HIYAAA!!

OMG, finals is finally over, I've gotten my grades back, and now I am in full writing mode. I'm so sorry that this chapter took this long to get posted. About two days ago I started on it and realized it was completely out of character for both my story and the game. So I had to scrap that and start over. Anyways, here is the chapter that is long over due.

Summary: 16 tries again to take control of Desmond. But it seems this time Lucy can't help him. So who is it exactly that can stop 16 from ravaging Desmond's mind?

2012

Lucy was the first one up the next morning. She had watched Desmond sleep for almost half of the night. After she got out of the shower and was fully dressed, she high tailed it to the coffee pot.

"Thank God," she sighed, relieved that Shaun hadn't started a pot of his coffee. As the pot began making its gurgling and steaming noises, Lucy went back to her room and checked on Desmond. Still asleep.

How could someone so distraught in the head at times seem so peaceful?

She must have stood in the doorway, watching him sleep, for about fifteen minutes because she heard the coffee pot yelling at her that it was done.

Desmond jerked himself up, startled by the noise. "What the fuck is that?!"

Lucy couldn't help but laugh. "Coffee pot. You want some?"

Desmond tossed her a doubtful look. "Did Shaun make it?"

"No," she giggled. "I did."

"Yeah! Sure, thanks. Just let me get in the shower first."

"Alright." As she walked back to the kitchen, she noticed Shaun's bedroom door was ajar. She peeked in and noticed he wasn't there and then noticed Rebecca's bedroom door was closed. "What are those two up to?"

15 minutes later…

Lucy walked towards the bathroom, coffee mug in hand. She opened the door and blushed. Standing in front of her was a wet Desmond with just a towel around his waist. She never really got a good look at his muscularity during all the times she had seen him naked. It just now hit her. It was as if the water caressed the definitions of all his muscles as they ran down his chest. Her mind wandered at the sight of him…

Cast iron pecs, arms that could wrestle a polar bear, abs you could crack walnuts on, and that happy little V trail that…

"Lucy, you OK? You're face is all red." Desmond asked.

She shook her head and jumped back to reality. "Yeah, sorry, I got that cup of coffee for ya!"

"Thanks," he replied, one eyebrow raised. As Lucy started briskly walking away, Desmond stopped her for a moment. "Hey, I want to talk to you about what has been going on."

She turned around and Desmond noticed the surprised look that stretched across her face. "About…us?" she asked.

"Sort of. It's about my ancestors…let's just talked about it later."

"OK. Whenever you are ready to talk just let me know. I'll be here."

There was that look and sound of concern that defined Lucy Stillman. Desmond wasn't sure exactly what caused him to fall in love with her, or maybe it wasn't just one thing. Maybe it was a combination of her concern, deep blue eyes, petite body that could kick some major ass, and how she got off on teasing him. He took a sip of his coffee and closed the bathroom door as he wondered where he would be if it wasn't for Lucy Stillman.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Hey Lucy!" Rebecca shouted as she walked into the kitchen. Her excited voice scared Lucy half to death.

"What the fuck Rebecca? Are you trying to scare the shit out of me?!" Lucy screamed back.

Rebecca giggled.

Lucy had to smile at her. She saw Rebecca as a sister and could never be truly mad at her. "What?"

"Since when do you use that language? I think Desmond has been rubbing off on you, not just rubbing on you," Rebecca teased.

Lucy threw a towel at her with a faux offended expression on her face. "Why don't you tell me what you and Shaun were doing last night," she demanded as she poured Rebecca a cup of java.

"I don't know what you are talking about," Rebecca said. Her face was as red as a rose, so Lucy knew she was lying.

"Well for starters, I know he stayed in your room last night which isn't normal. Unless…what the hell did you two do for seven years while I was away?" Lucy asked with a disgusted look on her face at the thought of them two getting jiggy with it.

"Wha…I…You…We just…I don't have to answer your questions."

"What's going on?" Desmond asked as he entered the main area from the hall.

"Oh nothing," Lucy replied. "Rebecca was just telling me how she and Shaun pasted time by while I was gone. Apparently they were passing some extra time last night."

Desmond looked as if he walked in on his parents "passing time by" as Lucy put it. "Um, I didn't really need to know that. But hey! You and Shaun? Congrats!"

"Congrats to who and Shaun for what exactly?" Shaun asked as he walked up behind Desmond.

Desmond turned around and obviously looked guilty of something. "Congrats…for uh…lasting seven years living with Rebecca!"

Shaun looked confused and Rebecca looked insulted. "What is that supposed to mean?" she demanded.

"Nothing," he replied. "What are we gonna do now?" Desmond asked as he tried to change topics. "I mean I have already synched with Ezio and now we know about The Order, so where do we go from here?"

"We should start hunting down the Pieces of Eden as well as members of The Order," Shaun said.

Lucy disagreed. "I don't think we should intervene with The Order, our main problem is Vidic and Abstergo."

"I hate to say this Lucy, but you are wrong. I have seen things that The Order has done, things that Abstergo would consider unethical. If they get possession of just one Apple, God only knows what could happen. Trust me on this," Shaun entreated.

Desmond and Rebecca sat on the sidelines for this discussion. They knew their knowledge was inferior compared to the Brit and the blonde's.

"OK, say we aim most of our focus towards this "order", where or who do we begin with?" Lucy asked.

Shaun went to his desk and pulled out a manila folder and Blackberry from a bag in his chair. "These were Edward's. He had a list in his phone of some of the affiliates of The Order we can capture and question."

"What's in the folder?" Desmond asked.

Shaun's face looked grim. "It is some of the information about the experiments with you back at Abstergo. I was not aware that Edward and a few others he knew were plotting to use you as the perfect map and weapon against the Templars and the Assassins."

It was all starting to make sense to Desmond now. The hallucinations of him killing his friends, the statements about them being evil, and even last night when he attacked Lucy. "16! All his time at Abstergo made him think both Abstergo and the Assassins were the enemy. To an extent, he was right. That's why he wanted and showed me how to kill you all!"

Rebecca was flabbergasted. "He what?!" Shaun looked just as frightened as Rebecca.

Oh crap, he never told Shaun and Rebecca.

Lucy had his back. "A couple days ago Desmond had a hallucination that was triggered by 16's influence on him. He has been able to keep 16 under control, so it's nothing to worry about."

Desmond looked over at Lucy doubtfully.

She nodded back at him as a sign to go along with what she was saying. How could she tell the others about last night? They were already scared out of their minds even though they didn't show it. If they thought Desmond was a psychopathic killer, it would be good for nobody.

"Yeah, the dreams and visions are less frequent now," Desmond continued.

Shaun shook his head as he changed the topic. "Alright, I think we should prepare to leave as soon as possible. It will not be soon before long that Abstergo figures out where we are and it would be best we are prepared for the worst."

Lucy was ready to step into full boss mode. "I agree. Rebecca, why don't you start gathering all the important, and I mean important, files, devices, and the like pertaining to the Animus. Put them all in an organized pile for easy access. Shaun, you do the same with…"

"I am one step ahead of you," Shaun interrupted.

Lucy grinned and walked over to her desk to back up some files.

Desmond followed. "What do you need me to do, ma'am?"

She rolled her eyes and replied, "Rest. Your mind was run over by a freight train and hasn't had time to heal. Figuratively speaking. Just take it easy. Leave all this stuff to us. If we need any heavy lifting or something, I'll let you know." That all too familiar look of concern broke through her disguise of a cordial smile.

"Alright. Oh, there is something else I need to tell you. It's really important," Desmond said, running his words together as he remembered what it was he needed to tell her.

"What?"

"I think I accessed one of Ezio's memories last night and I wasn't even in the Animus. Is that possible?" he asked.

Lucy was surprised. "Y-yeah. I mean Subject 16 was able to do that, but that was what caused him to go insane. He had a hard time differentiating between memory and reality. Are you sure?"

"I have spent a great amount of time in the Animus, Lucy. I know what that feels like. At first, I thought I was dreaming, but then I realized I wasn't asleep. Honest to God, it was just like I was in the Animus."

This was too much for Lucy to take in. She already had to keep a close eye on him for not only her safety, but the others' as it was. Now this? "Why are you just now telling me this?"

There was no way Desmond could sweet talk his way out of this. He knew he was at fault and should have told her as soon as it happened. Despite that, he was honest with her. "I didn't think anything of it until now. I'm sorry. You know I wouldn't hold anything like that back from you."

She raised her voice in response. "No, you wouldn't. But 16 would," she retorted half angry, half worried.

By now, Shaun and Rebecca could hear the tone in Desmond and Lucy's voices and knew that something was up. "Everything OK?" Rebecca asked.

Lucy looked up at Rebecca who was sitting at her chair next to the Animus 2.0. "Yeah, we're fine. We were just talking…"

Desmond interrupted. "No, everything is not OK. Something has been going on that we have been keeping from you guys."

Lucy and Rebecca were unnerved by the livid look Desmond was giving them. Shaun turned around in his chair, now paying attention to what was going on.

"The visions we told you about, I have NOT been able to fully control them. Last night I tried to strangle Lucy and if she hadn't defended herself…I can't do this anymore." Desmond backed up to the wall on the left side of Lucy's desk and placed his hands over his face. Desperation and exhaustion began to resonate in his voice. "It hurts. He is fucking with my mind and I can't endure it anymore."

Lucy quickly stood up and walked over to Desmond as he slid down the wall to the floor. She reached out her hand in attempt to comfort him but it was no use.

Desmond looked up at her, enraged at what she had done. His cold, hard fist connected with the right side of her face. "Don't touch me you bitch!" He quickly stood up and shoved her to the floor. "Stay the fuck away from me you whore!"

Rebecca scooted out of the way as Desmond paced past her.

Desmond continued his rant. "All of you, just stay…NO!" Blood began to trickle from his nose as he fought back 16's hold over him. He knelt down on the floor and grabbed his head as he tucked it towards his stomach. "Get the fuck out of my head damnit!"

Rebecca rushed over to check on Lucy who sat in the place where Desmond pushed her. Shaun got up from his desk and cautiously approached Desmond.

"Come on Desmond," Shaun whispered as he knelt down beside him. "Fight back, you can't let him take over YOUR mind like this!"

Desmond screamed as he struggled to regain control. He wasn't about to give up. He managed to win last night, and he would win again. Then, as soon as he started screaming, he stopped. His body went limp as he fell to the floor.

Shaun rolled him over so he was lying on his back. "Desmond? Are you alright?" Shaun asked.

His breath was heavy and his mind ached. "Yeah," he managed to get out between breaths. "I think Altair and Ezio are keeping him at bay," he responded.

Shaun was confused. "What?!"

"It's like they are holding him back, keeping him from taking over," Desmond went on as he attempted to sit up.

"What are you talking about?" Shaun asked as he helped him onto his feet and into the chair next to his desk. He handed Desmond a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe away the blood from his nose.

"I don't expect you to understand this, but it's like I have three people living inside my head. I can hear their thoughts, and I can even hear when they talk to each other. Altair and Ezio have never tried to take over my mind because they trust me and they trust all of you. But 16 doesn't, and now it's as if they trying to prevent him from doing it again."

Shaun's eyes were wide with confusion. "You're right, I don't understand. But I trust you, oddly enough, and I trust that you know what you are talking about."

"Thank you." Desmond looked across the room at Lucy and Rebecca who still had fearful expressions on their faces. "Oh God, all you alright?" he asked as he stood up from the chair. His balance was off and he stumbled as he tried to stand up straight, so Shaun helped him walk towards the girls. Desmond knelt down beside Lucy and took her hand in one of his while the other gently covered the cut and bruise that was starting to form on her face. "I am so sorry Lucy." Tears were starting to form in his eyes.

"Come on Rebecca, let's go in the kitchen and start lunch," Shaun whispered to Rebecca as he grabbed her arm and lead her to the kitchen.

"What are you doing?" she whispered back to him.

"They need to be alone for a minute. We can still keep an eye on them from here," he explained.

Rebecca nodded her head in agreement and helped Shaun prepare lunch.

Lucy still hadn't made eye contact with Desmond.

"Please. Please just look at me. I can't do this without you," Desmond pleaded.

Her face crinkled as she tried to hold back the tears she wanted to let flow down her face. She finally met his gaze which caused Desmond to start crying.

"Thank you."

Lucy answered his thanks with a gentle kiss.

"Well, well, well."

Lucy, Desmond, Shaun, and Rebecca all turned their attention towards the voice that was coming from the entrance into the main area.

"I hate to interrupt this touching moment, but…oh who am I kidding. I'm enjoying every minute of this. But seriously Miss Stillman, is Desmond really the best you could do?"

Lucy could hear the fury building up in Desmond's breathing.

"Vidic." Desmond whispered.

Well there is chapter 10!!

I have discovered that listening to Rise Against's newest CD (which is now my new favorite album) and Halestorm's album helps my fingers punch the keys on my keyboard faster and more efficiently. Many thanks to them!! Check them out!

Also, if you haven't, I highly recommend you listen to the soundtrack for Assassin's Creed 2.

Anyways, thanks so much for waiting for this chapter. I hope you enjoy it. And as usual, tell me what you think! Suggestions are more than welcomed!