moments ago... The officer started getting irritated with us, thinking that we lied to him when we said we had a positive subject. That's when our 'parents' started to panic," she clenched her fists.
"They begged several times to give them another chance. The soldier was already angry, and didn't want to listen to them anymore. He started to order the others to take aim when that damned woman sparked an idea. She grabbed my arm and dragged be from the other side of Alex and pinned me under her, telling her fucked up husband to get a needle. The commanding officer hadn't given the signal for fire yet, and just kept his men at ready. I guess he wanted to see the results too...
"They tried to test the virus on me. My supposed guardians tried to sacrifice me to save their own skins. I guess they didn't bother to use Alex because he was more useful in their studies than I was. They still needed him for the project," her voice hitched as she spoke, and Desmond noticed the tears roll down her cheek.
"Alex was furious...I don't know what he was thinking," Dana brought her knees up to her chest again and rested her forehead on them. "He-he threw the woman off me and took the syringe himself. He stabbed himself in the arm and injected himself with the virus. It must've been agonizing because...I'd never heard him scream so loud before in my life. The pain must've been unbearable and he collapsed on the ground in front of us," Dana's gasps grew louder with her quiet sobs. "The commanding officer must've thought he was dead, so he stepped up to his body and sent a bullet through brother's head after a few minutes of waiting for him to mutate. I'd just seen my only family left killed right in front of me. I couldn't even let out a sound, let alone a scream. The officer grunted and ordered one of his men to get Alex's body, but when they picked him up and started to haul him off, they immediately dropped him when they noticed his head slowly started to reconstruct itself... They shot a few more bullets into him and watched the bullet holes close each time. We didn't know what happened, but because of it, we lived...
"Now under Blackwatch orders, the fucking woman and her husband were forced to study everything they could about Alex's 'condition.' My brother didn't wake up again until the next day...and our 'parents' and their co-workers were already trying to cut open his body and taking blood samples while I was locked up and stranded in my room... We stayed like that for a year and a half. I didn't know what they were doing to my brother or what was going to happen to me.
"They hired new maids to take care of me. They gave me food in my room and they even renovated a personal bathroom next to my room. Of course I've tried to escape. To run away. But they'd always found a way to drag me back to that house. With or without force... And the police? Tch. They've never even bothered. In fact, they're the ones who'd take me back. I was a prisoner in their home, while my brother was their guinea pig under the Gentek facility," Dana controlled her sobs and tried to stop her tears. She took in deep breaths and Desmond let her do so until she was ready to keep talking. He was going to listen to this until the end.
"And then, I get a visitor late at night. Just out of nowhere, my door swings open...and a man with a hood came in. Something in my heart wished it was Alex who finally broke free from Gentek and came back to get me before running away from this damned city," she laughed inwardly at herself as she shook her head. "Obviously that wasn't the case. Instead it was Malik, you know, the gym teacher and close friend of Chairman Altaïr? God knows why he happened to be my 'knight in shining armor' that night, but regardless I was nearly crying when he'd told me he was getting me out of that house. He merely told me that my brother was waiting for me, and followed him out the house and into his van. I remember seeing the maids knocked out cold on the floor while we just casually made our way downstairs. Now to the public eye, I'd technically just been kidnapped, but to me, I'd been rescued. I didn't even bother to ask any questions in the car, nor did I bother to say anything when I was taken to Chairman Ezio's office that same night. You're probably thinking I was a total idiot at that point in time, but think about it. If you were confined in a home for nearly two years with no social contact whatsoever, would you really care if someone came to take you away?" Desmond shook his head solemnly. Satisfied with his answer, Dana nodded to herself. "I thought so."
"So? What did Ezio have to do with any of this? Just out of the blue, the chairman decided to breakout two siblings hiding in the shadows out of kindness? Even I know that's highly unlikely," Desmond sighed.
"Of course. However, I honestly don't fully know the reason behind it," Dana spoke.
"You're joking."
"No, I'm not. When I stepped into his office that night, I didn't care about anything but my brother. The only thing I'd asked him was where Alex was, and apparently Malik lied to me. Alex was nowhere on campus. At least, not yet. The chairman had told me that breaking Alex out of Gentek was a lot harder than getting me, seeing as how I was only being watched over by a few maids... It took them about a month until Alex was finally dragged out of there. During that time, all they were able to do was sneak in and asses whatever situation he was in and gather info. They'd tried to talk to him, but my brother at the time was pretty...stubborn. To say the least. He didn't remember too much because of the bullet that was sent through his head the day of the raid. He could barely even remember his own little sister when they mentioned my name. In short...he was borderline feral.
"When he finally remembered enough to know who I was, he'd broken himself out, knowing his last family member was still out there."
"He'd broken himself out? How? What the hell, did he just slaughter everyone within a fifteen meter radius?" Desmond exclaimed.
"No! Please, quit expecting the worst from him, alright? He disguised himself."
"He...disguised himself," Desmond let the concept sink in for a while. How mundane for an unnatural person to do.
"Yes. Well, not exactly in the way you're thinking, but yeah. He broke himself out," she repeated and shifted in her seat. "You see, along with supernatural strength and speed, my brother gained a few genetically enhanced...super powers." They sat in thick silence. Desmond's expression went from skeptical to bored.
"'Super powers,'" he repeated.
"Yes-"
"You're telling me that your brother is some kind of dark superhero."
"No! Of course not! I don't know about you but 'superhero' is the last thing I'd like to use to describe my brother," Dana huffed. "Listen, these powers he has...they play with his genetic DNA. He utilizes this thing called Biomass. It serves as his energy source, and the only way to keep him going is if he...consumes a living organism. Now I know this is hard to believe bu-" Dana looked up at Desmond's face to see his eyes wide. Dana spoke slowly while maintaining eye contact with the tanned young man. "My brother consumes to regenerate. To heal. But along with healing himself, he can also alter his appearance according to the biological material he consumed. He sees their memories, gains their knowledge, and their energy. And with that energy..." Dana let her sentence fade. Desmond sat in cold fear with his eyes trained on the younger Mercer sibling. His mouth hung open and his hands clawed at his pants.
"...People," he'd finally said. Dana cautiously nodded. "Your brother, eats fucking PEOPLE." Desmond let out a dangerous whisper.
"He doesn't necessarily 'eat'-"
"Why the fuck are you two even here?!" Desmond slammed his hands against the table. "Why not go to fucking China or something?! Why here of all damned places! For fucks sake, at least be out of the city! You wanted to get away from Gentek, didn't you?!" Dana's voice stuttered as she replied.
"W-Well it makes sense doesn't it? 'Hide in plain sight?'"
"Oh no, don't give me that crap!" Desmond shouted angrily. "You're the last person I want to hear saying that!" He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He couldn't believe anything he was hearing. He didn't know what to believe. His fists shook at his sides as he stood before her.
"God, first you tell me that what I know about your brother is a lie," he started.
"Des, plea-"
"But literally everything you've told me so far, points in the direction of your brother being some kind of biological cannibal!" He started to tremble as he spoke his mind. "He eats people, Dana! Wake the fuck up already! If you honestly think that man is still your brother...!"
"He is! He's the only family I've got, Des, and I'm all he's got!"
"What about the people he's consumed?!" Desmond roared. "What about them? What about their families?! All of a sudden someone important to them just disappears without a trace and you're telling me to just disregard the fact that it's all because of your brother?!"
"No, it's not like that! Please-"
"'It's not like that?'" Desmond stared down into ice blue eyes that were beginning to well up. "Then what happens to their bodies when he's done, Dana? Does he just spit them back out and act like nothing happened? Where do you think their bodies go, huh? What do you think he does with them?"
"No, that's not..." Dana's voice was barely above a whisper. Desmond shook his head and cursed under his breath.
"He consumes to survive..." Desmond let out a heartless laugh. "So every few weeks someone mysteriously goes missing, and you're trying to defend him." He should his head and took in a breath. "This has got to be the worst joke I've ever heard."
"As if you are any better!" Dana stood from her seat. "You're a goddamn Assassin for Christ's sake! It's not like you've never spilt blood before either!" Desmond gave out another laugh.
"So you do know what this school really is."
"Yes, I know, considering how I was rescued by one of you," Dana spat out.
"Well then I'll let you in on a little secret," Desmond leaned on the table closer to her. "I've never killed anyone yet, but at least when I do, I'm not killing for my own personal gain." His cold smile slipped from his face as he straightened his back. He tipped his chin up and glared down at her.
"We may be Assassins, but at least we kill for a reason."
Dana sat with her clenched fists over her knees. Desmond had already left ten minutes ago without saying another word. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes, but she bit them back, taking in deep breaths. Failing to keep calm, she pulled her knees to her chest and let out her sobs.
"I'm sorry," she let out between hiccups. "I'm so sorry...I only made it worse." Behind her, Alex shifted and stretched his legs. He leaned his back against the outer fence of the gazebo.
"...It could've gone better," he finally said with a hint of disappointment. Not for his sister, but for himself. Dana let out a few more restrained hiccups and apologized again. Alex stuffed his thumbs in his pockets and stared down at his shoes, letting his sister cry behind him.
...To be continued in Chapter XI
Babbles: Holy shit.This took forever to write.
I'm really sorry it ended up taking me practically 4 months to update again even though it's during the summer (I'm actually going back to school in less than a week too hueh). Because I took so long I thought you guys deserved a rather long chapter. Now then, some after talk.
I'll admit I could've written Dana's story through a different perspective, like doing a page break and just telling it through her past. But one I thought about that I was already way too far into their conversation to want to go back and rewrite the whole thing. Plus I was desperate to get this out to you guys as soon as possible so... Anyway, since I went through with my initial idea, I ended up writing a chapter that is mostly dialogue. A++ WRITING SKILLS, I'LL TELL YA H-WAT. Nah just kidding actually the fact that most of this update is dialogue embarrasses me to no end. I really could've done a better job, so apologies if you're all disappointed with me. v_v
Next topic, Desmond acting like A TOTAL DICKWAD. Now, for the record, I barely ever plan out any of my chapters. Everything kind of just flows. And that's probably a terrible way to execute my writing, but still, flow. That being said, I really did not plan for Desmond to act this way during the chapter o_o It sort of just...happened. Now, a lot of you are probably freaking out, seeing as how I've quite possibly made Desmond engrave the Mercer Siblings on his permanent Shit List Tablet of Stone, but don't worry! I've got the key ideas sitting in my head of how this is all going to work out, trust me.
Last topic, Ezio's reason. Well now...we'll just have to wait for the next chapter now, won't we?
Until then, cheers.
P.S. We're not gonna be seeing any more of Jim. Sorry.