To warn all, this is a Tori centric chapter. Only a few character are mentioned, but this fills in the gaps on what happened to her, or is happening. So without further wait, here you go.
One Year Ago
Tori walked down the street with her head bent low, feet shuffling slightly from the weariness that had claimed her body. The dreams, or nightmares most nights, were getting out of hand, and she couldn't remember the last time she had managed a good night's sleep. Dark bags hung under her eyes, making her pale skin look downright sickly, and a yawn escaped her lips. It was taking its toll on her body, and if a resolution wasn't found soon, then she wasn't going to be worth a damn to anyone.
There was not enough caffeine in the world to keep her up much longer, and the sleeping pills in her pocket was to make sure that she actually went to sleep. The bottle of Jack Daniels was going to help as well. And if mixing the pills with the alcohol killed her, well, there were worst ways to go. At least then she wouldn't have to worry about sleep anymore, or nightmares, because she would be dead.
As she walked up onto her porch, the obnoxious cell phone in her pocket went off, causing a groan to tear from her lips. Pulling it out, Tori rolled her eyes when he recognized William Miles' number. So not the person she wanted to talk to right then and there. Most likely he had some mission to send her on, and then she really wouldn't get sleep. But she also knew from experience that if she didn't answer, he would call back until she did.
So, with a groan, the young woman hit talk, and brought the offensive piece of tech to her ear. "If it requires my attention at this time, the answer will be no."
'You need to get a new phone. That one has been compromised.' And with that, he hung up.
Tori blinked at the phone for a minute, sighed, and shoved it back in her pocket. There goes another one. It was the second cell phone in three months and frankly, it was getting really old. So, unlocking the two deadbolts on her door, she walked straight to the kitchen, grabbed the meat mallet from the drawer, laid the cell on the counter, and shattered the phone with no emotion. Just the way she went through life. To be an assassin, one must stay detached from all that they were part of. If you formed attachments, it could lead to failure, and that was not an option in her line of work. At least that's what her father had drilled into her head all of her life. She could not fail. Not once.
Once the phone was in pieces on the counter, and a few on the floor, the woman poured the whiskey into a glass, and took a swig, feeling the liquid burn all the way down her esophagus and collect into her stomach. It was a good feeling, and warmed her up from the inside out. Fishing the pills from her pocket, Tori opened the lid, shook two into her hand, and swallowed them quickly, then chased them with a drink from her glass.
Removing articles of clothing as she headed to her bed, she sat the glass on her nightstand, pulled back the covers, and laid down. The bed was chilled, but felt good to her now warm body. She wasn't a huge drinker, so even from the small amount she had taken in, she head felt light, and well, pleasant. It was a good feeling.
Another yawn escaped her as her eyes drifted shut as slumber finally claimed her.
"Victoria."
She heard her name being called through the darkness of sleep, and her eyes fluttered open to blue skies. It was pretty in a way, if you took pleasure in that sort of thing. She just never took pleasure in things such as that, or anything to be honest. It was not who she was, but it was relaxing.
"Victoria."
Her name was called once more, and so getting to her feet, her eyes scanned the field she was currently standing in. Another dream, and Tori hung her head. She had hoped that with the mixture of pills and alcohol, she wouldn't even dream. She didn't want to dream. But yet, here she was, standing in a field, a blue sky above her, and a woman calling her name.
So her feet set to walking in the direction the voice was coming from. It wasn't someone she knew, but the voice seemed to know her. That was the bad thing about dreams. Sometimes in them, you could not trust anything. The same was true in life as well. No one could be trusted and everyone should be held at arm's length. That way she could not be hurt, again.
The ache returned to the chest as she thought about her one chance at a normal life that she let slip through her fingers. If she had fought harder to hold on to it. If she had just come clean earlier, everything would have been fine. Everything would have worked out. Closing her eyes for a moment to center herself, Tori reopened them to see the world had changed, and she was standing at the edge of a pier. Their pier. Her breath caught in her throat as she watched as the memory played out.
"Lighten up Tori!" Seth laughed as he wrapped his arms around her from behind. "You know, life ain't worth a damn without some sort of joy in it."
"But… without attachments…" The words were hollow in her ears then as they were now. It hurt to watch what she was seeing. Seth was the first and only man that she had willingly let into her life. At first getting close to him was a mission from William and her father to keep tabs on the Bellucci family. Damien had cut ties for some time after his youngest, Dante, had been killed in the accident, and William wanted to make sure that he hadn't turned over to the other side in revenge against him. It had been grief that made Damien do what he had done. To pull his family from the Brotherhood and train his remaining children in secret.
"You don't have to be doom and gloom all the time, sweetheart." He brushed his lips against her pale cheek, and the specter Tori raised her hand to touch that same cheek. The one thing she never told him was that she never wanted to leave his arms. There, she felt wanted, needed, and not used. She felt like a human, and not a tool. Seth gave her something precious, and that was his love. At least, until he found out the truth. The whole truth.
She went in looking at it as a mission, and walked away with a broken heart. That had hurt worst of all. For Seth, she wanted to give up the deep cover. She wanted to let him in. To open the frozen shell she called a heart. It would have been so easy. To tell him everything. To let him know who she was really. But he found out in the worst of ways.
The memory shifted once more, and she was looking down at the dead body of a Templar who had remembered her. The one time she didn't cover her tracks well enough. She and Seth had gone to New Orleans on a whim one time. To take in the local flavor, and for her to get away from her father. He had been pressuring her to get closer to Isabella, to become her friend, but she couldn't. Isabella was a person that she just couldn't get along with. Their personalities were far too different. Polar opposites. Isabella was always smiling, and laughing, to where Tori forgot what it was like to smile for no reason. To laugh at something amusing. To be human, with human emotions.
The guy that was a corpse now, had spotted her, and made his move. That was when Seth learned the truth. That she was an assassin, and he was none too pleased.
"You knew what I was, didn't you?" His normally pale face was red with anger as he stormed over to where she was standing, cleaning her blade off with a cloth in cold detachment. Tori gave a nod. "And you never once decided to tell me that you were part of the same Brotherhood?"
"I was told not to." Was all she said as she allowed the blade to slide back into her sleeve, hiding its existence from all. Her voice was her trademark non-emotionless tone. This was Tori Bettlely, the master assassin. Not the Tori that she wanted to be.
She could heard the soft growls coming from him as he began to pace. "So, what do you want to know, huh? Was our whole relationship, everything we shared, built on a lie?"
Tori's head whipped around and for the first time in many years, cold dread crept into her body. "No, it wasn't like that. I…I do care for you, Seth."
There was a snort, and he stopped. "But you couldn't tell me what you were, I get it. You didn't trust me even though I'm an assassin as well. My fucking family are assassins, Tori, just the same as you, but you weren't going to tell me. You and your damn secrets."
"Seth," Tori walked over and grabbed his arm, but he pulled from her touch, "please, I was only doing what I was told of me." There was a hint of fear in her voice, and she could feel the warm tears begin to prick at the back of her eyes. It wasn't supposed to be like this! It wasn't supposed to hurt this much!
"Whatever." The redheaded male began to walk away, but called over his shoulder. "Don't bother coming back. I don't want to hear any more of your lies. I ever see you again, and I won't hit you, but I have a sister that will be more than willing to beat your ass if you ever come near my family again."
And that was the last time she had seen him in nearly a year. The next was at the Grand Temple when they found Isabella. He hadn't been happy to see her then, and it took several more months before they were even able to be near each other without him frowning, or giving her the cold shoulder. She would have given up everything to see him smile at her once more. To feel his arms pull her in for a hug, or to just tell her it was all going to be alright. She would have walked away from the Brotherhood, from that life, if he would have only asked her to.
"I can make it all stop."
A voice behind her caused her body to go rigid. The same woman that had called out to her, called her name across the meadow she had woken up in. Turning slowly, she watched with a raised brow as the woman walked closer. "Who are you?"
"I can be a friend, Victoria, or an enemy, but I would like to be your friend. You wish for the pain to go away. You don't want to hurt anymore, and I can make that happen." Her dress shimmered around her like a thick spider's web in the moonlight. Black hair fell around her shoulders causing her pale skin to glow slightly. Giving an ethereal look to the woman.
There was something about this woman that made Tori want to run, but this was all a dream. This wasn't real. It was all in her mind, trying to tell her something. But what was the question. So she took the bait. "What do you want?"
"To be free, Victoria. To feel a breeze on my face once more. To hear the birds in the trees above. To know what it's like to be alive! For so long this has been denied to me, and I aim to change that soon." A smile played over her ruby lips, but there was an edge that caused Tori to take a step back. The edge was full of malice and hate.
"And what do I have to do with any of this?" Now she wanted to wake up. She wanted away from this...this creature. There was no calling her a woman, because she wasn't that. She was something far different. Evil radiated off of her, causing Tori's skin to crawl. A demon in human form.
"Nothing right now, but you will soon. My trusted followers are carrying out my bidding as we converse in this dreamlike world. I thought you would have put up a fight, but your body was fast asleep. I chose the right time to strike." The world shifted again, and they stood together on a beach. The water pounding the rocks relentlessly. "You will help me by your own accord, or by force. You have what I need, and I can make the pain that plagues your heart go away."
Tori's dread turned into full blown fear as she began to understand who this woman was. Juno. The one that tried to kill Desmond Miles, and the one that had been released onto the Earth after so long. She was pissed, and wanted revenge. And she must have seen Tori as that tool. "I'm not going to help you, so you can just forget about it."
Juno's laugh caused the hair on the back of Tori's neck to stand up. "You have no choice. By the time you awaken, it will be complete and you will be where I want you. You will be my vessel, and you will have no choice by the time I get done with you."
And with that being said, the woman faded out into oblivion, leaving Tori to stand there on the deserted beach, mind racing. She was going to be used once more, and not by the assassins. She was going to be used by Juno and whatever plan she had been plotting for the last God only knows years. Tears sprang to her eyes, and as desperately as she tried, there was no waking up. There was no way to return to the world of the living. Because of the nightmares, and the alcohol, and the sleeping pills, she was stuck in this…this dreamlike state until such time she was either awaken from the outside, or well, she didn't want to think about the other part.
So taking a seat in the sand, the young woman pulled her knees to her chest, and cried, not fighting the emotions once more.
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
When she was finally awoken, Tori had no concept of time, but she did know where she was. The Grand Temple's structure had not changed since the last time she was there, but it was more lights than the last time. People milled around, talking on phones, taking readings of something that was out of her vision, but as she tried to move, she found herself strapped to a table of some kind.
"She's awake." There was a whisper over her left shoulder, but the edge of the table blocked her eyes from seeing who was the one talking.
But she didn't have to wait long. A man, dressed in a lab coat walked up next to her. "Let me go." Tori growled at him, twisting her body a small bit, wiggling the restraints. She was going to get out of there and kill everyone in the room.
The man smiled at her. "Well you see, that's not going to happen. I am under strict orders to make sure you are secure until our lady has enough strength to do what needs to be done. So struggle all you want, for it will not help."
Pushing against the restraints, Tori thrashed with all her might, but they didn't budge. "What does she want?" She asked when the fight had left her a small bit. There was no way out at that moment, so she knew she would have to bide her time until a chance arose. Then she would get out of there, and tell the assassins what was going on.
"You. She wants you." And a visor slipped over her eyes. She was in an Animus! Looking down at her arm, Tori finally saw the IV running from the crook of her elbow, pumping fluids into her body. "Now, just relax."
The world began to fade out once more, and that would be the last she saw through her own eyes for nearly a year.
Present Day
It happened once more. Tori had managed to reject Juno shortly when they returned to the Grand Temple, but she was weak mentally. With only being a phantom in the back of her body, it was strange to feel the chill in the air once more. The stone beneath the palms of her hands, or the droplets of sweat that dripped from her brow. Juno had fought with her mentally to remain in control, but her control had been slipping over the past few days. That's why Tori was able to resume possession of her own body once more.
Juno knelt in front of her, eyes unmoving. "You know, if you keep resisting me, it will only get worse in the end. I offered you death once I had what I wanted. I will not need your vessel much longer, Victoria. Not after I have Desmond. With his life, I will no longer be trapped here. I will be free once more."
"Fuck you." She spoke, her voice weak, and her body in the same condition. "I'm going to keep fighting you, bitch, until I'm dead."
Laughing, the woman in front of her stood. "I can make that happen."
"No you won't, because you don't have another that you can possess. I'm the only one, and you know it." Pushing back until she was sitting on her backside, her blue eyes looked up at the woman who had been dead for thousands upon thousands of years. Mind only preserved through a machine that she knew, was now beginning to fail.
The possession worked both ways, to a point. Juno could access Tori's memories, but in the same breath, Tori had seen some of hers. The machine that had held her consciousness was failing, and from what the techs had said, it was doomed to fail within the next few months. There was nothing any of them could do to keep it running. In essence, Juno herself, was dying. That was why she needed Desmond. To release her from the temple. To free her onto a world that knew nothing about her brand of evil.
"You are correct. There is not another out there that I could do this with. That is why you still draw breaths. But I am going to kill Isabella. Make no mistake on that. Even if she hands over Desmond, I will smile in satisfaction as I slowly bleed the life from her eyes." Juno swept past her, leaving her sit there.
Tori couldn't help but laugh. "You fear her for some reason. You fear what she can do to you."
"I fear no one!" Juno snapped, turning sharply to glare at her, but there was a waver to her voice. A waver that told Tori the other woman was lying.
Struggling to get to her feet, but she managed, Tori leaned against the wall for support. "What is it about her that frightens you so much? What is it about her lineage that has you freaked out? I know why you want Desmond dead, but why her? Why Seth? What makes the two of them so damn frightening in your eyes?"
"I do not fear those whelps." The ancient growled, turning her back to Tori, and faded away.
"I'll get my answers, Juno. I will pry it from your damn mind if I have to the next time you possess me!" And she knew it was going to be soon. Until then, the assassin was trapped in the cell built just for her, to house her until the next time her body was needed. In a quieter voice, Tori nodded, and spoke once more, her path set. "I will find out what you fear and find a way to kill you with it."