Chapter One: Etiam Alter Locus

Desmond glanced back at the approaching car, partially in worry, partially in hope, then watched it pass him by.

It was September, dry, with the edge of a fast approaching autumn. The sun had risen some time ago, letting him see the trees around him. A few bus rides and a taxi had brought him to the countryside with its green fields and clustering forests. All around him, the world buzzed with cicadas and the distant city. He wondered why he had never noticed how beautiful his surroundings were before and thought perhaps age brought such feelings out.

Chuckling to himself, he realized he was still young physically even if his mind felt like a hundred.

As he walked along the road, he rehashed his brief one-sided conversation over the phone only hours before. Had he said enough? Had he even reached the right people? Had they understood his cryptic words? He hadn't really thought he'd encrypted them well enough to be honest. Maybe, he had been to obvious and now the Assassin Order, already spread thin and in danger of being destroyed, was too nervous to risk acquiring him, even if it meant stopping Abstergo.

He doubted this last bit. No matter how thin the Assassin Order became, they wouldn't let Abstergo gain even an inch if they could help it.

Thinking of Abstergo made his stomach lurch. This time today he would be on a plane to Italy to begin using the Animus. This second chance he was given provided him with the opportunity to escape that fate, but at the same time...

He wondered about Lucy. If he was there, knowing what he knew now, could he have changed her mind? Could he have saved her? What would happen to her now? There was no way he would ever be able to trust her. He had dealt with traitors of the Assassin Order before and knew there was no hope for them. Raffaele and Haytham had been proof enough of this.

This brought on another thought.

He had time traveled. He knew the fate of his ancestors better than anyone else. If they had returned to their time, would they retain their knowledge. Would they start again, like he had, and even change their own future? How would this affect him?

His mind felt like it was about to explode with these thoughts. This was something for Shaun, not him.

Of course, if they retained their memories of the experience, would everyone involved have as well? Wouldn't this include his father? Shaun and Rebecca? Lucy and Vidic?

He stopped walking and ran his hands over his face. He was tired, more mentally exhausted than physically. With his body still in shape from years upon years of working for various parts of the Assassin Organization, he was at a prime few of them would have ever known. The only thing he noticed now that he hadn't before was the ache in his side. How many times had he been pierced in the same place in different eras? Though, had it not been for the scar, he would have never known for sure if he had dreamed it or not.

Well, he did have washboard abs. That was a huge indicator. Since when had he ever had those?

This thought made him laugh aloud and he started walking again, listening intently for cars. He had no idea where he was headed. The only place he really knew was the Farm.

He paused again, glancing back at what appeared to be a truck in the distance.

The Farm was attacked while he had been at Abstergo last time and he doubted anything would change now. He couldn't go there and be sure to arrive before Abstergo. This left him with nothing. He had no where else to go, which meant he'd keep walking until either Abstergo or the Assassins caught up to him.

Already, he knew if Abstergo came, he'd let himself get caught. He'd escaped their facility in Italy twice and infiltrated once. There was no doubt in his mind he'd be able to get away. Why get caught then? Lucy would be able to help him find the Assassins and that would be all he needed. From there, he could get to safety and from there begin his crazy pursuit of Minerva's plan. He didn't like this way. He'd much rather the Assassins found him and he began immediately.

It took a moment for him to realize it, but the truck was slowing down as it approached him. His eyes scanned it and abruptly he recognized it as the moving van Shaun and Rebecca had used while he had relived the life of Connor. He stepped back from the road as the truck came to a stop in front of him.

The door opened and he watched the young woman step out, a smile plastered to her face, but every inch of it fake.

"Desmond Miles?" She asked.

"Abstergo?" He questioned right back.

"No."

"Prove it."

She held up her left hand and he stared directly at her ring finger where the Assassin symbol had been neatly tattooed.

"Okay." He shrugged, still unsure. "And that's supposed to be enough?"

"What?" A familiar voice snapped in disbelief as a man came around the vehicle. "You want us hold your hand? Show you just how nice we are before you bleeding listen to us? They said you sounded desperate, but I guess bloody not."

"Hey, Shaun." Desmond smiled broadly when this silenced the man. "Well, I feel safer already. Are we good to go? It's kind of important."

The ginger-haired man hesitated a moment and then shrugged before approaching to pat Desmond down.

"New standard procedure?" Desmond questioned coolly.

"Well, see we were told if you acted like you didn't know much, we were to just bring you in." Shaun muttered coldly. "But since you apparently know more than you should, we get to be suspicious."

"Lucky you."

"Yes, well, one can never be too safe, I suppose."

"Yeah, especially after Cross."

This jerked Shaun's head up and he looked to the woman with trepidation and fear.

"Don't worry." Desmond reassured the two. "I promise I'll explain on the way. Are we good?"

"Hand over your bag and we are."

Desmond wasted no time passing the bag to the man, who tossed it over to the woman. She inspected its contents before nodding and the three climbed into the truck.

"I'll hide back here then." Desmond stated, slipping into the back compartment. "Wow. It's a lot more spacious without the Animus."

"All right." Shaun turned in his seat to stare at Desmond. "You're kind of freaking me out. Why don't you explain now?"

"Drive." Desmond encouraged. "I promise, I'll explain once we're moving...but you have to drive. I don't think Abstergo is all that far behind."

"They were catching up. You're lucky we got to you first." The woman stated. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Melissa. I work for the Assassin Order here in the United States, though, before all hell broke loose, I was in Canada."

"Are you Canadian?"

"Yes."

"Predominantly French or English?"

"French."

"This is a cute little chat," Shaun interrupted as he began to drive the truck further along the road. "But how about we stick to relevant things: like how you know my name, how you know about Cross, and how you know about the Animus."

Desmond settled into his usual spot in the truck and could almost picture Rebecca being where Melissa was and his dad sitting across from him. He grinned to himself.

"All right, but you're going to think I'm crazy. Bear with me. The details will be what prove it all. I assure you. Let's start with...I've been time-traveling."

Here you go. The first part to the story. I hope you like it. I was able to come up with this idea faster and easier than I had thought, so here's an early posting of it. :)