But She Was Not the Traitor

Fic: But She Was Not the Traitor
Rating: NC-17
Words: 2345
Pairing: Established ShaunDes
Warnings: Blood, slight slash, spoilers for Revelations and The Lost Archives; 16's memories
Summary: Desmond is in coma. Clay knows there's a traitor, but cannot remember who. He's scared to enter his own memories and ask Desmond to go through them. He finds the answer, and when he wakes, tells the others. But is it the right person?
Notes: Inspired by princessmidna(.)tumblr(.)com / post / 20473116830 / shaunhastings-he-had-a-plan-to-kill-you-all

*****

Desmond talked a lot to Clay - as was 16's real name - when he was inside the Animus.
It was a relief for both of them; because now they both had someone to share the constant fear the different thoughts, times and voices brought on with.
Even though it was too late for Clay - he'd been dead for about two months - the different ancestors still affected him as they did Desmond.

And wasn't that a part of the reason as to why he'd decided to help Desmond? He knew what it was like, and he'd heard voices, telling him to aid this man as best he could, for there was a traitor among them.
If he only could remember who it was... But it was locked away in his memories, and even though he knew he had to warm Desmond, he could not go back; could not dare to try to remember the knowledge.

The thoughts and memories couldn't harm him physically - and it could not frighten him into taking his own life - but he was scared nonetheless.
Scared of not being able to escape the memories again.
Scared of not being able to give Desmond the help and guidance he still needed so dearly.
Scared of never being able to tell Desmond about this traitor.

So he did the only thing he could think of; he asked if Desmond would be willing to wander through his memories in search of the truth.
He did not mention knowing or suspecting anything though, he left that for Desmond.

Desmond most have sensed the importance, or seen something in the way Clay asked him to do it, for he seemed reluctant enough to decline, but he agreed.
Hopefully he would find out Clay though, and hopefully it would not be the person he cared about.
Oh yes, Clay knew someone on the team was important to Desmond, but he didn't want to pry.
At least it wasn't Lucy; Clay could tell that much by the way Desmond had reacted to the news of her death.
Desmond seemed sad enough about it for Clay to understand they were close, but this wasn't the person Desmond was close to in the romantic sense.
It wasn't that Clay didn't like her, but there was something about her that had put him off, even though she was an assassin and they were on the same side.

If Clay were to be honest with himself, he would admit to hoping Lucy was the traitor, for then the danger would hopefully be avoided, or at least give the team enough time to get away.
And it was the most obvious choice as Lucy had worked for Abstergo for some years now.
But because it would seem an obvious answer, it might not be her after all.

Clay suddenly noticed he sat alone, leaning against a tree on a green island, which was achingly familiar. It looked like the island where he and Desmond were just seconds earlier in some ways, but there was only one stone-arch, the sky and horizon was blue, and the grass green.
It hit him then why it was so familiar; this was an island he had visited once, years ago, and which he himself, unknowing at the time, had based the animus island on, as a place to anchor himself and his last remaining bits of sanity to.
For some reason he too was in the memory he had asked Desmond to go through.
He couldn't continue, so he would sit there under the tree and wait for Desmond to return.

***

Desmond found Clay's memories quite similar to his own, but they were harder to go through. He did not know if it was because it wasn't his own memories, or if it was whatever revelation that lay within.
But he would find his way through it, and he would find the truth.

Whereas in his own memories, there was only his own voice and the voices of others saying what he had heard them say, in this memory he heard Clay's and what conversations he had heard and participated in, whilst he could not hear his own voice, as if it didn't belong in here.

Two of the memory sequences held a small garden each, with tall, white walls, some water and a tree, like a modern garden built in between tall buildings in a city where you were surprised to see the sunlight. They also looked like they could belong in a newly built rehabilitation center.
No wonder, Desmond found out through Clay's memories. Before he got involved in the battle between the assassins and Templars, he'd taken an education in engineering and had been seeing a psychiatrist for quite a while. Desmond guessed that these were familiar things to Clay; things that, like the island. Were based in his memory and therefore given a form here in the Animus.

The further into Clay's memories Desmond went, the closer he felt to some sort of revelation.
Something felt wrong with the letters from Lucy that he found, and he wondered if that had something to do with it.
And so he continued, until the revelation; Lucy was the traitor.
He felt stupid; it all seemed so clear now.

Lucy had been cut off from the other assassins, forced to work at Abstergo. She had grown up and been trained to be an Assassin, but after being cut off for so many years, after having the Templar ideologies interpreted in her mind; it wasn't all too surprising she'd switched sides.
And that was of course how they had been found at the last hideout: Lucy had told them, and then they waited until the right time to come and get them.
But they had gotten away; the Templars hadn't gotten their hands on anything.
Or had they?

Thinking back, Desmond realized they had to leave in such a hurry that they didn't get to bring everything with them; some of the Animus recordings were still back there. Or, more likely, back at Abstergo, being searched through by yet another "Subject".

Still, something didn't seem quite right… Juno's voice appeared in one of the memories; telling Clay to look after him in any way he could. The voice stated they knew there was a traitor, but not who the traitor was, not if it was a male or female, nothing that could help Desmond and Clay figure out if it was Lucy or not.

The memories brought them closer to the truth, but it was not revealed yet.
So when Desmond was finished going through Clay's memories, he joined him under the tree and they sat there for an immeasurable period of time, discussing what to do.
They didn't have the time to reach an idea they agreed on however; as the island started crumbling and they were transported back to Animus Island.

Upon landing, Desmond hit the ground rolling and disappeared into the large stone arch.
Thrown into the last of Ezio's memories, he had no choice but to finish what he was supposed to do.

He finished the memory, without knowing it was the last, and as soon as it was finished, he was thrown back onto the island, just in time to see everything begin to fall apart.
Clay came running to him and grabbed him tight; Desmond thought he was trying to make him stay there with him.
But the other man explained that his job in here was now over; Desmond HAD to leave, or else he would most likely never wake from the coma; they were scheduled for deletion.

At first Desmond tried to refuse, but he knew he had to leave.
He would have disappeared sooner, if Clay hadn't held him tight. As Clay disappeared, Desmond knew this was the last time he'd see him; 16's purpose was fulfilled now.

Desmond ran towards and through the stone arch.

Once he was in there, he was thrown into the last part of Ezio's memory, where Ezio spoke directly to him. Ezio, knowing he would hear him, urged him to try to make sense of the questions and suffering he had gone through in his life.
The words caused Desmond to go through another synch nexus.

This time he ended up in a seemingly endless chamber, where he was confronted by Jupiter.
Jupiter explained the story of Those Who Came Before, the building of the vaults and showed him the story of how they went under.
Before he disappeared however, he gave Desmond a mission; to visit the Grand Temple.
He instructed him to take his words, and to "pass them from his head into his hands", for by doing this he would "open the way".
The last Desmond heard from Jupiter was a warning.
The warning was that he did not know the outcome of this; neither for Desmond nor himself.

*

In the back of a van, Desmond Miles woke up, just as the van stopped, having reached its destination.
Seeing where they were, he got up as if he hadn't been in a coma for the past days.
"I know what we need to do," he said.

Offering no explanation, he got out of the van, letting the others climb out behind him.
He quickly pulled Shaun aside, around a bend where they wouldn't be seen.
Desmond whispered "I missed you so," before he quickly latched his own lips onto Shaun's, having missed the feeling of the other's lips on his.
He only pulled away because he had to breathe, but even so he barely pulled back enough for their lips not to meet, though their foreheads touched, as well as their noses.

Feeling Shaun's warm breath fan over his face, Desmond closed his eyes and whispered to Shaun.
"There is a traitor between us; Sixteen knew about it too." He Felt Shaun tense.
"Did you.. Did you find out who it was?" Shaun asked, the barest trace of nervousness in his voice.
"It was Lucy," Desmond replied.

"But she was not the traitor," Shaun stated matter-of-factly.
Desmond looked at his lover with a confused look in his eyes. There seemed to be something wrong with Shaun, he had such a queer look in his eyes.

Shaun's right arm locked around Desmond's left, flicking his wrist so the hidden blade slid out.
Desmond frowned, and looked from Shaun's face down to his arm.

***

Shaun drove Desmond's hidden blade into his throat, holding his hand over his mouth in order to stifle the small, pathetic gurgling sounds he made as blood filled Desmond's throat, making it impossible for him to breath.
As the blood ran down Desmond's throat, Shaun licked his lips, captivated by the look of the blood seeping through his dark t-shirt and white and red hoodie.

Then he yelled for William and Rebecca, changing his expression from glee and malice to utter horror and dread.
After all, he had pretended to love the bloody (pun not intended) idiot, so he had to play along now as well, even though Desmond was too far gone to notice.
He heard them come running, and yelled at them to hurry up, call an ambulance, anything.
"What happened?" Will asked with actual worry in his voice. Even if Shaun didn't care, he was surprised, and found himself wondering if the worry was because Desmond was his son, or if it was because he was the only hope the assassin's had left.
Making his voice sound like he was scared shitless, he answered
"I don't know. One moment he was trying to tell me something, in the next his eyes shifted and became golden. He started muttering in Arabic, and then he stabbed himself. It all happened so fast, I didn't have the time to react."

On his right side, Rebecca had crouched down and held Desmond's left wrist, checking his pulse. Then she checked his right wrist.
"No pulse," she said, choking on her words. Shaun choked back a fake sob, and looked up at William who was standing on his left side.
"What-what do we do now? He can't be dead, he CAN'T!" Shaun yelled, fake tears welling in his eyes (Let it be said, Shaun Hastings was a first class actor, no one should dare say otherwise. How else could he have managed to fool the assassins?).

"We will have to take him with us," Desmond's dad said. "We might need him. Give me a hand, will you Shaun?"
"Yes sir." So, what he suspected was true; Bill didn't care enough for Desmond as his son do as what his fatherly duty was, but instead he wanted to take him with them into the cave, in case they could still use him.
So that was all Desmond Miles was to his father; a tool. Shaun would have smirked if Rebecca hadn't been looking at him.

As soon as they reached the cave, Shaun pretended he couldn't carry Desmond anymore.
He claimed it hurt too much; carrying his dead boyfriend and getting soaked in his blood. If Bill found it so important to bring him along, he could bloody well do it himself.
William looked at him, nodded and picked up Desmond's body bridal style, before wandering into the cave with Rebecca up front with a couple of flashlights.

As soon as they were out of sight, Shaun picked his mobile out of his pocket and dialed a number, before entering a code when requested.
"It's done. He's dead. They're in the cave now, so you can send your men in."
Not waiting for an answer, Shaun hung up, and as he walked away, an evil smirk appeared on his lips and he licked his fingers clear of Desmond's blood, savoring the salty taste of it.

He had done what so many others had failed to do
He had infiltrated the assassins; made them believe without doubt he was one of them.
He had killed Desmond Miles.
And he had gotten away with it.