It's a little like going into battle.
As Desmond heads back for the animus, knowing the fight he and Ezio are going to have on their hands when he gets there, he realizes he's shaking. It's true that he's not going to be in any danger in the past, or not any physical danger at least, but Ezio will be. If Juno kills him in the past, Desmond will never even be born. The stakes are very real.
And not just for him, he realizes abruptly. If he's never born, then his son will never be born either, and that can't happen. Desmond's never even had a chance to meet him, he doesn't even know his name, and there's no way Desmond's going to let them both get written out of history before they have a chance to meet.
He insists on wearing his hidden blades when he goes into the animus. He's not expecting any trouble, but with the way he's left things with Lucy, he's not sure if he's changed things enough for her to try and do anything to him while his mind is with Ezio. And besides, the weight of the bracers on his arms makes him feel marginally better as he climbs into the animus and squeezes his eyes shut.
"You okay, Desmond?" Rebecca asks. He's not actually in the past yet, still waiting for her to start the program and send him in, but Desmond refuses to open his eyes and look at her. He's preparing himself, and he doesn't want to have to start over.
"I'm fine," he says. "Seriously."
"You're just so quiet—"
"He says he's fine, Becca," Shaun says. "Come on, already—"
"Well all right. But Desmond, if this is too much for you, I'm pulling you out."
"Don't," Desmond says. "I need to se this through." Please. This is going to be hard enough without getting pulled out halfway through, and he won't abandon Ezio.
"Never heard anyone begging to get put in the animus before," Shaun mutters, and Desmond gives a soft sigh as Rebecca finally puts him in. If he only knew the full story…
In the brief pause between when the real world breaks apart and Ezio's Italy loads around him, Desmond stands in the animus loading screen and looks down at his wrist with his still glowing scars. Ezio? he tries, making sure not to speak out loud in case he accidentally speaks in the modern world. Altair?
Here.
It's Altair's voice, clearer than the last few times Desmond has been able to hear him. He grins. So are you fighting with us? he asks.
As long as I can stay with you, Altair says grimly, and Desmond has a sudden flash of vision, so clear he believes it without question, of Altair sitting in his quiet room in Masyaf, apple cupped in his hand. I've been practicing, but it's difficult.
You told me before that you picked up a few tricks from the apple, Desmond says. Anything that's going to help us here? Around him, the world and Ezio start to load up, and Desmond half feels a second presence join Altair's.
I know enough to keep her from trying to put you under her control.
Okay, Desmond says. Great, that's a start. He looks around at where they are, and recognizes what memory this is. Ezio's about to trick the Templars into letting him take the apple. If Juno's going to act, it's going to be now, or at least very soon.
So this thing, Ezio says, breaking right into their conversation as if they're all old friends. Even in the circumstances, Desmond can feel a little grin on his face in the real world. It's the same as the thing she already has? Why does she want two?
Because two would make her more powerful, Altair answers at once. He sounds sure of himself. For someone like that, what other reason does she need?
Ezio manages to get hold of the Apple, and at first things go pretty much the way they had the first time Desmond had lived this memory. Ezio disguises himself as a Templar soldier, goes to where the apple is waiting, and carries it through the city. Rodrigo Borgia shows up, and the two of them threaten each other for a while, and then Ezio escapes with the apple. He vanishes into the city and quickly loses the Templars as he weaves his way through the streets and over the rooftops. He keeps an eye out as he runs, and Desmond is straining too, looking for Juno.
And then they see her, at last.
What do we do? Ezio asks. His hand darts for a moment to the pouch at his belt where the apple sits, just to make sure it's still there and still safe. Hide? Or fight?
Desmond can see which option Ezio prefers—he's the kind of person that wants to run right into danger, to charge up and confront it before it has the chance to sneak up and hurt him. Maybe it's the loss of his father and brothers because of a man that Ezio thought he could trust—for an Assassin that works in the dark to serve the light, he has a certain tendency toward visibility.
Hiding won't work, Altair says.
Good.
She'll find you eventually, and in the meantime she'll hurt other people. So a head on confrontation is the best option.
With Juno? Desmond interjects. Seriously? She'll win in a straight out fight.
Desmond. Altair's voice in his head is almost fond. Did I imply that we are going to fight fair?
-/-
Back on the outside, Lucy is supposed to be on break. It's Shaun's turn to watch Desmond, and while he does that, Rebecca sleeps and Lucy checks her computer for emails from Vidic. It's not exactly a break, just trading in one identity for another—Assassin to Templar in the blink of an eye—but none of the others knows that.
There's one new message waiting for her, terser than usual, and for once it's not more instructions.
Still can't get into Miles's email here, he was too thorough at deleting them. Figured out how to intercept new messages though, wrote up a program that does it automatically. Too big and dangerous to send it through email, so someone will be bringing a CD by in person. Time and location attached. Be there.
It's not a lot, but if this thing works the way Vidic thinks it will, and if Lucy can keep it hidden from Desmond she's going to learn a lot about him. He won't be able to stop her, he'll never even know. She sits at her computer, staring into the middle distance and tapping her chin with her finger.
She doesn't know why she feels slightly uncomfortable with the idea.
-/-
They find Juno as evening presses in around them, although really they never lost her. They've been following her most of the day, watching, learning. To Ezio, who never tracks a target this long before striking, it's an exercise in patience. For Desmond, who has sort of started to believe Juno knows everything and is always going to be two steps ahead of them, just being able to stay hidden is like a shot of adrenaline. For Altair, it's just business. He's as calm and unflappable as ever, as if Juno is any other target.
Are we going to kill her? Ezio asks.
No.
Altair's answer comes so quickly that the other two are both surprised. Why… why not? Desmond asks. If we have the chance, we should take it.
That's just it, Altair says. We won't have the chance—not yet. Remember she's a time traveler, she's been working with the apples a lot longer than any of us has, and there is nothing so immoral she won't stoop to trying it. We're not going to beat her in a straight out fight. Not yet.
Desmond likes that yet, he likes the idea that they won't always be running away. Someday they'll be fighting back, even if it's not today.
So what are we doing? Ezio grumbles. If we're not fighting back, what are we going to do?
Watch, Altair says. Ezio, take out your apple.
What are you planning?
And is it Desmond's imagination? Or is there a feeling of a smile in Altair's words as he says, be patient, and you will see.
And then Altair is quiet for a moment, clearly thinking. Then something between them seems to sharpen, like a knife sliding out of a sheathe. It doesn't worry Desmond, though—he knows its Altair holding the metaphorical knife, and if there's one thing his ancestor knows, it's blades.
What are you doing? Ezio is alarmed, and Desmond hurries to try and reassure him. He hasn't even had a chance to explain Altair to Ezio, other than saying the man is his ancestor, and absolutely trustworthy. What little time they've had for explaining has been mostly focused on Juno and the apples. Before he has a chance, though, Altair slides in.
She has an apple, he says. It's her only weapon, and if she can't use it, she can't hurt anyone.
Wait, Desmond says, totally distracted from trying to explain anything. You can do that? One of those tricks you figured out is getting rid of her apple?
No, Altair says. Sorry, I can see why that was misleading. I can sort of… ward it. I can use my apple to block her from controlling minds in this time and in this place.
That's still something, Desmond says. He can't help feeling excited. That's a big something.
I can center it on Ezio, Altair says. As he's here, and we're… connected, it'll be the easiest thing.
And that will protect him?
Him and anyone relatively nearby. I don't know. Let me concentrate. And Ezio?
Yea?
I need you to go out and stand in front of her, Altair says. Taunt her, talk to her, do whatever you want, just keep her close and angry, if possible.
Ezio brightens, because that he can do. "On it," he says out loud, and drops lightly from his rooftop perch to stand behind her. He clears his throat and she turns around, first surprised and then angry to see him standing there. As Ezio launches into a tirade, Desmond feels the knife edge of Altair's apple sharpen.
Desmond, his ancestor says. As always, his voice is calm. For Desmond, who at this point is staring out through Ezio's eyes, watching Juno as closely as he can, it's reassuring. I need you to hold onto me. Tight. I'm not directly connected to Ezio, but I need to be as close to him as possible if this is going to work. And I'm sorry, I really am, but I think this might hurt.
I can handle it, Desmond says, thinking of that night in the Temple when he'd come so close to dying. I've been hurt before.
For a moment the world seems to go silent. Desmond pulls his ancestors close, and imagines for a second that instead of the gentle noises of Ezio's Venice, he can hear Altair's soft breathing, alone in his room at Masyaf.
And then Ezio calls Juno a particularly foul and inventive name, and her face twists up in anger, and she launches herself at him. Ezio, to his credit, doesn't so much as twitch away from her.
She's very nearly on top of him when an arc of light bursts from Altair, arcing through Desmond, toward Juno. Desmond holds his breath, waiting to see what's going to happen—because if Altair is wrong about being able to do this, then Ezio is a dead man.
-/-
It's Lucy's turn to watch Desmond, although she's almost nodding off at her post. It's been an unbearably slow day, with nothing to watch on the animus but a sort of blurred static. It's impossible to tell whether it's some kind of animus glitch or whether Desmond's intentionally preventing them from seeing whatever he's seeing in Ezio's memory (he knows she's not what she says she is, maybe he doesn't trust her enough to let her see). But either way, this keeps happening. Desmond has too many secrets, and after a day full of watching nothing, it's really starting to irritate her.
And then, she watches as his hand—the one with the oddly shaped scars burned into it—flashes golden, flaring so brightly that Lucy's mouth drops open. Holy shit. She tears her eyes away from Desmond to glance around, but Shaun's taking his turn at napping, and Rebecca is down the hall in the bathroom. There's no one to bear witness to whatever's going on with Desmond but Lucy—when she gathers her wits enough to start thinking again, she fumbles for her phone and starts snapping pictures.
-/-
Altair's power surges through Desmond, into Ezio, and out of the man's hand were he's holding his apple. Altair launches his power like a thrown dagger, but it blooms out of the apple like a shield. It glows, bright and golden, and the space within it feels warm in a way that goes beyond simple temperature. Ezio relaxes slightly, and even when the shield fades from view and Juno steps right up into his personal space, he's not as afraid as he should be.
She reaches for her apple, wraps her hand around it, and focuses—
Nothing happens. Not a thing.
It worked, Desmond says, letting out a shaky laugh. Oh my God, it actually worked.
Ezio grins, something a little predatory, and focuses on Juno. She's a little bit taller than him, but without her apple to use as a weapon, she's lost most of her power to intimidate. "Get out of here," he says. "Leave this city, leave this time. This apple is never going to be yours."
He smiles at her—the same charming smile he'd so stupidly flashed at her the first time he saw her—then turns his back and walks away. Juno doesn't follow, but when Ezio turns the corner at the end of the road and glances back the way he'd come, Juno is already gone.
Out of this century, hopefully, Desmond says. She'll cause trouble somewhere else, but this time… this time, I think we won.
-/-
So I think that went a little bit better than Layla and Berg's fight with Juno's goons? I hope? (You can't see it, but I'm making a nervous faces at my computer screen).