Ezio wakes up in the twenty first century after falling asleep in the sixteenth. He's leaning back against a stone wall in what looks like a futuristic cave somewhere. His back has gone stiff, so he stands and stretches, looking around as he does.

The usual equipment- a host of computers, the animus, a random collection of technology he can't name- are scattered around the cave. But no one's working on any of it. Instead, Ezio spots Desmond, his dad, Rebecca, and Shaun gathered around the far end of the room, arguing over what looks like a wall. Altair's there too, watching him take in the surroundings.

"This place is new," Ezio says once he has his bearings.

Altair nods. "You missed a lot."

Ezio shrugs. "It's not like any of us can control where we end up, right?"

"I used the apple to get here," Altair says. There's a smug expression on his face that he's not doing a very good job of trying to hide.

Ezio raises his eyebrows. "Seriously?"

"Yea."

"So that's what you meant when you said I missed a lot?" Ezio asks. He knows this is a big deal- Altair's been trying to get the apple working for as long as he's known him. Probably longer.

"Oh." Altair glances over his shoulder, back at the other assassins, still arguing over the wall. "No. There's been some progress with the animus. Another ancestor."

"Anyone interesting?" Ezio asks.

"A templar."

"Seriously?" For some reason, that thought's never even occurred to him. "So there's going to be a templar in our heads at some point?"

"I don't think so," Altair says. "Desmond and Haytham worked something out, I guess."

"And Haytham's the templar?" Ezio asks.

Altair nods. "Also, Shaun and William are arguing, and apparently there's a key they need to find to get farther into the temple-" he gestures at the other four assassins. "And find out why being here is supposed to help save the world."

"I really did miss a lot," Ezio says. "So this key they need to find- it's first civilization, right?" He hasn't spent much time in the future, but he thinks it's pretty obvious that this place is precursor, and not twenty first century human. "Can you do something with the apple?"

"No," Altair says. "I don't know how. I think Desmond did something similar to open the front doors, but this is more... detailed, I think. If he was able to open this one, they wouldn't still be over there arguing about it."

"We'll figure something out," Ezio says. "We always do." It's unexpectedly exciting to be back among assassins. He's been living more or less quietly with Sophia in his own time, and while it's not a bad life, he's never been quite happy staying still.

"The last we know of the key, Haytham had it," Altair says. "He's not going to be willing to help a group of assassins."

"But he can't have it now," Ezio says. "He's one of Desmond's ancestors- how far back?"

"Mid seventeen hundreds," says Altair.

"So he's been dead for ages," Ezio says dismissively. "Someone else must have had it between then and now."

"We have no idea who, though," Altair points out. "And the only way to find out who had it after Haytham is for Desmond to go back into the animus and look through more memories, which opens up everything in Desmond's head for Haytham to read."

Ezio nods. "There's a lot we don't want templars knowing," he agrees. "It would be too dangerous to have Desmond in his head."

Altair bites his lip. "But..."

"But what?"

"He must have kids," Altair says. "Otherwise we wouldn't have Desmond. The kid might know where it ends up. It's hard to keep secrets from people you live with."

"Not that hard," Ezio says. His own father had kept the entire assassin's order a secret from his whole family until he died. "And even if the kid does know, he'll probably going to be a templar too. It tends to run in families. It would be just as dangerous for Desmond-"

"I'm not saying we bring Desmond into this at all," Altair says. "I used the apple to get here. I think I can use it to bring us... there."

"To meet the kid," Ezio says.

"Right," Altair says. "I haven't figured out how to get inside someone's head yet, either. So we don't have to worry about him or her finding out anything from us."

Ezio looks at him, trying to think of an argument. Somehow, his life has gotten to the point where this seems like a perfectly valid option. "Alright," he says. "How do we do this?"

"Like this," Altair says, and for a second nothing happens. Then his body pulses with light from the apple, just once, and when it fades, they're in the middle of a forest that looks nothing like the cave they were in a few seconds before.

"Oh," Ezio says. "Good job." He takes a deep breath. "Let's go do this."

-/-

So... that was a chapter. Surprisingly hard to get everything worked out in a way that makes sense. Probably didn't help that I tried writing it after an all day quidditch tournament... and that's how I learned that writing time travel when I'm exhausted is a bad idea. I definitely spent more time fixing it today than writing it yesterday. Anyway, here's me, really hoping it makes sense now. It's pretty much gotten to the point where I can't even tell, because in my brain everything works perfectly. :/

TL;DR: I really like to complain. :P