Everything Changes

[b]Scene Title[/b]: Everything Changes

[b]Characters[/b]: Cetea T'Zumo, Naito Zivaku, and K1-R4 in terms of Interferences. Animus Subjects 16 (Clay Kaczemarek) and 17 (Desmond Miles) in terms of World Characters.

[b]Context (Situation)[/b]: On a trip to Space Paranoids, Naito and Cetea meet, followed by them using a small experiment with the Hand of Atropos and the Space Paranoids Portal. The result saves the life of a very strange Assassin in the year 2012.

All was silent on a small island in the middle of a gray ocean, whose waves were soundless as they beat against the small, rocky beach at the island's shore. The sky was gray without trace of a sun or cloud. Even so, it appeared to be mid-day. Besides these oddities, the island itself looked natural to any other island in the world. A small beach led uphill to a flat expanse of bright green grass and small rocks that occasionally jutted from the ground. The oddities, however, were the two large onyx pillars near a cliff. The pillars were spread several feet from each other in a way that would represent a gate, and in the middle of this "gate" was a shimmering light blue substance. The substance itself, upon closer observation, appeared to be a series of codes. Though their symbols were unrecognizable by real world standards. Away from the gate and in the center of the island were five more of these gates, although they were narrower than the first, barely wider than a doorway. All had the same alien code shimmering in the middle of each gate, with the exception of the very leftmost one, which had an image of a long and narrow corridor inside it.

This is Animus Island, a creation of the Animus' Black Room. It is here that Desmond Miles is trapped in order to retain what is left of his splintered mind. It is here that he works to repair it through the process of reliving his ancestor Ezio's late memories, though he is not alone in the task. Help came from an unexpected source: Subject Sixteen.

Subject Sixteen, his predecessor in the Abstergo Industries Animus project. A man driven insane from prolonged exposure in the Animus itself, resulting in his eventual suicide. Before his demise, however, he managed to hack into the Animus' programming and download a likeness of himself. So while his body has long decayed, he is "alive" inside the Animus itself. It was he who brought Desmond into the Black Room and kept the Animus from finding and deleting him while he relived his ancestor's memories.

Footsteps broke the silence, Desmond Miles had emerged from the leftmost gate and was approaching the large gate across from him. He wore black jeans and a hooded jacket, and his hair was closely cut and his beard full but trimmed. Of course, this wasn't anything like his appearance in the real world. It seemed the Black Room had taken a few liberties with his appearance.

As he came closer to the gate, he saw a man lying on the ground, curled into a fetal position. He stopped in front of him, "...Sixteen?" He said, confusion rendering on his expression.

Rolling onto his back, Sixteen looked up at Desmond, "Desmond, think about this... What if I went with you?"

"With me... where?" Said Desmond, eyebrow raised.

"It could work. Just for a while. Until I found a way out. Another body maybe." Said Sixteen, nervous excitement in his tone, though he then stared down, "Or... I don't know. I just... I don't want to be here anymore." He stared at Desmond expectantly.

"That's... That's not going to happen, I'm sorry."

"No... I guess I had my chance," A weak chuckle, "And I wasted it." He laid down in the fetal position again. Desmond was silent for a moment, though he sighed and walked around 16 and into the gate, where he disappeared. Soon after, Sixteen vanished in a few flashes of white.

At the back of the island, a green light erupted, a small tear in the framework of the Animus "guts" here. It was silent, small green rays of light fanning out, Greek writing between them, names, nothing much....and it finally stopped, fading out.

Naito Zivaku took a deep breath, on one knee, lowering the Hand of Atropos into his etherspace pouch once more. He didn't know if this would work, but he did know how to get back to Space Paranoids. "Where.... where is this?"

Beside him, K1-R4 was instead standing, a flickering graphical distortion on her fingers for a moment before she dispersed the ready spell. She had not introduced herself, hadn't given a lot of time to explain anything, but had given them what they needed for this little experiment. A mix of the Animus and difficult time travel, and she had managed to get them here. An interesting place, to be sure, but it was the only place to get T'Zumo the information she tended to like about the Assassins if the word from Ian was right. "The Black Room," she said. "Under the Memory Corridor of the Animus programming of all types. Take a look around, talk to each other, whatever. I'll see what there is here."

Another woman was beside Naito, Cetea T'Zumo, whose face was turning a pale green. She wasn't too fond of Kira's unconvential method of transportation, though she felt better after a few seconds. Looking around the area, she was simultaniously unnerved and awed at her surroundings. The silence was a little troubling, but the strange pillars looked like they could hold countless secrets.

[i]Focus... Focus...[/i]

She wasn't here to examine strange pillars, she was here to try and find out anything she could about the Assassin Order. It was the only reason she'd wanted to travel to an unknown area. The possible danger didn't matter, it was the knowledge that had tempted her. The information she might find could better suit her desire to further her training as an Assassin and gain a better understanding of the Order's history.

The only problem? She didn't know how she would find said information.

"The Black Room does not look very... er... black... Or is the name a metaphor for it's secrecy?" She said, walking ahead of the two towards what seemed to be a large gate. She was interested in the collection of symbols running up from it, but they disappeared too fast for her to make sense of them. Curiosity was tempting her to walk through it, but her cautiousness was warning her to stay back.

The AI hadn't really introduced herself to the asari, nor even what she was or why she was good with technology. However, she didn't really question things, walking around the grassy island, looking at the gate into Ezio Auditore's memories. Naito followed as she spoke. "The Black Room under the White Room Memory Corridor for memory processing, also under the Animus Virtual Training Program I ran by the ODST a while back for a few weeks. From what I hear, someone lives in here. A certain Animus Subject Sixteen. I can research later, but here's the main deal: He's a little crazy, but he's been through a lot of Assassins' lives. Probably why he is crazy, actually. The Black Room, here, where he is? The guts of the Animus memory recall programs. Just basic physics, weather simulation, and fragmentary data under the main workings of the different Animi. A kind of collective pool for all of that. Look around, you might find him."

Naito nodded slightly, still a little nervous. "Um.... Ma'am?" he asked the blue alien. "I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself. My name is Naito Zivaku. I just thought I'd let you know."

Cetea did not take her eyes off of the gate, and after several seconds of concentration she realized that Naito had introduced himself. "Hm...? Oh, right. A pleasure to meet you, my name is Cetea T'Zumo." She said slowly while continuing to stare at the gate as if she were transfixed. She took a few steps forward, extended her hand, reached towards the gate-

"I wouldn't go in there if I were you." An unseen male voice said casually. The voice wasn't loud, but it sounded like the speaker was talking right into her ear. The effect made Cetea jump, startled. She decided against reaching for her weapon, this place wasn't like the real world, and chances are conventional weapons wouldn't be effective.

"Why not?" She said, her tone level, though the words were tensely punctuated.

"Because it's a bad idea." The voice said, and this time it sounded like he was behind her.

Acting on impulse, Cetea spun to her left, hands extended. When they had grabbed the man's wrist, she pulled his arm onto her shoulder, turned, and pulled forward with enough force to flip the man over her shoulder, where he landed hard on his back. She pressed a foot to his shoulder, but he didn't struggle to get up. He didn't even make noise that would indicate he had been harmed at all. Rather, he laughed.

"Jumpy, aren't you?" He said, he didn't sound at all cocky, but politely indifferent to the fact that he was just thrown to the ground.

Kira tilted her head, recognizing the voice. "T'Zumo, this is Subject Sixteen. The one we were looking for. Breaking his back, even if possible, isn't exactly wanted." She looked to "Sixteen", a little wary, but not acting hostile. The guy was still insane as ever, it seemed. "Your name."

Naito, though unnerved, looked to the AI. "Um... I think you might want to be a little more poli--"

"Sixteen here's probably had enough experience with a lack of niceties to get the idea," she said back. "And I'll explain about Naito here later, T'Zumo. In case you noticed a surname similarity."

Internally cursing herself, Cetea let go of Sixteen's wrist and took a few steps back from him. "I apologize for my actions." She muttered, trying to hide her embarassment. She said nothing to Kira's comment on Naito and merely nodded while watching Sixteen get to his feet and face the three.

"No hard feelings, it's not like I can die again." He said, staring at the group as he slowly paced in front of them. "Nice to know that people are looking for me, even if one of those people is a jumpy alien, nice takedown though." He stopped by a small rock and sat down. "As for my name... Well, let's just say I'm not at liberty to tell you. But enough of that, what do you want to learn from me so badly? Hm?" He leaned forward, his eyes darting to each of the three in continuation.

Kira just crossed her arms. "Was a good throw in any case. Don't know if it's from previous training or what, but keep at that if you can't keep biotics handy." She was a little wary about this man's half-attentive look at an actual extraterrestrial, but then again he knew about Those Who Came Before anyway, and with asari biology... mind back on task, right. "She can explain. We're just here to look around. How's Desmond?"

Sixteen cocked his head to the side and stared at Kira for several seconds. "...Pretty good, considering his whole 'problem' and all." He then clapped his hands. "So! I'm all ears for your explanation!" He said, his voice mockingly enthusiastic. Blinking several times, Cetea hastily cleared her throat.

"Well... I came here to learn more about the Assassins, and my friend here has told me you have lived in the lives of many Assassins through this... Animus. I had hoped that you would help me understand the Order more." She said, though it was clear that she sounded uncertain as to whether or not he was a reliable source of information from his behavior alone.

Sixteen's face scrunched slightly at the mention of reliving the lives of other Assassins, though the expression was gone in an instant and replaced by his normal look of complacency. "Ah, didn't know we were picking up recruits in outer space now." His eyes ran over Cetea's shoulder, staring out into the endless sea. "...I know a few things."

Cetea gave a small sigh of relief, "That is goo-"

His eyes then met hers once more, "But who said I was going to tell you? Why should I?"

Cetea was momentarily speechless, she had thought he'd be more willing to help a fellow Assassin. "Well... Do you not wish to help a fellow Assassin better understand our history?"

Sixteen chuckled, "Yeah, but how would that benefit me? You'll leave as soon as you get what you want, I want something for going out of my way to give you information. What can you offer me?"

Naito was a little lost and put off, yes. He only was the one to help them in here, after all. "Um... sir... we can see if we can get something to help you. Um... what would you like?"

Kira didn't move much, though. "For the record, no, we don't know when Miles is getting out of there, so it's best not to weird him out too much with something too bad. But state your case." She looked him over. "Got enough info from Auditore to get the basics, but not on multiple lives. Just about... until the early sixteenth century in the common era."

Sixteen stared at the ground, looked up at Cetea, his mouth was trying to form words that he was hesitant to say. For once, Sixteen looked nervous, and even a little afraid. "I want... I want a body." He said slowly.

"A... A body?" Said Cetea, confused.

"I'm dead outside of the Animus, but... but people who come into the Black Room, I can merge what's been 'downloaded' into the system into a living person, and they'll take me out of this place when they re-enter the real world. I... I asked Desmond, he said no. One of you could help though." He sounded more and more enthusiastic with each word, "Let me into one of you guy's bodies, and you'll get your info." He then stared at the ground again, awaiting an answer.

Cetea looked at Naito with an expression on uncertainty, she wasn't quite sure how to respond to such a request.

The angel took a step back. "Um... I'm sorry, but... but I have some problems of my own, I... I'm sorry, but not me."

Kira, meanwhile, just stared back at him. "Mine won't be enough for you. I have limited viability, and can only use computer systems. Unless T'Zumo wants it, you're out of luck."

Sixteen said nothing, only breathing in and exhaling slowly. "...Guess I got my hopes up a little too mu-"

"I'll... I'll do it."

He blinked once, twice, looked up, Cetea had stepped forward. She looked calm, though she clearly sounded hesitant. "Well... Alright then, no reason to waste time if you've made up your mind, right? No going back, you sure you want this?" He said, he was doing a bad job at hiding his excitement, didn't want to seem too eager after all.

She sighed, "I see no other alternative, you could be useful either way."

Nodding, Sixteen approached Cetea, stopping only a few inches in front of her. "You might feel this a bit." He said, before closing his eyes and walking forward. Cetea's first instinct was to step back, though she could not do so before Sixteen was gone from sight. He had not collided with her body, but had rather... walked [i]into[/i] it. This revelation was interrupted by an intense, rushing pain in her head. It was unlike anything she'd experienced before, memories that she had no knowledge of ran through her thoughts at speeds too quick for her to make sense of them. Animus Island was gone, replaced with flashes of various locations she had never been, a sterile while room and... the rooftop of a building overlooking a vast and ancienct looking city. All of this was making her feel like her head would split apart from the strain. Finally, for a brief moment, Animus Island came back into sight. Then the ground immediately rushed up, and there was only darkness.

=====

She didn't know how long she had been out, and when Cetea woke up, she found that she had no idea where she even was. Everything was pitch black around her, yet she could clearly see her hands even though her body showed no signs of being illuminated. "Where... What...?" She muttered, and her voice echoed for a good three seconds before fading off.

"We're in your head." Sixteen's voice also echoed, but Cetea could tell it was coming from behind her. Turning, she saw him standing a few feet away, looking everywhere around him. "I wasn't sure this would even [i]work.[/i]"

She frowned, "Had I known that, I would not have agreed to your request."

Sixteen flashed a sly smile, "Exactly. But you did, and like I said, no going back now. We're pretty much one person from now on."

"What do you mean?" Said Cetea, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow skeptically.

"Where to start..." Sixteen muttered, "Well, when I entered your body, my memories were added to your own. We're essentially sharing both of our memories, you can remember what I experienced as if you were there, and the same goes for me with [i]your[/i] memories."

"It sounds rather confusing."

Sixteen chuckled, "That's not even the best part! I can essentially feel what you feel, touch, taste, sight, hearing, all of it. You feel pain, I do too. You eat a particularly good meal, and I'll enjoy it too. We're connected in more ways than one, exciting isn't it?"

She sighed, "Not particularly, I enjoyed my thoughts being my own. Now you'll know things I'd rather nobody hear."

"It's not all bad, you'll get used to it."

"I suppose..." She said, silence, "...I won't experience any... any sicknesses you had, will I?"

Sixteen looked alarmed for a split second, and he only frowned as he looked straight up. "I think your friends are worried."

She scowled, "Answer my que-" A bright light then blinded her, and the intense white made Cetea shut her eyes tightly.

A voice echoed loudly in her ears:

[b]Two of us in here now, keep that in mind![/b]

=====

The voices were faint, distant. Naito at first. [size=1]"Come on... come on, wake up.... Miss T'Zumo!"

"She's coming to, just let go for a second, alright?"[/size] Kira was this one. [size=1]"I'd use a System Restore, but there isn't really any need."[/size]

Their faces were blurry, almost distorted, but several blinks brought Kira and Naito into better clarity. Letting out an involuntary groan, Cetea pushed herself up to a sitting position. "Ugh... How long was I unconscious?" She said, rubbing her forehead, which was feeling sore.

Naito sighed with relief. "Um.... about fifteen minutes. Are you okay?"

Kira just looked at her, standing while Naito was crouched. "I take it he explained enough about what his disorder was?"

"No... He did not. If I were to guess, his 'disorder' was what killed him?" Said Cetea, not bothering to hide her sarcasm. By now, not knowing about something as important as this was starting to annoy her greatly. Though she had a feeling that the truth would make her wish that she had remained ignorant. "I would like to know anything that you have discovered, however."

The "human" woman clapped her hands, then brought them apart, slowly. She held, between them, a glowing orb of white light, one that she twisted between her hands, manipulated....then clapped again, forcing it into the size of a small ball, as if a marble. "Incorporate this into your omnitool. It's less complex than a VI, but it's a copy of the data I have on the 'bleeding effect'. His disorder didn't kill him. His disorder made him kill himself."

Nodding, Cetea took the orb, activated her omni-tool, and then held the orb over it. The orb instantly became brighter for a few seconds, before fading into nothing. She then fingered through the various menus in her omni-tool before pulling up the downloaded file in a holographic display. "Bleeding Effect... Side effect of Animus overexposure... Symptons include: Forgetfulness of name, identity, and current year... Hallucinations of an ancestor... Inheritance of ancestor's abilties... Confusion in regards to subject's memories and the memories of their ancestor... Eventual mental collapse..." She muttered as she pursued Kira's gathered information. When she was finished, she deactivated her omni-tool and looked up at Kira, "Sixteen told me that we are essentially the same person now. Will I... Will I experience this 'Bleeding Effect'?" She said, forcing herself to sound calm, to avoid thinking about her fear of an agonizingly slow death.

"I have no idea, personally," Kira said honestly, seeing the nervous Naito looking at the asari with worry. "You'll have to ask him. He might have overcome the effect after his body's suicide, so he could try to help you as well. In the long run, this could be good or bad. We'll see."

Naito finally spoke. "Um... do you need anything? I mean, my father has simila-"

Kira waved him off. "It's not the same thing, kid. Gregory Zivaku's memory problems have nothing to do with the Animus. Now then... any questions, T'Zumo?"

"No... I think I am ready to leav-" She stopped before she could finish her sentence, and confusion became apparent on her expression. [b]"Can't let you do that, sorry."[/b] She said in an almost mocking tone of voice, which was far from the way she normally spoke.

Confusion quickly gave way to annoyance, "What do you mean I cannot leave?" She said tersely.

[b]"Gotta stay with Desmond, keep him from being deleted. Don't worry, we won't be here long. In the mean time..."[b] Said Sixteen, sounding impatient. Her body suddenly shone in a bright white, and when the light faded, there stood Sixteen.

Cetea was nearly speechless, "How...?" She said, though her voice was replaced, now sounding like Sixteen's.

[b]"We're still in the Black Room, and that means I can change our appearance, better that Desmond doesn't know."[/b] Said Sixteen, who then turned towards Kira and Naito, [b]"I think it's time for you to leave, Desmond should be back soon, okay?"[/b]

Naito's eyes widened in surprise. "Um... I guess, but... is she going to be okay? I mean--"

Kira rolled her eyes. "Given what I've seen about how her universe handles my kind, I think it's best to leave anyway before she figures things out. Make the gate, kid." As she said this, colorless distortion danced along her fingers, Naito taking out the Hand of Atropos once more. The AI spoke again. "The gate will open for a few moments with the use of a biotic pulse at the location of our leave, but you'll need to get through. It's a one-time deal. Anything else?"

Cetea shook her head, "No." She tried to smile, but it came on as more of a grimace. "Thank you both for bringing me here." She looked at Kira, "Before you leave, could I get your name?"

The AI frowned. "People call me Kira. I'd give you a full name, a true name, but given your universe, it's difficult to see you doing anything but trying to destroy me as a result. No offense."

Far from being offended, the asari became somewhat worried. She wasn't too comfortable knowing that Kira didn't trust her, worse, thought she would try and [i]destroy[/i] her if she knew who she really was. It was an issue that needed resolving sooner or later, before they delved into an operation together.

[b]Why don't we focus on more important things until then? Like your training, for instance.[/b] Said Sixteen. Cetea could almost see him smirking right now.

"Train-" She stopped herself quickly. [i]Training?[/i] She thought. It was odd sensation to talk to yourself without opening your mouth, and it would probably take some getting used to.

[b]Yup. I think you've got some new tricks up your sleeve. That holograph thing on your arm might've responded to a program like myself being merged with it's user. I don't know for sure yet, it'll be interesting to look into.[/b]

[i]I suppose...[/i] Cetea wasn't going to deny the usefulness of a new arsenal of abilities, but the facts were settling in now. She'd been changed far from her original self, and who knew how much change was in store for her?

Naito nervously nodded to Cetea, waving goodbye as he walked toward the back of the Animus Island. "I'll see you later, okay?" With that, he drew the Hand of Atropos once more, raising it... and slashed, another green portal appearing in mid air. "Kira, can--?"

A stream of... technological distortion flew at the portal, twisting it slightly... and it coalesced again. Right way back. The AI looked back. "Maybe he'll tell you his name. If not, I'll search my databases to find it." With that, she stepped through without another word.

Naito nodded again. It wasn't a big deal, and it probably was unnecessary, but it was a way. With that, he followed her through after one last wave back.

Whatever their mission was, it was apparently accomplished.