I'm Coming Home

I hesitantly open my eyes and blink twice taking in my surroundings. A blinding light suddenly seems to sear through my eyes, causing my arm to instinctively rise and shield my face. I then notice I am lying on a hard surface, and slowly begin to stand up. My muscles ache as if I haven't moved at all for ages. I flex and stretch, trying to soothe the pain. Remembering the woman's voice, I try to remove my arm from my sight, but the light blinds me again, causing me to shield my vision once more.

"Where… where am I? What happened?" I stutter, trying to find the right words to ask. No answer. I gasp as I feel sudden pain as if my brain is on fire. All of my memories flood back into my mind. My heritage. My family. I ran away. I was an Assassin. Abstergo kidnapped me. They forced me into the Animus to strip my ancestors' memories and decode it. Lucy saved me, and brought me to the Assassins. She's one of us. I was taught their ways and skills. I was one of them. I killed Lucy. I fell into a coma. Subject Sixteen, no… his name was Clay Kazcmarek, saved me and showed me how to escape the Animus. When I awoke, my friends were by my side, along with my father. They were willing to follow me to the end. We evacuated to the temple. I was crammed into another Animus, desperately trying to decode memories to find the Key. I opened the temple. I sacrificed myself to save the world…

I am dead.

I shout in pain as the last of the memories fly into me. The revelations of the thought that I am dead is too much. This is all just too much. Abstergo probably knocked me out somehow, and I am inside the Animus. I have to be.

"Oh god. No. Father? Shaun? Rebecca? Oh god no. Is everyone okay? What happened?" I ask out loud. "Did I fail everyone? I'm sorry. I am so so sorry."

"Desmond, it's okay." I hear a woman's voice tries to soothe me. "Open your eyes. We are all here."

I am not one to cry, but I realize my sleeve is now relatively damp from my tears. I slowly remove my arm from my sight and wince expecting the blinding white light to hurt my eyes again. Sure enough, no such light came. I am in a white room, similar to the Animus loading screen.

"Ha li hai salvati. Hai fatto bene, Desmond." A man with a thick Italian accent appears. He wears the Italian Renaissance Brotherhood Mentor robes, and has a black ponytail. His head is bowed down, with respect.

If I had to choose an ancestor that I was the closest to, Ezio would be my best bet. It's not like we have much in common, but I watched this man's birth and death. I felt sad whenever he was, and his happiness as well. I literally have been with Ezio his entire life.

"Shit. Ezio?" I ask in disbelief. There's no way the girl's voice was his. He then raises his head and smiles as his wife, Sofia Sartor, appears out of thin air next to him and places her hand on his chest. She wears a lavish green dress, and has her fiery orange hair tied up into a bun.

"Hai fatto bene, Desmond." She repeats Ezio's words, and then gifts Ezio with a sweet kiss on his cheek. Their children, Flavia and Marcello, also appear next to them and dance around their parents chanting, "Grazie, Desmond. Hai fatto bene, Desmond."

"How is this possible?" My eyes widen as more of Ezio's family members shimmer into my vision. His mother, Maria Auditore, places a hand on her son's shoulder and smiles warmly to me. She has grey hair, and is wearing a Renaissance period deep red dress. Her husband then appears behind her and places his hand on her shoulder. Giovanni Auditore bows his head down as he says, "Ben fatto, Desmond."

Ezio's older brother, Federico Auditore, punches Ezio on the arm as he appears. He then gives me a respectful nod, and winks at Lucy next to me. Ezio's younger sister and brother, Claudia and Petruccio, appear at the same time, with Claudia hugging her brother.

"Grazie, Demond." They both smile to me with tears in their eyes. Marcello and Flavia then run to Petruccio, and play with the feathers he holds in his hands.

"What's happening?" I ask out loud as the Auditore family greets each other with hugs and kisses. Most of them have fresh tears in their eyes, and others act like they haven't seen each other for only seconds.

To the left of the Auditore family reunion, I watch in bewilderment as another figure starts to take shape. It's a man with obvious muscles. He has blonde hair down to his chin, and is dressed as a pirate. Pistols are kept all over his outfit, with two swords on each of his sides. When he finishes forming, he nods in my direction. He opens his mouth as if he wants to say a snarky comment, but then decides to close it and simply nod in thanks and respect.

"Who are you?" I ask in wonder. I've never seen this ancestor before.

"Name's Edward Kenway." Edward tells me as he pulls his head back up. Ah, so he must be related to Haytham and Connor somehow. "I was a pirate trained by-"

"Oh hush, father. No need for your never-ending stories of the glory days when you sailed the open seas." I was too busy staring at Edward to notice Haytham Kenway, apparently Edward's son, formed next to him. He has his hands crossed against his chest as if he's annoyed. "Anyways, why am I here? I'm not welcome in this… assassin party. Perhaps we share a bloodline." He then looks me over, and nods in approval. "You seem worthy to be my descendant." I decide to take this as a compliment, and nod back.

His son, Connor, starts to crystallize and shimmer in the air. Finally, he takes human shape and form. He wears his Assassin Robes, with his dark skin contrasting with the white. He pulls his hood down when he sees his father next to him.

"Connor… son." Haytham seems to have a loss of words as he sees his son.

"Father…" Connor replies, also unsure of what to say.

"Ah, so you must be my grandson." Edward decides to break the awkwardness and step between his son and grandson, examining Connor. "You have that beautiful Kenway arse after all. It seems to run in our blood."

"Father." Haytham rolls his eyes, annoyed.

"I do not understand what you mean." Connor looks innocent and purely curious.

"Aw, he's so precious." Edward genuinely coos over his grandson and beams. "He looks just like you when you were younger- only cuter. Sorry Haytham."

"Father!" Haytham interjects.

"Oh hush. I'm sure his mother was beautiful! Connor, you have restored this bloodline's honor!"

"Father…" Haytham growls again. I then notice how touchy Haytham gets at the mention of Ziio. Connor doesn't seem to notice his father, only the man practically nuzzling his face in his shoulders complimenting him.

"Thank you… grandfather?" Connor says awkwardly. While the Kenway family is bickering and the Auditore family is catching up with each other in the corner, I manage a weak smile. Who knew my ancestors were so awesome in real life?

Next to the Kenways, I watch as another form starts to glimmer. This is a female. She has darker skin than Connor, yet lighter than Achilles' was. She wears a Native American dress, and has a feather in her braided hair. As soon as she is completely formed, each Kenway man shuts up and stares at her.

"Ista…" Connor looks as if he's in tears. He starts to walk towards his mother, and she welcomes him with open arms. "Ista… I'm so sorry. I missed you."

"Hush, my child. Ratonhnhake:ton, you have done well." Ziio strokes her son's hair as she did when he was a young child. I then frown as I remember my own family. I remember once asking my father while we were in the temple if I could see my mother again. "I never lied did I? I promised I would be with you… forever and always."

"When all of this is over, Desmond, I will take you to her." My father's words echo through my ears. Tears threaten to escape my eyes again, but I quickly remove the memory from my head for the meantime.

"Ziio… I…" Haytham walks behind Connor, and watches Ziio. When Ziio notices him, she starts to let go of her son. When Connor looks behind to see his father, he quickly walks out of the way and watches attentively. Apparently he's been waiting for this moment to come. Their reunion. Although it seemed like Connor somewhat hated his father, he watches with slight excitement.

"Haytham…" Ziio's face looks like she's fighting within herself, trying to decide what emotion to show.

"Ziio…" Haytham repeats her name again. He opens his arms slightly, and she slowly walks toward him, ready for a hug. Right before her arms could close around him, she punches him hard in the stomach. I could hear the laughs from Edward Kenway, and the gasp from Connor.

"That was for putting a baby inside me, then leaving me." Ziio screams. She then knees him hard in the groin. Haytham lets out a cry as he doubles over kneeling on the floor and hands covering him. "And that was for being forbidden for me to love you." When the words escape her mouth the Kenways become quiet. So Ziio wanted to love him after all. It was just how it would never work out due to their belief and culture differences, and not to mention his Templar Order.

"Ooh, I like her." Edward bends down to pat his son's shoulder. Haytham grants his father with a cold glare, but makes no other movements.

"Oh, you think that hurt? Try childbirth." Ziio hisses as she stomps angrily away.

"Looks like you've got yourself quite the catch, son." Edward wiggles his eyebrows to his son, but Haytham rolls his eyes. When he seems to have healed, he tries to follow Ziio. My guess is, he's trying to apologize to her some more. Connor laughs slightly as he watches his parents argue amongst each other.

Another body seems to shimmer in the light. He wears white robes with a thick brown belt across his waist, a matching strap across his chest, and a red ribbon down the middle. Altair Ibn Lahad. Altair was my first ancestor that I was jammed into the Animus with. He is one of the greatest legends of the Assassins. His hood is up as always, casting an eluding shadow onto his face.

"You have done well, Desmond. You have brought honor to the Assassins. Your sacrifices saved them all and let us move to the next world." Altair bows his head down as he praises me. Before I could respond, his wife Maria starts to materialize next to him. The instant they see each other, they wrap their arms around each other joining in an embrace. He whispers, "Maria…"

"I was always with you, Altair." Maria sounds like she's on the verge of tears.

What exactly have my ancestors been doing for the past hundreds of years?

With that, the entire space seems to be filled with a blinding light again. My arm goes to cover my eyes instinctively. Have they left? When a few moments pass, I start to slowly move my arm away and peek out. My mouth completely falls open as I watch every single dead member of the Assassin order gather and start to parade out the space. The room seems to have shifted into a hallway, with the light leading all of us to the end of the hallway. The other side…

I watch as Malik (now with two arms) hugs Altair and greets his wife. Altair and Maria then start to cry as their dead children surprise them with a hug as well. Ezio pats Yusuf's shoulder in the other corner of the hallway. Yusuf then gets to work, tickling Marcello and Flavia, kisses Sofia, Maria Auditore, and Claudia's hands, and greets Mario and Giovanni and Federico. Claudia jumps up and bursts into tears as well as she sees her husband. They then all hold hands with each other as they step into the light, smiles on all their faces. I stand behind everyone, not wanting to move.

"Desmond, come on. Let's go." Clay smiles as he motions for me to follow him. I didn't even notice his arrival. He looks exactly the same as when I saw him in the Animus.

"Hey, Clay…" I don't know what to say. Throughout my journey, he's helped me in every way he can.

"Desmond, don't even try to thank me." Clay laughs as he shakes his head. "I know. Now come on. The other side is waiting for us."

"One sec…" I say. Clay nods as he waits for me. The light seems to scoot closer to us, wanting to invite us to the other side. I look around everywhere. I guess no Templars are allowed… I close my eyes and take a deep breath. It is now my father, Rebecca, Shaun, and humanity's job to save the world from Juno. My work is complete. I have nothing left for me on the other plane. "I am ready.

"God, Desmond, are you really that dense?" I open my eyes to see Lucy with one hand on her hip and the other covering her face as if she's face-palmed herself. Lucy. My Lucy. Lucy Stillman. I killed her.

"Lucy…" I croak, unsure of what to say. "I'm sorry. I am so sorry. For everything. When I died, I learned the truth. Minerva told me as I was passing. You were truly born as an Assassin. They sent you to infiltrate the Abstergo Database. They captured you. Vidic, knowing you will become useful, decided to spare you. Instead, he made you a sleeper. He brainwashed you and made it so that when he wanted to, he could flip a switch or something at any time and your Templar instincts would kick in. Knowing you would help me escape, he just let you. That's why it was so easy. His plan was for you to help me get the apple. When I did, he would flip the switch and you… you would steal it and give it to Abstergo… Lucy… I am so sorry."

"Desmond, shut up." Lucy removes her hand and rolls her eyes. She then walks towards me, pulls me closer to her, and closes the space between us. I am kissing Lucy. Sure, I wouldn't lie. I've dreamt of this a couple times, but I never thought it would be as heavenly as this… pun intended. I wrap my arms around her and pull her closer to me, never wanting to let her go. I guess that when you're dead, you got nothing to lose.

"Ahem…" Clay does an obnoxious fake cough, as if clearing his throat. Lucy jumps away from me, but I keep an arm around her shoulder. Clay then smiles and turns to face the end of the hallway. "If you don't remember, we have places to visit… things to see."

Lucy looks up to me and smiles. Her eyes tell me all I need to know. It holds sorrow, and years worth of apologies. It holds the things she's wanted to tell me while we were alive. It tells me all her regrets. I nod, understanding.

"Let's go." I declare. Clay nods and walks next to me, with him to my left and Lucy to my right. I watch above us as an eagle flies freely, and sings the song as when I do a leap of faith. The eagle then flutters into the light of the other end of the hallway. I smile, and let the light welcome me like an old friend.

I'm coming home. Tell the world I'm coming home. Let the rain wash away all the pain of yesterday. I know my kingdom awaits, and they've forgiven my mistakes. I'm coming home…

I'm coming home.

Xxx

Well wasn't this just a bundle of feels T-T

This fanfic was inspired by this post: post/50324535740/sofiaauditores-fuck-youre-making- me-have

If the URL doesn't show up and has blocked the URL, the link is in my bio.

NOTES: So in here, I mentioned Claudia's husband. I read somewhere on that she married Mario's captain or whatnot, so I decided to include him in there.

Also, there might be confusion as to why Haytham is there if he's a Templar. Basically every soul that died and had unfinished business on Earth (in this case, watching Desmond fulfill his story and destiny) was damned to watch him and guide him until his ultimate death. None of the dead has seen each other since their death day. That is why they're all teary eyed.

I also made up a story of Lucy's Templar-ness. Since Ubisoft made no effort to give her a story, I decided to make one. Let's just imagine while Desmond was dying, Minerva sent a video in his head of "the truth about Lucy" which was basically a slideshow of everything he explained to her.

UPDATE ON MY OTHER FICS: I am currently in the process of writing the next chapter of Reunited, and The Bachelor's Creed. Be patient :3 a girl can only get so much done in a week. Not to mention finals week is next week and I've been *cough* studying… Anyways, I'm doing as much as I can to get those up as fast as I can. Also, I have a lot of plans for upcoming fanfics… ;) be patient until summertime then BOOM I will be giving birth to new updates hopefully, each fic getting their own update once a week. Until then, safety and peace my friends.

Xx

Thank you for reading and supporting.

-Jenny :)