Chapter Text
Shaun couldn’t help it. He asked Desmond what the fuck was going on. He asked to please explain what he’s blabbing about to thin air. It’s who he is, Shaun Hastings, a man with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge of the unknown and not understood.
He needs to understand.
And Desmond explains what he’s just been shown. He explains what’s ahead and what his choices are. And as he does, Minerva and Juno become visible to them. William steps back in both surprise and fear and Shaun steps forward in both anger and in an attempt to perhaps try to help.
“What the hell is this? What?” Shaun asks angrily, looking at the two holographic women in front of them. Either Desmond dies and dooms the world to an evil Precursor trying to take it over or he lives but billions die. What kind of a choice is this? They were promised a miracle! Not a sacrifice!
“I’m not sure,” Desmond replies nervously. “But I have to make my choice now.”
“We either let the world burn or we let it be enslaved? How is that—that’s not—” He grunts in frustration as he pulls at his hair, his glasses pushed askew.
“Are there really no other options?” Rebecca desperately asks Desmond who stands before the eye.
“How am I supposed to know? I just—I—” Desmond huffs, clenching his fists and turning his head away.
“Son, let the world burn,” Bill says softly, taking a step towards the platform again, but still staying a safe distance away. “Please, step away and we’ll figure out something else.” Oh, so now he cares.
“No, dad, I can’t—” Desmond starts to protest but he’s interrupted by a blinding flash when Bill tries to take another cautious step forward.
“I won’t allow it!” Juno cries out, making the room light up brightly in between Desmond and William. Shaun grunts and stumbles away from the brightness, towards the Eye. When he opens his eyes again, he blinks in disbelief. A barrier has appeared between Bill and Desmond.
What? But—
Shaun locks eye with Rebecca… from the other side of the barrier.
No, no, no. Come on! Seriously?!
He’s been locked in together with Desmond! He was standing too close to the Eye.
“Shaun!” Rebecca cries out, reaching out to him, pounding on the barrier. Shaun reaches back but the barrier doesn’t let him through.
“Let him out of here!” Desmond cries out, looking angrily at Juno. Fuck this is such a shit show. They were meant to just… save the world.
“No,” Juno simply states. “Now activate the Eye, Desmond. Do what you were always meant to do.”
“What? No!” Shaun protests, whirling around angrily. She’s basically asking him to fucking kill himself to do her bidding. “You can’t just ask that of him.”
“It will be painless,” Juno promises softly. “It will be over in but a moment.”
“Don’t listen to her, Desmond,” Minerva butts in again and Shaun wants to throw a shoe at both their heads. They’re both asking the impossible of Desmond. They lock them in here and just expect them do their bidding and… They can’t just—ARGH! This is all so bloody fucked up. “You can still choose to not use the Eye.”
“Don’t do it, son,” Bill calls to him. Shaun also wants to throw a shoe at his head at this point because why can’t everyone let Desmond be?
“Shaun, you have to get out of there,” Rebecca calls out to him. Shaun looks at her, at his beautiful Rebecca and he pauses for a moment, feeling himself calm down. He truly looks at her, at his rock in the storm. Separated from him by a cold and unfeeling barrier thrown up by a cold and unfeeling hologram of a person who lived thousands of years before them. Shaun doesn’t think he’s getting out of here. “Let me through!” Rebecca cries out to Juno then, pressing up against the barrier.
“No.” Is the curt answer. Fuck.
Shaun looks back towards Desmond, and they lock eyes for a moment.
“I don’t know what to do,” Desmond tells him softly. “I want to use the Eye, I can’t let billions of people die.” He looks at the Eye before looking back towards Shaun. “But I don’t want to die,” he then whispers.
God, Shaun wishes he could just undo this. He wishes he could undo centuries of fighting between the Templars and Assassins. Centuries of wasted chances, centuries of wasted time to prevent all of this from happening. He wishes he could crawl through the Animus and go back through time to change everything that lead up to this and just—
Hold on…
“Desmond, there might be a way,” Shaun says as it clicks in his brain. “You designed this Eye. Tell me, can it do more than just saving the earth?” He turns towards Minerva. And there’s surprise on her face, letting Shaun know he’s hit the nail on the head.
“What? No! There is only one way to use it! Saving the Earth!” Juno protests.
“You’re offering him a false dichotomy! You’re both telling him to obey and not think for himself! Bugger off!” Shaun yells at her. “Two choices only, die to save the world and doom it, or live and let the world be destroyed. But we’re all forgetting something here, aren’t we?” He turns to Minerva, the only one of the two he thinks will be honest in her answers. “Tell me honestly, the Eye can do more than just protect the Earth, can’t it?”
“It was designed to do what the user wants it to do,” Minerva replies with a sudden realisation blooming on her face. “If you want to do it, you have to go back to 1501. You have to keep the Apple out of the Vault under Rome. You have to put it in another safe place where Juno cannot corrupt it. If she cannot influence the Apple in that vault, her presence here alone won’t be strong enough to leave the Eye when used. She needs the additional strength she will put into the Apple in the vault under Rome.” God, a solution, Shaun didn’t think there would actually be one. An actual third option.
“What?! No! You have to use the Eye now to save the Earth!” Juno cries desperately, moving to block Minerva from Desmond’s sight, but Minerva just appears somewhere else to continue speaking.
“The Eye will kill its user,” Minerva says, looking towards Desmond with a small sorry frown and Shaun’s heart sinks to his stomach. Damn it! He thought he’d found a solution. “But the Eye is capable of restoring the user’s soul and putting it in another body. Though not a human body.” Shaun clenches his fists. Then what’s the point? Desmond should go steal the Apple as a little mouse and bring it all the way to another Vault like that? He’d be trampled before he even got to the Apple.
“The Eye was not made for travel or temporary displacement, it won’t work,” Juno tries to argue angrily.
“It was not you who made it so who are you to decide what it can or cannot do?” Minerva fires back curtly.
“I’ll do it,” Desmond interrupts the discussion and Shaun blanches.
“Desmond, no,” He argues, stepping forward up the steps. “It will kill you. The plan won’t even work like that, if you can’t even stay human—” Shaun desperately tries to think of another plan. If the Eye can do anything there has to be something else, right? They just have to think of it. Shaun just has to think of it.
“It’s a good thing I’m not the one who came up with the plan then, huh?” Desmond says with a soft smile and Shaun pauses. He slowly drags his gaze up to the other man who is refusing to look at him.
“What do you mean?” Shaun asks, looking at the other man with a frown.
“Shaun, I can’t do this alone,” Desmond states simply, finally looking up. Shaun’s breath stalls for a moment. His gaze immediately flicking towards Rebecca.
“Desmond’s chances of succeeding on his own are minimal at best,” Minerva agrees.
“And abysmal at worst!” Juno yells, but she’s ignored. “Do not go through with this!”
“Which is why Desmond cannot do it alone, Shaun Hastings. You will die if you stay behind that barrier. The Eye will kill any its vicinity when activated. Going with Desmond is your best chance at survival,” Minerva calmly finishes, her gaze finding someone other than Desmond or Juno for the first time. Shaun isn’t sure if he likes being looked at by her.
“Shaun, I’m sorry to ask this of you, but I can’t do this alone. You’ve always been the smart one, I—” Desmond looks towards Rebecca who’s shaking her head softly. “I’m really sorry.”
“Desmond wait, we can think of something else, I’m sure—” Shaun starts to argue, throwing another look towards Rebecca. He can’t just leave her. They only just started dating, Shaun can’t—
“You cannot delay this any longer, the solar flare is upon us,” Minerva warns, looking up at the ceiling. “Make your choice.”
“My choice is made,” Desmond says, closing his eyes and turning towards the Eye. “But I won’t do anything unless you agree, Shaun.”
“Use the Eye to stop the solar flare,” Juno urges.
“The year 1501, go to Rome,” Minerva also urges.
There is a small moment of silence as everyone looks at him and Shaun bites his lip.
“Desmond—” Shaun wants to say something, but he doesn’t know what except for, “we’ll both die if you do this. You won’t ever be the same and I will be gone from this time.” If Shaun can manage to get through that barrier, he can survive this. He can just try to climb it or leave once it goes down and he can go back to Rebecca and hug her and kiss her. They’ll be able to go out of this godforsaken temple. Yes, Desmond will die but—
Oh, who is Shaun kidding.
He was doomed to die here the moment the barrier shut him in.
“It’s an occupational hazard, no?” Desmond asks, briefly looking at Shaun. And Shaun sighs, realising Desmond is right. He deflates, accepting that this is really the only way. Desmond can’t do it alone. And even if Shaun stays, he’ll die if he stays behind this barrier. He’s too close to the Eye.
Shaun turns and looks at Rebecca. She’s crying now. They both know this is it. He feels his own eyes water in response.
“Go you two! Run!” Desmond tells them. “The eye will hurt you if you stay.”
“Goodbye, son,” Bill says with a heavy tone, but with no hesitation. Shaun really wishes he could throw a shoe after him.
“Shaun, I love you,” Rebecca says, putting her hand on the barrier. Shaun chokes at the hurt in her voice. He never wanted to hear her like this. He never wanted her hurt. He loves her, he wants her to have the world. After Lucy died, he never wanted to see her cry again. And now here they are.
“I love you too, Rebecca,” Shaun replies, walking up to the barrier to put his hand onto it from the other side, blinking his own tears from his eyes. “Now go, live. Be great and think of me fondly. Or not so fondly. It’s your choice, really,” he can’t help but joke. He can’t help it. He has to see her smile one last time. He has to.
“I won’t forget you, Shaun,” Rebecca says with a small laugh. “I’ll think of you very fondly.” She puts her forehead to the barrier and Shaun allows himself the illusion of putting his own head there too as if they were to actually touch. “I love you.” Shaun blinks away tears at the whisper, his heart breaking.
“I love you too, Becs,” he whispers back, forcing himself to lean back. “Now go,” he urges her gently. Rebecca wipes at her eyes and nods, sniffling away some tears. She reluctantly turns and follows Bill, looking over her shoulder one last time. Shaun doesn’t look away until she’s long gone.
“It’s time,” Juno and Minerva say at the same time. Shaun closes his eyes and puts his forehead to the barrier again, taking a deep breath. He blinks away his tears and tries to compose himself. He’ll hopefully have time to deal with his broken heart later.
“It’s time,” Desmond repeats with a humourless chuckle. His fists are both clenched tightly, and his face is one of both regret and determination.
“Make the right decision, Desmond,” they then both say at the same time as they vanish from sight.
Shaun can’t help but chuckle bitterly as he wipes at his face, pushing his glasses askew. No matter what happens now, they are both dying here. Whether they’re going to continue living in the past is another matter entirely. This could all still fail.
He turns and steps up to stand beside Desmond whose right hand is hovering over the Eye.
They lock eyes for a moment and Shaun nods at Desmond. It’s now or never.
Desmond nods back, his right hand reaching out towards Shaun instead of the Eye. Shaun hesitates but clasps his hand into Desmond’s a second later. If this man needs to hold Shaun’s hand to be able to brave dying... he’s going to give this man a goddamn hand.
He doesn’t care if it’s lame or girlish or whatever other insult people could throw at them. He doesn’t care. Not anymore.
More Shaun can’t think of because then Desmond puts his left hand down on the pedestal.