Under any other circumstances, Altair would have enjoyed the look of disbelief on Juno's face as she's overwhelmed by the apple's golden light. He would have been relieved to see her gone, and would have enjoyed knowing it was her own overconfidence that told them how to kill her.
But he barely even notices, because the only thing he sees as the light fades is Desmond. He's lying twenty feet from where he'd been a minute ago, blown back from the force of… whatever he did with the apple. There's no sign of Juno, but that's the only good news.
Altair runs for him, Edward hot on his heels, and drops to his knees next to Desmond. He's still breathing, but only just, and when Altair checks for a pulse it feels weak and thready under his fingers. Desmond flinches away from the touch and curls himself into a tight ball. He doesn't move again.
"What's wrong with him?" Edward asks. He's looking at Desmond's eyes, which are wide open but staring at nothing.
"I don't know." Altair slams his fist into the ground. "That's what I hate about the apples! They make no sense at all!"
"Juno's gone, though," Edward says.
"Yea," says Altair. "So's Desmond."
"What?" Edward's been standing throughout the conversation, looking down at Desmond and Altair, but now he crouches down as well. "You're giving up?"
"Giving up?" Altair demands. "What are you talking about, 'giving up'? There's no other choice here. Maybe, if we're lucky, we might get some part of him back someday. But miracles don't happen twice, and Desmond got his. I-"
He doesn't see the punch coming until Edward's fist is in his face. "Yea," Edward says. "Maybe you're right, and maybe Desmond's all out of miracles. But he's still got us, okay? And I've spent a lot of time with you in my head and I know you're not going to give up until you get Desmond back."
"You don't know that," Altair says. He can't deal with Edward lecturing him right now, not after taking down Juno and losing Desmond. He's emotionally wrung out, and he just can't keep going anymore. "You can't, so don't tell me-"
"I know you're not because Desmond knows you're not," Edward says. "He survived ten months without a body. You and I both know he's fighting right now, and he's waiting for you."
For a full minute, Altair seriously considers punching Edward. His own nose is bleeding from Edward's hit, and he's not sure Edward's faith is well placed. But Edward doesn't so much as blink, and that's what eventually convinces him. "Fine," Altair says. "I don't know what good it will do, but at least we can…" he sighs, waves a hand vaguely. "Find out what's going on in there."
"Good," Edward says. "Because losing a friend when you know there's something you could have done is- it's just stupid." He looks away, and Altair can't help remembering his time in the animus, seeing all the people in Edward's life dying or leaving, one by one.
"Ezio," he says. "Did you hear all that?"
"Yes." Ezio's voice comes over the earpiece instantly. "What are you thinking?"
"I have an apple," Altair says. "You have an apple. I don't think either of us can bring him back, but we can at least get inside his mind."
"I'm going too," Edward adds.
"Fine," Altair says. "I can bring you along."
"And you're not leaving us behind," Haytham adds over the earpiece, and Altair guesses he means himself and Connor.
"You're alive?" Edward asks.
"And likely to stay that way," Haytham says.
"Yea, you're welcome," Shaun adds, reminding Altair that he and Rebecca are still on the line. "I'm not a doctor, you know. You're just lucky this apartment has a decent internet connection. I'm telling you, google is a miracle worker-"
"I'm going to stop you before you try to make me feel better again," Haytham says.
"Are you sure you're up for this?" Altair asks.
"I am more than ready to be out of this body for a while," Haytham says.
"Connor?" Altair asks. "You've been quiet."
"Of course I'm coming," Connor says. "I thought it was a given."
"How human are you today?" Altair asks. He knows it sounds blunt, but he doesn't have time for subtlety.
"Human enough," Connor says, and he does sound a lot more in control than he did before.
"Alright then," Altair says. "Ezio, can you bring the two of them in?"
"Yes," Ezio says, but Altair can hear the faint note of hesitation in his voice. The last time Ezio had an apple it was the Desmond-apple, and he never had much luck getting it to do much of anything. Then again, the apples seem to have a good sense of dramatic timing. They always come through when they're needed. And Altair has confidence that Ezio will figure it out.
"Good," Altair says. "See you on the inside."
He pulls the earbud out- he doesn't need the distraction- and grabs Edward's hand.
"Um…"
"This isn't going to be easy," Altair says. "Either we hold hands or you're not going in with me."
Edward grumbles but doesn't pull away, and after a minute or two of concentrated effort, he feels the warm golden light of the apple spill out of him, feels his mind leave his body, pulling Edward behind him like a dog on a leash, and then- he feels it.
Darkness. Cold, clutching, clawing darkness that reaches for him with icy fingers and grabs hold of his mind, tearing it apart until there's nothing left. He feels himself start to drift, feels his mind pulling itself to pieces. Dimly, he senses more than sees five other minds falling apart, giving in to the darkness because there is no way to fight this, no weapons that will hurt it, no point in trying to stay whole or sane or alive-
"No."
He's not sure where the voice comes from, or if it's even a voice at all. It bursts into his mind in a flare of golden light, not really a voice at all. It's a certainty that he will not give up, no matter what happens, no matter how bad things get. He never has, not even when things looked darkest, not when he found out Al Mualim was a traitor, and killed him-
-when his father and brothers were hanged in front of him-
-when he carried Mary out of prison, convinced she was going to die and leave him alone, again-
-when the only option he had left was to kill his son before he himself was killed-
-when his own stupidity turned him into an animal-
-when he thought he was going to die alone and unmissed in an Abstergo cell-
He didn't give up then, and he won't give up now. He draws the scattered pieces of himself together, fighting the darkness through sheer force of will. This is a fight unlike any he's ever fought before. Six lifetimes of training don't mean anything now, but it doesn't matter. He is all of them at once, and it's strange and terrifying and empowering all at once. He has all their memories, all their knowledge, all their knowledge.
He remembers what Clay said in the animus, a lifetime ago, or many lifetimes. He'd told Desmond, "There is no difference between you and your ancestors." That's never been as obvious as it is now. Six minds wrapped so tightly together that there is no line between them, no place where one ends and another begins. Six people joined into one, and that one is telling the darkness-
"No."
Light floods out of him, driving the darkness back, shredding it, destroying it completely until all that remains is the light- golden, warm, and shining. And when the darkness is gone-
Desmond wakes up on a floor that feels cold and icy under him, and struggles to his feet, fighting muscles that have seized up while he was lost in the darkness. He's still reeling from the sudden loss of the feeling of connectedness to the others that he felt just a second ago. He's never been that close to anyone before, and he knows he never will again.
But the darkness is gone. Juno is gone. And he is…
In Altair's body. "Whoops," he mutters, but at this point it doesn't much matter. They've been here before, they can figure out how to fix it later. His mind feels whole in a way that it hasn't for months, and he has to steady himself as a flood of memories come flooding back into his mind. Twenty five years of his life, years he thought were eaten by the darkness, gone forever- but then again, the darkness is gone.
Someone groans nearby, and Desmond watches his body get unsteadily to its feet. "Altair?" he guesses.
"Uh-" whoever's in his body blinks, rubs at his face. "Edward. Who are..?"
"Desmond," he says, and that means Altair must be in Edward's body- sure enough, when Desmond looks around, he sees the blonde a few feet away, already apparently adjusted to the transfer.
"How do you feel?" Altair asks. His serious tone sounds out of place coming out of Edward's mouth. "You haven't lost any more memories, have you?"
"No," Desmond says. "But I got the old ones back."
There's something to be said for muscle memory, and maybe it's just Edward's exceptionally expressive face that makes Altair's smile look so wide. Desmond decides to pretend his ancestor's just happy to hear he's back.
Altair and Edward suddenly wince in unison, and when Desmond gives them a 'what are you doing?' look, Edward points to his earbud, and Altair tosses him the one lying abandoned on the floor. As soon as he sticks it in his ear, Desmond's treated to a cacophony of voices all talking at once.
"Hey!" Altair says, and there's enough command in his voice that everyone falls silent. "Alright, that's better. Is everyone alright over there?"
"Edward?" Connor asks.
"We came back switched," Altair says.
"We're fine," Ezio says. "Everyone's in one piece and the right bodies."
"Unfortunately," Haytham adds.
"If you were paying attention, you wouldn't have gotten shot," Connor points out.
"I was watching you!" Haytham says, but there's little if any anger in his voice.
Connor half laughs. "I can take care of myself-"
Altair pulls his earbud out, and the other two follow his example. "Doesn't sound like we're missing anything important," Altair says. "Come on. Let's get out of here."
So out they go. Security is still searching the upper floors, so there's nothing to stop the trio from just walking out the front doors. Outside, the first few employees pass them on their way into the building. They're almost out of sight when a woman- from Altair's memories, Desmond knows her name is Melanie Lemay, and that she's in charge of the Sample 17 project.
She stops when she sees Desmond- or, technically, Altair's body- and then her jaw drops as she sees the other two. Edward laughs, and Desmond can't really blame him. From her point of view, she's just run into one of her employees, the (dead) guy who 'donated' his DNA to make her project work, and the three hundred year old pirate she's been studying.
"I-" her mouth works, but nothing else comes out.
"Trust me," Altair says. "You don't want to know."
They leave her there, still trying to figure out what she just saw. Not that she'll ever figure it out, of course. Not in a million years.