A/N: Shit's getting weird. (And exposition-y) That's all I'm going to say.

Shaun knew he wasn't going to get very far until Desmond started questioning him about what Lucy said, and he was right- they were halfway down the hall when Desmond started hissing in his ear like an angry goose.

"Desmond! Would you kindly shut up for two minutes? At least until we're out of ear shot?"

Desmond walked ahead of Shaun, stopping at the overlook to the warehouse. He put a hand out to stop the historian.

"Tell me what's going on. Is it more stuff to do with the Animus messing up? Why does Lucy think we were in the warehouse for so long?" Desmond paused for a moment, as if deciding to add something. "And why does everyone in my dreams speak Italian? Is it just the Bleeding Effect?"

Shaun stopped short.

"You've been dreaming in Italian? For how long?"

Desmond shrugged.

"I don't know. A couple of days?"

"… Do you understand what they're saying?" Shaun asked quietly, trying to keep the panic out of his voice.

"What, in my dreams?" Desmond thought for a moment. "Yeah, I guess. Sometimes… Most of the time."

Shaun started walking again, feeling panic rising in his chest. It shouldn't surprise him that Desmond was dreaming in Italian, considering the unconscious mind was much more susceptible to the Bleeding Effect than the conscious one. Add that to the fact the Desmond had just spent a full day experiencing the most pronounced and fast-acting Bleeding Effect he had ever seen or read about, and it really should have been the most unsurprising thing to learn. However, this revelation seemed to confirm Shaun's worst fears.

As they reached the warehouse floor, Shaun put out a hand to stop Desmond this time, who had been jogging to keep up with him. Shaun hadn't realized how fast he'd been moving.

"Sit down." He said brusquely. Desmond perched himself on the edge of a box warily.

"Are you going to fill me in properly now?"

Shaun pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Yes. I guess I don't really have a choice anymore, because if I'm right- and I'm usually right- then you'll be experiencing a lot more blackouts at an increasing rate over the next couple of weeks." Shaun started running his hands through his hair, walking in a small circle in front of Desmond. "But first, I need a promise from you. This is very important, Desmond. You cannot tell Lucy or Rebecca what I'm about to tell you. Nothing. Do I have your word?"

Shaun was staring down at Desmond intently, who swallowed hard before nodding.

"Okay. You have my word."

"I know you and Lucy have something going on. Are you sure you aren't going to tell-"

"I won't say anything." Desmond interrupted, looking slightly insulted that Shaun would even have to question his word.

Grimacing, Shaun nodded and took a deep breath.

"Okay then. First, we'll start off with the Bleeding Effect. At Abstergo, you used Eagle Vision to see Subject Sixteen's message written on the floor and walls. You can still use Eagle Vision at any time. From what Lucy has told me, being able to retain the Eagle Vision skill is half from the Bleeding Effect and half from reliving it in the Animus. Being in the Animus sort of kick started what you already had stored in your DNA, except now you don't have to be trained to use it. That's simple enough, I suppose. But then once we got here, to the safe house, you had another vision that involved Altaïr. You followed him to a meeting with Maria, and saw the consummation of your ancestor. It didn't last longer than thirty seconds, but it worried Lucy, even though she didn't tell you at the time. That's when the dreams in Italian started, I assume?"

Desmond nodded.

"Fast forward to yesterday, right after you got out of the Animus. You thought you had an arrow in your shoulder. Obviously, you didn't, but Ezio did. You spoke Italian. Then we sparred, and you hit me. Really hard. Harder than I know you're capable of. Then, yesterday in the alley"- Shaun broke off for a moment to glare accusingly at Desmond, even though he knew there was nothing he could've done to prevent it- "you left me to defend myself. I thought you just legged it because you were scared, but, ah, there was a little more to it than that. Next, you and I were talking out in the courtyard, and then you ran away- again." Shaun informed him flatly, watching with a dull satisfaction as Desmond looked more and more baffled. "I searched for you, and finally found you. You weren't exactly in your proper frame of mind, and at first I thought you were joking, but then…" Shaun trailed off, feeling his face go red. "You saved my life."

Shaun almost heard Desmond's gloating smile, even though he had his back to him.

"I saved your life? How do I not remember that? Oh, man, Shaun. I leave you for dead in an alley and save your life later the same day. We are so even. This is excellent. Ha! This is-"

"This isn't a joke!" Shaun hissed, spinning around to face Desmond. He put both hands on either side of Desmond's face and forced him look at him. "You can't even remember saving my life, doesn't that matter to you? You can't remember leaving me for dead in an alley or any of the other stuff you did that I haven't even mentioned! This is serious!" Shaun let go of Desmond more roughly than he needed to and straightened up. The amusement quickly drained out of Desmond's expression and returned to one of attention. He didn't say anything, but just stared at Shaun, waiting for him to start again.

Shaun took a deep breath and continued.

"Now that we're listening again… The only reason you needed to save my life in the first place was because I was chasing after you, trying to keep you from killing yourself. Anyways, the next thing you remember is sitting in the warehouse. Well I can guarantee that we were down here as long as Lucy said, but you only remember a couple minutes of it. Next, after we came up from the warehouse, I'm sure you remember chatting Lucy up, hm? Well, that didn't last too long. After that little fiasco, I went to bed, and now here we are."

Desmond continued to look at him expectantly.

"So… I just stated all the facts, Desmond. This is where we dive into guesswork. I mean, there can only be so many explanations for this… Anyways, we need to go back to when you experienced your hallucination of Altaïr and Maria. You stepped into your ancestor's memories without the help of the Animus. Well, to put it simply, this is what's happening to you, except in reverse. These periods in your memory that go blank are because someone else is using you, and making their own memories with your body."

Desmond was silent for a moment.

"You're saying that I'm being possessed by my ancestors?" He asked flatly, disbelief etched in his every syllable.

"I told you it was guesswork, but it makes sense!" Shaun exclaimed, suddenly defensive of his theory. He had to admit, it sounded really dumb when Desmond said it like that. "Besides, what other explanation is there?"

"Oh, I don't know, how about a logical one?" Desmond returned, who was now red in the face.

Shaun pressed his palms against his eyes, revelling in the blackness so he wouldn't have to look at Desmond.

"You called yourself Ezio." He muttered through his hands.

He heard the box under Desmond move as he shifted.

"Lucy said the Animus can mess with your brain." Desmond said quietly. "That's probably all it is."

"'That's probably all it is.'" Shaun mimicked in disbelief. "Are you insane? I don't know if you understand basic human biology, Desmond, but if something is wrong with your brain, that is very, very bad. If something is literally getting inside your brain and rendering you incapable of remembering where you are, what you did, or who you are for long periods of time, that is a little more than a minor inconvenience. Especially if that something getting inside your brain is a someone."

"The Animus is definitely messing with your brain, Desmond, and that is most certainly not something to be taken lightly. You told me you were scared, and now that I'm telling you what I think is the problem, you're just refusing to believe it."

"I refuse to believe it because it's ridiculous!" Desmond answered, his face visibly heating up again.

"What the hell do you think it is, then, Dr. Miles? Have you been hiding a medical degree up your ass this whole time? A degree in DNA recovery? No? Then shut it."

"Lucy said-"

"Yeah! I bet Lucy said a lot of things!" Shaun shouted, throwing his arms in the air. "Lucy says lots of great things like, 'let's work as a team' and 'we've got to stick together', but what does that help when something like this,"- he gestured wildly at Desmond-" is going on?

"Look," Shaun muttered, lowering his voice, looking anxiously at the balcony as if expecting to see Lucy listening to their every word, "Lucy would freak out if she knew this. I don't want her knowing because I don't think there's anything she can do. This is something we've just got to work out on our own. Lucy and Rebecca have their own duties to complete." Shaun laughed hollowly. "At least you won't need to go back in the Animus for a while since Rebecca really seems to have outdone herself in the 'cocking-it-up' department."

Desmond shook his head as if waking up from a dream.

"This is crazy," He mumbled. "Absolutely insane. People's bodies don't get hijacked by their own dead relatives."

"The Bleeding Effect is different for everyone. I guess for you it's just a little more… morbid." Shaun grimaced. "It kind of makes you think about technology in general, doesn't it? If stuff like this can happen, who knows what else goes on out there? It's hard to imagine how far we've come since the days of Altaïr and Ezio."

Desmond sighed, looking extremely confused and put out.

"But they're dead!" He exclaimed suddenly, jumping up. "How can they use me? They're gone! They both died over five hundred years ago! They can't come through the Animus and just take over!" Desmond started to pace on a separate orbit to Shaun, who was thinking hard.

"I don't think… it's exactly them." He finally concluded after a couple minute's nervous pacing on the part of both parties. "Again, this is just guesswork, but I would assume that the Animus has picked up enough of a personality to transfer back into you through the memories, and then they grab hold of your mind and body and…" He groaned. "Sci-fi it up." He finished lamely.

Desmond stopped pacing.

"That doesn't make me feel much better. They're still dead guys using my brain and body to do whatever they want. I can't even… Christ, you think you'd remember something like that- being pushed out of your own mind."

"That's the other thing. I don't think you're entirely gone when this happens. I have a feeling you just get shunted off to the side, y'know? You don't leave your mind, but you can't participate in its activities either." Shaun hadn't actually thought any of this through before talking to Desmond, but the more he talked, the more it made sense- and yet, at the same time, it seemed to make less sense as he went on.

Desmond sighed.

"Can we just go to the damn store? I don't want to talk about this anymore. I don't think my brain can handle much more of this. And please, if I somehow change on the way there, don't let me climb a fucking apartment building or something. That's the last thing I need- be forty stories up and then get my own mind back."

That was my attempt at explaining what the fuck is going on.
I don't really know what else to say except that I don't watch a lot of sci-fi. (As if that's an excuse.)

I'm sure that's pretty obvious from my explanations, though.