Chapter Text
The first thing Desmond noticed was the silence.
Not the heavy, oppressive silence of waiting for death. This one was older. Staler.
He opened his eyes to darkness broken only by the faint blue glow of ancient machinery.
“…I’m alive?”
His voice echoed through the cavern.
Slowly, he pushed himself upright, expecting agony. The last thing he remembered was the unbearable heat of the Apple of Eden in his hand, its power coursing through him as he fought to shield the Earth from the coming solar flare.
He remembered Juno’s laughter.
The blinding light.
Then…
Nothing.
Desmond looked around.
The Grand Temple was exactly as he remembered, yet completely different. Dust coated every surface. Thick spiderwebs stretched between long-dead consoles. Cracks split the stone floor where glowing mechanisms had once hummed with life. The place had been abandoned for years.
“How long…?”
He looked down at his hands.
His right hand was unchanged.
His left made him freeze.
Black metallic lines spread beneath his skin like spiderwebs, branching from his palm all the way past his elbow. They shimmered faintly whenever they caught the light.
“What the hell…”
He flexed his fingers.
No pain.
No stiffness.
In fact…
It felt stronger than before.
He clenched and unclenched his fist several times.
“It works…”
A familiar voice answered him.
“It was necessary.”
Desmond spun toward the sound.
A woman materialized in shimmering blue light.
Minerva.
“You.”
The hologram regarded him with the same unreadable expression she had always worn.
“You survived.”
“I died.”
“You did.”
“…Care to explain that?”
“The body you inhabited reached the end of its usefulness. Your consciousness did not.”
Desmond let out a humorless laugh.
“That clears everything up.”
She ignored the sarcasm.
“The calculations were successful.”
“So… what? I’m a ghost now?”
“No.”
“A clone?”
“No.”
“Then what am I?”
“You are simply… elsewhere.”
Desmond pinched the bridge of his nose.
“I really miss when my biggest problem was bartending.”
Minerva finally moved.
She stepped toward the cavern wall.
“Your task is unfinished.”
“I already saved the world.”
“You saved one.”
Desmond frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“There is another.”
Before he could ask another question, Minerva raised one glowing finger.
The ancient wall before her trembled.
Stone groaned.
Dust poured from the ceiling.
With a deafening crash, the wall collapsed inward, revealing a hidden chamber untouched by time.
At its center stood another piece of First Civilization technology unlike anything Desmond had ever seen.
Silver rings floated around a crystalline core, slowly rotating despite having no visible source of power.
“What is that?”
“A fabrication interface.”
He approached cautiously.
“It will create what you require.”
“For what?”
“A journey.”
“Where?”
“A world called Pandora.”
The unfamiliar name hung in the air.
“There you will prevent another catastrophe.”
Desmond folded his arms.
“And if I say no?”
Minerva met his gaze.
“When this task is complete…”
For the first time, her voice softened.
“…you shall know peace.”
Silence stretched between them.
Peace.
After everything.
Lucy.
His father.
Ezio.
Altaïr.
Connor.
Billions of lives.
He was tired.
God…
He was so tired.
“…Fine.”
Minerva gave a single nod.
“The interface will recognize the technology of this era and fabricate what is necessary.”
“And then?”
“You must find your own path.”
Her hologram flickered.
“Wait.”
She was already fading.
“What exactly am I supposed to stop?”
Only three words remained before the light disappeared.
“You will understand.”
Then she was gone.
Hours later, Desmond emerged from the cave.
The air hit him first.
Heavy.
Thick.
It tasted like chemicals.
He climbed the rocky hillside and stopped dead.
“…Jesus.”
The world was dying.
There were no forests.
No birds.
No fields stretching across the horizon.
Instead: Concrete. Steel. Glass.
Cities stretched farther than the eye could see, blending into one another until there was no clear beginning or end. Massive smokestacks painted the sky gray while endless traffic crawled across elevated highways stacked dozens of levels high.
Advertisements the size of skyscrapers flashed across towering buildings.
Corporate logos covered nearly every surface.
The few trees he could find were artificial.
Humanity had survived the solar flare.
Only to destroy itself anyway.
“So this is what winning looks like…”
He sighed.
“Great.”
The streets were packed.
Thousands of people hurried in every direction without ever looking up.
Perfect.
Old habits returned as naturally as breathing.
A businessman brushed past.
Desmond’s fingers slipped into his pocket.
Wallet.
Gone.
A woman adjusted the glowing tablet clipped to her belt.
Gone.
A distracted courier nearly collided with him.
Data chip.
Gone.
Money.
Identification cards.
Anything that glowed in Eagle Vision became his.
Years of reliving Ezio’s and Altaïr’s memories made the movements effortless.
By sunset, he’d accumulated enough credits to disappear into a crowded internet café.
Rows of terminals filled the room.
Compared to Abstergo’s technology, everything looked decades behind.
“Let’s see where I ended up.”
Hours passed as he devoured information.
Earth.
Resources nearly exhausted.
Energy crisis.
Environmental collapse.
Interstellar colonization.
Then…
Pandora.
A moon orbiting the gas giant Polyphemus.
Rich in an impossibly valuable mineral called unobtanium.
Desmond leaned closer to the screen.
“So that’s why everyone’s interested.”
He opened article after article.
The Resources Development Administration.
Mining operations.
Military deployments.
Scientific expeditions.
Engineering divisions.
Journalists documenting humanity’s expansion.
“If I need to get there…”
His eyes settled on the military recruitment page.
Combat experience.
Security clearances.
Field operations.
“I’ve got that covered.”
Then he remembered Minerva’s warning.
You require an Avatar.
“What the hell is an Avatar?”
Another search.
Dozens of results appeared.
Artificial Na’vi bodies.
Genetically engineered using both human and native DNA.
Operated remotely through a neural link.
His eyebrows shot up.
“You’re kidding.”
Another article caught his attention.
Avatar Outreach Program
Designed to improve diplomatic relations with Pandora’s indigenous population through specially selected civilian volunteers.
Unlike military contractors, outreach participants emphasized cultural understanding, education, and cooperation.
A slow grin spread across Desmond’s face.
“Well…”
He leaned back in his chair.
“I guess it’s time to channel my inner Shaun and Rebecca.”
If he was going to infiltrate the biggest corporation in human history…
Research came first.
Scientists needed specialists.
People with unique skills.
People who could disappear into the background.
He scrolled through another page detailing the scientific divisions assigned to Pandora.
Biologists. Botanists. Engineers. Anthropologists. Linguists.
Desmond sat up a little straighter.
“Linguists…”
That, he could do.
The Animus hadn’t simply shown him the lives of his ancestors. It had rewired his brain. He could read and speak languages that hadn’t been heard in centuries. Italian came as naturally as English. Arabic. Latin. Greek. dozens of languages rattled around in his animus torn mind. Fragments of forgotten dialects whose names had long since vanished from history.
Learning one more language, especially one that was still alive didn’t seem impossible.
If these Na’vi valued communication…
A translator could go places a soldier never would.