Espent1004: Thanks so much :) I really try to put as much effort as I can into this story.

A thing is not necessarily true because a man dies for it.
-Oscar Wilde

The two Assassins left the grave and travelled down the stairs just as silent as they had gone up. Desmond knew he needed to go back inside the Animus... no matter how scared he might be. It was never about him.

"I'm ready to go back in," Desmond said slowly just as he reached the Sanctuary.

Lucy looked up, having arrived before him, surprised. "Are you sure? I was ready to start using that speech I had prepared a month ago..." She stopped.

A month ago. When Desmond had first arrived in the Assassin hideout. His mind flashed back to the moment he'd emerged out of Lucy's trunk after the grueling, uncomfortable ride. He'd agreed to help the Assassins right away, surprising Lucy.

"No need," Desmond said, his mind back in the present. He knew they were both thinking the same thing. A month ago. When everyone was still alive.

"Okay," Lucy agreed. "I'll get it ready. Strap yourself in."

As soon as Desmond looked at his map, he knew where he was going. The icon was of a black-and-white inverted Apple outline, encased in its usual black-outlined diamond. Desmond followed the pulsing shape on his map, somewhat fearful for what lay ahead.

Verità

That was all. No description, no image, just the title. Uneasy, Desmond accepted.

The world continued turning. Desmond looked at his map. There were no unusual icons that had anything to do with his mission, just the usual guild challenges or shops.

Ezio spun around, standing in the middle of a street in Rome, looking for anything useful. People gave him odd looks as he jogged around, but he could care less.

Maybe on a roof?Desmond wondered. He climbed up to the top of his recently acquired Assassin tower and looked. It was late evening, the sun burning red as it sank below the horizon. But still nothing.

The sun looked somewhat familiar. Desmond tried staring at it, but it hurt even his eyes. Then, suddenly, it clicked.

The sun sprang out from under the horizon and detached itself from the sky. It was an enormous light. Ezio fell back in shock and landed on his rear end on the rooftop, nearly slipping off the side.

What the hell!Desmond tried to scream at it, doubting it could hear him. The huge red light swooped down toward him, its glow burning Desmond's retinas.

Desmond! The shocked voice of Lucy echoed around him. What's going on?

I... don't... know...!Desmond managed, trying not to be blinded. He tried to execute a leap of faith of the building, but as he was poised on the wooden ledge, the light spoke.

"Peace." Its voice was deep and thunderous, and it echoed all around him, yet it sounded different from the other lights'.

Peace? Desmond howled at it, crouching. Fuck you!

So cry three tears for me

The light spoke again. It said it would tell him la verità: the truth. And it did.

Desmond sat up, pulling in huge lungfuls of air. He knewnow.

"What happened?" Lucy was on him in an instant. "When it started talking, my video feed blacked out; I couldn't see or hear anything."

Desmond looked up at her. "I know where the Apple is."