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[ghostintheanimus]

Who's there?

I'm here, and I have to find somewhere to go. I need someone to talk to. Someone to tell. I'm between the stones in Rome. I'm scratching the truth on the wall. Someone has to see. The grassy knoll, the eye on the pyramid...it's all read in plain sight! There's no such thing as someone working alone.

And you! You barely know what you're doing. How can you say you know me?

There has to be someone there.

I'm not alone.

Comments

[magnificentmillermanshake]

What do you mean, "I don't know what I'm doing"?

[Kaz crosses his arms over his chest, wondering where this disembodied voice is coming from. This is just weird. Did he have too much to drink...?]

Where are you, anyway?

[ghostintheanimus]

I wasn't talking to you!

[a skittish young man who looks rather the worse for wear darts out from behind a filing cabinet]

How did you find me? Are you with them?! You must be with the Caliphate, or the Confederates....

[he shakes his head in frustration] Nngh, what century is it?!

[magnificentmillermanshake]

[Kaz is silently impressed that he didn't even realize the man was back there. For certain, he has some good skills.]

Find you? You were the one talking to me.

[He frowns and crosses his arms over his chest, not sure what to make of this guy. He doesn't seem to have it all together, to say the least.]

It's the 1900s. Are... you okay?

[ghostintheanimus]

[Skills from hundreds of years of hiding and killing. He doesn't know if any of them are his.]

Then I am in the past. Someone sent me here. Someone's at the controls, and they have a plan.

[He looks down at himself. His own body, he'd almost forgotten what it looks and feels like.] But I'm not someone else! There's no memories! I'm myself!

[There's panic in his voice.]

[magnificentmillermanshake]

Listen, maybe you were sent here, but none of us know why we're--

[The young man doesn't seem to hear him. Kaz lightly places a hand on his shoulder.]

Come on, let's sit you down.

[Guy seems liable to hurt himself if he doesn't. Kaz is starting to wonder if he's dealing with PTSD.]

[ghostintheanimus]

[A person. Flesh and blood, or at least that's what it feels like. Trust of your own senses is the first to go.]

[16 looks at the man sharply. He lets his eyes slip and relax until the unliving world is dark. The stranger is outlined in a blue glow.]

[Even those who should be allies can still be deceived or controlled by them, but it's some measure of reassurance.]

A, all right.

[He steals a glance at the man's hand. No missing fingers or marks that he can see. He lowers his voice.] Are you an assassin?
[PTSD through hundreds of years of mindfuckery, pretty much.]

[magnificentmillermanshake]

Heh, hardly.

[He leads the man over to a white bench and sits down beside him before offering his hand.]

The name's Kaz. What's yours?

[He speaks a bit slowly, unsure if the other man even remembers who he is.]

[ghostintheanimus]

[The man's surety gives him a jolt. He's always been able to trust his vision before.] Then- a Templar?!

[16 takes his hand warily]

Subject 16.

[magnificentmillermanshake]

[Kaz raises a blond eyebrow.]

I'm afraid I'm not one of those, either.

[His handshake is firm, though he takes note of how cold the other's hand is.]

[And then he gets a number instead of a name. This just keeps getting more interesting.]

You were in an experiment? Surely you have a name, too, right?

[ghostintheanimus]

[16 lets his breath out slowly. It would be easy to lie about, but he doesn't think this Kaz is.]

A very long experiment. Then they didn't need me anymore.

[shrugs] yeah, but I can't just give these things away, you know. [It's also not easy to remember which is his.]

[magnificentmillermanshake]

Then you're a free man, aren't you?

[Kaz gives him a friendly pat on the back.]

Well, I don't like the idea of calling you by a number. What about a codename? What's your favorite animal?

[ghostintheanimus]

No one is free.

[16 startles but manages not to bolt or stab him in the throat.]

Numbers can change but not as easily as words.

[He pauses, and thinks for a moment. Thinks of a shape turning in the sky.]

Eagle.

[magnificentmillermanshake]

[Kaz is almost sort of kind of getting the vibe that the touchy-feely approach is a bad idea.]

You seem to be pretty fond of cryptic messages. You can't tell me the whole truth, can you?

[If only he knew. Kaz will forgive him for being tightlipped for now.]

Eagle, huh? Alright, I'll call you that.

... Then would you want fish for dinner?

[ghostintheanimus]

[No touch the crazy man.]

They hide the truth in plain sight, waiting for the right sight. From the divine right to rule to Diebold machines.

What?

[16 tries to work out the meaning of that question. His eyes flicker from Kaz to possible escape routes along the hall.]

What is it you want?!

[magnificentmillermanshake]

[Kaz really wants to ask 'what?' himself, but he figures that if he can get this... Subject 16 to calm down, he might explain himself better. Or at least start having thoughts that make sense.]

[He sees what those eyes are looking for. A way out. Kaz's voice is firm and perhaps a bit irritated.]

Calm down, I'm not your enemy. And you look like you could use a decent meal.

[ghostintheanimus]

[16 keeps making a nervous gesture with his left hand, but there's no hidden blade.]

How can I know that? Templars have everyone under their control, even - especially - the ones who don't know it. Television frequencies, subliminal soothing, the constant lullaby to stay docile and obedient...

[his train of thought is interrupted.]

When did I last eat? Duck at the bishop's table. His eyes light up when he talks about his plans. The poison is so slow it will never be traced back to me.

[magnificentmillermanshake]

[Alright, that's it. Clearly the man is not focused, especially not on Kaz himself. He grabs 16's chin firmly and swiftly swoops in for a kiss. It's little more than a brushing of lips, but it leaves quite the impression on the half-Japanese man. 16's lips are chapped and this only confirms Kaz's suspicions.]

[This guy needs someone to look after him.]

[ghostintheanimus]

[The man moves in and 16 twitches back but he is used to being in a stronger and swifter body and Kaz is fast]

[Hundreds of years of cumulative life, and his own ends here, understanding only a tiny corner of the truth, never knowing if he got it through to anyone else]

[With that on his mind, it takes him a minute to realize he's being kissed]

[A young thief reckless with adrenaline. A Senator with a known weakness. A brother in arms in a shadowed corner of halls that smell of incense.]

[A blond man he's never seen before.]

[16 shoves him and scrambles back.]

Are you insane?!

[magnificentmillermanshake]

[Fortunately for 16, that kiss wasn't very serious. Had he been serious, though, Kaz might have caused him to pass out from sheer pleasure.]

Whoa!

[Kaz exclaims as he's nearly pushed out of his seat. It seems 16 is stronger than he appears.]

Not any more than you are. I guess you don't swing that way.

[He doesn't bother hiding the fact that he's a bit disappointed.]

[ghostintheanimus]

I don't swing towards people I barely know in the middle of nowhere! Do you have any idea how many times and places that sort of stunt can get you killed?!

[16 gapes at Kaz. He is definitely in the here and now, though.]

If you're a Templar agent, you're the craziest one I've ever met.

[Pot, kettle.]

[magnificentmillermanshake]

Will you at least hear me out? Kissing you is the worst thing I've done to you, so would you stop being paranoid?

[Kaz seems to think he's in a position to be demanding these things, but it really just stems from frustration.]

Look, when I make us a meal, you can watch me the whole time. Nothing funny's going to happen.

[ghostintheanimus]

[He has a point. But that implies he could do worse.]

[If there's one thing being fragments of data in an ancestral memory machine is, it's lonely.]

[warily] All right. I don't see what you stand to gain, though.

[magnificentmillermanshake]

[Well, his pants are still zipped, fortunately.]

Good! Come on, I'll take you to my place.

[ghostintheanimus]

[16 trails behind him, dodging a phalanx of ghostly soldiers on horseback]

[worm_dancer]

Overwhelmed by history?

[ghostintheanimus]

By it? I am history. [the haggard man looks down at his hands as if surprised they're there.] I'm been-- a dozen people. I've seen civilizations marching on their orders. I've killed-

[his head jerks up and he looks far away.]

Rome's burning.