Disclaimer: Nope, not mine.
A small break from 15th Century Italy to modern times and what happens now that they have discovered the emails. If you don't recall the emails that are about to be mentioned here, look at Part 6.
...am I the only one who thinks he should be tortured by enduring through the halls in that manor with a fleshy creep OKAY SHUTTING UP. I've been watching too many Amnesia: The Dark Descent; please forgive me for the amusement of imagining Vidic screaming as one of those creeps comes after him while the Benny Hill chase song runs on.
Warning: This take is for this story only; I don't own the game series (nor have I played them since I do not have one). Spoilers are ahead.
normal = English
italics = thoughts
bold= emails and screams(depends on how it's used).
Enjoy!
Part 9: Analyzed
Rebecca drums her fingers against her desk, quietly humming a tune she just heard from Youtube from one of the fellow Assassins (who just so happens to be a K-Pop fan) as she waits for the Animus scan to finish. She purses her lips, wanting it to finish so they can find a way to get rid of the glitch that is stuck in her Baby (it looks like Desmond won't be back within the next twelve hours since he's obviously stuck in 15th Century Italy... still).
In other words, she just wants to tinker a little with the Animus 2.0 for a bit, fix up some minor bugs that she also encountered with the sweeps, and then reboot it back up for Desmond to come home so they can finish their mission.
I wonder how he's doing in there? The black-haired girl frowns, glancing over at Shaun's monitor where the headsets were monitored. His computer is still on to make sure the communicators are open in case Desmond does find some way to fix some stuff happening from his end... aka returning the great Altair Ibn-La'Ahad back to 12th Century Jerusalem after getting Desmond and him away from 15th Century Italy where Ezio Auditore da Firenze is residing.
That is, if the glitch decides not to show its nasty little bugger face again.
Having the glitch there... That's obviously not good, Rebecca lets out a frustrated sign before glancing over at the screen that reads how much of the Animus the scanning has done. After Lucy, Clay, and Connor told Shaun and Lucy (after they brought in the 'amplifier' (AKA the mini Animus program that Rebecca created herself) to see if that helps Desmond return home) that Desmond was captured Altair and Ezio, her first reaction was just a big 'What the fuck' moment. ...it was actually verbally echoed by Clay, but the others were just as alarmed.
Rebecca thought something went wrong with the Animus and wanted to fix Baby to make sure that it was all right and working before William comes back. She knew it wasn't a virus (had it been, then the Animus would have been screwed over a loooong time ago); there was no way in hell did anybody hack into it (unlike Abstergo's programming, Rebecca made sure this programming was different and difficult for anyone to get into... unlike the email programs); and there was no way in heck did any stupid spyware or malware enter inside the Animus whatsoever (since when did the Animus have any sort of connection to the internet, anyway?).
So... well, it was ridiculous, but her reasoning was valid; perhaps the Animus must have developed some sort of AI into it, especially when Desmond comes into the program and goes back between here, Jerusalem, Venice, Florence, Constantinople, and back.
It wasn't strong before and it wasn't that noticeable in the first place... so why did it decide to get into a glitch, out of all times? She purses her lips in wonder. She can't help but give a silent giggle over the thought of what happened a couple of hours earlier; they realized that Desmond was taken care of really well by both Altair and Ezio. After all, who calls someone their 'darling' even after they know each other for a few days? She was wondering why Desmond sounded embarrassed when they all teased him about his practically non-existent love life...
...well, she can get the juicy details out of him later. Right now, she sees the scan is almost done, Finding out about the AI is important so we can find out about the source of the glitch. As well as... She glances over to Lucy, who is still busy as usual, typing away as she is also lost in her own busy world.
I can't believe that... do those emails really sound like her? Rebecca can't help but wonder if she... wrote emails to imposter William, If that's the case, then why did she mention about Minerva and the First Civilization?
Her mind wondered back to the other emails that she managed to save on her iPad. Maybe... she can reread those again to make sure she wasn't imagining things.
Quietly, she takes off her headphone, grabs her tablet, and gets out from her seat as she glances once more over at Lucy (who was still listening to her music and typing while looking up stuff over God knows what). Sighing, Rebecca taps on Lucy's shoulder. She can't help but force herself to grin once she sees the blonde yelp in surprise and look at her.
"W-What's up?" Lucy asks Rebecca in surprise.
"I'm going to take a break from the scan," The black-haired tech indicates to the computer, "Would you mind watching over it?" And not do anything like hack into my stuff since they're all password protected, she mentally adds, knowing pretty well that out of all the people in the group, Connor has trusted Rebecca to keep the videos of the previous Animus sessions safe (which for her, involves inventing a passcode only she knows; if Shaun, Connor, Clay, or anyone wants access to the tapes, all they have to do is to ask her). Nobody but her has also made the backups to the videos in case they do get erased; she knows how it feels like to get a computer hacked in with various virus (she fully blames Clay for downloading a movie).
And to be honest, as much as she values Lucy as a friend... she can't trust her like she used to.
It really sucks.
"Sure," Lucy nods before resuming whatever she was doing. Mentally sighing in relief that Lucy didn't ask any questions, Rebecca walks over towards the kitchen to brew herself some coffee and reheat some leftovers from the lunch earlier. After making sure nobody else was in the room, she opens her iPad and punches a few buttons before revealing the emails Asano gave.
Frowning, she glances over at all the emails that 'William' sent to Lucy. The first one she begins to read again...
Hello Lucy,
Your last email troubled me, more for your sake than the fate of the project. I have no idea what has gotten into you, but you're going to come down with an ulcer if you don't relax a little. You're doing excellent work, there is nothing for you to worry about. In terms of how Desmond is doing, however, I need you to keep eye on him. Report anything that you observe that might be relevant.
When you do get back here, we'll run several tests on him to see what you are saying is accurate. Take care of yourself and get some sleep!
-William
The test part obviously bothered Connor and Clay earlier. And why does Lucy, out of all people, have to keep an eye on Desmond?
Frowning, she goes to the email Lucy has sent him that prompted the response:
To William,
It already sounds unusual using your first name. But regardless, I just want to let you know what's been going on since our escape. I am worried that we might be caught if I am doing this; shouldn't these reports be in a more private setting? I am wondering if all the hard work we placed into this would be for nothing.
Desmond's been acting more unusual as of yet; he has been screaming and shouting in his dreams, saying some words in Arabic and Italian. I am honestly really worried about him. He keeps on saying a few things that I do catch from time to time- something about an Apple and how somethings were never meant to be touched or seen. I am not sure what all of these mean; but I will let you know when I manage to return.
-Lucy.
...huh. Okay. So... this was the email that prompted 'William' to mention there needs to be more testing? Rebecca frowns, but clicks on the next email that Lucy wrote:
William-
I was just wondering; is it possible for one to incorporate themselves into the Animus from the results of the Bleeding Effect? Or possibly learn from these side effects? I believe it would be possible from the rate Desmond is going.
In case you want to know, Desmond is improving greatly; he has been gaining more strength and his mind is that of an Assassins'. You were correct; he is of great potential. Perhaps like someone that we know. Even his brother Connor is aiding him in combat; I am surprised to see how fast and swiftly these two can learn.
I have also learned more about the Pieces of Eden, but my suspicions have not been confirmed yet. I will get back to you soon; I will learn more about what Desmond has to say.
-Lucy
Rebecca blinks before frowning, looking at it next to the responded email from 'William':
Hello Lucy-
Sorry about the slow reply, just got back from lunch. Good question! I'm not sure if we can do that, but ask again once you're back here.
From your previous report, Desmond seems to be progressing perfectly. It seems as you are all accomplishing something as of now. Just make sure your friendship doesn't jeopardize our goals. Great work as always and hang in there!
-William
"Huh." She blinks, frowning as she rereads the emails Lucy wrote to 'William'. Something about these two... well, obviously, the one to William doesn't even sound like their mentor in the first place, but the emails Lucy gave...
...why does her emails sound off?
She opens the third one:
William-
Desmond is not all right at the moment- he just woke up from the last Animus session and we have just learned about the Piece of Eden we have been searching for: the Apple of Eden.
It apparently houses Minerva, the warrior goddess, the one called Athena; she is part of Those Who Came Before. I dare not think that she would even mention about the abilties of the technologies they have built; they are the key to our answers. But now's not the best time to address it; Desmond is still exhausted from the Animus session and we called it a night.
Perhaps this is the key we need; the last piece to the plan that we desire. But, if we are willing to sacrifice the ones that we helped our lives to, especially to the others, Desmond, and Connor...
...I want them to realize that their way is wrong; our way is right. Our way is the truth; their way is that of a foolish boy's fragile dream. I want things to be set right through us.
Forgive me. I have said a little too much of my feelings at the moment.
-Lucy
"...oooookay, what the hell was all of that about?"
Rebecca blinks and rereads the email about three to four times. She quickly pulls up the corresponding email 'William' sent as she scans over it:
Lucy,
The issues you raised in your last email have taken me by surprise, to say the least. Think of all the work, all the stress and planning we've all put into this. We had our suspicions for years about Minerva, about that particular Piece of Eden. What you heard could be correct; find out more and see if you can get your hands on the files and discover the truth.
If this works, you've been waiting nearly a decade for this day; don't put Desmond and all the assassins in danger just because of feelings you may or may not have. If you do somehow fail, there are going to be severe consequences ahead for you.
- William
The black-haired technician frowns. It wasn't until she hears the sputtering of the coffee that she decides to quickly pour herself a cup, pour in a little creamer, and begins to stir it as she turns off the microwave to pull out the leftovers. Setting them both aside to cool, she rereads all three of the emails that were supposed to be for 'William'.
Lucy doesn't say things in a formal fashion... or give reports in that tone. She was present at some of Desmond's training session... but not for their rest of the time since Rebecca clearly knows she was with Rebecca. And the emails don't mention a single bit about Clay at all (well... he did escape from Abstergo), but about Connor (which was also odd). And never in her life did she hear Lucy call Desmond foolish. Ever.
Rebecca skims over the emails again before setting her iPad down in confusion, "No way in hell she say anything about-"
"Say what?"
Rebecca freezes, nearly about to jump ten feet in the air before turning around to see-
"Shaun?" she exclaims in surprise, causing the sleepy British man to wince.
"There's my wake-up call," The red-haired mutters before stretching, "Thanks for that."
"Shut up!" Rebecca glares at him, "What the hell are you doing up? You could've given me a warning or something!"
"Thought this way might be better," Shaun shakes his head before placing his head on Rebecca's shoulders, "Are you reading those emails again?"
The black-haired Assassin blinks before grumbling, "Yes, Shaun. I am. Why are you asking?" She can feel two arms wrapping around her shoulders before feeling his lips gently kiss the outside of her ear. And she knows he can see her gently blush over at this rare action.
"You're not your usual chirpy self," Shaun murmurs, "I miss the optimistic Rebecca who finds a way to annoy me whenever she gets the chance to see me in my cynic mood." Another kiss against her cheek this time, "Not to mention point out the obvious and I get the chance to tease her about it."
"Only you Shaun..." Rebecca sighs, leaning against the British historian, "...only you can be cranky about my negative side."
"Because I have to be the one who brings it up and see you a little depressed.. it honestly worries me," The red-haired man gives a small chuckle, "...or whenever I have a big sleep deprevation and didn't get my usual cup of tea."
The black-haired woman softly giggles, "When has anybody ever seen you like this?"
"Well," His voice drops into one of irritation, "Earlier was a close call."
"It was," Rebecca frowns, "What are we going to do about it?"
"I'll take care of those bloody eejits," Shaun grumbles, shaking his head, "...Clay, being the smart-ass that he is, must've known about it." He pauses, glancing down at the iPad, "Why are you looking at the emails again?"
"I'm honestly worried and I'm making sure it's really Lucy that wrote those emails," the black-haired girl sighs, "Not to mention that I am worried about Desmond and how to fix the glitch... why are our lives difficult?"
Shaun sighs, shaking his head as he leans forward to place his head on her shoulder, "The life of an Assassin isn't easy; we see people die, betray, and kill each other. Rarely in life do we see people help each other unless it is necessary or for their own reasons." He sighs, "I am not sure whether to say we are any better than the Templars."
"I know."
"What about the emails, though? You said something doesn't sound like something..."
"About that," Rebecca pauses, "...I need to eat, but take a look at the emails Lucy sent to... you know."
"I get it," Shaun nods as he releases Rebecca, who happily goes over and begins to chow down on her cooled meal and coffee while he reads over the emails. It wasn't until a couple of minutes later did she see the Brit's eyebrows knit into one of confusion before he taps the screen again (Possibly to reread it, she muses as she finishes her pasta before gently placing the plate into the sink to wash it). At the same time, she begins to prepare Shaun's tea (the usual English Breakfast with a teaspoon of honey and a splash of milk) by heating up the water and measuring out the loose tea before placing it over the tea strainer.
After another five minutes, she places the now clean plate on the drying rack and sets Shaun's tea next to him (she can barely her his thanks) when she hears Shaun say something. She blinks, looking up at him, "Come again?"
"These emails..." Shaun faces her in disbelief, "...they don't sound like Lucy. Not a single word sounds like her."
"So you saw it too?" Rebecca's suspicions were confirmed then; it wasn't just her, "...do you want to ask Clay and Connor to read over them before we tell them?"
She sees the other technical assassin nods, "When we get the chance and Lucy is not around; I don't want to cause any suspicion casted on Lucy."
"I know." she pauses, "Out of curiosity... who wrote those emails and why from Lucy's email account?"
Shaun opens his mouth to answer-
-to hear a loud shout before hearing a crash.
They both glance at each other, realizing it came from the room with the Animus.
"Someone better not break anything or they are dead," Shaun grumbles as both he and Rebecca scramble out from the kitchen towards the room.
Lucy was the type that can be surprised easily.
Since after the escape from Abstergo (and she knows pretty well Vidic is livid and wants to find ways to not only get Desmond back, but to also kill the rest of the Assassins), Lucy has been uneasy about being caught; she is also trying to be more careful when going out in public.
Life of an assassins in a day, she recalls Desmond grouchily complain, It sucks to know people will always try to find you.
She agreed with him about it; but at the same time, she finds the Assassin life... thrilling.
In one of those stupid predictable suspense films kind of way.
Not to mention that she'd rather not return to Abstergo, especially after she found out what really happened to her friend and the circumstances that lead up to her death. Compared to the Assassins and what they want, she decides that between the lesser of two evils, Lucy would rather be practical and risk her life to save the world as opposed to controlling it.
Even if she knows what powers the Pieces of Eden were capable of, that wasn't why she was determined to stick with the Assassins...
She was doing this to make sure her friends come out safe and sound after all of their ordeal, including the ones she is partnered up with.
She sighs, continuing to type out her thoughts in a journal... before feeling a light tap on her shoulders, causing her to yelp in surprise as she swiftly turns her head and punches the person who she supposed was behind her. A loud groan of pain was heard as the person lands against the table from-
"Clay!?" Lucy looks alarmed and horrified as she sees the grimacing blonde Assassin, "Oh my gosh! Are you okay?"
"No, I'm not fine!" Clay groans, rubbing his stomach where Lucy had punched him as she frantically ran over to gently rub the back of his head (where he nearly crashed on the table, of course) "Lucy Don't you think that was a bit of an overkill?"
"I'm sorry!" She gasps, really worried, "You scared me! I thought you were still sleeping! Why are you still up?"
"'s okay," Clay groans, "I think I need an ice pack..."
"Oh. So that's what it was."
Both Lucy and Clay look up to see Rebecca and Shaun, whose shoulders visibly sagged (the former was blinking in surprise and still clutching onto her iPad).
"What... happened exactly?" The black-haired girl ask in confusion, "I thought something crashed."
"Nothing crashed," Lucy blushes a light red at her blunder, "I... I just jabbed Clay in the stomach-"
"You 'jabbed' me?" The blonde stares at her in surprise, "Luc, you punched me! And it hurt!"
"I'm sorry!" She exclaims in panic, "I was too concentrated in something, I didn't know that you were behind me!" She sees the slight disbelief in Clay's eyes before the blonde man sighs, patting Lucy on the head.
"You're forgiven," Clay sighs, shaking his head, "But seriously... how the hell can you punch that hard?"
"Oh yeah, about that..." Rebecca's voice cuts in to cause Lucy and Clay to look at her (even Shaun), "...I might have taught her a few self-defense moves a while back after that creep and his friend tried to hit on us when we were on a grocery run about a few weeks back."
Lucy gives a small smile to Clay, who was looking at her in surprise, "...it was either that or we had to get a taser."
A few minutes later (after Lucy gets an ice-pack from the first aid kit for Clay to nurse his head wound on), the four Assassins were all gathered around the metallic table Connor usually sits and looks over the plans on the laptop. Said guy is still sleeping in the break room, leaving the four Assassins to look over the task of trying to fix the stupid glitch.
It didn't quite help that while Lucy was getting the ice-pack (and had to look for it), Rebecca and Shaun told Clay about their newest discovery in the emails. After reading over them, Clay realized that there was no way in hell did Lucy ever write the emails sent to the imposter William... even after looking at the time and the way the emails were written.
There was something off about the emails...
And by the time Lucy got back, the three have decided to discuss about it with Connor and William is given the chance.
...if she doesn't find out about it first.
"So. How was the sweep?" That caught Lucy's mind back into focus as she hears Clay gently asking them.
It has been a good couple of minutes with them either catching up or just drinking coffee or tea; Clay and Shaun did get a good amount of sleep, but the fact that Desmond was still stuck in the Animus worried them. It even worried Rebecca and Lucy too; there was no way they can leave a comrade behind, even if this meant compromising the Brotherhood.
So much for following the three basic codes for the Order, Lucy thinks with irritation, That's been the hardest one anybody can follow ever since...
"Nothing showed up in the sweep. Again." She hears that Rebecca's usually cheerful voice is deadpan with irritation, "Shaun..."
"What?" The asked subject arches an eyebrow, taking off his glasses. Lucy can swear the black-haired girl blush lightly at seeing Shaun's eyes without the glasses for once before she frowns.
"Can we please stop these stupid sweeps so we can find out where the hell Desmond is at the moment? We might have lost track of him a while back! I think we might have conducted about ten sweeps already!"
"Not until we find out whatever the living fuck is causing that glitch in the Animus," Shaun sighs, rubbing his glasses lenses with a lenses cloth, "Are you positive that there was nothing in the Animus that-"
"I can support Rebecca's theory," Lucy frowns, "At this point, we found nothing that has caused the Animus to mess up. And yes, Shaun, I know. There is no such this as an AI. But, seeing as how we can't even get Desmond out of the Animus and all of our methods were moot, I now fully believe there is an AI inside the Animus."
The historian was about to open his mouth-
"Sorry," Clay sits at his seat, placing on his headphones, "You're outnumbered, Shaun. Connor even admits there is something wrong in the Animus that doesn't have to do with the program itself, so-"
The red-haired Brit gapes before groaning, lifting his arms in irritation, "Argh! Fuck it. Fine! So let's say there is an Artificial Intelligence inside the Animus-"
"Why not call it an 'AI'?" Clay smirks. Lucy mentally groans as Rebecca stares at the blonde man; Shaun looks like he was about to snap a pencil at someone. Desmond must have rubbed Clay off on fueling Shaun's ire for such a long time. And their fourth member got the idea as he give a small sheepish grin, "...sorry about that. Go on, Shaun."
Shaun was grumbling curses under his breath before resuming, "...All right, let's say there is an AI-" He shoots Clay a glare, in which the latter is snickering, "-inside the Animus. And that it somehow decided for some odd reason, to trap Desmond here with that bloody glitch. Why... do you think the AI decided to open a bloody portal from 12th Century Jerusalem to 15th Century Italy?"
The four glance at each other in silence before Rebecca speaks.
"Dunno. Maybe it was meant to be... or something. Whatever the case is, it might have been done on purpose."
"Or on accident and it's the stupid Animus' fault or something it caught," Clay grumbles before preventing the black-haired technical from smacking him, "Hey! I do not want another head injury!"
"You insult my Baby, you ask for it," Rebecca glares at him. Lucy can't help but giggle; Shaun lets out a smirking laugh. They both know how protective the inventor/engineer is of her technology.
"Tech freak otaku," Clay grumbles, adjusting his ice pack.
"Stupid FPS jock, which by the way, you owe me a duel in Halo 3," Rebecca shoots back before shrugging (ignoring Clay's yelp of indignation), "Hey, at least we rule out that guy Erudito-"
"Erudito?" Lucy can't help but ask; she heard that name before. She knew whenever some hack attack happened back at Abstergo's base, she can hear some employees complain about Erudito before finding away to restrain him. Personally, for those attacks, Lucy was mentally glad to be let off work until they get the systems back on. It happened more frequently while Clay was undercover (and that was when Lucy helped Clay escape)... and when Desmond was in the Animus (that was when she mentally thanked whoever the hell was hacking and ruining Vidic's day since that meant Desmond can finally clear his head and rest from the amount of torture he has been receiving).
But the chances of the guy knowing the Animus and his following the Assassins' activities...
...nope. No way. The four had the same thought.
"I don't think he has the capabilities to hack into the Animus out of all things." Clay frowns, "Let alone
A small beep was heard from Shaun's computer as Rebecca decides to find out who is messaging him, but the Brit ignores it, "...moving on, I'd rather see for myself if this AI-"
"Umm. Shaun?" The black-haired woman's voice was heard, but Clay cuts her off to talk to Shaun.
"Oh Good god! Do you seriously need some physical proof to see every single fucking thing?"
"Shaun-"
The historian glares at the other two, "Well, if it turns out this 'AI' thing is actually a virus that winds up containing the entire database-"
"It's not that!" Lucy glares at the man, "We checked through all the systems and Connor even supports the theory!"
"And I am not going to waste anymore time looking through another bloody sweep!" Clay glares, "Don't we have better things to do- oh, I don't know- FINDING A WAY TO RESCUE DESMOND!"
Shaun groans, pinching the bridge of his nose, "Yes, I know how bloody important it is to-"
"Shaun!"
"WHAT!" The Brit turns around to see a slightly pale-faced Rebecca, "Rebecca, can't you see I'm trying to find way to help with your theory?"
"That's sweet, but save it for later," Rebecca's face looks a little pale for someone who is usually chirpy, "Shaun. Someone's messaging you."
"And why do you look like you've seen a ghost?" Lucy asks, worried at her friend's concerned look, "...hey, are you okay?"
"Just... shut up and look. I'm not joking." Rebecca turns back to the screen.
Shaun glances at the other two warily before waking over to where his computer is... before blanching himself, balking, "W-What the fuck!"
What is going on? The blonde woman and Clay share a look of confusion before they walk towards Shaun's station. There was nothing else except for a few books and files littering on the metallic desk as well as a few monitors that present a few programs (one of them being a monitor for Desmond), the other being the Animi program along with the internet.
...wait.
Why was the messenger up? They have shut theirs down about a few hours ago...
"Hey. Shaun, your messenger-" Her mouth then gapes at the message that blares out before them.
Well, this is surprisingly disappointing. I thought your technology was better than what those at Abstergo can give.
Even she can hear Clay croak out a sound of disbelief. Then they hear a beep, presenting another message.
I know you can see this. You might as well respond.
Clay, Shaun, Lucy, and Rebecca blanch at the screen before facing to see if it was from anybody else; all of the technical Assassins were too busy on their missions or taking a break (or sleeping, for the matter)and Connor was still in the break room (stil napping, probably). They glance at each other before focusing back on Shaun's screen.
"What the hell..." Shaun grumbles before typing another message, Oi. Fucker. You're HACKING into our email and messaging system. Get the fuck out.
A few second later and a small bleep comes on and Clay stares at it again... it was from the mysterious hacker.
Hey. I'm just trying to talk to everybody in the room. Wait, Connor's not here, am I correct?
The room goes silent at this new message. Lucy freezes before realizing something:
Someone has hacked into Shaun's video camera from his computer monitor.
"Guys..." She gestures towards the others (they did look at her to see what was wrong) before seeing the light blue dot shining from the computer camera.
This... can not be good, She pales. If it was Abstergo, they were definitely screwed.
Clay Kazmareck knew he had a long day; first, his brother Desmond was stuck in the stupid time machine (well, it was under the Animus program, still...). Then they discovered a stupid glitch that prevents said trapped guy from leaving 15th Century Italy. And then they realized they needed to hurry and find out how to get Desmond out before William comes back (well... about that, since William is now over at the new HQ over at God-knows where, there really wasn't exactly a deadline)
At first, he was a bit annoyed at seeing the new guy coming on (well, he was sleeping from a few hours ago from a much-needed break) Shaun's computer.
And now his mouth is open in shock.
Holy Fucking- WHAT THE HELL?!His mind can't comprehend at the new message at the moment. And he knows what the others were feeling; Lucy is just horrified (he just heard her gasp). Rebecca was still, gaping as if she saw one of her experimental creations crash and burn (in a not so good way). And Shaun looks like he is ready to kill something (or better yet, how about him throwing his own computer into the hard floor where everyone can see?).
Immediately, he rapidly walks over to the computer, racking his brain for a plan, a solution, anything to get this hacker out of this computer before breaking the silence with his rapid typing:
Okay, fucker. You had your fun. But GTFO FROM THIS COMPUTER AND TURN OFF THE SCREEN. NOW. OR ELSE I'M CALLING THE COPS.
And after he sent his livid message, a couple of seconds pass (the only sound in the room at this point was him breathing a bit more than usual) before hearing another beep.
Oops. Did I do something wrong? :D
Clay can feel a vein popping from his head. Is this guy an idiot?
He types, You fucking, annoying troll-
A bleep stops him from typing anything else.
Hey, look. We have a common enemy. It's Abstergo. You want to stop them, I want them to expose themselves for who they really are. We are on the same page.
"...Jesus fucking Christ..." Clay hisses, turning around to see whether or not there is someone else that isn't an Assassin. He knows none of the other Assassins are up on messenger; none of them signed in. Connor is... well, he might as well be sleeping in the damn break room.
I can tell you're trying to look for me, but I'm not here.
"Okay, this is getting creepy," Rebecca mutters glancing around them, "How the hell does he know what we're doing?"
"Don't know, don't fucking care," The blonde man mutters in ire, rolling his sleeves up as he cracks his knuckles before typing again.
That's fine and all but we don't know who the hell you are. So your chances of us trusting you is nil.
Clay gives a small smirk, a small well of victory inside of him-
A small bleep got his attention.
Oh? That's too bad. I'm pretty sure William's told you who I am.
Scratch that. Clay's smirk vanishes into a frown, "What? Is this guy... hang on." He gestures Shaun to move (which he already did) before rapidly typing, You. WTF. How the hell do you know William? Are you one of us? As he enters the message, he stares at the others, "Okay. We have to tell Connor about this-"
"But then that will attract the others' attention!" Shaun hisses, "Do you want us to get into deeper shit as we are in now?"
The blonde was about to retort when they heard another bleep.
No. Abstergo hates the ever living hell out of me for emailing their subjects, so I'm not surprised.
Silence fell upon the trio as they now realize who they are dealing with.
"Fuck." Clay gapes, "Are you an ally?"
Beep.
Not that either. But I can hear you.
Beep.
Don't bother tracking me down. I know William wanted to know who I am.
Beep.
Did I forget to mention I know what you did to the Animus programs? Genius, by the way.
Beep.
Even I wasn't expecting that; was it to help one of you try to get over those memory farming at Abstergo?
Another round of silence fell upon them...
Beep.
I also need to say this: Don't try to bother to hide my presence from Desmond.
...And that was when Shaun, Rebecca, Lucy, and Clay madly sprint down upstairs (the break room with the beds is upstairs) before Clay begins pounding on the break room door.
"Connor!" Clay shouts through the door as he madly pounds on it, "Connor, you sleepy blockhead! Wake up!"
No response. This time, he and Shaun glance at each other before pounding on the door again, this time, more so than usual (it was a string of BAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAM that the other Assassins can hear about a mile away).
"Connor! You sleepy asshole!" Clay shouts again, earning a wary stare from Shaun, "Wake up or else I'll dump ice water on you again!"
"You idiot!" Lucy stares, "You actually did that?"
"Yeah, so?" The blonde blinks, frowning, "What's wrong with that?"
"You managed to get away with that without having Connor going in a murderous rampage?" Shaun exclaims incredulously, "How the hell did you do that?"
The door instantly opens, immediately jerking Clay into landing on the floor.
"Said moron decided to sprint as if the hill was set on fire," A slightly irritated Connor deadpans as he stares at him, "I already heard you the first time-"
"No time, we have a serious problem," Lucy was the one who cuts him off. Clay groans, rubbing where his right cheek smacked on the floor as he stands up. Connor blinks before he frowns.
"Did you guys get the glitch fixed?"
"Ha! We wish," Shaun rolls his eyes, "What Lucy is trying to say is-"
"Someone hacked into our messaging system and is talking to us directly!" Rebecca cuts in, obviously impatient and frantic, "And it's not anybody from Abstergo either!"
Connor blinks before he frowns, "...there's no way that anybody can hack into our systems without-"
"This guy says that he knows what we did with the Animus and how we changed our systems," Clay decides to get to the point. And that's when he sees Connor pales.
"What the-" He mutters, his dark amber eyes widen in horror, "...Shit! How long ago did this happen?"
"Say, oh, I don't know," Shaun frowns before glaring at him, "About two minutes ago while we were slacking off!"
"Hey! Shut up!" Clay glares at the Brit, annoyed, "We were talking about the AI!"
"Guys." Connor's voice cuts through any possible chances of an argument; he looks and sounds serious, but his eyes read panic, "Get down there and find out where this hacker came from now. I'll be down there in about a second."
"Got it!" The others nod and dash off towards the computers where the Animus is.
Clay turns around, wanting to ask what is taking Connor long before he sees Connor talking to the communicator before placing it on his right ear before joining them. The blonde man frowns as his older brother joins Clay at the top of the stairs.
"What?" Connor asks, frowning.
"Was that Dad?" Clay asks, worried. He was surprised when Connor shakes his head, "Who was it?"
"I was talking to Altair and Ezio," Connor mutters, causing Clay to stare at him in surprise.
"Wha... why?" The blonde hisses, his voice low enough for Connor to hear as the two descend the stairs, "What happened to Desmond?"
He sees his brother pause in his steps, hesitant to respond. Clay blinks... before paling, thinking of the worst possible moment, "Ohhh no. No no no. No way in hell did Desmond fuck up-"
"He got into a Bleeding Moment," That snaps Clay's mouth shut; his wide grey-blue eyes meeting Connor's worried amber-brown.
"I thought we-"
"Yeah. I know." Connor grimly nods.
"But Desmond-" Clay was still gaping.
"Something triggered it," He can tell Connor was not happy about these new developments, "...and those two are not telling me something."
"And what's that?" The blonde Assassin asks, "...and dude, you okay?"
"Not only are they not telling the trigger for Desmond's bleed..." Connor runs his hand through his hair, irritated, "...they actually-"
"Connor! Clay!" It was Lucy, who looks panicked, "Over here!"
"Tell me later," Clay mutters as he sprints over to the computer; Connor follows him as the two arrive over where the three Assassins are; they were gathered over Shaun's computer. When they arrived at the computer, Clay freezes as he sees what seems to be a small paragraph that appeared while they were gone. Glancing over at the messenger with Connor (who glances at Clay as to mentally note that he will read the entire conversation later), he begins to read the message:
I suppose I can tell you why I am doing this aside trying to bring Abstergo what they truly deserve. They don't even know what you did to the Animus, which makes you a couple of steps away from them. That, however, is one concern I have.
"One... concern?" Clay can hear Connor echo in confusion, "Wait, what the hell..."
"Don't even bother typing," Shaun grumbles, "He can already see us through the video camera and hear us."
"Great," The Native-American man mutters in disdain, "...all right, this sounds odd, but... whoever the heck you are, what is your other concern?"
A couple of seconds later, a beep.
There are a lot of things Abstergo doesn't even know about the items they are getting their hands on. When they farmed memories, they block out certain ones only they can have access to. But some are even hidden to the higher ranks. You already know about the First Civilization, right?
"Yeah, we do," Rebecca nods. Lucy looks worried, Clay can tell. He gently takes her cold hand in his warm ones. He can tell she is looking at him in surprise, but he is more worried about... whatever the hell this guy wants to say.
Make sure you stay in the loop.
"Why?" Clay asks, bewildered, "What the hell do you mean, 'Stay in the loop'? We already know about the fucking First Civilization, what else is there?"
Beep.
You seriously need me to show you this? All right, might as well...
The five fall silent as they see a file transfer loading onto the messenger. Then a beep.
Tell Desmond what I am showing you.
"What!" Connor cries out in alarm, "How can we do that!?"
Beep.
Didn't you know?
"Know... what?"
Beep.
That Piece of Eden you were searching for, the one in the map you asked Desmond to collect... Abstergo mentions it as a false Piece of Eden.
Beep.
It's not. In fact, open the file and tell me the first picture you see.
It was Clay that moves towards Shaun's computer and clicks at the uploaded file the unknown messenger gives them; it was also Clay who scrolls down through the various classified documents to find another folder with images in it. He can feel the others looking through his shoulder, wondering about the files as well. As soon as he opens the picture file, his mouth opens... and his eyes nearly bug out in surprise. The others are just as shocked as he.
This... is what we were searching for? His mind screams in alarm.
Nobody hears the beep and sees the new message.
:)
End Part 9
What's next: Desmond wakes up.