5 Feelings

Desmond felt groggy at first, and didn't remember much of what had happened, but after a quick briefing from the girls and a snide comment from Shaun, he soon freshened up enough to get the memories rolling in his head. They had arrived to Manhattan with their minivan - how they did was still a question without an answer - Rebecca went missing after heading to the store - they still hadn't gotten the groceries they needed, by the way - and then there was the distant sound of a grenade going off a few floors above. Desmond had went to investigate and found the creepy guy in the hallway. He still wondered where he had went and how he could be so quiet. It was all rather surreal. Then the radio. A brief conversation - or perhaps monologue was a better word - that had mentioned Rebecca's last name. Stupid as he was, he had headed out the door and scrambled over the rooftop like he was some goddamn superhero, and actually managed to find what he was looking for. In the haze of his anger, he'd knocked the first four unconscious, but made the grave mistake of trying to attack someone who'd already spotted him. The result was one dead commander and a wound from a dagger in his left side. He still didn't know if he'd been lucky or the marine had been an amateur. Desmond doubted the possibility that he'd been stabbed, then left to bleed out on the pavement. They couldn't possibly be that cruel. Could they?

His train of thought was interrupted by Lucy's scolding voice, "Now that you're up and about, would you care to share what the hell you were doing out there?". She was standing with her arms crossed over her chest in front of him, brows furrowed and lips curled in a frown. She was visibly pissed, and didn't show even an ounce of either concern or gratitude. Desmond scowled at this and opened his mouth to protest. Before he could form words though, she interrupted by more scolding, "You are the last person with a connection to Ezio. If you die out there, we have no way to access the genetic memories of your ancestor". This silenced Desmond, as he had no idea how to respond. What Lucy said was true, and he had nothing to counter with. Except...

"We need Rebecca to run the Animus. Or did she teach you how to set it up?" he said sternly. Now it was Lucy's turn to glare. She pressed her lips together into a thin line, and her bright blue eyes seemed to stare into his very soul. But he wouldn't back off. He knew he was right, just as much as she were. For a long moment, they glared at each other, but eventually Lucy growled and turned her back to him. She grumbled something under her breath, but Desmond wasn't interested in hearing it. He looked away when Rebecca walked up to the other girl, and they started whispering to each other. He pushed them out of his conscience and inhaled deeply. The pain was already throbbing in his side, but he didn't want to lay on a mattress all day. The effort would be a test of his pain threshold, no doubt. He braced himself, held his breath and pushed himself up on his feet. A groan slipped through gritted teeth and the room went for a spin, but he managed to keep standing until his vision cleared again. The pain was pounding in his side. Bad idea to get up before he was fully healed.

Now that he was back up on his feet he heard a loud rumble from the depth of his abdomen. Damn, he couldn't even remember the last time he ate. And Rebecca hadn't possibly gotten any groceries with her after getting hauled in by templars. Speaking about, he'd have to ask how she got away from them later on. Right now, the priority was to get food. If not... Lucy would most surely want him back inside the Animus. She always wanted him inside that godforsaken machine. Not a moment of calm and rest. Not even with a fucking bandage covering half of his torso would he be allowed to take a break. It was driving him sick how hellbent Lucy was on getting him to keep working. He hated it. He hoped she'd calmed down after his little rant last night, but apparently it hadn't been enough. Nothing was enough for that woman. Not him, not his actions, not his attempts to do something good. The only thing that seemed to be enough for her was Rebecca. Rebecca that he had tried to save. That he had searched for and gotten stabbed for. He had literally risked his life for her. And all Lucy could do was to glare and yell at him like he was some damn object for her to rage out on. Alright, he could see her point about him being the last in his bloodline, but was that really such a reason to call him out and hate him? Goddamn if he knew. They'd have to talk once she'd calmed down again. If she would.

He had walked absently while rummaging through his thoughts, and now realized he was standing in front of the Animus. He frowned and looked down at it like he'd looked at Lucy only a minute ago. His hand subconsciously reached up to touch his wound, flinching as he did. He suddenly became aware of how incredibly realistic his experience in the Animus was. He felt every step his ancestor took - every breath was synchronized. Every wound his ancestor received hurt him like it was himself who got them. He knew it wasn't real; just his imagination and the realism of the machine playing tricks on him. Yet he hesitated. Now that he remembered how it was like, and proof how it felt to get hurt for real, he hesitated to enter. He didn't want to feel more pain. Didn't dare to think about what memories might be up next.

As if he'd heard Desmond's thoughts, the ghostly holographic image of his ancestor appeared on the other side of the Animus. They both looked up and their gazes met. He felt a burn behind his eyelids upon seeing the kindness in those eyes. "I'm sorry Ezio" he whispered inaudibly. The image of his ancestor shook his head and smiled brightly. The bronze colored eyes had delivered the message without having to open his mouth, but Desmond could hear the voice in his head.

The Italian accent soothed his nerves better than any booze could manage, and he relaxed where he stood. There was still time. Ezio smiled again before the hologram vaporized, leaving Desmond to stare into nothingness. With newfound strength, he turned to give another rant about how he felt, but found that neither of the girls were anywhere to be found. Shaun was bent over some documents at one of the tables, and the only one present in the dimly lit cellar room - apart from Desmond. With nothing else to do, he might as well see if there was anything among their stuff that might soothe his raging stomach.

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[Rebecca's P.O.V.]

"You're not seriously proposing we need the rooftops to find this guy?" Lucy said as they were on their way back toward the hideout. They'd left shortly after Desmond had woke up, not just to get groceries, but also to get a break from the boys. Rebecca didn't really grow tired of Shaun's attitude, but Lucy certainly did, and she had to admit that he was being kind of an ass sometimes. But that was Shaun, and she didn't blame him for it. As for Desmond, he needed both mental and physical rest, so it was better if they left to leave him to his thoughts. He and Lucy wasn't on very good terms right now. So Becca had made the decision to take her friend out for a walk and get some general girl-time together.

"I'm saying we should check it out. It's where I woke up after he broke me out, and to tell you the truth, I think it's where he'd be holding up" Rebecca answered casually to Lucy's question. "Besides, I've been longing to do something thrilling, and this might just be the chance I've been looking for".

They soon pulled the doors open to the lobby in the apartment complex they were currently residing in. The whole building was mainly abandoned except for a few residents in the top floors that still dared to stay, or was simply too sick or too old to move out. The chaos that had broken out in the city was kept in control by the military, and while Rebecca was grateful for that, she didn't doubt a second that they were hiding information on purpose to keep the citizens from raving havoc. Though it might be a thrill to do something a little bit dangerous then and now, what they could face in this city was beyond her imagination. She had a clue, but she didn't want to dig deeper than she'd already done. If she got too worked up with things that troubled her, she wouldn't be able to focus on what was important, and the whole expedition could crash. She had to take care of Baby, and make sure Desmond didn't go under for too long at a time.

They had left the bags at the foot of the stairs before ascending, and soon reached a metal door. It opened without complaints and they exited onto the rooftop and inhaled the sweet, fresh air. Up here, things were so much clearer. Rebecca could totally see why the guy from earlier preferred the roofs over the streets. It was cleaner up here, both under their feet and in the air, especially now at dawn. She made a mental note that she'd have to ask for his name. Just calling him 'the guy' wouldn't work out in the long run.

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Only two flights below, the said man slammed the door shut to his sister's hideout. Pieces of the puzzle was starting to fall into place, and he was aware of how inconvenient the situation were - for all of them. Why were they here? Where did they come from? Why in the basement with just emergency supplies and limited connection to the outside? Something was off about them, and he didn't like it one bit. He didn't like most things in this godforsaken city, but he could blame most of that on Blackwatch or the infected. Having people in the basement was a whole other thing, and he'd have to keep an eye on them, whether he liked it or not.

Dana was sitting at her desk with a sandwich in her hand, reading something on her laptop. As Alex stepped closer he noticed she had earbuds in, and didn't hear him coming. Upon closer inspection, he realized the contents of the screen was moving, and it was definitely not just rows and rows of text. She was watching a movie. Why was she watching movies when there were four strangers cramped up in their basement? For some reason he couldn't explain, this enraged Alex to the point where he couldn't hold back the urge to punch something. He didn't exactly think clearly, so where his clenched fist landed didn't occur to him until he exhaled deeply in an attempt to calm himself. He quickly noted that he'd punched a hole in the wall to his right before pulling his hand back and diverting his attention back to his sister. She was looking up at him from where she sat, eyes wide and with the earbuds in her hand that didn't hold the sandwich. He met her shocked gaze with his own cold blue, and she flinched visibly. This sparked emotion to life within him, and he had to look away and turned on his heel. He started pacing back and forth in front of the sofa. He would have to get his head in order before he could try to speak his mind. Whyever he wanted to do that...

He stopped momentarily when he heard the barely audible shuffle of fabric that indicated Dana had rose from the chair. His eyes flickered over to her, but quickly reverted back to his feet when he saw her expression. Why was he so goddamn weak for this woman? A subconscious thought - instinct maybe - that even if he'd changed drastically, she hadn't, as she still saw him as her brother. That was the only logical explanation he could think of.

"The girl is safe" he mustered. He could hint the tiny smile on her lips before his legs forced him to keep moving. He was restless and concerned, not to mention the remnants of all the previous anger that was still lingering at the back of his mind. Anything and it could explode - fill him with a rage that wouldn't be stilled until his bloodlust had been settled. Wait, bloodlust? Now, what exactly was his mind trying to tell him? He had enough as it was, and didn't need himself to think he was going crazy too. Or maybe he already was. He wouldn't be surprised. A whole lot of shit had happened during the last few days, and before that, he didn't remember a thing. His name, but that was it. As surprising as it was, it didn't bother him. It should, shouldn't it? He didn't know. He didn't care. Should he care? Should he know? The questions kept coming and it made an ache start pounding in his head. He reached up with one hand to rub his temple and sighed in annoyance.

"The guy is alright" he rambled on and noted how his sister's tension eased up a bit. Maybe talking was the trick to get her to trust him again? Worth a shot. "They're both okay. They, uhh, have two others in their group. They hide out in the basement". Dana's expression had softened ever so slightly by every word he'd said so far, but at the mentioning of the basement, she stiffened. So he probably shouldn't have mentioned that, for whatever reason. He allowed himself to think back, and an image of the girl's face flashed before his eyes. Black hair, tanned skin - especially compared to him - and gray eyes that seemed to look right through him. He would've shuddered at the thought if it weren't for that he was busy pacing.

"This Rebecca... She looked at me like... Like I was some kind of hero ... to her" he said after a pause. There was more to it, but he didn't know how to put it, or what words to use. He'd never been good at talking, and probably never would. He-

"Probably because she was really grateful" Dana said softly before he could finish his thoughts. Once again, he stopped momentarily to glance at her. She seemed more at ease now, and was looking at him with a genuine smile. "Thank you, Alex, for saving her". He turned slightly to get a better look at her. "You did something good today, and you should be proud of that" she continued, a warm smile painting her face. It lit up her features in a way that he couldn't explain. He didn't find any reason to care about why though. It simply was, and he was fine with that. He felt like he was beginning to get on good terms with his sister again, and that was one of the few things he bothered to care about. For the moment, he was satisfied with how things were.

The very faint, yet existing smile that curved the corner of his mouth ever so slightly when he sat down in the sofa felt interestingly pleasant. His mind wasn't anymore raging with thoughts that might or might not have been his own, and the anger had stilled. He wasn't sure how long it would last, but he had decided to enjoy the moment. For just a while, he felt content with the situation. He was sitting in the sofa with his sister beside him, and she was telling him about different scenarios from the movies she'd watched recently. He wasn't sure if recently was the last week or the last year, but again, this didn't bother him. Not until she came to the scene with four friends in a basement. His lips curled into a frown and he was on his feet in a blink.

His hand was just about to turn the handle when he remembered. He turned his head to look at Dana and said, "Places to be", then headed out and closed the door behind him.