"We've got it," Desmond says. "The Colosseum."
Altair blinks and looks around- for some reason, it's always more disorienting to come back to the future and find that he's not in Desmond's body. It probably helps that Desmond's brain can translate what everyone around him is saying, while at times like this, Altair is stuck with guessing from body language and tone of voice.
Right now, for example, everyone's excited. Whatever memories Desmond's been through in the animus, they must have been important- Lucy, Rebecca, and Shaun are all moving, suddenly energetic after weeks mostly spent underground. Only Desmond looks worried. Altair looks over at Rebecca's computer, which- as always- is replaying the last few minutes of animus footage. He sees Ezio hiding the apple, and understands. They know where it is now, and that means they're very quickly running out of time to find the traitor before he or she or they contacts Abstergo.
There's an argument going on between the other three- Altair ignores it, looking instead at Desmond, who's still sitting on the animus, looking worried. Eventually, the four split up to dig through notes and animus data, and Desmond leads Altair up the stairs from the sanctuary. On the landing they stand and talk in low voices.
"You know where the apple is," Altair says.
"Under the Colosseum," Desmond says. "There's a password on the door, though, and we need to figure that out before we can get inside and find the apple."
"And the traitor?" Altair asks.
"I still have no idea," says Desmond. "It could be any of them. Or all of them. I don't know." he kicks at the wall. "Ezio always talks about how sometimes you just have to go in and hope for the best. Maybe this is just one of those times. We find the password, get to the Colosseum, and see what happens."
Altair hesitates- in Masyaf, novices are trained to prepare as much as they possibly can before going after a target. Know the area. Know what the target is likely to do. Know where the guards are. He's spent weeks learning an area before going after a single target, and he doesn't like the idea of running in blind now. Especially with something like the apple at risk. But it doesn't look like they have any choice. "Fine," he says. "So what's the password?"
"No idea," Desmond says. "I didn't get to that memory, and the power's out. So that means..." he trails off suddenly, staring at the wall behind Altair. "No animus..."
Altair turns, but the only thing there is a strangely drawn triangle- in eagle vision he can see a few numbers as well, but they don't tell him anything. "What's the matter?"
"The same drawing was on the door of the place Ezio left the apple," Desmond explains. "I'm going to get everyone else."
And somehow it turns out that the triangles are exactly what they need to figure out the password to open the door, and barely half an hour later, all five of them are on their way to Rome. All the way there, Altair stays tense, alert for any sign that the traitor is ready to make a move. But nothing happens. Not on the way to the Colosseum, and not as they climb down, out of the reach of modern construction equipment and into an area that Desmond says looks like what he's seen in the animus. There are a few strange moments- a woman made of light appears for a minute to share a warning, or a prophecy, or something- Altair can understand the words, but he doesn't have the context to know what they mean.
"Was that Minerva?" he asks Desmond.
"No." He shakes his head. "It looked like someone different."
So on they go, until they finally meet back up with the other three in a church aboveground. Still, no signs of betrayal. Even when they find the way out, through the church and into a room that looks nothing like Altair has ever seen before, nothing happens. For the first time, Altair starts to feel doubt- this has to be where the apple is hidden. If the traitor was going to do something, they should have already done it.
They go through a door- the password that caused so much trouble earlier is finally used- and on the other side is an elaborate obstacle course guarding the apple. It sits in the middle of the room, shining with golden light. Altair can feel the apple inside him react, coming awake in response to the other one's presence. It feels hungry, and his skin crawls a little.
As Desmond progresses farther into the room, the same woman of light appears from nowhere. Her words still make no sense, but now there's a new mystery as well- although both Altair and Desmond can see and hear her, none of the others can.
And then at last, they reach the apple.
"So where are the temples?" Shaun asks, and Altair glances over at him. There's nothing but curiosity in his voice or on his face.
"Do you think I should ask it?" Desmond says, and the look he gives the apple is one of immense distrust. Altair doesn't need to be inside his head to know that Desmond wants nothing to do with the thing.
"Or... think it, or something," Lucy says. They draw slowly closer, Desmond at the front, Altair lagging behind. He feels almost sick, his skin reacting to the apple in front of him.
Before Desmond can even touch the new apple, it erupts into light, and so does Altair, the familiar lines of light bursting open across his skin. It's brighter than it ever has been before, and almost painful. He grits his teeth and tries not to think about it- the light will fade eventually.
"Are you sure you asked it the right thing?" Lucy asks, and it takes Altair a second to realize that he understands her. The apple, suddenly awakened, is translating for him. Just another power he hasn't known it possesses.
And then several things happen at once. Altair sees Desmond reach out and take the apple, and he steps forward, concerned. As he does so, he brushes past Rebecca, and she actually feels him. Almost in slow motion, he watches her turn, sees the shock on her face as their eyes meet. She can actually see him there, and for some reason the first, nonsensical thought in his head is that he probably looks ridiculous right now, with the apple glowing inside him.
And then- all in the same second- Altair feels everything shift around him. It's not quite a physical sensation, more like a sense that everything has changed, and everything is wrong. He looks away from Rebecca, towards Desmond and the apple, and he swears. Because everything has changed, and everything is wrong. For a second, he sees Desmond, with the apple in one hand, his hidden blade buried in Lucy's stomach. And behind them, the woman made of light, who isn't looking at Desmond or Lucy but at him, and she looks not only shocked but angry. Her face is twisted into a mask of hatred, making her face seem completely inhuman.
And then the moment is over- the woman vanishes, and Desmond and Lucy fall to the ground, still held together by his blade.
Altair pushes past Rebecca and Shaun, and crouches down between Desmond and Lucy. It doesn't take more than a quick glance to see that Lucy is gone, but Desmond is awake. Just barely. "She was the traitor," Desmond whispers, and Altair is alarmed by how weak his voice sounds.
"Are you sure?" he asks.
"I..." He's drifting, and Altair can see that it takes effort to get the words out. "Yea. The apple told me."
Altair growls, a noise of frustration. They shouldn't have taken so long to figure this out, they should never have come to the Colosseum without a plan- he looks back down at Desmond, and sees that his eyes are closed, and his breathing is shallow.
"Are they..." he glances up and sees Rebecca and Shaun, both looking like they've seen a ghost.
"Desmond's alive," he says, when Rebecca doesn't quite manage to finish the sentence. His voice sounds strange to his own ears- the apple's still translating, but it tells him meanings. The actual words coming from his own mouth are strange to him. "Lucy's dead. And a templar."
"What is going on?" Shaun demands.
"There's no time for that," says Altair. He picks up the apple, and sees that the light is already fading, feels the apple inside him dimming in response. He hands the apple to Rebecca, who takes it hesitantly. In her grasp, it does nothing. "Don't lose that," he says, and then points to Desmond. "And don't let him die."
"Of course not," says Rebecca.
"Good," says Altair. "Then get out of here. The templars will be on their way soon." He doesn't know if this is true or not- maybe Lucy called them before she died, and maybe she didn't. But either way, he knows it's better to hurry.
"What about you?" Rebecca asks.
Altair can tell by the way her eyes won't quite focus on him that he's starting to fade. "I was never here," he says.
"But-"
Altair never hears the end of that sentence. As if his words are prophecy, the room around him vanishes, and more abruptly than it's ever happened before, he finds himself back in Masyaf.
-/-
Aaaaand here's a nice long chapter (I think it might be the longest of this story so far?). I feel like I should say something here, because I really liked writing this one, but I can't think of anything, so I guess I'll just say thanks for all the reviews, and the favs, and the alerts, and even the people that just read and don't do anything. You guys are all awesome.