The inside of the temple was the strangest thing that Atronia had ever seen. The perfectly chiseled stone was glowing bright blue and gold and she was constantly trying to find the source of the light between the cracks. The most bizarre part was that this ancient sanctuary felt familiar to Atronia, as if she had been there in a dream.
"What time was this built? It feels so old." she wondered, tracing her fingers through the cracks on the wall. Ezio nodded in agreement, also staring at the walls with a similar confusion.
The corridor opened into a large room with pillars that had identical carvings on them, glowing the same vibrant blue and gold. The two crossed the room until they finally met a wall. For many moments, nothing happened. It seemed like an empty vault with odd markings, that was it.
"Is there nothing here?" Atronia said, doubt beginning to swirl inside of her. They hadn't gone through all of that just to find an empty room. She knew that for sure. She walked to the end wall and put a hand on it hoping it would trigger something. Again, nothing happened.
"Was this all for nothing?" she turned to Ezio, who looked around with the same doubt. With a sigh, she turned back and began to walk out of the temple with her brother at toe. All of a sudden, a voice called out from behind them.
"Wait!" it said. The two assassins turned quickly to see a holographic figure of a woman dressed in garments that were definitely not of the era. Atronia and Ezio exchanged wary glances as the woman summoned them back. "It is good you are here, let us see it… to give thanks." she held out her hand. Atronia glimpsed cautiously at Ezio as he took out the Apple. The woman elevated her hand and the Apple produced a luminous ray, and when it faded Ezio quickly replaced it in his small sack. Like nothing had happened, the woman's gaze moved towards our third person selves, which surprised me. How did she know Desmond and I were following these memories? "We must speak." Her intense stare made me awfully uncomfortable.
"Who are you?" Ezio spoke, turning her look away from us.
"When I died, my name was Minerva. But I have been called many others. There are others too, Juno and Jupiter, who both also had many names." Both of the assassins hesitated. These names sounded so familiar to them.
Ezio was the first to speak up, "You are… gods." I could see doubt eb into Atronia's eyes, there was no way she was speaking to some kind of deity. I felt the same way. A cold laugh escaped Minerva's mouth.
"No, no. We simply came before." she explained. The room suddenly faded into darkness and all of a sudden, they were standing in space. Planets shifted around them. Atronia stepped back in surprise.
"Ezio, we should go." she muttered, grabbing his arm.
"Just… wait."
"Even when we walked the earth, humans struggled to understand our existence. Your minds were not as advanced and were not ready, they are still not." Minerva's gaze landed back on Desmond and I. "You may not understand us, but you must understand this warning."
"None of this makes any sense." Atronia said, folding her arms. "What are you trying to say?"
"These words are not meant for you." she snapped.
"What are you talking about? We are alone." Atronia waved in the general direction Minerva was looking. She turned and her eyes locked with mine, almost as if she saw me. But of course she didn't actually see me. That's impossible… right?
"Enough! I do not wish to speak to you but through you. There is a reason you are called the prophet. You have done what you were destined to. Please, be silent." she looked back at us, "Listen." With that, Minerva shimmered away and disappeared in front of us.
What came next I could barely comprehend. Minerva's voice told us a story of ages long ago. Of how the humans betrayed their kind. How during war, they managed to not look to the sky and see the real danger. The sun. All of it seemed like fake myths made up by some blaspheme priest. The big ball in the sky destroyed earth, leaving very few of each kind alive. They built a new society solely based on preventing another one of these tragedies from occurring. They tried, but the people who came before were dying.
"You must find the other temples. They were to protect us, to save us from the fire. If these temples can be saved, so too may the world. Be wary of the cross, for there are many who will stand in your way."
Templars… I thought to myself.
"It is done. The message is delivered, and now we are gone. We can do no more. It is up to you, Desmond. And protect him, Caroline, for you are his guardian." The figure, Minerva then ceased to exist as her presence disappeared into the air.
"Wait, don't go! Who is Desmond? Who is Caroline? I have so many questions."
I'm right there with you, Ezio. I agreed.
"Ezio, there is nothing more we can do here, she is gone." the image of the two assassins faded and I was thrust back into reality, where Lucy, Rebecca and Shaun were frantically packing up supplies. I looked over at Desmond who was looking back at me with the same terror and mystification.
"No time to sit around, guys!" Lucy said, "Abstergo found us." Desmond got up, but I sat still, trying to contemplate what just happened. A hand suddenly pulled me up.
"Look, I know what you saw was insane, but we have to keep moving, Caroline." Shaun said, snapping me out of my daze. I nodded, helping them pack things away.
"Caroline, Desmond, come on." Lucy summoned after a few moments. The two of us moved away and ran after her. Once we reached the main level of the factory, Abstergo guards immediately charged at us. I moved forward past the others. A guard swung his baton at me and I ducked underneath, stabbing him in the ribcage with Samira's hidden blade. Desmond and Lucy engaged two other guards while three more charged at me. Before anything happened after that, everything around me faded into darkness.
"Caroline!" I turned and Atronia Auditore walked up to me. I stood, bewildered that another one of my ancestors was contacting me. "Hold out your hands." I did as she asked and she lifted her own, placing them on mine. I felt nothing, as if her hands were air. Suddenly, I could see my veins glowing a similar color to that of the Pieces of Eden. While entranced, I hadn't even noticed Atronia had left and everything had faded from darkness and I was back in the warehouse. I turned and the guards were now standing around me, preparing to attack. I looked down at my hands and held one out towards the guard closest to me. He stared at me with confusion, but soon afterwards, was flying backwards after a stream of power shot from my outstretched hand. The other two guards shuffled in their places, glancing nervously at each other.
"Well now, Ms. Archer!" a voice called from behind me. I turned to see Warren Vidic standing in a truck a few feet away, "This is something I never knew you could do! The list just goes on and on doesn't it?" I didn't speak, only narrowed my eyes. "Get her in here." he told his guards and they hesitantly walked forward and grabbed me by the arms.
"You can't expect me to be cooperative, Vidic." I replied. He turned back and smiled.
"You'll have to be in the end, Ms. Archer."
I'd had enough of him, and he'd only been there for one minute. I blew the two men back in a powerful explosion. The surge managed to hit the guards fighting Lucy and Desmond and they both looked over in surprise.
"Leave." I snapped, aiming my hand at him. He stepped back, banging on the truck walls with his hand. The engine fired up and the truck disappeared from sight. I lowered my hand and turned back. As if snapping out of a trance, I realized what I had just done. "How in the…?"
"No matter now, let's get out of here." Lucy reached for my wrist. I recoiled. She hesitated but started walking with Desmond at toe. I followed at a distance, wondering how in the world any of this had just taken place. A strange being in a memory had recognized our presence there, I had shot golden streams out of my bare hands.
"How in the world did you do that?" Desmond slowed to my pace, finishing my earlier question.
"I…" I answered, "I don't know."
We got into the van, preparing to get back into the Animus. Lucy glanced at me. Was that fear in her gaze?
"Caroline! What was that?" Rebecca exclaimed. I stayed silent. How did they expect me to explain this? Even I didn't know how I was granted these strange powers.
I found my Animus and sat on the edge of the bed, staring down at my hands. A few moments later, Shaun came over and sat next to me. He didn't say anything, just sat. I could tell he was looking at me. He didn't understand what was happening, but he knew I didn't either.
I looked down at my hands again. There was a faint golden glow. This whole ordeal confused me, but I could feel acceptance make it's way into my heart. In the memories of Ezio and Atronia, Minerva had called me Desmond's 'guardian'. If that's what I needed to be, I would guard my friend with my life.
"So, Hastings, where are we headed?" I said, much less enthusiasm escaping my voice as I had intended. He chuckled.
"Glad to see you're still excited." he said sarcastically, smiling at me. "We're on our way to Monteriggioni, home of the Italian Assassin Brotherhood." He grabbed my hand and that gave me a new hope. I was glad that I had my fellow assassins to go through all of this with.
Even with their help, nothing was resolved. This whole ordeal with Minerva proved that this was only the beginning of a much bigger story.
Heyo! How have you all been? I've been great. Summer is amazing. Me like :) Anyway, I hope the wait wasn't horribly long. I haven't been too busy, I just procrastinate a lot. Heh. So, we met Minerva for the first time. Eh? Eh? Well, anyway, just leave some reviews and… guys, we're almost done! AHH. See you next chapter (a.k.a EPILOGUE!). It won't be long, trust me. Melvick out. - melvick462