001 | voice

[bewarethecross]

[There's a sigh, a long pause, and the voice that follows sounds half-exhausted, half-irritated.]

I've been here before - but it was so goddamn short I thought it was a dream. Better than some of the other "dreams" I have, I guess. It was a lot warmer then, and there wasn't all this goddamn...ash in the air, but this is definitely the same place.

I didn't even bother to use this thing myself before last time, so I might as well give it a shot now. I'm ... Cross. I'm not really sure what's going on - a war, or something? All this ash because some... forest is on fire? Whatever. I don't need that explained to me - I'll figure it out myself.

Why the hell I'd be brought here again is what I'm actually interested in. Any one else come and gone before? Can't say I remember how the hell I got out.

Comments

voice.

[unpuzzling]

Hello, can you describe your experience in less "vague" terms? You're leaving quite a bit out, you see.

voice.

[bewarethecross]

What are you, some kind of shrink?

[meliorator]

[Oh she'd know that voice anywhere.]

Daniel! [Relief, starkly so.] Daniel, thank goodness-- are you all right?

[bewarethecross]

[Whoa whoa whoa, there's a voice he's heard in earpieces and over cell phones before. Coming out of a, well, bracelet, doesn't change its familiarity at all, and Daniel has to admit, he's relieved, too. He'd tried to reach anyone he'd known back home the first time around and that hadn't yielded any results - not that he'd pushed it, considering he knew he couldn't say much over a line that wasn't secured - but this time he hadn't even been trying and he'd hit paydirt.]

Now that's a voice I like to hear. [Most of the time.] I feel fine, doctor. But I wouldn't exactly object to a full check-up, if you felt the need to administer one.

audio;

[sicarius]

I have, messere.

[You, sir, sound like the typical staunch and irritating guy who asks things and doesn't like the answers he's given.]

Though I cannot say I remember how I left either time, however.

audio;

[bewarethecross]

["Messere", really? Okay. Weird.]

But you remember being here before? Some people say they know they were here but don't remember it at all.

voice;

[exiling]

[ It's a young woman's voice, she sounds slightly perturbed. ]

I have been here before, though I am left with no memory of that time. [ No reason to hide it now. The only reason she knows at all is because complete strangers keep recognizing her - and also the disorienting experience of finding her own face within the archives. ]

voice;

[bewarethecross]

Huh... really? [He hadn't even considered the possibility of that one.] How'd you find that out, people here recognizing you?

video

[subecho]

Not to my knowing of it.

[ paaaaaaause. ]

But I've a man here who wears my name and claims kinship to my people, and his beard is wanting. My grievance is as great.

video

[bewarethecross]

[Daniel takes a second to rub his own chin, which is, well, clean-shaven. (Sometimes he's surprised to find it that way, though.)]

A long-lost relative? [...Probably not, or it wouldn't be worth mentioning.] What's your name, then?

voice;

[familyissues]

[ Oh. Oh fuck. There's no love lost between these two, much as Desmond has come to sympathize with Cross--not his mission but that, in the end, his was another taken apart by the Animus. Desmond managed to find himself again. What about Daniel?

...not that he regrets killing you, bro, because what the fuck. This is the very last fucking thing he needs on his plate right now. Time to sally forth against his better judgement, sorry Mentors. ]

Asgard does that sometimes. What do you last remember from home?

voice;

[bewarethecross]

[Okay even if posts didn't have names attached - which they do, Desmond - Daniel would recognize that voice. Sure, they haven't exchanged a ton of words, but Daniel knows it regardless, because jesus shit, this one barely-assassin asshole has really pissed him the hell off these past few months.]

...Why? Trying to glean some kind of information from me? [Of course Desmond would be here, too. Of course. Because Desmond Miles is everywhere Daniel wants to be, and a few places he doesn't too, just for good goddamn measure.] Do you really think I'm that stupid?

[couldfindapen]

I'm surprised you're not more used to the cold, Krest.

[Like Krakow here is allowed to fucking talk considering he was bitching about the cold not that long ago, but still.]

[bewarethecross]

["Krest"? Oh, wait-- крест. "Cross". Funny. Sure, Daniel didn't know this guy, but the name was familiar enough. He'd read it plenty of reports detailing the ill effects of the Animus, undoubtedly forwarded to him to "put the scare in" Daniel as if he gave a shit. Well, generally, they referred to him as "Subject 16", but it hadn't been hard for him to figure out who that was.

His post was starting to look like a goddamn Assassin bureau. Desmond Miles says one thing and he's suddenly backed up by his entire crew. This was entirely out of hand. Just how many assassins were there here, anyway?]

I'm not actually from Russia, Kaczmarek. Thought I'd remind you, since I know you have problems separating ancestral memory from reality.

voice;

[1066]

Don't worry about what's going on, really. None of us really know. That's what happens, being kept in the dark as some great lot of inept baboons meant to fix everyone's problems while the adults put their feet up and laugh at us for not knowing what to do.

As for the whole coming and going part, why, yes, actually. Just happened to me. A bit strange, you know? One minute I'm here, the next I'm home for an entire year, and then I'm back again, feeling like the whole experience was some bizarre dream.

voice;

[bewarethecross]

Yeah, well... I'm kind of used to the first part, sometimes.

I guess coming and going isn't as rare as I thought.

video;

[madeforwalking]

Could be that the gods here didn't like the ending. Or the middle of your story. Maybe it was supposed to be gory, but you escaped them before they were finished.

video;

[bewarethecross]

Definitely not "maybe".

In that case, that's even more bullshit.

video-

[lookingfordragon]

You got brought back too?[At least she wasn't the only one it's happened to.]

How long were you home for?

video-

[bewarethecross]

Not very. I don't know, it's all kind of... hazy.

Did this just happen to you, or...?

video;

[pushesgently]

[Holy shit it's Desmond again. ...or a guy with a strong familial resemblance.]

Many have gone and returned just as you describe. You could petition the gods themselves to know why that is, but they may not care to take the time to answer.

video;

[bewarethecross]

[WHY IS DANIEL LOOKING AT DESMOND. WHY. The name doesn't say "Desmond Miles". It doesn't sound like Desmond Miles.]

...I don't think I'm going to bother. They're the ones messing with us, if they wanted us to know why, they wouldn't be so goddamn--

[okay no you know what he can't even finish the sentence because he's so bothered by this, so:] Are you related to a 'Desmond Miles'?

[Video]

[walks_the_earth]

Sorry, no... but from what I hear, that's not uncommon around here.

[It's a little disturbing, but... the Gods move in mysterious and not entirely pleasant ways.

And he will address your other not-quite-question, thanks.]

That's what the woman claimed, though with this much ash... if it's not a forest fire, there must be a volcano somewhere nearby.

[Video]

[bewarethecross]

...Yeah, I guess it's not that weird. Just fuckin' weird to me.

A volcano? Shit. I didn't think of that.

You been here long enough to get an idea of the geography around here, or is that more of a guess?

voice

[trust_us]

Maybe they still needed you?

voice

[bewarethecross]

You mean the gods or...whatever, still needing me here?

...Maybe.