Assassin's Creed: Apotheosis

By: Shadow Chaser

Disclaimer:

Assassin's Creed belongs to Jade Raymond, Patrice Desilets, Ubisoft Montreal, and Ubisoft. I am only borrowing them for my own amusement and that of my muses and fans. I will return them a bit battered, but otherwise unharmed (mostly).

Story:

Chapter 34 – Thanatos

It was a shallow cut that would not quite stop bleeding, but Ezio ignored it as he waved his hand left and right to clear some of the dust in front of him. The tremors and rumbles that had shaken the caverns earlier had all but stopped, which meant that the Templars had broken through whatever defenses had been set up. He kept flickering to his Eagle Vision as he walked carefully amongst the piles of rocks and debris in the caverns. It was partially to make sure that there were no Templars nearby, but also because he sensed that there had been several cavern collapses due to the shelling.

A rough muffled cough echoed behind him and he glanced back to see William trying to cover his mouth with the tattered remains of his sleeve that hung in rags on his arm. Alice patted her husband gently on the back as the two of them moved carefully over the debris. "Sorry," William caught him looking at him as he coughed again.

Ezio shrugged before continuing forward. "Desmond?" he called out to the young man who was several feet away from him, his footsteps sure and steady as he stepped over the piles of rocks with the barest of ease. Something was different about Desmond and Ezio could only guess as to what the Animus had done to him while in its clutches.

He had arrived just as an explosion of sorts ripped through the Animus room, sending him nearly flying into the wall opposite of the entrance. It was only due to the Apple's warning that he had managed to press himself against the wall perpendicular to the entrance to avoid the brunt of the explosion. When the dust had cleared he hurried inside. He had been expecting the worst, a blast radius where blackened corpses, mangled body parts would have greeted his vision, but there was no such thing. Instead, he saw that a definite 'explosion' had taken place, but all it had done was seemingly short circuit everything.

William had been cradling his arm, his sleeve shredded as what looked like electrical arcs had surged around his computer station while Alice was groggily picking herself up from the floor, one hand groping for the handgun near her. However, he had been stunned to see Desmond sitting up in the Animus chair. He distinctly remembered that he had last seen the young man writhing silently in the clutches of the Piece of Eden. Desmond's eyes were not clouded with confusion, but were clear and determined as he stared at the back of the Animus chair.

Ezio had followed his gaze to see the familiar tattered rags of what used to be a black-white checkered jumper. The blue barrettes that had held back shiny dark brown hair were faded now, blackened edges that had not been there and the white stockings were all but that color, dirtied and browned.

A skeleton lived in those rags and for all of his long life; even Ezio could not help but whisper a curse in Italian at the sight. He had known that an illusion was projected upon Tabitha, to make sure those who did not suspect that she was a living corpse would be able to at least interact with her. But even that illusion could not change the fact that the little girl always wore the same outfit day after day. It was why Iltani had kept her away from most of the base during his time there.

Gone was thin olive-tanned skin stretched across her face whenever Tabitha lifted the illusion and instead all that remained was just a bleach-boned skeleton. The thin arms had been gripping the pommel of the Lance, the blade itself embedded deep into the back of the Animus chair. Ezio realized that Tabitha or whoever inhabited Tabitha's body had made the ultimate sacrifice, having no more memories to give to feed the Lance's power and instead used up whatever was left of her life to destroy the Animus.

And it looked like her efforts had freed Desmond.

However, as Ezio had turned his gaze back to the young man, he felt the Apple pulse uneasily and with his own abilities had sensed something different about him. Arden had been the first to mention that whenever she had trained with Desmond, there were times when she could see parts of herself in his stances and fighting ability and while Ezio could also see that when he trained, he had merely attributed it to the Bleeding Effect.

But now, Ezio thought he saw himself, not parts of himself, but rather his fully flesh and blood self in Desmond. The feeling had been utterly disconcerting and he thought someone had walked over his grave, several times over. Then something seemed to have changed in Desmond and the presence that he had felt in Desmond had retreated slightly, the Apple's uneasiness easing from his own mind.

"Ezio," Desmond had looked up at him and for a moment, he thought he saw Altaїr, but it was not Altaїr. It was someone similar to Altaїr, perhaps even related to him, especially the way Desmond had pronounced his name with a soft Arabic accent. If he had to hazard a guess, he would have suspected that maybe Darim, Altaїr's firstborn son had possessed, inhabited, maybe had done something to Desmond's body. He had never met Darim ibn la-Ahad, but it was not hard to guess whose memories Desmond might have accessed being this close to Altaїr.

"…Darim?" he saw the brief crinkle of the corner of Desmond's eyes, a smile of sorts.

"In a way yes," Desmond had replied, the bizarreness of hearing both Desmond's own voice and Darim's friendly softness activating the Apple's own uneasiness again, "he is here, is aware, is conscious, but…coping." Suddenly Desmond shifted his feet as he shook his head, "Whoa, okay, wasn't expecting that. Sorry, talking in third person now."

Ezio relaxed just a hair, but fingered his hidden blade on his right hand as his left was carrying the weapons satchel he had taken from the armory. Had Desmond been possessed by the Animus? Had he been possessed by the Lance? What had happened when Tabitha had used the Lance to destroy the Animus while he had been inside? Flicking his gaze to his bloodline's ability, the Eagle Vision, he was surprised not to see Desmond red, but rather a blue-white that occasionally flickered to gold. He was still an ally that much was ascertained by his sixth sense, but the gold lines usually meant some kind of importance in the moment itself.

"D-Desmond…?" even William was staring warily at his son as Alice stood next to her husband.

"Still not talking to you," there was the familiar bitterness in Desmond's voice as he arched an eyebrow at his father before turning back to Ezio, "You got weapons?"

"Yes," he stepped further into the room as several more tremors and distant screams echoed through the corridors. One particular one shook the room and Ezio saw William look up at the ceiling as several more loose rocks and debris fell to the ground.

"That one was close. May have been a cave in," William muttered as Ezio reached into the bag and parceled out the handguns and grenades. "Wait…Desmond-"

"I'm okay," Desmond had grabbed one of the handguns and was expertly pulling out the magazine feed and checking it before sliding it back in and checked the sights before flicking the safety on. Ezio blinked, for a second seeing Arden before Desmond's presence returned. "I'm okay…just…" he grimaced a little, "need to deal with it, okay?"

"What happened?" Alice's expression showed nothing, but Ezio saw that she too was unnerved by her son. Something had changed, but Ezio did not know what. He was still the Desmond that he had known, but there was something else about him, a presence of sorts, not just those of his ancestors…as if he had come to a conclusion.

That presence suddenly disappeared and Ezio saw a brief moment of vulnerability, of petrifying fear, before it Desmond shook his head. "I don't want to talk about it, not now, okay?" He reached in and took another magazine before stuffing it into his jeans' back pocket.

The sound of a quiet grunt followed by the clatter of bones had interrupted them and all had turned to see Arden, lifting the Lance out of the deadened and dark Animus. She had then taken the sheath Tabitha had worn, scattering the girl's bones across the ground without a second thought and had strapped it to herself, sheathing the Lance once more. The Apple hummed a quiet mournful tune for a second before falling silence once more. Not for the first time, Ezio wondered if there was some kind of otherworldly sentience to the Pieces of Eden. He knew of Minerva who had spoken about the prophecy, but she had said that she was speaking through him, glorifying him, for all purposes, as a message recorder.

Arden turned and he saw the agelessness and sorrow in her eyes. He was glad that she had broken out of her funk, perhaps even through Tabitha's intervention with the Lance, but he could not help but see death in her eyes. It was not his death, but rather, the deadness of her flesh and of her own will. When she had been raising Alan, he had visited her several times over the years, more as a formality, sometimes for Altaїr's sake, but also wondering if she remembered what had happened to Stephen in the mission before she had been rescued by him. During some of those times she had occasionally expressed regret and sadness, only wanting to die, to suicide. But she had said that it would have been selfish, to her, to Stephen's sacrifice, to her son, even to her master.

He had thought that she had found a new reason to live, but now, he saw her pain once more and realized that she had only buried it deep within herself. The Lance's destruction of the Animus or perhaps even Tabitha's sacrifice must have triggered that sorrow once more. He did not know what had triggered it, but he also knew that once Altaїr saw her, he would not forgive him. Ezio had long concealed from Altaїr that Arden wanted very much to die, knowing that it would break the other assassin's spirit to see such sorrow in a girl he considered a daughter.

"Its all clear up here, just watch your step. A few sliding rocks," Desmond's voice broke Ezio out of his thoughts as he scrambled over the rocks and helped Alice get William past the uneven terrain. The man coughed once more, doubling over a little before wincing. The dusty air along with what seemed to be electrical smoke inhalation that he was suffering from was not doing him any good down here in the confines of the caverns.

"Hold on," Desmond suddenly paused and Ezio saw him tense a little. He was about to use his Eagle Vision to discern any enemies ahead when Desmond relaxed just as Rebecca and Shaun came around the corner warily.

"Desmond!" Rebecca immediately ran forward and hugged him before releasing him, "you're all right!"

"Good to see you up," Shaun was a little more reserved and patted Desmond awkwardly on the arm. His other hand pushed up a makeshift bandage and compress that he had tied to his head.

"Hi guys," Desmond seemed to be more himself as he seemingly dropped the scouting ability that Ezio long recognized as his own style, smiling at his friends, "where's…"

"Cave-in, just up ahead," Rebecca shook her head and pointed a thumb towards where she and Shaun had come from, "Lucy, Amanda, and Peter are all right," she turned to William and Alice who looked concerned, "Amanda may have been caught on some rock debris, couldn't quite hear what Lucy was shouting, but she says she'll free her or something like that. I don't think it was too serious 'cause Amanda sounded a little pissed, not hurt."

"My baby…"

"Peter's fine and I'm sure Amanda will be too," Rebecca's smile was a little strained, "you gave them to Lucy's care, right? They'll be fine."

"Rebecca?" Desmond had caught onto the strained smile.

"Oh, nothing, nothing," Rebecca suddenly shook her head, "it's nothing related to Amanda, just….you know."

There were only a few things that Ezio knew could set Rebecca on edge. She did not seemed worried about Amanda or Peter, which meant it did not mean the Miles children. She had not looked back at Shaun at all, which eliminated that prospect. All that was left was Lucy. A quick covert glance at Shaun showed that the other man was also a little tense and confirmed his thoughts. Rebecca was worried about Lucy…

"We should still check to make sure Amanda's all right," Desmond had guessed differently before turning to his parents, "do you know if there's another way around to where this passageway leads?"

"Yes, but it is a difficult climb," Alice replied, holding her husband as he bent to cough once more, cradling his burnt arm closer to his chest, "your father-"

"I'll be fine," William cleared his throat roughly, "we need to go to your left then up a vertical climb before cutting to the passage on your right."

"Good," the flatness of Desmond's tone clearly indicated that he still had not forgiven William even with his father injured. He spun on his heel and headed in the direction his father had pointed out, his features set in a mask of determination and the barest hint of anger. Arden followed behind him, having been silent since she had taken possession of the Lance.

Alice murmured a few words of encouragement and about William's stubbornness as she helped her husband on the new path that had been pointed out. Ezio was to bring up the rear when Rebecca tugged gently on the sleeve of his jacket, stopping him. "Hey Ezio…Shaun and I…well…we were wondering…"

"This is about Lucy, no?"

"Yeah…I mean, Bill says a lot of things, some of which I know hurts Desmond and others, but…he said that Lucy was a Templar. I mean, you would know, right? With your Eagle Vision and stuff. You can tell the intent of others?"

"If you are asking if I read Lucy Stillman's intent for her Assassin cell since her appearance at Cheyenne Mountain, you are mistaken," Ezio saw the horror on Rebecca's face before nodding once, "but I knew she was a Templar."

"But you said you didn't read-"

"I have known since she was stolen by William as a very young child, just barely past her baby years, and taken to another enclave to be raised and trained as an Assassin," Ezio could imagine what had transpired when William had been shouting at Lucy to help fix the Animus while he had been at the armory. It had somehow led to William outing Lucy as a Templar spy, though he suspected she was a former Templar spy, and now Rebecca and Shaun had their doubts.

"She was what?" Shaun's jaw dropped, "but that's…we…" The man's expression became rather pained. Ezio noticed something inside of the historian break, as if the realization he did not want to acknowledge had burst forth before he shook his head sadly. "I wanted to believe otherwise…"

"That the Order is an Order of saints?" Ezio shook his head, feeling a little like, of all people, Altaїr. Perhaps this was what it meant to have every single illusion shattered. It was a wonder that Altaїr because extremely cynical. "Nothing is true, everything is permitted."

"But…that means…why…" Rebecca was having a harder time comprehending it. "That makes us as monstrous as the Templars!"

"If you wish to believe that," Ezio shrugged, "but it seems Lucy discovered something else to fight for, to turn her back on everything."

Rebecca turned to stare up at the passageway as did Shaun and a sad smile appeared on her face, "Desmond, right?"

"It seems so," Ezio agreed.

"That's why you, Altaїr, even Arden, you guys didn't do anything, even if you all knew," the woman laughed a little bitterly, "and here I was, worried."

"Sometimes, we only have to discover the truth for ourselves, not have it told to us from others," he patted her on the shoulder, "come, we should not linger." The two of them nodded before following him as he jogged to catch up to the others.

Desmond could feel the unbridled exhilaration of joy as he climbed hand over hand up the sheer vertical cliff that he had been directed to. He could feel Altaїr's determination, Ezio's roguish giddiness, and Arden's joy at climbing such a rock face. Even Darim, who had always been hovering at the edges of his mind, more prominently than the other distant ancestors he had yet to explore, was excited by the prospect of free climbing the damned thing. He could hear the others behind him, but it was only Ezio's appearance halfway up the cliff face, climbing as fast as he was, that he felt a little challenged.

He could feel Ezio within him surging at the appearance of the living one and climbed faster until the two of them slapped their hands at the top of the cliff and pulled themselves up together. Desmond shot a slightly exhausted grin at his living ancestor who nodded once before reaching over a little and helping Alice up before the two pulled William up. Shaun and Rebecca followed suit as they all took a moment to catch their breaths. Arden was the last one to climb up, still solemn as when she had pulled the Lance out of the back of the Animus, but in a way Desmond understood her silence.

Something had changed within him, he knew that, but it was something that he did not want to give much thought about right now. The more immediate concern was getting out of the caverns which had become a death trap, and getting away from the Templars. He could feel the looks everyone was giving him, the uneasy wariness exuding from Ezio, the worried looks from his mother, Rebecca, and Shaun. He ignored the looks from his father, his anger at him having not abated since he had discovered that his father had all but drugged him. He could feel a little sympathy from the presence that was Altaїr as he reminisced over his absent father and also from Darim who had been driven away by Altaїr after Maria's death.

Flicking over to his Eagle Sense, he could see a clear path up ahead which dropped down a little. He reverted his vision back to normal before starting up ahead, the others following behind him. He did not mind taking the lead; it lessened the chance that questions were going to be asked. Desmond knew that everyone wanted to ask what had happened while he was inside the Animus as it screamed its fury, but he could not tell them, not yet. It was still too fresh, too raw, too…painful yet so eye-opening that even he still had some problems comprehending it.

He could feel Darim's offer of support once more and mentally nodded as he took the hand that was offered, closing his eyes briefly as he felt the barriers in his mind build up, fortifying themselves before releasing the hand. Thanks, he thought and could almost see within his mind Darim nodding a 'you're welcomed' before he all but disappeared back into the recesses of the memories of his ancestors. Opening his eyes once more, he looked down and saw that indeed the tunnel that had been carved out by both man and water had collapsed. However, in the dim darkness, he thought he saw something shiny on the edge of one of the rocks and activated his Eagle Sense.

The shiny splatters were blood, he realized as he scanned the area and frowned. A lot of blood… Flicking his vision back to normal he waved a hand at Rebecca and Shaun who looked up from where they were stepping tentatively around a large boulder. "Is this where you guys were?" he asked.

"Yeah," Rebecca squinted down at the pile of rocks, "looks about right. Looks different from up here, but yeah, that seems to be the right size for that amount of rocks."

"There is someone down there," Ezio said and Desmond glanced at him, concerned before flicking his own Eagle Sense down at the rocks once more and saw indeed, that the pool of blood led to the barley visible edging of someone in blue…

"…and still alive!" Desmond realized as he saw the barest of movement in the blue that he could see before reverting his vision back to normal, leaping down from where he stood and rolled forward to stop his momentum. He grimaced as his shoulder and neck bumped into several large boulders before he finally stopped and stood up, a little bruised. He could hear the others slowly making their way down, but ignored them and ran ahead towards where the blue outline was just fading away. He hoped that it wasn't Lucy who had been shot or trapped in the boulders.

"Oh no…" Desmond felt like he had been sucker punched as his knees buckled and he fell to the ground heavily next to the body half trapped in the cave-in. "No…" He reached out, his hands shaking a little and caressed the strands of dark hair that fell across Amanda's pale face. "Amanda…"

Her eyes opened at the sound of her name and immediately she winced before focusing on him. "Hi…big brother…"

There was a single gunshot wound to her chest that had stained her shirt crimson and made a pool that spread across the rocks. She had been splayed awkwardly against the rocks; her left leg bent the other way, indicating that she had been initially trapped by the cave-in. "Not you…Amma…not…" even without the memories of his ancestor, Desmond knew that the bullet wound was mortal. Also with the sheer amount of blood that she had bled out, for god knew how long she had been stuck there, he knew he could not do anything.

"No…" he heard his father's faint pained gasp as the others slid down to meet them, but Desmond ignored them all, eyes focused on Amanda.

He reached out and grasped one of her bloodied hands, shocked at how cold they had become. Swallowing painfully past the lump in his throat he squeezed her cold fingers gently. "W-Why…"

"The…T-Templars…" Amanda gasped, her other hand groping uselessly at her wound, trying in futile effort to stem it, "they came…ambushed us right after…after the collapse."

"Desmond…" Ezio's hand landed heavily on his shoulder and he turned to his ancestor, "we have to move on-"

"Fuck you," Desmond shoved the hand away, glaring at Ezio, the tears that he had been trying to hold back, "I'm not leaving! I'm not- She can be saved!" He shook his head before remembering that Arden was with them and that she carried the Lance. He half turned, "Arden! Give me the Lance!"

"Desmond-"

Desmond glared at Ezio, silencing him, daring him to say anything, anything at all, just to give him the excuse to shove his hidden blade into the man. He didn't give a rat's ass that this was his ancestor. Amanda could be saved and her salvation was in Arden's hands-

"No," it was like having a cold bucket of water thrown onto his face as he looked back at Arden who had been the last to reach the bottom. Her hand was gripping the hilt of the Lance, but she did not draw it.

"What? But-" Desmond half stood up, but Arden shook her head.

"No," she stepped back, her expression twisting up into fear, apprehension, wariness, "no."

"Arden-"

"I will not be responsible for your life turning into one like Stephen's!" she suddenly shouted before turning away, "Do not ask me. Please…"

Desmond opened his mouth to say something, anything, but he could feel Arden's anguish within him, echoing the anguish that he could see from the living ancestor and bit his lip. He closed his mouth as he sudden felt Amanda's fingers twitch in his hand and knelt back down next to her.

"It's…okay," she smiled faintly at him, blood staining her teeth, "it's okay, Desmond…I'm okay with…this."

But I'm not, he wanted to say, however the words would not come out. He looked sideways at Ezio and down at the spherical-shaped pouch he wore. The shake of Ezio's head told him that he could not save her even with the Apple and it echoed the sentiment within the memories of Ezio.

"Desmond…listen," Amanda's voice was fainter and he knew that she was about to die. He could feel the tears that had formed at the corner of his eyes falling.

"Shh…don't," the anguish pained him greatly and he could feel the echoing memories inside of him of each of his ancestors' losing someone they loved and cared about. But that tide was somehow held back and for that he felt a modicum of peace. "Don't…talk, Amanda…just…"

"No," she shook her head a little, "the Templars…t-they…they…captured Lucy and Peter…took them away…" She took a deep breath and Desmond thought her eyes flickered to Ezio's for a second before looking back at him, "She…she…loves you…" Her hand went limp in his and her breath stilled after her last word. Desmond saw that Amanda's eyes had taken a far-away sheen before he gently reached out and closed her eyelids, hearing a faint sob behind him that sounded like it had come from his mother. A slight sniffle that was muffled told him that Rebecca was also trying to hold back her tears. He heard a distant muttering in Arabic somewhere above him but it was drowned out by Ezio's whisper.

"Requiescat in pace," Ezio said quietly just as the sounds of shuffling feet and clicks of guns being cocked echoed loudly behind them.

"Well, I thought Warren had cleared this spot, but it seems like he missed a couple," a voice spoke up, one that was vaguely familiar to Desmond. However, he did not care as he saw bits of flashlight play over the parts of rubble, over Amanda's still face, even shining on his body, casting a shadow against the rocks. He could feel Ezio slowly tense beside him, but his ancestor did not move nor get up.

"Put your guns down, especially you, Bill," the voice said in a cold commanding tone, "you are trapped and surrounded. I will give the order to shoot if you don't do as I say."

He heard movement behind him and knew that his father had lowered his gun, but Desmond only stared at Amanda's body. They had killed her…they had shot her while she had been trapped…

"Now that's a good man Bill. See? Just like old times-"

"Fuck off, Rikkin," Bill spat.

They had shot her…while she had been trapped. They had shot her like a dog to be put down. They had kidnapped Lucy and Peter… He could feel the growing anger in him and could feel something within him responding to that anger, fueling it, making it grow within him. They had shot Amanda; they had killed her in cold blood. They could have executed her, but they had left her lingering in pain for god knew how long. They had captured Lucy and they had Peter…

He could feel the memory of Ezio in his mind bolstering that anger before realizing what needed to be done. He promptly tapped the living one's shoulder. The unspoken message was passed and he hoped that Ezio got what he had been telling him to do.

"Bill, is that any way to greet-"

Desmond's nose flared in rage as he abruptly stood up and turned around, hearing multiple clicks of more guns being cocked before several red dots appeared on his chest. Laser sights… However, he did not care and stalked forward, pushing past his father and the others, and stood a few feet away from the man he knew as Alan Rikkin.

He had only a glimpse of the man standing with two others behind an observation window when he had exited the Animus after Altaїr had seen the Apple's map in Abstergo. But Desmond's memory was sharp, and he remembered what Alan Rikkin looked like. The man was a little pudgy, wore an immaculate suit, much like now…a Templar who did not like to get his hands dirty.

"Hey asshole, remember me?" he snarled, activating the hidden blade so that it was clearly visible from where he held his left arm loosely.

There was a moment of tense silence as the Templar stared at him.

"You would want to put that way, Mr. Miles," Rikkin's eyes narrowed as he stared at the naked blade for a second before looking at him, "after all, you wouldn't want to die like your sister did, now would you? Bullets through the chest-"

"Nothing is true, everything… everything is permitted," Desmond smiled, pure unadulterated and utterly feral before raising his right hand, clasped into a fist. He could almost imagine the sound of an eagle's piercing cry before the Apple suddenly unleashed its unholy power followed by the loud report of a lone sniper rifle. Requiescat in pace you fuckers. I hope you rot in hell.

Ezio had nearly reeled from shock as he had felt Desmond touch his shoulder. He had thought he heard the ghostly whisper of his own voice emanate from that touch. All it said was to be prepared and float the image of the Apple in his mind before the voice retreated. It had left him shocked, but that had worn off as soon as Desmond had stood up and stalked forward. Ezio immediately turned, using Desmond's movement as a cover and saw the smallest glints on a cavern wall high above the Templar's head. A quick glance in Eagle Vision showed him a spot of blue high above them holding a sniper rifle pointed down at the Templars and he allowed himself a tight smile.

Altaїr was always a show-off…

He watched as Desmond somehow changed. There was the presence of superiority, of fatalistic expectations, and yet Ezio could feel the seemingly hair-raising charge of actually doing something from Desmond. He had been told long ago when he was Il Mentore that it was how the apprentices and even some of the master assassins felt around him when he walked into the room. He had felt it from Altaїr in all of his smug superiority tinged with world weariness as he took the position of the leader of the European Assassins as Andrew back in Victorian England.

And to feel that from Desmond, it declared that a leader was being born, right now, right in front of him. That Desmond, whether or not was embracing or discarding his destiny, declared to everyone with his posture and his actions that he was taking charge.

And Ezio was ready as he quietly drew out the Apple from the folds of his robes. No one noticed his movement, too focused on the dangerous aura that Desmond exuded, and Ezio saw himself, saw Altaїr, Arden, and others he did not recognize seemingly play over Desmond's own presence. Even the Templars surrounding the loud-mouth idiot Rikkin were trembling a little, if one had to judge by how much the laser dots were shaking.

The Templars were going to die right here, right now and Ezio knew what Desmond was asking of him. Though a part of him quailed and rebelled against holding the Apple of Eden, was screaming at him to stop what he was doing, he squashed that part ruthlessly. This was life or death and he could not have doubts. He was an Assassin and he would not let anymore of the Miles family or friends die today.

They had killed Amanda for sport and seeing her slowly bleed out was akin to seeing his father and brothers die. They do not deserve to live, he could feel the Apple's hungry whisper and for once since he had given the Apple back to Altaїr so many hundreds of years ago, Ezio mercilessly agreed.

His world suddenly slowed as he saw Desmond's right hand rise, balled into a fist. That was the signal that all Assassin's used when calling a coordinated attack. It was one passed down over the generations and it was one that he knew. Even before Desmond's hand reached the apex of his call, Ezio was already unleashing the Apple's power. A vicious smile curled up onto his lips as he felt the Apple's unholy glow suddenly spread from him and directed it towards the Templar soldiers.

Kill them, he ordered as a high pitched whine filled the air. Just when the static sound grated against his ears, Ezio felt the Apple twitch. The sound of multiple necks snapping and sputtering spurts of blood filled the air. Screams and shrieks followed as he distantly saw Arden leap into action, knocking Shaun and Rebecca down onto the ground to protect them, Bill throwing himself over his wife, but all of that was immaterial as he focused another charge of the Apple.

He could hear the echoing report of gunfire from high above, as several others fell to the ground dead each with a bullet hole through the top of their heads or back of their skulls. He saw Desmond launch himself at Rikkin; his hidden blade flashing as Rikkin stumbled back, hastily producing a knife to defend himself. But Ezio ignored all of that as he reached deep within the Apple, feeling it hum with power, filling him with the strength of so many and smiled as he unleashed its power upon the masses.

He reached out and seized the minds of those that he had not killed, reveling in its power, reveling in the fact that he was able to take control of these weak minded fools and control them like puppets. They did not deserve to live if they were so weak. Those who resisted he batted aside only to feel them die seconds later. A low growl of anger filled him as he glared upwards at the interruption. He wanted a challenge to possess the minds, how dare Altaїr intrude!

Fools, he snarled before he reached out again and drank in the pleasure of twisting the minds of the others before flicking them away with a snap of his fingers. He laughed, a cruel sound as he saw blood spurt into the air, almost fountain-like, the sounds of gunfire shot everywhere as their body reactions could not compensate for the sudden shift of a dying nerve, twitching fingers that were already on triggers…

He felt the sudden scream, a pressured warning before he turned to see Arden approaching him – Anathema! It seeks to destroy us! – her hand on the hilt of the Lance-

"I have received word that your apprentice Desmond has retrieved the Lance of Longinus."

"Is that not well?"

"He has also murdered the Templar forces that had been sent to investigate the Lance along with two villages of local tribesmen."

"Dio mio…"

Altaїr sat back in his chair, a steady look in his eyes, "Ezio, I believe Desmond has been possessed by the Lance of Longinus." They both looked at the Apple of Eden sitting innocently at the corner of Altaїr's mantle. They both knew what possession by a Piece of Eden meant…

Ezio stumbled backwards a little and it was only through Desmond's steady hand on his shoulder that he did not fall the ground as the Apple suddenly released its grip on his mind and body, leaving him utterly drained. While the brief irony of their role reversal was not lost on Ezio, it was brushed away just as quickly as he realized what he had done, what had happened, and why his world was suddenly very, very wet and slicked in red.

He shuddered, folding a little in on himself as he stared down at the inert Apple still clutched in his hand. It was not glowing anymore and even the whispers that had dogged him for so long were silent. He had almost…no; it was not 'almost' he had done the unthinkable. He had let himself be lost to the Piece and it was only due to sheer intervention, the appearance of the Lance that the Apple so feared that had snapped him out of the bloodlust that had overcome him. He had poured too much anger, too much pleasure in killing the Templars into the Apple and it had consumed him.

"Are you all right?" Desmond asked quietly in Italian and Ezio shot the young man a half-ironic smile.

"I will be," he could literally see a younger version of himself in the man, wondering if the older one needed support or help, "it was necessary." It was necessary, he repeated firmly in his mind before he pocketed the Apple just as quiet footsteps landing on the ground before them told him that Altaїr had come down from his sniper's perch.

"Everyone evacuated," Altaїr turned to William without any formalities or acknowledgment of what had just happened in mere minutes. Though it would have seemed that Altaїr was seemingly unaffected by the sheer amount of Templar soldiers that were sprawled on the ground, Ezio noticed that he studiously avoided looking at them. Some of the bodies were piled on top of one another, having died next to each other from either a sniper bullet or the Apple hemorrhaging their brains.

"Fuck you," William snarled before pointing a finger at where his daughter laid, "where the fuck were you when Amanda was shot?"

Altaїr stared silently at William for a few seconds before turning around and walked towards the exit to the shed, "There is a safehouse we must get to."

"Uh…what about him?" Shaun spoke up, and Ezio saw that the young British man was pointing a gun down at the ground at a body. He had thought Alan Rikkin had died when Desmond attacked him, but the man twitched and moaned a little on the ground. Clearly Desmond had better command of his own faculties then he did during that brief battle as Rikkin was all but knocked out.

"Bring him;" Desmond's voice was tinged with a slight Arabic accent as he followed Altaїr, "he will be useful to us."

Ezio hear the implication in the younger man's words and it had been partially directed at himself. This was not the time to lament or wallow in the guilt of what he had done or whether he lost control over the Piece of Eden and let it consume his anger and dark wishes. It was all in the past and the only thing he could do was to move forward and not let it happen again. Ezio pursed his lips for a second before he pushed the guilt away – Desmond, with Altaїr's voice gently rebuking him was right.

He reached over and grabbed one of Rikkin's arms as Shaun reluctantly took the man's other one and the two of them dragged the Templar off, following behind Altaїr and Desmond. He heard Rebecca whisper to Alice and William behind him before Alice whispered back about not leaving Amanda's body; however a negative from Arden's mouth silenced that conversation quickly as she brought up the rear.

He understood William and Alice's wish to bury their daughter, but they could not risk staying here any longer with Templars overwhelming the caverns. It was cruel, it was heartless, but Ezio knew that one thing was for certain – that this was war.

Author's Notes:

The latter half of the chapter was originally just going to feature Desmond being a complete badass, but I wanted Altaїr and Ezio to join in on the badassery. I didn't know how to do it until moondusted whom I've been chatting with for a while now suggested that I take a leaf from a previous chapter and use it here. Her request was to see sociopathic!Ezio wield the Apple of Eden. I hope I obliged this request though I may have gone a little over the Moral Event Horizon with him in this chapter…hmm… I was also kind of influenced by Altaїr's third memory seal in AC: Revelations where he uses the Apple in anger with disastrous results (for those of you who haven't played the game yet, I haven't spoiled it).

Oh, I hope you all noticed, everyone, except for Desmond knows that Lucy is/was/may still be a Templar spy. And that Amanda never told her brother before she died. I know the main thing is that all of you are wondering: WTF with Desmond. I say…read on! I will always answer mysteries and questions in my stories and this little bit with Desmond is no exception.