Desmond leaned back in his seat, breathing a sigh of relief when the car that had been following him for the last twenty-nine miles had pulled away. He was hoping that it was because they had been called off, but he knew better. Abstergo wanted him, Juno wanted him. Hell, every bad group out there wanted him for one reason or another, and frankly, it was getting old. All he wanted to do was live in peace, raise his son with his wife, and be a family at that had long been denied to him for his whole life. But that wasn't going to happen. Oh no! The universe loved to conspire against him, but this time, he was going to fight back.

Collin had fallen asleep at some point, his small head tilted at an angle that made his father cringe when looking at it. How children could sleep with their necks bent at such an odd angle was beyond him. It looked so damn uncomfortable that all he wanted to do was reach back and make him sit better, but Desmond knew he couldn't stop. Not unless it was for gas. There was a small bag of food in the back floorboard that he had packed before starting the journey south, so they were good on that, and a few pops in the passenger side seat.

Reaching forward, he clicked on the radio, letting the music play lightly through the car. He really didn't care what was on, well, as long as it wasn't hard rock. He wasn't in the mood, and he needed something that would relax him, not hype him up and remind him of his days in the bar.

The drive was boring, and personally, it was too long. Collin had only woke up a few times. Twice to potty, and the other was because he was hungry. So, being the spoiling father that he was, which he got reprimanded a few times for doing it, Desmond pulled through the local McDonald's, getting a Happy Meal for Collin, and two burgers for himself. It was a change of pace from the cold cut sandwiches that were behind his seat.

Looking at his son from the rearview mirror, the ex-bartender couldn't help but smile as he watched the small child nibble on one of the nuggets from his meal. Collin must have sensed he was being watched because he raised his dark head from his meal, and gave a toothy grin that made his father chuckle.

"So bud, are you ready to see your grandpa?" he asked as they drove down the highway into the lower forty-eight.

Collin nodded. "I get to see Papaw!" he cried out happily. The boy loved everyone, and sometimes, Desmond wished he could do the same. But he knew the world was a cruel place, and he didn't want his son to know that. At least not yet. There would be a time, but at nearly three, that time wasn't now.

Letting out a chuckle, he nodded. "Yes, you get to see Papaw."

And just that little bit of news was enough to make the child smile for a while. Picking up his phone, he dialed Isabella's number, knowing she would have known something about her brother by now. They had divided a few hours ago, and she hadn't called yet.

'Hey at the tone you know what to do.'

"Call me when you get this." Hitting the end call, Desmond stared at the phone, wondering why of all days, she forgot to charge the phone.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*

"You can't do it, Izzy. You can't do it alone." Seth looked at his sister, grabbing ahold of the bed rail to pull himself into a better sitting position. "What you're talking about is suicide, and you know it!"

Isabella sighed as she leaned back in the chair she occupied, chin tucked down into her chest. Her eyes were casted onto the floor, as in deep thought. "But if I sit back and do nothing, then Juno's gonna find Desmond and Collin. I have to do something. It's my life, or it's theirs. And I'm not about to let that psycho bitch take my family from me. Not again."

He couldn't believe what he was hearing! She was talking about sacrificing herself! There had to be a way to talk some damn sense into her. "Listen to yourself, Izzy! You can't take on this woman alone. Juno has the backings of the whole damn Templar Order. You're not immortal. You can't live through her gutting you, or shooting you. If she's in Tori's body, who knows what she knows."

Her head shot up, and her green eyes were alit in anger. "And if I try to hide again, more people are going to get killed. I can't live with that. Not again." Tears began to gather in her eyes as he watched her. "Not again, Seth. Not again. Look how many they killed just to get us to come out of hiding. Juno nearly killed you. My own brother!"

Readjusting himself once more, Seth let out an audible sigh, and allowed his eyes to slide close. "Then let me come with you."

There was a bark of a laugh that came from her, and he opened his eyes to look at her. "You have a hole in your leg, massive blood loss, and dehydration. You were in shock when they found you. There's no way you would be able to keep up, let alone fight, in the state you're in."

"But I can keep an eye out for anything that could sneak up on you." Seth countered. "I can still shoot a gun," and with an added smirk, "which you can't."

Isabella sat up in the chair with a huff. "I so too can." Her tone reminded him of when they were younger and he proved that he was better at something than her. Pouted the same way as well.

"Oh yeah?" He asked with a raised brow, crossing his arms over his chest, but being mindful of the IV that jutted out of his hand. "I doubt your aims improved in the last few months. Last time I was with you at the firing range, you barely could hit the target unless you were right on top of it. And even then you went wide." Her lip curled up in a sneer, but he was being truthful. His sister just couldn't shoot a gun to save hers, or anyone else's, life. It was that simple.

Letting his features soften, along with his tone, Seth addressed Isabella once more. "Sis, I'm not going to let you go to your death. It's not going to solve anything, and you have to realize that. Juno will kill you, then search even harder for Desmond, and Collin. More people will get killed. If you are so set on doing this, you're going to need help, and I'm about the only one that's not going to rat you out to everyone."

"Not even Dad?" She asked softly, because normally, when she was going to do something dumb, he always told on her to their father.

Shaking his head, he held out his hand, and she took it. "Not even Dad, Sis."

They sat there for a time, just taking in the silence. The calm before the storm, because he had a feeling when they made it to where they had to go, it was all going to go to hell in a hand basket really quickly. This wasn't something he wanted to do. It was something that he had to do, because what kind of a big brother would he be if he didn't look out for his little sister?

Thinking about that brought back a memory from only a few years ago. It was shortly after she had reappeared, and wouldn't tell anyone what had happened, or who the father of her child was. They were sitting on the dock near the small swimming pond down the way from their house, feet dangling in the water.

"Izzy, why won't you tell anyone what happened to you? You and I never kept secrets from each other." Seth looked over at her pale face. It was the first time she had been out of the house in weeks.

"Because some things are best left unsaid, Seth. Besides, there's no way to say it without looking like a complete lunatic." Isabella tilted her head back and looked up at the clouds that wavered lazily by. "I'm back, and that's all that needs to be known."

He knew there was more than that to her tale, but knowing her as well as he did, pushing was going to get her to clam up more. "Okay, have it your way, but eventually, you're gonna have to tell."

A sigh escaped her, and she looked down at her feet. "I know, but I guess… I guess I'm not ready. Just thinking about those memories hurt, but at the same time, I never knew more joy than in that time. So much simpler, and free. I could be more than I ever thought I could be, and I had a love that I never wanted to give up."

"So tell me about him? I mean, you must have loved him if you slept with him." Turning his head to face her, Seth gave her his best smile, and he watched her face soften.

"I guess I can do that." Her pointer finger grazed the burn on her ring finger. "He was my best friend, and my rock. The two of us had so much in common, but at the same time, so damn different it wasn't funny."

It was good to get her talking, because Seth became to see the life come back to her eyes, and the energy return to her body. Talking about the man that she loved had sparked something in her that they all believed was dead for a few months. He heard of a few wild goose chases they had gone on, and a time or two where they had to hide from the Templars. Hearing her, he knew the guy had meant the world to her, and it seems, she meant the world to him.

It wouldn't be until nearly a year later that he finally got to meet Desmond Miles, and of course, being the big brother, Seth ran him through the ringer. Well, it really was just that big brother mentality kicking in.

Isabella and their mother had just gone out, leaving Seth alone with Desmond and Collin. With his nephew being asleep, he found the other man out on the deck, just looking out at the woods.

Before he could open his mouth, Desmond called over his shoulder. "Gonna read me the riot act about being with your sister?"

"Better believe it." Stopping next to him, Seth looked out at the woods as well. "Kind of a big bro right. Have to tell all the new guys the dos and don'ts of my sister."

That got a small laugh from the other man. "No offence, but I think we're way past the do's and don'ts, but if you're worried that I'm going to hurt her, I will say this." Desmond's voice took a serious tone. "Isabella, and well now Collin, are the only thing that keeps me fighting every day. I don't want him growing up like me. I don't want anything hurting her or him. I don't want Collin to see what kind of a shithole this world is."

"You can't hide that forever." But Seth knew why he was doing it. A kid didn't need to see the horrors that were out there. Not yet, and from what he learned from his dad about the way training was done at the Farm, Desmond was exposed to it way too early.

"I know," Desmond took a deep breath, and exhaled as his shoulders slumped, "but I can keep it from him until he's old enough to understand. That's all I want. To keep them safe."

Seth knew both would have jumped into Hell to save the other. Isabella was going to stop Juno just for her family to finally be free. Desmond would have done the same. So, taking a deep breath, and shaking his head slowly, he asked. "So when do we leave?"

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

Tori sat with her back to the side of her 'cage', head tilted towards the ceiling, and arms resting on bent knees. It had been four days since Juno had cornered Isabella in Seth's hospital room. Three days remaining until she unleashed Armageddon onto the assassins unless Desmond was turned over. Even then, she was going to kill everyone, it didn't matter. The world was going to be her playground, and when the bitch found a way to stay in Tori's body permanently, she herself would fade into nothing. And she wasn't about to let that happen.

But she also knew there was no way out of the cell she was in. It was made to house her when she wasn't in use. Like a secure closet, or a safe. To keep harm from coming to any harm. So, there she languished there. Skills getting dull from no use. Juno couldn't understand half of the complex moves she could pull off, so she had just stuck with information gathering, and no killing. The woman had no concept of firearms, which was something Tori herself exceled at.

Her only companion was a shadow of a woman that stayed in the corner. She barely moved, never spoke, but would cast looks at Tori like she knew what was going to happen. Her golden eyes were downcast, her lips pulled down into a constant frown.

"She's getting close to figuring it out, isn't she?" Tori asked the figure, and got a nod of yes in response. "So, are you like her as well?"

"I was, once." The voice was so soft, but it caused Tori to jump slightly because it was the first time the woman had ever spoke to her.

"Wow, you can speak. And here I thought you were part of some delusion brought on by my constant shunning of all life." The assassin let her legs fall from their bent position, and folded them in front of her, sitting up a bit straighter. "So, who are you?"

The woman looked back out at the men that milled around the Grand Temple. A few monitored computers set up here and there, trying to make sure Juno's old systems stayed running. It was a losing fight, and she knew it.

"I was like Juno once. We were trying to save our people, but after an experiment took the life of Juno's husband, Aita, it left her nothing more than a vengeful shell of the woman she once was." The woman spoke, her voice accented in a way that Tori couldn't place. "My name is Minerva, and I am just as much a prisoner as you are, Victoria."

Leaning forward and resting her elbows on her knees, Tori watched her carefully. "Why does she hold you?"

"Because I am a danger to her power. I know what will happen once the computers cease to function, but I also know the secret of moving around as we are." Minerva glided to the side, watching a particular technician work at a computer terminal. "Juno was sealed in her many eons ago, and we did it for a reason. To keep her contained for all times. I tried to save them, but once I looked upon Desmond Miles' heart, and saw the selfless things he would do to protect people he didn't even know, I knew what he would choose. That was why I tried to save him. To save them both."

The second being Isabella. "But why Isabella? What does she had in all of this?"

A small, sad chuckle escaped Minerva as she turned to face Tori. "I have seen into the future, and I knew she would be the one that would save us all. But that is all I have seen. Juno knew of my glimpses with the Apple of Eden. It was common knowledge for ones such as us to access. We were researchers, trying to find a way to save our people from destruction. But we ran out of time. We could not finish what we started. With the energy Juno took from Desmond the first time, she was able to finish it, but I knew he had to be saved. I knew he had to live on."

Tori knew that part of the tale. "That's when you sent them back in time. To save them from Juno."

Minerva nodded. "Yes, but even then I did not count on Juno able to reach them through their dreams. I could only counter the way I knew how, and that was to become her. Use her tactics against her. To invade their dreams as well. It was something I find… distasteful. Dreams are something that should not be invaded."

"But you said Isabella is the one that's supposed to save us all. Would you like to clarify?" Climbing to her feet, Tori walked over next to her, and looked out at the people as well. In the distance, near the large silver orb, she could see Juno looking down in the abyss below, as if all the answers laid at the bottom.

"She will destroy Juno, but at a terrible cost." The First Civilization woman sighed and hung her head. "You will pay a terrible price as well."

"I already know I'm dead either way this goes. If Juno is stopped, no one is going to trust me again. The woman possessed me, pretended to be me, and gave the knowledge that I knew to the Templars. It got a lot of good people killed. Either the assassins are going to kill me, or cast me out.

"If Juno isn't stopped, she's going to find a way to possess me permanently, and I will cease to be. Like I said, either way this plays out, I'm dead. I've come to accept that." Tori understood her fate at the end of all of this, but there was not a chance in Hell she was going to let Juno win. Not if she could help in any way.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

"Isabella's not answering her phone."

William looked up at his son as Desmond walked into his office, Collin propped up on his side. The child was the spitting image of his son that it almost made him laugh at times. "She might not be able to, Desmond. If she's still at the hospital with Seth, then she might have it on a charger, or in her car. She'll call you back when she can."

Standing, William walked over to them and held out his arms to take his grandson, who smiled, and launched himself off of Desmond into his waiting arms. He was glad at least one of them was happy to see him at any given time. Normally, his son had a scowl on his face when it came to him, but after two years he was used to it by now. They still weren't on the best of terms, but he never kept Collin away from him.

"It's been almost a day. It's not like her, Dad. She always calls Collin no matter what. What if something happened? I need to get back up there and find out what's going on." Desmond paced the office, his face a mask of worry, and a frown made the scar on his lip stand out even more.

After sitting Collin in a chair with paper, and a ball point pen, William addressed his son. "I have Rebecca heading there now. Actually, I sent her out two days ago. She should be calling with an update on everything when she arrives. Shaun is checking out a few leads on what happened to Seth, and Damien has been informed. He's on his way here as we speak."

"I'm not worried about what happened. He's alive, and I'm guessing doing fine. No, I'm worried that they're going to try again. I know both Isabella and Seth can handle themselves, but what if they go after someone that can't. If they go after my son…" He let the words trail off, and William watched his son's shoulders tense.

"Son, no one is going to come after Collin. Even they're not that stupid. They know what you're capable of, and what all of us are capable of. Besides, they don't even know where you are." He knew that if he didn't try and talk Desmond down, the boy was going to try and run off to do something stupid. "Listen, when Rebecca calls I'll…" But the ringing of the phone silenced him. Grabbing it from the receiver, he answered. "Hello?"

'It's me. Oh shit, Bill, we have a problem.' Something was seriously wrong when Rebecca started to get flustered.

"Hold on." Hitting the speaker button, he addressed her once more. "You have myself and Desmond. What's the situation up there?"

'They're gone, guys. The siblings have flown the coop, and no one has seen then in three days. One of the nurses came to give Seth his meds, and found the bed empty, his stuff gone, and not a trace to be had. Since the only number they had to alert anyone was Isabella, it was a moot point.'

Desmond leaned forward. "Her phone. Can you try and trace her phone? Find out where it's been?"

Rebecca snorted. 'Don't you think I haven't tried? I'm not a newbie that this. But the answer is, it's gone. The signal, I mean. It's like she dropped off the face of the Earth. The number's active, and calls are being placed, but not long enough to get a location. I found her car in the hospital parking lot, but it's empty. The problem is, if the two went rogue, then we're never going to find them. Seth's pretty tech savvy when he wants to be.'

"Abstergo maybe?" William looked over at his son, who was beginning to breath heavy.

'No, and if they did, we would have known about it. But I did find out a piece of information out while up here. It seems Seth had a visitor the day he was brought in. Didn't stay long, and left when Isabella showed up. Dark, shoulder length hair, blue eyes, very pale. Who does that sound like?' He could hear Rebecca typing something out of the keyboard.

"Tori, but how?" Desmond looked at his father, who looked at him in return. "She never knew where we were. No one, save for Isabella's family, you, Shaun and Dad knew where we were. No one told her."

'That's not the worst. It seems Tori was spotted leaving Abstergo before heading there. She's our mole, but no one knows where she is now. It's like she dropped off the face of the planet.'

William didn't like this. Tori was one of their best undercover assassins, hell one of the best period. If she converted, and was a double agent. "I want her found, and I want her killed. No questions. From a distance only. The woman will shred normal people."

'Already on it. The sight sighting of her was in upstate New York a few days ago. Maybe that's where Isabella and Seth were heading. But I don't know why she would bring him. From what I read of his medical charts, he's pretty busted up. He wouldn't last in an all-out fight for very long, if at all.'

Sighing, he laid a hand on his son's shoulder. "Call it the Bellucci stubbornness. Their father was famous for it. Well, pack your bags, we're heading to New York. Again."

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

Two days of watching, waiting, had yielded nothing. The only thing they knew was what was going on up on the surface. No one came up, and no one went down. The guards just changed shifts, and left when they needed to. It was maddening to say the least.

Isabella was on her belly on the rise a distance away from the entrance of the Grand Temple. Men guarded the entrance, and the perimeter, making sneaking in nearly impossible. Nine men, and she knew she could take them all out, but that would mean she would leave Seth unprotected for a time.

"I know that look. What are you thinking, Izzy?" Seth asked, his eyes sweeping her, then back to the entrance, below.

"Nine men, lightly armed. Mostly likely carrying stun batons. They're there to scare off lookers, not assassins." Doing the calculations in her head, it would take a few minutes to clear the two men in the cave, then make her way to the trailer nearby, to take out the three men there, and then she could deal with the four that was roving around the site. "I could take them out, easily, but it would take time. The thing is, if I'm off about the timing of the groups, I might get caught by the men that are walking the perimeter."

"Yeah," he chimed in, "that might work, but we don't know anything about what's on the inside of that place. We don't know if that's even all the guards. Let's watch just little longer, and figure out what they're doing there."

Snorting, she looked at her brother. "And what the hell do you want to do? Stay here until we're caught, or worse, Desmond catches on to what we're about to do? I'm doing this to protect him and our son. I can't have him coming here. We've been watching for two days now. No one goes in, and no one comes out. Those guys are just there to make sure we can't get in."

Sighing, she watched him hang his head. "Fine. I've got your back. Make them quick, and make them clean. Slaughter only if they attack you."

Giving a sly grin, Isabella rose to a crouch position. "I strike from the shadows to serve the light." Grabbing the edge of the red hood, she pulled it over her head, and slipped down the small embankment, sliding silently into the shadows like she was taught in the days of old.

The first man was caught as he went to relieve himself at the edge of the woods, his life cut short by the blade that the female assassin planted into his neck. Blood trickled around the edges of the blade before Isabella removed it from the mortal wound in a quick pull of her hand. The blood began to pour profusely from the puncture hole as she drug him deeper into the brush.

The second was a bit trickier, because he stayed close to the mouth of the cave, propped in a chair, looking at a tablet. "Calvin, hurry up, I need to go." He called from his place. That must have been the guy that's dead in the brush, Isabella thought as she pulled a knife from her belt. With precision aim, the man was dead before his body hit the ground, hilt of the blade jutting out from between his breastbone.

Two more knives were thrown as the other two from the cave came to see what caused their comrade to drop like a rock. Dragging their corpses back into the cave, she removed the blades, wiped them off on their gray uniforms, and ran for the trailer.

Lighting a smoke bomb, she quickly opened the door, threw it in, and slammed the door once more closed. Choking sounds came from inside as the putrid dark cloud began to leak from around the doorframe. Readying her blades, the three men ran out, faces covered, choking on the thick, black smoke, and their lives were ended with three swift kills.

Two men rounded the hillside and stopped dead when they caught sight of her. But before she could move, there was two small pops, and one's head erupted like a shot overripe watermelon, and the second fell over after his chest opened up. Looking up at the hill, Seth gave her a raised hand, and chambered another round in the silenced rifle he was packing. Now she was thankful he came insisted on coming along. Her brother was an excellent marksmen, she'd give him that much credit.

Finding the last remaining guards, Isabella made short work of them, then met Seth at the mouth of the cave. "Are you ready for this?" He asked, pulling a pistol from his side holster.

Shaking her head, she had to be honest. "No, but let's do it anyway." And with that, the brother and sister team walked into the darken cave to face what was at the bottom of the stairs.