=Desmond=
For exactly half a second after he wakes up, Desmond thinks it's just another memory. He's in Masyaf, in Altair's head, and he's alone. He looks down at his hands, wondering how it feels so strange. He's been here hundreds of times, but always as a passenger. Never in control. He almost feels like laughing, because he's been trying so hard to just get noticed by Altair or Ezio, and here he is, suddenly filling Altair's whole head.
"How long were you gone?" Malik asks, and Desmond jumps. He hasn't realized until now that there's anyone else in the room with him. He opens his mouth, but nothing comes out. Maybe it's the shock, or maybe he's just not used to talking to anyone other than Clay these days. Either way, he's suddenly frozen, totally speechless.
"Altair?" Malik asks. His first question had sounded routine, as commonplace as a hello or a question about the weather. Now he sounds concerned. "What's the matter?" Desmond shakes his head, trying to force himself to focus. "Altair," Malik repeats, more loudly.
This time, Desmond manages a "No." He takes a deep breath, tries to pull himself together. Malik stares at him, and then abruptly Desmond finds himself on his back, pinned down by the weight of the one armed assassin. And Desmond isn't Altair, but he's picked up more than a few of his skills- and Ezio's, too. He fights back, but Malik isn't hampered by the shock of waking up in control of someone else's body.
They eventually end up in a stalemate, standing at opposite ends of the room, waiting for the other to make a move first. "Can we just talk?" Desmond says. "I swear-" his voice isn't his, which really shouldn't surprise him, but somehow still does.
"Who are you?" Malik asks. "You're definitely not Altair." He studies Desmond carefully, then adds, "I don't think you're Ezio, either. I've met him." He pauses, and acknowledges- "Sort of."
"My name's Desmond."
"Oh." Malik stares at him, then cautiously drops his guard. After a second, Desmond does the same. "I'd started to think he made you up."
"Nope," Desmond says. "Totally real."
"Fine," Malik says. "So you're Desmond. Where's Altair?"
"Ah..." Desmond bites his lip. "I have absolutely no idea."
=Ezio=
"Hey, Desmond-"
Ezio groans, reaches a hand out to rub his head. It hurts, like he's slept on it badly. Only he doesn't remember falling asleep- he remembers standing in front of the door to the library under Masyaf, finally holding all the keys. He opens his eyes and sees Rebecca standing a foot or so away from him. "What's going on?"
"You're awake," she says.
"I know." He's a little confused- it's been a while since he last woke up in Desmond's head. He's been seeing a lot of Altair lately, and no Desmond at all. "Why am I awake?" He's alone now, though. No sign of Altair. And no sign of Desmond, either. Not that Ezio really expected to find him after all this time.
"We're at the airport," Rebecca says. "And your dad suggested it would be less suspicious if we could get you through security under your own power instead of carting you through on the animus."
"I said you'd probably just fall over again," Shaun calls from the other side of the van. "But nobody listens to me."
"Do you think you can walk?" Rebecca asks, ignoring Shaun.
"Yes," Ezio says. He's not sure how well he can do anything else (for starters, he has no idea what an airport is), but he knows he can at least walk.
"Awesome," Rebecca says, managing a smile. It's not a particularly happy smile, but Ezio decides he likes her for trying. "I just need to finish shutting down the animus. I don't want anyone getting too interested."
"How are you getting it onto the plane?" Shaun asks.
"Bill's talking to security now," Rebecca says. "He's telling them it's medical equipment."
"What medical equipment have you ever seen that looks like this?" Shaun asks.
Rebecca glares at him. "They're airport security, not doctors."
"I'm just asking. No need to get all defensive," Shaun mutters.
Ezio can't help but feel grateful as they start arguing at each other. He can tell they're tired and stressed, not actually angry, and he takes the time to pull himself together while they yell at each other. He stretches, trying to look like someone that's just woken up instead of someone trying to figure out the body he's in. The faint golden lines under his skin remind him of something Altair mentioned the last time they were in the future together. "Where's the apple?" he asks.
"Ah..." Rebecca and Shaun stop arguing long enough to exchange a significant look, and Shaun says, "Alright, so you know how nothing the apple does ever makes sense?"
"Yes," Ezio says.
"It's sort of been absorbed by your body," Shaun says. "Pretty much right after we got it out of the Colloseum. But we're pretty sure it's not going to kill you."
Ezio sighs- it probably would have been too much to hope neither of them would have noticed.
"Your dad's kind of pissed about it though."
"Shaun!" Rebecca glares at him, then tells Desmond, "It lights up sometimes while you're in the animus. That's how we actually noticed at first. It's almost like it's been trying to interface with some of the memories you've been going through-"
"Wait, what?" Ezio interrupts. "Memories?"
"Yea, Desmond," Shaun snaps. "Memories. "You know, the entire reason you've been in the animus for the past couple months."
"But-" But he hasn't been in the animus. And Altair probably would have mentioned if he's been in anytime lately. So either there's someone else in Desmond's head, or else Desmond himself is still alive. Trapped in the animus, maybe. But still alive.
"Come on," Rebecca says. "You ready?"
=Altair=
He's not even surprised anymore when he moves between centuries in the time it takes to blink. He's been in Ezio's head enough by now to be comfortable there, although he's definitely not used to being alone. It's inconvenient too, because he and Ezio don't have a language in common, and Ezio's the only one without an apple to act as a translator.
It doesn't seem like it's going to matter too much now, though. He's alone, standing before a door that's unlocked but closed, and he knows- with a certainty that sort of surprises him- that this is the library Ezio's been so obsessed with finding. Opening it feels like a bad idea, for all sorts of reasons, but Altair's curiosity gets the better of him, and he ignores the feeling.
The room is nearly empty. Apart from an ancient table and chair in the middle of the floor, there's no furniture. The only other thing in the room is a smooth disk, exactly identical to the ones Ezio has painstakingly tracked down and used to unlock this room. Those ones hold his memories- Altair wonders whose memories are on this disk.
He grabs hold of it, opening his mind to whatever secrets are held there, the same way he does when he needs the apple to do something for him. He's expecting memories, but what happens is something very different. The room fills suddenly with light, and when it fades again, Altair is not alone.
-/-
Just going to say, you guys are cool. Waking up to a bunch of new story fav/alert notices in my email is a good way to start the morning.