The Temple

Desmond Miles

My head is splitting and being outside of the Animus for the first time in so long feels so… surreal. My visions have been blurry more than normal in the past few days. I have been seeing auras around people, similar to Altair's eagle vision. I question if my eagle vision is even accurate. The last time my eyes were showing these auras, I was shown that Lucy was an ally. I exhale thinking of her and shake my head of memories of her.

My body bounces in the back of the van as Shaun hits a pothole. I look over at him and he looks back at me through the rearview mirror. He sends me a sad smile. I must look like shit. Everyone has been looking at me with sad expressions since I've exited the Animus. I wonder if they feel responsible for everything that has happened. I wonder if they blame themselves for the coma and for what happened to Lucy. I wonder if they think I am to be blamed for it, and they just don't know how to address me anymore. I'm not even sure what to think or what to say to anyone anymore. I look up and sitting across from me is my father with his elbow to his knees and his fingers intertwined. His head is down and he is looking at his feet. I try to get his attention without saying anything to him. But he doesn't feel my gaze. For fuck's sake man, I haven't seen you in years and you can't even look at me.

The van stops and my father practically jumps out of his seat to open the back door. "We're here." My father says in a hoarse tone from not using his voice in a while.

I get out of the van and look around. We are somewhere in the middle of the forest, trees and brush paint the scenery. I look to my left and there is an entrance to a cave. Shaun, Rebecca, and my father all carry boxes, making their way into the cave. When we enter the threshold of the cave, the air is humid and smells like dirt. The sound of water dropping inside the cave bounces off the walls. It is dark and I turn on a glow stick to light my path. At the end of the tunnel is a wall with spray-painted graffiti on it. Underneath the graffiti are intricate lines, and drawings of people. I lift the Apple in my hands and point it to the door. The Apple begins to shine and sing as it communicates to the door. I place the Apple inside an opening in the door, large enough for the Apple. The door begins to shake and the lines light up from the light emanating from the Apple.

"In another moment, down went Alice after the Rabbit." Shaun says, quoting Alice in Wonderland. "Never once considering how in the world she was going to get out again."

I look back at the door and it opens to as high as our shoulders. I shrug down and enter inside where I see an opening, and then another door. The Apple shines and sings again to the door, until it rumbles open. I look in through the doorway, "I think we are here." I tell them as I enter the threshold of the door. Once I step through, I slide down a ramp to the bottom.

I look up at my father who is holding the large crate and can't come down the way that I did. He tells me they will find another way and I just nod at him. I continue the way I am going. The ground isn't stable and there are so many large sink holes that seem to go on for miles. I jump over a large sinkhole and barely make it to the other side. My heart beats and I shake off the nerves.

I keep walking when I hear a pounding in one of the walls. I dig at the loose rocks and my father comes burrowing out of the hole. He brushes off the dirt from his suit and Rebecca and Shaun enter behind him.

We walk to the end of the cave where we see a cube made up of blue glowing lines. I take the cube in my hands and can feel it pulsating as though it is alive. It feels similar to the Apple. I look around and find a slab of marble waist high with an insert that matches the shape of the geometric cube. I place the cube in the pedestal. The cube clicks inside the pedestal and everything begins to glow in a soft blue light. The light illuminates the place and shows just how colossal the temple is.

Just like on Animus Island, there are two huge pillars that emanate a blue light, creating a doorway. Inside the light, I see the image of the Tetragrammaton that we saw in Italy with Ezio. I walk over to the image and am captivated by it. In there, I hear the voice of Juno inside my skull. "The key," she says to me. "You must find the key." I begin to feel my head splitting.

"Son?" my father asks as he grabs my shoulder. I turn around expecting to see my father, but instead I see some pirate looking dude—hat and everything. "Sir?" the pirate man says. I begin to feel nauseous and everything begins to blur.

I try to move, but my body doesn't listen to my command and I begin to feel myself fading. "Ugh, no… I…" I say as I fall unconscious and everything goes white.

My eyes blur and as I blink, I begin to gather what is around me. I look around and see that I am in the white waiting room of the Animus. One step away from my ancestor and two steps away from my body.

"Desmond?" I hear Rebecca's voice echo in the vast room of nothingness.

"Do you hear us? Desmond?" I hear my father say.

"Ugh… yeah…" I say aloud. "What happened?"

"The temple triggered a Bleeding Effect." My father says, "You collapsed and entered a futile state."

"So naturally, you dropped me into the Animus." I say in an annoyed tone. "Instead of, I don't know, making sure I was okay?" I can tell this is my father's doing, and not Shaun or Rebecca's. It's clear that he will take any moment to place me into the Animus for his own gain.

"You were in danger," he says trying to justify his actions, "besides, the temple appeared to be communicating with you, and I didn't want to risk severing the connection. At least not until we knew what it wanted."

I feel myself growing angrier. Nothing in what he just said showed that he was the slightest bit worried about me. "Of course." I say knowing that this mission is First Civilization first and Desmond's wellbeing last.

"Son, I—"

"No, it's fine," I say before he can dig himself in a deeper hole. "I get it, and I know what I'm looking for, by the way. It is a key, just no idea where it is though. I guess that's why she triggered the Bleeding Effect."

"She?"

"Juno, Dad."

Just as I say this, the Animus kicks, and rather than going back to my body, I am thrown into the memories of another. I look around and I watch a man enter an opera. I look down and I am in my own clothes and in control of my own movements. Holy shit I am in my own body. "Rebecca?" I yell but I get no response. "Shaun? Dad?" I think for a while, "Clay? Are you here?" No one answers and I begin to panic. "Can someone tell me what the fuck is going on?" I yell aloud but no one hears me. I watch the man that is entering the building and decide to follow him. I look around and it seems that no one notices me. I follow the man into a posh setting where men speak to one another while a play goes on. I look at the men, and the clothing they are wearing. I must be in the memory of one of my ancestors, but it definitely is not Altair or Ezio.

I follow the man that I saw enter the opera. I have a strong draw to him and I wonder if he is my ancestor, and if so, why I am not in his memory or his mind as I have been with Altair and Ezio. The man in the blue cloak speaks to a few men, and then follows a guy into a room. I hear two men speaking and I gather that the man who I've been following is called Haytham and he speaks to another man about an amulet. That must be the key we need to find. The two men speak for a while, and then suddenly, Haytham kills the other man and leaves with the amulet.

I chase after Haytham but stop, trying to see if I can stay in this memory without my ancestor. In any other instance, when Altair or Ezio left, I did too. The only time I stayed behind was when Altair impregnated Maria. However, Haytham is my ancestor, he is gone, and I am still here. Maybe Rebecca was wrong and Haytham is not my ancestor, but if that's the case, then why am I in my body and not the memories of an ancestor?

My body aches and I feel myself being pulled. Suddenly I am in a room with Haytham and a group of other gentlemen. One of the men commends Haytham on his kill and his victory of retrieving the amulet. The men begin to speak a mantra and I begin to feel sick, especially when they say and repeat the words that have haunted my childhood. "May the father of understanding guide you."

I close my eyes and when I open them, I am sitting in the Animus with everyone staring at me with surprised expressions. "You all saw that, right?" I ask.

"Wow," Rebecca says.

"Wow indeed." Shaun says, "I guess as far as statistical analysis goes, it was only a matter of time that one of your ancestors was a Templar."

"Wait, what?" I ask, I shake my head, "No, what did you guys see in there? I'm talking about the fact that I wasn't in Haytham's body, I was in my own." I look at Rebecca and the look of concern on her face scares me. "Guys, I was aware of my body and in charge of my own actions. I didn't see that memory from Haytham's point of view but as a bystander in the action."

Rebecca swallows hard and looks over at Shaun for an answer, who just returns her look with a confused shrug of the shoulders. "Desmond, are you sure this is how the Animus showed you the memory?"

"I tried to talk to you guys like I normally do through the Animus, but I couldn't… you guys didn't hear me. Before, being in the Animus was like lucid dreaming. I was in Altair but I knew that I was in the Animus and was capable of speaking and thinking with you guys. This time was different. It was like I was in London, in that opera house, right next to Haytham."

Rebecca turns away from me and begins to type ferociously on her computer. I look over at Shaun who is wide-eyed and genuinely scared.

"What is going on? You guys obviously know what is going on." I begin to panic.

"I don't, Desmond." Rebecca says, turning away from her computers. "I don't know what is going on, and that's the scary part about it. Something is happening to you, and I… I don't know what to do to help."

"Is he safe to enter the Animus again?" My father says and Rebecca looks at him with a shocked expression.

I feel my blood rising. "For fuck's sake, Dad, something is happening to me. We need to figure out what is going on before I go back in that thing."

"We know what the amulet looks like, but that doesn't do us much good if we don't know where it is. We are no closer to finding it. Desmond, we need to keep going."

I exit the Animus, feeling heat overcome my body. "Hey, he's your ancestor too. Why don't you hop in the Animus? What, you're afraid your brain might turn into mush? Like Clay's, like mine probably is!" I say getting up in his face, my fists tight and ready to hit.

"Really, that's your response?" My father says backing from me, but I close the space between us. "It's like I am dealing with a 6-year-old. What is wrong with you?" He says with a scoff.

I begin to puff up my shoulders, trying to make myself bigger than him, feeling angry and filled with resentment. "You want to know what is wrong? I'm sick of being treated like I'm not even here." I say to him. "Desmond do this! Desmond do that!" I say mocking everyone around me. "Desmond you better figure things out because the sun is going to turn us all to ash," I begin to grow angrier, now thinking less about what everyone has asked of me and more about Lucy and everything she made me feel. "I know I was really nice to you, but I'm actually just another Templar—plot twist—and yes, I would like very much for you to be controlled by a magic space wizard so that you can murder me." I take a deep breath now my mind back in the temple in front of my father. "So there is your answer." I tell him, "I am sick of being a goddamn pawn. I thought it might be different with you." I say to him, now getting as close to him as I can. "I mean, you are my father." I say to him, the word cutting him deep. "Turns out you're no better than the Templars."

That's when he does what I honestly never expected from him. He pulls his hand back and punches me right in the mouth. I am taken aback and I hold my bleeding lip. "Don't you ever equate me to these bastards again, you hear me?" He says in a low and rage-filled voice. "Everything I do—everything I have done—has been for you."

I feel a tug on my elbow, when I turn around; I see that it is Rebecca. She examines my lip and nose to make sure nothing is broken, while my father continues to speak.

"Maybe I pushed a little too hard, asked a little too much? But, try to remember exactly what's at stake here. You need to get it together, Kid. We're running out of time."

My father comes towards me, as if he is going to do something again, when Shaun steps in-between us. "As much as I believe it's healthy to allow one's animosity to be released, I believe that it is time we focus on the tasks at hand." He smiles at us both and I turn away from my father, my lip now swollen, and pulsating. "The news isn't good. It appears this temple is powered by a connection of um…well…I guess they are batteries." I turn to Shaun in confusion. "Desmond found one on his way in," he says speaking of the glowing blue geometric cube I found that lit the temple. "There aren't any more down here, at least… not that I am aware."

"Any idea on where we can find replacements?" I ask Shaun.

"Not yet," he sighs. "So I intend to tiptoe into Abstergo's database. Now if I can cross-reference these particular devices with their database, then maybe we will get lucky. I nod at Shaun and he does the same to me.

He goes off to walk around and explore the temple more, while Rebecca goes back to her computer where she plays around with the Animus. I look at my father, and not wanting to give him the time of day, I go over to Rebecca. "Hey there," I say to her and she looks up at me from the inside of her computer. "Thanks for checking up on me back there. My dad can be a real ass."

She removes her head from the tower of her computer and looks up at me with apologetic eyes. "I'm really sorry, Desmond. I didn't know tensions were going to be so high. Had Shaun and I known—"

I stop her before she can go on. "No, Rebecca, it's fine. You and Shaun are the best team anyone could ask for. I know I don't say it enough, but I am grateful to have you here with me." She smiles and I do the same. "I can't help but think," I say, the smile leaving my face. "What happened in the Animus? How was my physical body there with Haytham?"

She scratches her head and shakes it. "I… I don't know, Desmond. I looked back at your vitals while it was happening, and…"

"And what," I ask taking a step away from her.

"That's the thing, I don't know. Your vitals were not showing up. I did not know what your heartrate was, blood pressure, nothing. It was like you were never sitting in the Animus."

"Every time I went in the Animus to see Altair, Ezio, anyone else, I was in their body, I heard their thoughts, and I felt their pain. However, I was so disconnected from Haytham; he was just another person in the room."

"I don't know, Desmond." She says shaking her head. "I will keep doing diagnostics on Baby, to make sure that everything is running as it should, and we can continue to search for the key. If I see anything that will cause any damage, I will pull you out of the Animus and we will figure something out."

I scoff, "Yeah tell that to my father. He won't let anyone or anything hinder finding that key."

Rebecca looks disturbed by this comment. "Desmond, if your mind or body are in danger, I won't let us continue hurting you."

"What's one life to save billions?" I say with a shrug. She swallows hard at this and I can tell that she doesn't take it as a joke. I give her a sideways smile, and make my way to Shaun.

"Hello Desmond, How's things?"

"I… ugh… I was just wondering if you knew much about Haytham." I say to him. This distance with Haytham in the Animus is starting to make me question if he is in fact my relative. I had such a tight bond between Altair, and Ezio. I was even feeling everything Clay was feeling when he took me back to his memories. But Haytham is so detached from me, that I wonder if he is even related to me.

"Who would have thought you would have had a Templar in your family tree?" I laugh with him, that's not why I question his relation to me, but I let Shaun believe so. I don't want to scare him thinking that my brain is turning to mush like it did for Clay, but the disconnect is freaking me out. "I've been reviewing our archives and it appears that Haytham's father was indeed an Assassin. Which means he was likely one too. At least a little while."

"What else did you find?"

"That fellow at the opera—Reginald Birch is Grand Master of the London Chapter of Templars. He and Haytham's father—a man named Edward—well, they were longtime rivals. Now it appears Birch got his hands on Haytham at rather a young age—worked his wiles to convince Haytham to switch sides. Wonder how he did it. I'll see if I can dig anymore."

I frown. It isn't the answer I wanted to hear. I guess to Shaun, it is without question that Haytham is related to me. However, I just can't shake the idea that something is wrong here.

I walk around for a while contemplating what I should do next, when I look at my father walking around, examining the walls of the temple. I bite my lip thinking about talking to him. I am not sure if I should go speak to him or not. I haven't seen him in so long and though the thought of seeing him again made me happy, after seeing that he hasn't changed and that the wellbeing of the Assassin Order trumps his own son's, I am not sure if I want anything to do with him. I decide that regardless of my father and his attitude towards me, I think it best to see him and catch up on everything he has been up to since I left the compound.

I begin to approach him and as I do with a sour tone, and not a glance my way he says, "Yes?" Just one word and he is able to portray his distance for me.

"Just thought I'd you know, say hi." I say to him, in complete awe of his tone.

"You have more important things to do right now." He says in a harsh tone.

"Jesus, Dad," I say taken aback by his cold demeanor towards me.

"What?" He says in a pressed tone. "What do you want me to say?"

"I don't know, hi son? How are you? What have you been up to?" I say in a baffled tone that he actually doesn't give a shit about me besides my connectivity to the Animus and my ancestors.

"I know what you have been up to," he says in a harsh tone, "nothing. You wasted away in some shitty apartment with a pointless job, while the rest of us were out fighting to make a difference." He looks at me now with a bored and pissed look.

"You are such an asshole." I say. I don't know this man. He was always hard on me, but he wasn't a dick just because he could be. Did my leaving the Creed really turn him this bitter towards me? I begin to get angry and I decide to press his buttons. "I mean, what did I expect from you? You've been a shit father, a shit husband, and a shit Assassin up to this point. I'd be silly to think you've really improved since then." I watch as he clenches his fists and I smile knowing that I am getting to him. "Oh, you thinking about hitting me again? Because this time I will hit back." I watch as he mulls over the idea, but decides against it. And he walks away from me, defusing the situation.

I look over at Rebecca and Shaun who stare at me with worried eyes. I shake my head and make my way over to the small cot I am to call my bed. I kneel down and sit on the cot. I think for a moment about what is happening to me—to the world—and I'm the one to handle it all. The thought makes me sick and I decide to lay down for a while. Maybe some sleep will ease my mind.

I begin to feel myself fall into a dream. I remember once my mother telling me that she wished she could lucid dream like I could. I never found anything interesting about lucid dreaming. As a child, all I would use it towards was to create less terrifying monsters in my nightmares and as an adult, I changed any dream relating to the Farm or the Assassins into a dream about me relaxing on the beach with a busty babe by my side. Eventually it became so routine of me to change my dreams that I never dreamt subconsciously. I decide that I will allow myself to dream subconsciously and see what my mind comes up with, and if it's my troubles with my father I will lay my towel down on that beach.

I take a deep breath and start with blackness. There is nothing but a black abyss around me and then images begin to form. I no longer feel my body lying on the cot as I usually do when I am lucid dreaming. Typically, I know I am in a dream; therefore, I feel my body in my bed, but allowing myself to fall completely out of control in a dream, I lose this sensation and I only feel my body within the dream.

A room begins to form around me and extravagance doesn't even begin to explain it. There is gold trim, intricate wallpaper, and large paintings hanging on the walls of people, landscape, and dogs. The room is cold and smells like lavender. I've never been able to smell in lucid dreams. I look around and practically jump when I see a woman standing, facing a fireplace. She is wearing a large and uncomfortable looking purple dress that singes at her small waist. Her black hair is curled and placed atop her head and she writes something against the marble mantel of the fireplace. She looks panicked and writes frantically.

I look down and see that I am in my own clothing, so I am just an observer of this dream. I take a step towards her in hopes to see what she is writing, but she hears me. She turns around and looks right at me. That's when I notice her. "Azalea?" I say looking at her with her scar practically covered by all the makeup that she is wearing.

The look of absolute and unshakeable shock consumes every inch of her. "Qui…" she shakes looking me up and down.

"Azalea, it's me, Desmond." I take a step towards her but she backs away from me consumed by fear and confusion.

Just then, a man comes running in, the sound of men yelling and guns being shot is heard down the hall. The man is dressed in white pants, a white buttoned shirt, and a blue overcoat. His blonde hair is pulled back in a ponytail and he looks just like a revolutionary soldier. He says something to her in French but he stops when he sees the look on her face. He looks over at me and the same look of confusion and shock covers his face. "Emilia," the man says in a stern and thick accent. He begins to speak French again and that's when my heart drops. I look at her again and remember the name from Shaun's research on Azalea. Emilia Dupon was the alias she took up during the French Revolution. I begin to ask her what is happening when a loud explosion comes from the hall. A wall of fire engulfs Azalea and the man. I close my eyes and everything goes black.

I spring out of the cot sweaty and breathing heavily. My head is splitting and my legs and fingers are numb. I shake my hands trying to get blood flow to them while standing up and pacing around. I look at my watch and see that it is three in the morning. I swallow hard and after a failed attempt of trying to calm myself down, I leave my cot and head over to Rebecca's.

Rebecca is sleeping with her legs and arms sprawled out at every edge of her cot. I shake her awake and tell her that we need to talk. She groggily asks me what is going on and I tell her to get up. I go over to where Shaun set his cot up, farther away from the equipment, whereas Rebecca likes sleeping right next to the Animus.

Unlike Rebecca's sprawled sleeping stance, Shaun is on his back completely covered and cocooned by his blankets. I touch him gently to wake him up and he springs from his bed, mumbling something about the Templars finally finding us. I tell him that it is just me and that I need to speak to him and Rebecca. He desperately searches for his glasses and I hand them to him. He looks up at me and scoffs, "For God's sake, Mate put some trousers on!"

I look down and notice that I am in nothing but my boxers. I tell him sorry and to meet Rebecca and I at the Animus. I put on my jeans and head over to the Animus where Rebecca and Shaun wait for me. Shaun brought his blanket and like a child, covers his body and head with the blanket, and Rebecca seems neutral in her sweats and tank top.

"Desmond, what is going on?" Rebecca says.

"Yeah, Mate, I was having a fabulous dream about—"

I cut Shaun off by shushing him telling them to keep quite so we don't wake my father, who decided to set up camp as far away from us as he can get.

"Des, are you okay?" Rebecca says, with worry now in her tone and stance. I must sound frantic and I try to calm myself.

"Something just happened to me, and…" I try to think of everything I want to say, and how to explain it, but I have no words to explain what just happened. "I… I don't know. I don't know what to say."

Rebecca and Shaun look at each other then look back at me when Shaun says, "How about we get you to bed, and you talk to us in the morning?"

He begins to usher me to my cot and I stop him. "I saw her! I saw her outside of the Animus!" I say pushing him away.

They look at each other again in confusion. "Who did you see, Desmond?" Rebecca asks.

"Azalea… or Emilia, but basically Azalea." I say and they don't understand. I sigh and say, "I saw Emilia Dupon, from the French Revolution. I saw her in this room, and she was wearing this big dress, and some guy came, and they saw me! But I was me, and I was wearing my clothes!"

"Desmond…" Rebecca says with a sad and completely confused look on her face.

I grab my head tightly, and begin pacing, trying to put it all together.

"Mate, it was probably—"

"It wasn't a dream, Shaun." I snap sternly. They both look scared now and I take a breath and try to comprehend what just happened to me. "I was in a room, during the French Revolution." I begin slowly, "There was a woman standing by the fireplace. When she turned around, I saw that it was Azalea. When I called this name, she freaked out, face went white, and she could see me! It wasn't a dream. It was so real. It was like a memory, as if I was in the Animus, but I wasn't inside the memories of her or the guy; it was me. Just like what happened with Haytham. But Azalea is not my ancestor and I know the man wasn't either, so how was I able to see them, and how were they able to see me?

"Do you think he's been in the Animus for too long?" Shaun asks Rebecca.

"Hard to say," She says, "I've done so many upgrades to Baby so this wouldn't happen—"

I throw my hands in the air. "So, I'm going fucking crazy? Turning into Clay? My brain is becoming fucking slop!" I try not to yell so I don't wake my father.

"Desmond," Rebecca says in a gentle tone. "The fact is that we honestly don't know what is going on. I wish I had an answer for you, and could tell you that you were going crazy, but the truth is, I don't know what is happening. This is going far beyond the symptoms of the Bleeding Effect." I put my head down and she continues, "If it wasn't a dream, there is no reason for you to see Azalea outside of the Animus, interacting with someone who is not your ancestor."

"Unless, Azalea put the memories in his head?" Shaun guesses.

Rebecca shakes her head, "She has done everything in her power to remove her existence from Desmond's lineage. Why would she implant a memory of hers, interacting with someone who isn't Desmond's relatives?"

"That still doesn't explain how I was there in my clothing and my body and she saw me." I interject.

"Maybe she was interacting with an Ancestor of Desmond's, but your mind changed the real man to your body?" Shaun guesses.

I shake my head. "She was alone in that room. She didn't see anyone in the room, until I just spontaneously appeared."

Rebecca looks at Shaun and shrugs. "I don't know, Desmond." He says, "I really wish I knew what was going on, but I have no clue. I'll gather more research of Emilia, but I don't believe that will give you the information you are looking for." He says in a sad tone.

"Everything that I know about her—the artifacts that she holds, and her determination to keep everything secret—none of it explains what just happened. She seemed just as confused as I was."

"I guess the only thing left to do is ask her yourself." Shaun says and both Rebecca and I look at him, begging him to say more. He straightens himself underneath the covers and looks proud of himself. "I was going to tell you guys in the morning but I guess now is as good of a time as any. After hours of relentless work—I do have to say I am a wonderful detective, really—"

"Get on with it!" Rebecca says, shutting down Shaun from building his ego too high.

He sighs, "I found a way to contact her."

"How?" Both Rebecca and I yell in unison.

"I know, I know, I am talented, I'd like to think it comes naturally."

"What did you find?" I ask in an impatient pressed tone.

He begins to tell us an extravagant story about how he was hacking a server and begins to go into computer jargon that goes over my head, but I can see the skepticism in Rebecca's stance, and when he is finished with his elaborate tale, she calls him on his bluff.

"No, it really happened that way."

"That's not how Abstergo's mainframe works." She says and begins to laugh.

Shaun frowns and finally says, "Would you believe that she emailed me?" We both look at him with skeptical eyes and he sighs. "It's not a tale of grandeur, but it is true. I was looking into her lineage and doing extensive research on her alias, Lyla Rockwell. Turns out, Lyla Rockwell was a real person and had documentation of her existence since birth, unlike any other alias she has gone by. Lyla Rockwell was born in Virginia to Anthony and Margret Rockwell. Interestingly, Lyla and her parents dropped off the face of the Earth and were never heard from again, until a certain 5 foot 3 inch dark haired someone with a scar comes along with the same name."

"Wait," Rebecca says, "She's really that short?" She asks in awe and I nod, remembering towering over her the night she met with me.

"She's also only 103 pounds according to Abstergo's file on Lyla." Shaun adds.

"Wow," Rebecca says bewildered. "I guess wondering about someone for so long, you really build them up in your head to be something greater."

"No, no, she is a small little thing, Desmond can attest to that." Shaun says nudging me and I shrug. "However, what she lacks in mass, she makes up in mind. You see, as soon as I started to dig up information on her, my computer was attacked with a virus, however, before the computer was to crash, I sent the other computer a virus."

"Grandma's Chicken Pot Pie?" Rebecca says hopefully.

"Nothing but the best," Shaun says and Rebecca cheers.

"Okay, I'm lost." I say.

"It is the name of a nasty virus Rebecca created in her junior year of university."

"When you get it, it follows you around and when it hits, it hits hard." Rebecca says.

"That's disgusting," I say.

"Just like Grandma's—"

"Yeah I got it," I say stopping Rebecca from repulsing me even more.

"Basically, the virus tracks the original attacker with a worse virus. It enters all the files of the original computer as well as any item the computer is paired with through Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or media sharing. I received confirmation that the virus successfully attacked when I got a congratulatory email from yours truly." He leans over his desk, still wrapped in the blanket and logs into his email. He opens up the message and I lean in to read it.

Dear Mister Hastings,

I have to say I am impressed with the nasty bug you have delivered me. Even my best cannot clean this up. I understand you have Desmond and the Apple. I think it's finally time we meet. I'll be in touch.

There is no signature at the end of the email nor a distinguishing email address or footer to confirm that it is Azalea, but Shaun believes it to be her.

"That can easily be Vidic setting a trap." I say skeptically.

"Did you trace the IP address of the email to see where it came from?" Rebecca asks.

"I couldn't find a definite location. When I tried the location was coming from 38 different countries scattered across the Earth."

I shake my head. "We would be naïve to believe that Lucy didn't feed information to Vidic about Azalea and our suspicions that she's immortal. Vidic probably had a trace on anything related to her in hopes to catch us. He probably wrote that email knowing that he was going to trick us."

Shaun looks at me defeated and shrugs, "I guess I just hoped it was her. After all this searching, I wanted it to be her."

I think about how I can reassure him about the situation, seeing how defeated he is, but I don't know what to say. It was impossible for me to find Deeliah or Willow, and though my resources were limited, I couldn't dig up anything on her. Now knowing that Deeliah is immortal and been at it for almost 900 years, the idea of making contact with her seems more fantasy than reality.

"It's not going to be easy, and it will have to be on her terms, but trust me, we will find her and we will get answers from her." I say to him and he gives me a sideways smile. I look at Rebecca and she does the same. I tell them to get some rest and that we will think about our next move later. They wearily agree and move to their beds.

I watch Rebecca and Shaun take to their beds and after waiting for them to fall asleep, I move to the Animus where the Apple sits humming lightly. As I watch the Apple, it begins to sing louder. As if it is aware that I am watching it. I hesitate for a moment, but after making sure the coast is clear, I take the Apple in my hands and it begins to shine.

I walk away from where we set up camp and wander through the Temple with the Apple in hand. When I know that no one will find me, I hold the Apple up, and without a word spoken, I ask the Apple to show me the location of Azalea. Not Deeliah, or Lyla, or Willow; but Azalea. The Apple pulses and hums and rather than showing me her face, a light shines from the Apple and shows me a map of the world, but more importantly, there is a small golden dot on the map, showing a location north of Montreal.

"What the fuck is Azalea doing in Montreal?" I find myself asking this aloud and the Apple shines and creates a holographic image before me. In the image is Azalea, in modern clothing, typing on a tablet. I watch as she works on something I cannot see, when a woman walks into her office. The woman is tall, her stiletto heels making her even more so. Her hair is thick and long raven colored, and her skin has a dark caramel tint to it. Her nose and jaw are prominent and it is obvious that she has an ethnic look to her, and I assume she is of Turkish or middle eastern descent. She looks very similar to Azalea, in skin pigment and hair as well as sharp facial features.

The woman sits down and crosses her long legs. She leans back in her seat and without saying a word, she shoots Azalea a sharp condescending smile. Azalea finally looks up from her typing and at the woman with an annoyed look in her eyes.

Azalea shifts in her seat and says, "I assume you know why you're here."

The woman pouts, "Is mommy mad at me for not doing my chores?" she says in a patronizing tone.

"Your recklessness is becoming a liability to the Creed." She says plainly.

"It's your Creed, Azalea. Not mine." Azalea? This woman knows her as Azalea?

Azalea sighs, "Regardless of how you feel towards the Creed, you are jeopardizing my mission." She says in a low and threatening tone.

She smiles, "Simmer down there, Azalea, you might actually be tempted to kill me."

"Jezebel," She says, but before I can hear what she says, my head begins to split in pain and I drop the Apple, making the image disappear.

I hold my head trying to subdue the pain, but nothing is working. I take the Apple and walk back to the camp. I place the Apple next to the Animus where I originally took it, and head to my bed. My head still pulses in pain, as I crawl into my cot and try to get some rest. I remove the fears I have about the Bleeding Effect from the Animus, as well as what I just saw with Azalea, and try to get some rest. My body and brain are so exhausted, that once I am able to remove the worries from my mind, I am able to fall into a deep dreamless sleep.

I wake up from my sleep with the biggest hangover feeling I have had in my life. The room is spinning and my body is numb, and I haven't even moved out of my cot. I pull myself into a sitting position and see that everyone is awake and working on the computers. I check my watch to see that it is past noon. I'm surprised my father allowed me to sleep in this late.

I shake my head and rub the sleep from my eyes. I lift my body up and my legs are weak but they can carry my body. I put my clothes on and head over towards Shaun. He greets me with a loud good morning, and I quietly and groggily tell him that I need to speak with him. The smile drops from his face and he looks over at Rebecca who looks confused and slightly unhappy that I don't ask for her attention as well. I look at my father who watches me with suspicious eyes. I shoot him an aggressive glance, and usher Shaun away from them.

"Are you alright, mate?" he says with a concerned tone once we are out of earshot from the rest.

"What do you know about the name, Jezebel?" I say in a hoarse tone.

Shaun looks shocked mixed with confusion, "Jezebel? From the Book of Kings?"

I shrug, "Your guess is better than mine."

Shaun sighs, "If we are talking about the biblical Jezebel, she was a Queen of Israel and wife to King Ahab."

"What did she do?" I ask in a pressed tone.

Shaun shrugs, "I only know the basics, my study wasn't very focused of the Hebrew Scriptures. However, from what I know off the top of my head, Jezebel was queen of the Israeli people and provoked her king to denounce his worship of Yahweh, and encouraged him to follow other false prophets. She was unsuccessful and she was thrown out of a window and devoured by dogs in the streets."

"And are they sure she was in fact killed?"

Shaun brings his brows together in confusion and takes a step away from me, "I… well I wasn't there personally, Desmond, I cannot say—"

"But the scriptures say she died? There were witnesses to her death?" I say sternly.

Shaun shrugs hopelessly, "I don't know, Desmond. The story goes that she was devoured by stray dogs in the streets, I cannot say if that were fact or fabrication." I sigh and Shaun approaches me. "Why the interest in Jezebel, Desmond?"

I swallow hard and look at him with tired eyes. "I took the Apple last night."

"And it showed you the Israeli Queen alive?"

"Alive and working with Azalea, for the Assassins."

Shaun looks completely shocked and in awe. "Wha…What time period?"

I swallow hard, "Now. I asked the Apple to show me Azalea, and it showed me her now, in Montreal. She is in Montreal now and she is with this Jezebel person." I approach Shaun. "She is close, we can find her and we can get our answers."

Shaun steps away from me, "How are you sure this was Jezebel the Israeli Queen? Maybe she was just another woman named Jezebel? A codename maybe?"

I shake my head, "She mentioned that Azalea might be tempted to kill her. The way she was talking to Azalea, she was pushing her buttons knowing that Azalea wouldn't kill her. That, or…"

"She's immortal. Just like Azalea." Shaun says in bewilderment.

"I need you to gather any information you have on Jezebel. Her past, whatever happened to her in the scriptures, and any instance where her name was used in the past. From the sound of it, Jezebel is more reckless than Azalea, and there will probably be more information on her throughout history." Shaun nods, "And Shaun, don't tell Rebecca or my father what I told you today."

"But Rebecca—"

"I know that she is part of this team, and I will tell her eventually, but we need to be sure that this is what is going on. I don't want to burden her with anything that might not be worth discussing."

"So, you want me to gather information on anyone using the name Jezebel throughout history that might be tied to the Templar and/or Assassin Orders." Shaun says skeptically.

"I know I am asking a lot," I say in a pleading tone, "but I trust that you will find something worthwhile." I say as I pat him on the back.

He says something under his breath and I cannot hear what he says, but I can tell that he feels as though I am asking too much of him, and I am inclined to agree with him. I have no idea how he is going to pull this off, but I trust he'll figure out a way.

I walk up to my father and Rebecca and she gives me a sideways smile. I can tell that she is concerned as to why I didn't ask her to join our conversation. My father begins to tell me that we are behind schedule and that I need to get into the Animus promptly. I roll my eyes and sit into the Animus. I lay down and look up at the ceiling of the Temple. I take a deep breath and get ready to go back into the Animus. With all the strange occurrences that have happened recently, I've become more cautious entering the Animus and the memories of my ancestors. All I can think about is Clay, and how the Animus destroyed his mind, and I can't shake the feeling that I am going to be next.