When Desi woke up, she was confused. She was laying on her side, the blanket under her and tossed around her in a semblance of staying warm. Under her head was her pillow. She sat up and wondered how she had ended up in such a strange position.
And memory came rushing over her like a tsunami. Last night, she had been a Frenchman from… God, she had no idea when, only that it was before colonial America and after Ezio. She had been in a cold, stone prison deep underground. Her ancestor had been dimly and vaguely surprised by the depth. Most of his concentration had been focused, however, on the man - obviously a Templar after the Apple of Eden - with the sharp sword and hot metal rod.
The memory sent cold shivers down her spine. She could still feel her wrists chained to the wall behind her and feel the various wounds that had been inflicted.
…
"Where is it?" the Templar demanded. Desi shook her head in desperation, looking from the floor at the Templar through her blonde bangs.
"I don't know, I said! I know not of this Apple!" she cried. The man growled and motioned angrily to someone behind him. Another Templar came forward, having just removed an iron rod from a fire that Desi couldn't see from her cell but could smell constantly. The end of the rod glowed an angry red-orange and Desi could smell the tang of burning metal as the second Templar left, leaving just her and the Templar who now held the iron rod in his malicious hands. He leveled a dark glare at Desi and she nearly choked.
"Now," he growled, languidly waving the burning metal rod in front of her, "would you like to tell me where the Apple of Eden is, Assassin?" Desi had tears in her eyes.
"I swear to you, I know not of this Apple!" Her voice wavered and by this point she didn't care. The Templar swaggered forward, his eyes glinting vilely.
"I beg to differ," he said, bringing the rod closer to her face. She flinched away, scared beyond all possibility.
"No…" she begged. "I don't know, I swear… No!-" The Templar placed the glowing end of the rod squarely to her chest. She screamed in agony-
And then Shaun was there, his usually mocking expression one of mild concern. She had been terrified and had leapt away, falling from the bed. After her mind caught up with everything, she'd thrown herself into his arms, trembling but not crying. Humiliation heated her cheeks now as she thought about how she had exposed her weakness in that moment when Shaun had tried to leave. She wasn't sure what else she could have done, but she certainly wasn't happy that anyone - especially Shaun, the British jerk who couldn't stand her - had seen her like that, completely vulnerable and open to attack. Then she had asked him to stay. She didn't know which surprised her more, that she had the balls to ask him to stay or that he had the balls to say yes. Either way, Desi felt so energized and well-rested that she wondered how she had ever managed to forgo sleep.
After Desi dressed and brushed her hair, she walked to the sanctuary, suddenly tempted to whistle like a cartoon character. The idea had her smiling as she approached the table, tucked in an out-of-the-way corner of the round room, that was generally used for eating. Rebecca sat on one side with a bowl of off-brand Fruit Loops, joined by Shaun, whose hand possessively held a mug of black coffee. They both looked up at her approach, and Shaun quickly adverted his eyes. Desi pretended that it didn't make her feel like a total basket case.
"Hey, Becca," she said cheerfully, taking the seat at the table that was closest. She said nothing to Shaun.
Rebecca looked at Desi, a spoon of brightly-colored, sugary rings halfway to her mouth. "Hey. You seem… cheerful this morning."
"Yeah," she said, turning her head slightly to address both Rebecca and Shaun. "I had a good night's sleep last night. First time in forever." She made eye contact with Shaun for just a second before looking back to Rebecca. It was the closest Desi could get to a 'thank you', and she hoped that Shaun could see it as such. A small nod from the corner of her eye told her he did. Rebecca didn't seem to notice.
"That's great, Desi. Lucy was getting worried about you." Rebecca's tone said what she didn't: Lucy was getting worried about you, and so was I. Desi jumped at the chance to change the subject.
"Speaking of Lucy, where is she?" Desi asked, getting up to go rummage through the sad little pile of food options.
"She went to the store about an hour ago. She should be back any minute." Rebecca went back to eating her kids cereal. Desi settled on a plain bagel for breakfast, paired with a glass of milk.
How nutritious! she thought with fake excitement. She couldn't help but notice what one good night's sleep had done for her mood. Here she'd thought that it was the whole "End-of-the-world-is-at-hand-and-apparently-the-best-person-to-stop-it-is-you-bartender-so-get-to-work" deal that had her mood at about the same depth as the Mariana Trench. Nope! All she needed was some sleep.
God, if I had known that it was that simple…
But as she sat down at the tiny eating table again, Desi knew it wasn't simple. Not even. Last night was a one-time thing. Her pride and Shaun's obvious dislike made sure of that. No way on God's Green Earth - the quote from her high school Algebra teacher made her smile humorlessly - was she going to ask Shaun to sleep next to her again. Even more unlikely was Shaun volunteering. Nope, Desi was just going to have to deal with things like a big girl; grow a pair and smile for everyone.
Because, really, what else could she do? "Hey, Desi, you okay?" "Oh, sure, I only dreamed that I was tortured with a hot iron bar last night. I only dreamed that one of my ancestors had a sword stabbed through his shoulder because the Templars wanted the Apple of Eden. I only dreamed that a Templar put a red-hot rod of metal on my cheek last night because my ancestor didn't know what the hell the Apple of Eden was. I only dreamed it, so even though it felt like I was dying right there with the poor soul, no, sure, I'm peachy."
Bull.
Lucy walked in just as Desi took the last bite of her bagel and Shaun drank the last few drops of his coffee. Becca had long since finished eating and has taken to toying with Baby.
"Hi, guys," she said, arms full of groceries. Desi rose from her chair and went to help, Shaun with her.
"Hey, Lucy!"
"Good morning, Lucy."
Becca made due with waving from the floor next to the Animus.
Lucy passed some of the groceries off to Desi and Shaun. "So what's going on, guys? Is something wrong with the Animus?" This last part was directed at Rebecca. The technician shook her head.
"Nah, I'm just tweaking a few things. The data in the memory core is supposed to be unencrypted. There are some strands of coding, though… It shouldn't affect Desi's sessions, either way. I'm just working to work." She picked herself off the floor as the trio deposited the groceries with the remnants of the last shopping trip. Lucy nodded.
"As long as nothing's broken. We don't have much time." Even though it was nowhere near being directed at Desi, she still felt a sense of guilt and irritation. She knew that time was running short, and she knew that it was up to her to "save the world", but how much could one person be expected to deal with?
"Right. Well, we're ready when you are, Lucy," Shaun volunteered. Desi had to fight the urge to knee him in the balls. Hard. She wanted to scream at him, You saw what this machine has done to me! You saw it for yourself last night! You saw what my mind is like now! You saw me like that, and you're still ready to volunteer me? She was angry, but part of her was disappointed. Like she had any right or reason to expect some semblance of concern from him. Hmph.
Lucy turned to Desi. "You ready to get to work, Desi?"
Desi smiled. "Sure, Lucy."
…
Shaun
Ugh. He looked at Desmond, laying on the Animus, body relaxed. The look on Rebecca's face told him that whatever Ezio was doing, Desmond shouldn't have any problems later. He didn't know what that thought meant for him.
After all, she had been clearly furious with him for telling Lucy that they were ready to start. She had tried to hide it, but he'd caught the way her body tensed and the dark, murderous glare she'd thrown his way. And who could blame her? Look at what he saw last night. He knew it was caused by the Animus, and he'd told Lucy she was ready anyway. He should feel horrible.
And he did feel guilty. Contrary to popular belief, he did have emotions and he did care. He did wish that the girl didn't have to sit around and slowly lose her mind. He did wish that they all had happy, normal lives. He did wish that it was all over. But wishing didn't stop the Templars from hunting them. Wishing didn't stop the end of the world. That's how he was justified in doing what he did.
Rebecca's chair squeaked and Desmond let out a short, low growl. Shaun looked over to the pair. Rebecca was sitting straighter in her seat, watching her screen intently. Desmond's body was almost as relaxed as before, but her eyebrows were pulled together, forming a little frown between them.
"What's going on?" asked Lucy from her computers. Rebecca shook her head.
"Just running from some guards, I think. Ezio was stupid. Desi shou-" Rebecca was interrupted by Desmond letting out a soft yelp, hand twitching towards her thigh. Rebecca returned every bit of her concentration to the screen before her.
"Don't worry, guys. It's all under control." Rebecca didn't look up when she spoke, and Lucy and Shaun went back to their work.
…
Desi
Desi came out of the Animus, head fuzzy. The shapes of the room blurred in and out of focus before slowly taking shape. Lucy was at Rebecca's usual spot. Desi shook her head to clear it.
"Welcome back, Desi. How are you feeling?"
"Meh. About as good as usual, I guess. Where's Rebecca?"
"We let her take care of dinner. Well, most of it." At that very moment a scent drifted into the sanctuary that made Desi's mouth water like the Pacific Ocean.
"Bacon!" she cried with child-like joy. Lucy laughed.
"Obviously, Shaun had to cook that. But you can thank Becca for the overall idea."
"Carnivores!" Becca accused from the side room used for a kitchen of sorts. Desi laughed and stood from the Animus. She and Lucy walked towards the little eating table together. Shaun stepped out of the kitchen, heading towards the girls.
Only now it was Leonardo who stood in front of Desi, not Shaun. He smiled at Desi like old friends do.
"Ezio, my friend! To what do I owe the pleasure?" He made to hug Desi, but she took step back. He seemed unaffected.
"Leonardo, what are you doing here?" she said with Ezio's voice. Leo laughed.
"Well, this is my workshop, si? Oh, my, perhaps I forgot to tell you I moved. Mi dispiace, Ezio. I see so little of you, what with your journeys and all." Normally Ezio would have expected an accusatory tone, but Leonardo's voice held only excitement at seeing his old friend. Ezio smiled, a little sadly.
"I know, Leo, I know. I do so miss Firenze. My work, however, calls me elsewhere… Am I welcome to come in?"
"Of course, my friend! Come, come, get out of the cold." Leo ushered Ezio inside his workshop, which was delightfully warm and smelled of paint and wood and canvas and everything else Ezio associated with his old friend, the artist and inventor. A hand touched Ezio's shoulder, and he turned to see Leonardo, his face one of concern.
"Ezio, are you alright?" Ezio looked at Leo, confused.
"Si, Leo. What do you mean?"
"No, Desmond. I'm not Leonardo." Leo's lips moved, but the voice that spoke was not his and the words were not his. Panic started to build in Ezio's chest.
"What are you talking about?"
"Come on, Desmond. Snap out of it. You're in the sanctuary. It's the year twenty-twelve. You're name is Desmond Miles. You go be Desi. You're a twenty-six-year-old girl. You were a bartender…" The voice rambled on and part of Ezio that wasn't Ezio grabbed on to the words, willing them to take her back. Leo's face started to fade, replaced with the black-rimmed glasses of Shaun. She stared up at him for a minute before she said tentatively, "Shaun?"
"There you go. I'm Shaun. Who are you?"
"I'm… I'm E-Ez- No, I'm not. I'm Desi. I'm Desi. Right?" Shaun nodded.
"Yes, you are. You're Desmond Miles. Where are you?"
This question almost sent her back to the Bleeding Effect. "I-I'm where Ezio lived. In Monteriggioni. We're in the sanctuary. I'm… Rebecca was making dinner." She paused, then looked Shaun directly in the eye. "You made bacon." Shaun almost laughed.
"Yeah, I did. Go tell Rebecca I said that you get bacon." Shaun watched Desmond walk away and then turned his attention to Lucy.
"This isn't going to work. We're going to lose her before we stop them."
Lucy stared back at Shaun, probably remembering Clay Kaczmarek, Subject 16. "I know, Shaun. If things keep going like they are…" She shook her head. "That's why you're in charge of her."
"Excuse me?" Shaun demanded incredulously. "She's a grown up! She doesn't need a babysitter."
"Yes, she does, Shaun. You just brought her out of the Bleeding Effect. You're now in charge of her. I want you to keep an eye on her at all times. If she starts hallucinating, do something. She seemed in a better mood than ever this morning. I don't know what you did, but I know it had something to do with you. Keep doing it."
Shaun looked over his shoulder to the two dark-haired girls sitting at the table, a wrap on each plate. Desmond still a slightly dazed look on her face. Shaun sighed in resignation.
"Fine. I'll watch over her." He was surprised as Lucy threw her arms around his neck and squeezed.
"Thank you, Shaun." She let go and walked away, towards the table. Shaun watched her go and sighed again.
What the bloody hell did I just get myself into?
…
…
…
So yeah, POV change there without notice. I had to get that last part in, but it only flowed right if I transitioned like I did. Sorry, but it had to be done.
Thanks for reading, R&R if you'd be so kind :3