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 35 – Prisoner

The room was an opaque glass that gave off a blue hue which Lucy knew to be very thick. More than likely it was bullet proof as the thicker the layers of silica on a sheet of glass, the more green-blue it became. She knew it was an interrogation room, having been in one her first day as an employee of Abstergo. They had done in-processing through a room just like this one, but she had not known what it was for until several months later when she had been brought in to witness the interrogation of a captured Assassin.

It had been a test, both to see whether or not she could stomach the sight of blood and broken bones, but also to see if she had an inclination to rescue her fellow Assassin. She remembered retreating deep into herself and let the blank expression show on her face, impartial to the messy interrogation they were conducting, unwilling to compromise what had been her infiltration into the Abstergo. She wondered if she had been brought back to the same facility that she had worked in, but realized that the familiar hum of fans was absent.

In any of the rooms at the facility she had worked in the Animus Project, they all had a humming sound to it, massive fans cooling hundreds of CPUs that ran the Animus code. This one was particularly silent, which meant she had not been brought back there. She could only guess where she had been brought to, or whether or she was half-way around the world for that matter as she had woken up feeling fuzzy and very thirsty – drugged.

"Lucy?" Peter's voice made her look down to see him holding his fingers, curled and twisted together in a facsimile expression of trying to entertain himself. For all of his quiet and slightly unsettling mannerisms, she had to remind herself that Peter was still a child, a four-year-old child at that.

"What's that supposed to be?" she brightened her voice a little, feigning interest even though she knew that Peter knew she was faking it. There were cameras in the room; Peter had immediately identified one as soon as he had woken up, before abruptly sitting down and making zooming sounds with his hands flying in the air, pretending he was an airplane.

"Boooooom!" he smiled as his hands flew apart before flying them all over the place, occasionally making more explosive sounds with his mouth.

Against her own will she had to laugh a little before Peter grinned up at her. She reached out and mused his hair a little, earning a childish giggle before he continued with his mock play. She realized that he had been trying to cheer her up and felt touched. Even at four, she could not help but wonder what made him so special, why had Altaїr called him 'touched' by a Piece of Eden. It was true that he seemed wiser beyond his years, but just looking at him, he looked like an ordinary child. He even acted like one when not speaking in riddles or cryptic messages.

She watched as he played with his hands, pretending that they were fighter jets in a dogfight for a few minutes before the hiss of the door opening made her look up to see Vidic in his familiar white lab coat along with two others in severe looking suits by the door. Peter immediately stopped what he was doing and shied closer to her. She reached out and grasped one of his pudgy hands, squeezing it gently in reassurance as she continued to sit on top of the table in the room.

"Bad men," Peter whispered almost inaudibly as Lucy steeled herself. The young boy's words could have meant anything; from a talking interrogation or even torture, but it was clear that Peter did not like the three Templars that walked into the room. But whatever it was, Lucy was determined to protect the young boy. It was the only thing she could do now, having been unable to save Desmond's sister.

"What defines a 'bad man' little boy? Hmm?" Vidic peered down the rim of his glasses as two armed men walked in after the three. They held FN P90s in their hands and had tactical vests along with helmets in place and took up their posts in the far end of the room. Lucy raised an eyebrow as she stared at them. Surely Vidic did not think of her as that much of a threat. Granted, she knocked him out as they had walked back to his office after leaving the Animus room before making her first escape from Abstergo with Desmond. She had also disabled three guards that had been left to guard the Animus room, but the sheer display of strength seemed a little much.

"Blood," Peter pointed straight at one of the soldiers who had a devious expression on his face before pointing at the other solider, "Murderer."

"Hmm," Vidic glanced at the two soldiers before looking back at the two in suits, "interesting isn't it?"

"Adulterer," Peter suddenly pointed at one of the two, a woman with her hair done up in a severe looking bun. Lucy saw her flinch and a frown appeared on her pencil thin lips before Peter pointed at the man in the suit, "Her husband already knows..."

The man frowned and looked at the other woman who blushed a little before shaking her head. "He does not."

"He knows," Peter said solemnly.

"Why you little piece of shit," the woman's expression turned ugly. But before she could take a step forward with her arm raised, Lucy pushed Peter behind her and glared at the woman, daring her to take that step. The guards raised their P90s at the same time, pointing it at her, but Lucy did not care.

"Now, now," Vidic shook his head and waved for the woman to back down, "I'm sure your personal problems can be dealt with, Aileen, Max. Remember why you are here?"

"Just get it over with Vidic. I've had enough of your bullshit," the woman, Aileen crossed her arms and huffed, "I still don't see what's so special about this...boy."

"Max?" Vidic turned to the man.

"The footage recorded shows that the boy has a remarkable spatial awareness and adaptation ability to the situation. We had sent a couple of guards to patrol the room and each time, the boy has been alerted to their presence even though he cannot even see them. His interactions with Ms. Stillman here prove to be a fascinating attempt to placate her worries and give her hope," the man replied in a slight nasal tone.

It dawned on Lucy that Vidic had not come to see her, but rather to show off Peter. They were talking about her as if she did not exist. She wanted to bristle at that, but she also knew that she did not want to draw any attention to herself. The soldiers had stopped pointing their P90s at her, but did not relax.

"And?" Aileen looked bored.

"We think he may be prescient," Max cleared his throat, "as in he may have cognitive abilities that we have only begun to research through the Animus Project."

"Prescient? As in psychic abilities?" Aileen raised an eyebrow, "are you bullshitting me?" She pointed a long finger at Peter, "This boy, is a mind reader?"

"You saw it for yourself;" Vidic replied mildly, "your affair with Max may be on the outs."

"Ethan does not know-"

"Regardless," Vidic interrupted her smoothly, "Ms. Stillman has brought to our attention a coup."

"Ah yes," Aileen turned to look at her and Lucy felt as if she was being viewed under a microscope, "Ms. Stillman...Assassin traitor. Tell me, traitor, why we should keep you alive? Did you know you cost the company several billions of dollars of resources? That your actions in stealing Subject Seventeen and corrupting most of our research is punishable by death?"

"His name is Desmond," Lucy glared at the woman.

"Seventeen," Aileen sneered taking another step forward and invading Lucy's sense of personal space, "was a viable specimen. We had uses for him."

"Was that before or after he was going to paint the walls with his blood?" she refused to back away, refused to show how uncomfortable she was nearly nose-to-nose with the shrewish woman.

"The transfer was all set. Rikkin had no more use for him; Vidic had approved it," the Templar woman looked annoyed that she had not back down, "his blood was the one we needed to control the objects in our possession. And you ruined that."

She turned her head to the side as if contemplating something before staring at her again, her eyes sharp and predatory, "Tell me, Ms. Stillman, did you do it because of some foolish notion of love?"

"W-What?" Lucy had not expected the question and blinked in surprise, backing away a little.

Aileen took advantage and dropped her voice down to a low hiss, "Did you fuck him? Was it nice? A strong, supple body like his, those warm golden brown eyes, staring at you, calling your name…"

Lucy had the sudden unexpected image of Desmond on top of her, a fantasy of him whispering her name as the warmth of their bodies pressed together- Stop it! No! That's not what happened! She mentally threw herself out of the fantasy and could feel a blush of heat rise up in her face before swift anger filled her and she raised her hand to slap Aileen in the face. However, her hand did not connect as the woman's own hand suddenly rose up and intercepted hers, trapping it in an icy vise-like grip.

"Naughty, naughty Ms. Stillman," Aileen sneered wolfishly, "You are such a foolish naïve girl." The smirk on the woman's face grew a little before she shook her head, squeezing her grip a little tighter enough for Lucy to bite the inside of her cheek. She could feel the hairline fractures and wondered how a stick-thin woman like Aileen could be so strong.

"Don't look to your father for help," Aileen continued and Lucy's breath hitched as she realized that the woman meant Vidic. She shot a quick look beyond her shoulder to see Vidic staring back impassively while Max had the most neutral expression on his face. They knew…the Templars knew of their familial relationship.

"We know," Aileen confirmed, "and Dr. Vidic's transgression has been dealt with."

It took an enormous amount of willpower for Lucy to not shudder at the implied meaning. She knew it could have gone from a simple reprimand to god only knew what kinds of cruelty the Templars were capable of inflicting upon their employees or traitors. It certainly explained Vidic's lack of emotion when he had greeted her in the enclave and also the business-like demeanor he had set when he entered her cell.

"Now," Aileen released her hand and Lucy cradled her wrist, massaging it even though she knew that some would have thought of it as a sign of weakness. But she already knew she was at a disadvantage and for all she knew the soldiers would be ordered to kill her next. "We could advertise to the Assassins and to your beloved Desmond-"

"He's not my beloved," Lucy frowned, "get the facts straight."

"But you did escape with him, didn't you? A knight in shining armor riding to the rescue of her beloved. To free him from torture and from the chains that bind him."

"Because the Templars don't need what has been hidden inside his DNA for so long-"

"But the Assassin's do? Is that why you have been subjecting him to the Animus after? Because you wanted the Assassins to find out what his ancestors knew? What was locked inside his DNA? Or did you want him to be the Desmond of prophecy?"

Lucy's jaw dropped in shock. How did…how did they know?

"Oh, we have our own spies. The Assassins forget that it was through our humiliation, that each time they thought they had beaten us, we grew. We grew, we learned, and we expanded from our…setbacks." Aileen's smile grew wider, "You think the Assassins were the only ones who thought they were clever? That the Templars would be so stupid to not learn from our mistakes? Why do you think we took you in? The long-lost daughter of one of our very own? And then you decided to stab us in the back, to betray everything we have given to you, even the very breath of life conceived from your parents. All for what? Because of your foolish 'training'? Because of some notion that you thought the Assassins could benefit from Desmond's knowledge?"

The woman waved an errant hand in the air, "The Assassins think they may have the moral high ground, but you have been pushing Desmond as much as we have. In fact, we may have the moral high ground here. We at least want order, the Assassins want chaos."

Lucy bit her lip – Aileen did not know, did not realize the truth. She wanted to yell and tell the woman that no one had the high ground; that both Assassin and Templar were the same, that they were not black and white. That both were achieving a sort of godhood – and apotheosis if you would – that was unattainable. That the war that both were fighting was petty, cruel, and unfair to those that did not realize it. But she knew that Aileen and the others, especially Vidic, would dismiss her rants, call her a traitor once more and perhaps even kill her.

"But like I said," Aileen continued, "we could advertise to the Assassins that you are here, at headquarters, oh yes, Lucy, you are at the fabled headquarters." The woman tilted her head, a mocking looking on her severe face, "Perhaps that would invite an attempt to rescue your pathetic self. Maybe even a role reversal as Desmond becomes your knight in shining armor and rescues the damsel in distress."

The Templar woman suddenly clasped her hands, "But wait, you are not in distress, aren't you? In fact, you are defiant. I can see it. You think that if you stand up against me; protect this…boy, from everything that you can resist us." She turned to stare at Vidic, "What would you do if your daughter were to receive special…care?"

"Like Subject Four?" Vidic's response was impassive, uninterested and Lucy could feel a small pit of horror open inside of her. Surely Aileen and the others were not thinking of turning her into Daniel Cross. But she realized that it would be like the Templars to do something like that and she would not even know it. For all she knew, they could sedate her and have her wake up in the Animus, much like how Desmond had ended up at Abstergo.

She could be released, or at least made to look like she had fought her way out, sacrificing some of their employees along the way for her to kill and for her to find her way back to Desmond, to the others, only to perhaps at a triggered moment, stab them in the back, betray their plans, and reveal everything. This time, she could not keep the horror from her face as she shook her head.

"The Assassins already did it to you," Aileen turned back to her, a triumphant smile on her face, "they did it to you through your upbringing and eventual infiltration into Abstergo's projects. In a way, they programmed you to bend Dr. Vidic's sympathies, even sent a hit squad disguised as Templars after you once they realized you had turned. But then you convinced yourself that you were a mole after all, when Desmond came along. Yet you had your doubts when you escaped with him, didn't you? It was you who triggered a silent alarm, when Desmond was setting up the security systems at your first base. Then you escaped to Cheyenne Mountain and from there, you realized, you loved him."

"Why are you doing this?" Lucy could feel her confidence, her defiance cracking under such scrutiny. She knew she was being manipulated, but everything that Aileen said was twisted yet true at the same time. "What…what do you want? Yes…yes, I love Desmond, but…"

Aileen's smile grew a little wider, "Poor little wretched girl who thought she could change the world. So sad, so pathetic. You are a prisoner of your own mind, of your feeble feelings and so human." She suddenly stepped back and tapped her lip for a second, "Tell you what, Ms. Stillman, this is how it will go. You will work for us once more though under heavy supervision. Everything you do will be monitored in person, even your showering, your trips to the bathroom, everything.

"It is against the judgment of others, but you will be allowed to continue your research on the Animus project here at headquarters. You will stick to a set schedule, eat when we tell you, and sleep when we tell you. Any deviation or attempt to suicide or kill yourself we will subject you to the same brainwashing we had done to Subject Four."

"How do I know you won't do that, just because?"

"Because, Ms. Stillman, I, your father, and Max here still value whatever is left in your empty head. Because against expectations, you have proven that you have the capability of expanding what your father cannot."

"I can sabotage it," Lucy countered.

"You may try," Aileen nodded, "but you will also know the consequences of what will happen to you if you do. And it is not only yourself you have to worry about. You may be pleased to hear that Desmond and those with him have escaped their compound, but we are tracking them. Anything you do that deviates from your assignment will have severe consequences. Amunet is not the only one with resources. For one thing, you do know that Subject Four is still alive, do you not?"

"Yes…"

"How would you like to see him pay a visit to Desmond Miles?" the woman asked, "how would you like to see the true power of the Bleeding Effect mastered against the pittance that is Desmond, nothing but a broken puppet."

Lucy felt her breath hitch a little in fear – even though Aileen had said that Desmond and the others had escaped, she knew she could not believe most of it. For all she knew, Altaїr and Ezio could have physically carried Desmond, still attached to the Animus, out of there. The thought of Desmond, potentially comatose in the Animus facing Subject Four, Daniel Cross, to kill him was inconceivable. She knew that Arden, Altaїr, and Ezio would protect Desmond, but could three trained assassins go up against a man who had lived the lives of so many others and had their knowledge?

"I see my words finally make sense, good," Aileen nodded once before clasping her hands behind her, "you will be working on the Animus to configure it to this boy here. If he is Desmond's younger brother, then he will be able to pick up where Subject Seventeen left off. Configure the parameters so that this…boy, lives the life of Altaїr's son Darim."

"No," Peter shook his head vehemently before Aileen kneeled down in front of him.

"You do not have a choice, little boy," she sneered, "do you want your brother to suffer?"

"No," Peter scrunched up his chubby baby-fat face, looking like he was going to cry, "no. Do not want."

"Do you want her to suffer?" Aileen pointed a thin finger at Lucy.

"No…" was the softer whisper.

"Then you will get in the Animus and you will give us what we need."

Peter shook his head as Aileen stepped back and gestured for the others to head out, the conversation done. Lucy groped and found Peter's hand as the two of them watched them file out; she could feel something shattering in her heart, a resistance that she thought had been strong, but in reality had been nothing more than a brittle weakness. Ezio had been right all those nights ago at the base, she should have told Desmond the truth, the full truth; not only did she love him, but she had been set up to betray him.

"Abomination," Peter whispered as he stared at Aileen, the doors closing behind her.

"You have a complaint, Vidic?" she asked as they broke away from Max to head up to the observation room above Lucy Stillman's cell.

"Was it necessary?" there was a barely contained anger in Warren Vidic's tone, but it was nonetheless restrained. She smiled mostly to herself as she closed the door behind them and looked down to see Lucy, patting the little boy on the head. Abomination, she growled to herself. If there was anyone apt for that title, it was the little spawn of William and Alice. She had heard the boy's parting shot to her as she left, but ignored it.

"Do not forget your place," she shot back, "if Amunet had been in charge, you would already have been dead."

"But you took care of that, didn't you? Setting Leonius upon her-"

"I merely manipulated events so that Leonius would do what that soft-hearted fool would always do. He always loved her," she sneered at the word. It was pointless, foolish, and utterly transitory. Leonius was too attached to the remnant-tatters of his humanism and it ultimately betrayed him.

"Iltani-"

She frowned at his slipup.

"Aileen," Vidic hastily corrected himself, "you nearly slipped up yourself. You are lucky Max knows what's going on."

She had to admit that Vidic had a point and shook her head, "Kill the guards and their families. Make sure that Max's son is raped to keep his silence."

"…As you wish," Vidic replied after a few seconds, "might I also remind you of Alan Rikkin's capture?"

"No worries," she waved a hand, noting for the brief moment her skin color changing a little before it returned to the shade that was supposed to be Aileen's color, "Rikkin will be dealt with when the time comes. For now, that fool is doing what he is supposed to be doing. Consider it his punishment for allowing Miles to escape the facility."

"Anything else?" Vidic asked.

"No, leave me," she waved a hand at him and heard the door open and close after a few seconds. She waited a couple more before touching her left ear where a small spherical jewel was seemingly embedded in her lobe. To any ordinary person, it looked like a simple gold earring bud, but she stroked it gently, feeling its reassured hum and smiled mostly to herself. Taking the pleasurable memory that she had forced Lucy Stillman to conjure up of her and Desmond possibly making love she fed it to the Piece of Eden, hearing it seemingly sigh in return. She drew upon the fear and the shattered hopelessness that she had felt from Lucy and continued to feed it before finally feeling fullness in the Piece; a sign that it had been sated.

Your move, Altaїr, she thought as she continued to watch Lucy and the boy.

Author's Notes:

I know I'm making you guys reach way back to remember Iltani, but we have met her before. You may remember her as Dr. Sharif from the base – and Subject Sixteen/Alexander's mentor/master. Now go spin your head on that mystery oh and add the Lance of Longinus to it too. Aileen is one of her personas and Iltani's Piece of Eden is far more devious than the others. Oh, and once again, Peter is a creepy child – if you haven't noticed, Iltani abhors Peter and Peter abhors Iltani. Also, don't sell Vidic short yet, he may seem like he's subservient to her…

Anyways, I finished playing Revelations and I have to say, I am a little disappointed. I think it's mostly because I feel the game was rushed and that they could have made a better game. To me, ACR felt like an expansion pack, not a full game which only disappoints me. I hope this is because the developers have taken this past year they've ignored ACR and parceled it out to the other Ubisoft branches and used it to make AC3 (coming out next year) a very good game. I hope.